Parents who seek appropriate, long-term care for their adult children with disabilities often end up on long waiting lists. Today a little less than half a million adults with disabilities live with their parents who are age 60 or over, according to the University of Illinois at Chicago. If the parent dies unexpectedly, the adult with a disability most often will enter respite or emergency care until state officials make a decision. About 12% of the time, a sibling assumes care, said Leo Sarkissian, executive director of the Arc in Massachusetts. Otherwise, many go to live in institutions.

To avert a care crisis later on, parents have made care arrangements in advance. For one family, the care may be a trust fund. Other families have created pool trusts that manage and distribute families' shared assets as one account. Families also have been buying apartment complexes together or paying in advance of their deaths for guardians to watch over their adult children with disabilities. #871

Robertson, T. (2001, May 28). As parents age, future for disabled a worry. Boston Globe.

Keyword: Family support