(Columbia-AP) Sept. 15, 2005 - The state
Department of Disabilities and Special Needs has
thousands of South Carolinians who need care,
but they've been put on hold while Hurricane
Katrina evacuees receive help.
Part of the reason South Carolina residents
will wait is because of the dire situation some
of the refugees are in and because the federal
government has promised to pay for their
services.
DDSN and departments of health, social
services and mental health are working to aid
the roughly 4,600 evacuees who are staying in
hotels, shelters or with friends and family in
South Carolina. The Health and Human Services
Department has temporarily enrolled 1,200
evacuees on Medicaid.
The Mental Health Department screened
evacuees as they got off airplanes and referred
more than 100 people for crisis counseling.
Posted 7:10pm by Chantelle
Janelle
