NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Disability Coalition reduced the state's grade from a "D+" to a "D" in a new report examining how the state supports people with disabilities, and evaluating the quality of life for people with disabilities in Tennessee.
The coalition said around one-third of all Tennesseans experience some form of disability. Its scorecard evaluated nine specific categories. Those categories and the grades that Tennessee received for each are available below.
- Affordability of Care: F
- Aging: C-
- Early Intervention: A-
- Education: INCOMPLETE
- Employment: D+
- Family Caregiving Support: F-
- Housing: F
- Mental Health Access: D
- Transportation: C-
The AARP put Tennessee in last place in supporting family caregivers in 2023. It said the state did not have caregiver-friendly policies. The scorecard also said only five Tennessee counties are affordable for people with disabilities to purchase a home, down from 15 counties in 2022.
It also has the eight-highest percentage of adults with medical debt in the U.S. and the third-highest prescription drug cost per household in the U.S., according to the report.
"It's a physical strain on the family. It's an emotional strain on family," said Jennifer King, a caregiver and a mother. "You can never take your eyes off of him, you've always got to be watching him."
She said her son, Hunter, was diagnosed with autism at 22 months old. She said after learning about the diagnosis, she quit her job and tried to learn as much as she could about autism. Her family lives in rural Roane County, where few services and educational resources are available.
"Families don't have the ability to take a child to Knoxville five days a week for therapies, and still have an income," she said. "It's a community. We all need to be working together."
She said she has to travel 80 miles every day to and from Knoxville to make sure Hunter gets the help he needs. She's not the only person in the state having to search far and wide for affordable services.
"It's incredibly hard to live in Tennessee with a disability. Or if you have, say, a mental health need, it's really expensive," said Jeff Strand. "One of the most important things that the state can do is work to develop a comprehensive, statewide, paid family caregiving program."
Due to the lack of services available, Jennifer King has created a The KTG Foundation, an organization to help support families and individuals challenged by autism and domestic violence.