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Is Kansas Short-Changing The Disabled?

A Kansas advocacy group says the state has failed to comply with targets for delivering services to developmentally disabled people for years.

The Disability Rights Center says 3,300 developmentally disabled Kansans who qualify for Medicaid services continue to be denied aid.

The DRC says number of vacancies has grown each of the past four years.

And these vacancies have contributed to people having to wait up to five years to start receiving home- and community-based aid.

The Disability Rights Center concluded that the state wasn't complying with federal law by maintaining an underserved category of nearly 1,900 people who were receiving some, but not all, services applicable to their disabilities.

Angela de Rocha with the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services says state government officials and federal centers for Medicare and Medicaid services are aware of concerns about the legality of Kansas' underserved waiting list.

De Rocha added, "People can say it is illegal, but that doesn't move us forward in solving the problem."