When news broke that an incapacitated woman gave birth to a baby at her long-term care facility in 2018, there was hope among many in the disability community that the incident would lead to much-needed changes. One Arizona mother feels like that never happened.
People with intellectual or developmental disabilities are seven times more likely to be victims of sexual assault. It’s statistics like that which scare Karen Dana.
"I am a mother of a autistic and also epileptic adult."
Her daughter is 26. Dana was on the task force that developed 30 recommendations to strengthen protections for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
"As a parent, I understand government moves slow. But they can also move a lot quicker when they want to," said Dana.
And with little progress being made, Dana is thinking about how to protect her daughter when she’s gone.
"My home is going to be left to a trust to become a group home. So that my daughter, my older daughter, will be in control of it. And we'll be able to see who is here and who works here. Because that's how much I trust what we have going on right now. I don’t."
And Dana doesn’t trust this issue will be a top priority in the near future.
