This story is touching every corner of our Commonwealth — 17,539 Kentuckians (and more across the tri-state) are waiting for developmental disability services, many are parents in their 80s/90s caring for adult children.
Kentucky media has covered the crisis. No one has covered a solution. Until now.
Please find the full release below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT: Samantha Harrison, President & Founder | Momentum Family Strategies | press@momentum-strat.com | momentumfamilystrategies.com
Momentum Family Strategies Launches ‘Life After Mom & Dad™’ Care Navigation Practice for Adults with Developmental Disabilities
Florence-based firm launches to help the 28,879 families in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio waiting for developmental disability services stabilize care now and navigate Life After Mom & Dad™, with a special focus on siblings who will one day step into the caregiving role.
FLORENCE, Ky. — April 27, 2026 — Momentum Family Strategies, an independent consulting firm based in Florence, Kentucky, has launched its Life After Mom & Dad™ care navigation practice to help families of adults with developmental disabilities solve urgent care challenges now and create a sustainable path for the future, when aging parents can no longer provide daily care.
A caregiving emergency — right here in the Tri-State
Social service systems in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana are stretched thin, collectively trying to serve an estimated 180,000 families navigating developmental disability services. The waitlists alone tell part of the story:
Kentucky: 17,539 people with disabilities waiting for services¹
Indiana: 9,453 people on developmental disability waiver waitlists²
Ohio: 1,887 people on developmental disability waiver waitlists³
Behind every number is a family. Many are parents in their 70s, 80s, and 90s still providing full-time care for an adult child with Down syndrome, autism, or cerebral palsy—with no clear plan for when Mom and Dad can no longer provide care — with brothers and sisters expected to step in.
The firm recently supported “Robert,” who was 60 when his mother died. After a lifetime living in their family home, he had no desire to move into a facility. Momentum Family Strategies helped his siblings build a care team that kept him in the community with the right supports, and ultimately improved his health.
“Almost every week, I meet 80- and 90-year-old parents who are still the primary caregiver for an adult son or daughter with developmental disabilities,” said Samantha Harrison, Founder of Momentum Family Strategies. “Their other children love their brother or sister, but they are overwhelmed by Medicaid waiver waitlists, benefits rules, and the idea of fitting caregiving into their own lives. We talk a lot about early childhood services and the transition out of high school, but very few people are helping families and siblings prepare for the day after the last parent is gone. Momentum Family Strategies exists to change that.”
Momentum works with families on the brink of a care crisis, families trying to stabilize care while waiting for services, and siblings who know responsibility is coming but have no clear next step—many of whom have already tried to navigate existing social service pathways and been turned away, waitlisted, or left without answers. The firm helps families assess care needs, organize options, define future roles, and strengthen support systems ,to create a safer, more sustainable care transition for Life After Mom & Dad™.
Families lying awake at night worrying about “what happens when Mom & Dad are gone?” Can learn more and schedule a free strategy session at momentumfamilystrategies.com.
About Momentum Family Strategies
Momentum Family Strategies is a Florence, Kentucky-based independent consulting firm founded by Samantha Harrison, an Aging Life Care Professional®. The firm helps families of adults with developmental disabilities—and the siblings who will one day support them—solve immediate care challenges, navigate complex social services systems, and build a sustainable future for Life After Mom & Dad™.
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¹ Kentucky Medicaid waiver waitlist figure cited from Kentucky Department for Medicaid Services, IDD Technical Advisory Committee meeting, “April 7, 2026 IDD TAC Meeting,” video recording, timestamp 34:45, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKezBZ6dtkc.
² Indiana developmental disability waiver waitlist figure from “Medicaid DD Waiver Waitlists by State (2026),” Special Needs Trust by State, Indiana section (CIH and Family Supports waivers, waitlist 9,453, based on 2025 Kaiser Family Foundation HCBS data), accessed April 24, 2026, https://specialneedstrustbystate.com/medicaid-waiver-waitlists/#state-indiana.
³ Ohio developmental disability waiver waitlist figure from “Medicaid DD Waiver Waitlists by State (2026),” Special Needs Trust by State, Ohio section (IO, Level One, and SELF waivers, waitlist 1,887, ~71,000 currently served, based on 2025 Kaiser Family Foundation HCBS data), accessed April 24, 2026, https://specialneedstrustbystate.com/medicaid-waiver-waitlists/#state-ohio.
