Across the country, according to U.S. Census figures, 20 percent of adults below age 65 have developmental or physical disabilities – and almost 70 percent of the families of special-needs adults in a recent MetLife survey said they worried about their offspring's future.
The Alta California Regional Center, which serves 18,250 people with developmental disabilities in 10 counties, has about 5,000 adult clients who still live at home with their parents, just as Jessica and Lori do.
"And every one of those clients will age," said Phil Bonnet, the regional center's executive director. "People who grew up in our system are now middle-aged, and their parents are older."
As a result, said the executive director of Sacramento's Resources for Independent Living, Frances Gracechild: "We have this phenomenon of aging parents with increasing need for support themselves, and they're still taking care of their grown developmentally disabled children.
"It's quite a burden to meet when you're facing your 70s."
From the MetLife study:
