Acronyms Abound: The category of housing that meets our daughter’s needs is a relatively new designation referred to as a CRS (Continuous Residential Support – different from a traditional group home/CLA “Community Living Arrangement” as CLA’s are licensed, and funding is different. The CRS “allows for more self-determination”.

PRAT (Program Review….)is the body that will make the determination on needs based funding; PRAT involves a scoring based on needs. I do know that we had a role in determining that scoring as did our daughter and that it is perhaps the most significant component in the funding process as it measures “level of need”.

URR Review (Utilization Review): This is a new one to me but I know that our URR review is delayed until 5/10…which is holding up the works. Apparently the URR and PRAT balance needs with funding budgets in the state.

DDS: DDS, or Department of Developmental Services changed its name from Department of Mental Retardation (DMR), in the state of Connecticut, as well as in other states. “Retard” or “mental retard” has become a popularly accepted term of humiliation and butt of jokes which has contributed to this shift. (For a great discussion of the “r” word, see this Slate article.)

ID: Intellectual Disabilities: The most significant and toughest acronym of them all, ID.

©Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. 2011