INDIANAPOLIS — Parenting comes with added challenges for Tendra Duff. Two of her children have special needs.
"We probably see 10 to 15 specialists in Cincinnati one to two times a month," Duff said. "It's not your eight-hour 9 to 5 Monday through Friday job. It's a 24/7 job for many of us parents."
Christa Dooley also has a medically-complex child. The two mothers share a special bond.
Both of them get paid to be their kids' caregivers through the Medicaid Attendant Care program, which allows parents to stay home and care for their children with severe disabilities.
"The Attendant Care (program) has saved my life. I was jobless before, taking care of him. It's allowed us to feel a little more comfortable and do normal family activities and make it through every day," Dooley said.
"Every little bit adds up," Duff said. "When you go from having two incomes to one income after they're born, there are so many things you don't realize you go without."
But now, the Family and Social Services Administration is proposing massive cuts that could devastate these families and thousands of Hoosiers like them.
The FSSA wants to end payments to parents and guardians who care for their kids with special needs.
Duff and Dooley rely on those payments and are now worried about the future.
"I panicked. We just traded in a paid-off car to buy a car that would fit our entire family and his equipment. Now, I wonder if I'm going to be able to pay for that," Dooley said.
"I'm just very frustrated that they're taking this out on our most vulnerable population, who really can't speak up for themselves and who have to have someone else speak up for them," Duff said.
That's why these moms plan to attend a rally Monday, Jan. 22 at the Indiana Statehouse to protest the cuts and take a stand for their kids.
"There's nobody better to take care of these kids that have these issues and medical needs than their parent," Dooley said.
More information on the rally can be found at this link.