Caring for Nebraskans With Disabilities Shouldn’t Be Partisan

Caring for Nebraska’s most vulnerable residents should never be a partisan issue.

During a roundtable with gubernatorial candidate Lynne Walz, Cathy Martinez, president of the Autism Family Network and mother of Jacob, a 23-year-old with profound autism who requires around-the-clock care, argues that protecting people with developmental disabilities has historically brought Nebraskans together across party lines.

Now, families are questioning whether that commitment is slipping away as they challenge changes to the state’s disability services system.

Watch the full roundtable on The Dan Parsons Show.
https://tinyurl.com/DanParsonsSHOWLIVE2

#Nebraska #DisabilityRights #NebraskaPolitics #DevelopmentalDisabilities #DanParsonsShow

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$1 Million for Public Records. Can DHHS Prove Its Estimate?

$1 Million for Public Records. Can DHHS Prove Its Estimate?

Oct 21, 2026 |

$1 million and a 50-year wait for public records? Attorney Daniel Gutman explains why he believes a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling in the Flatwater Free Press case provides a path to challenge DHHS’s estimate, and requires the agency to justify its numbers.

Watch the full interview with Gutman and parent Curt Safranek on YouTube @danparsonsshow or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

#Nebraska #DHHS #DevelopmentalDisabilities #DisabilityRights #DisabilityAdvocacy #FamilyCaregivers #PublicRecords #GovernmentAccountability

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Nearly $1 Million. A 50-Year Wait. Nebraska Father Sues DHHS for Records.

Nearly $1 Million. A 50-Year Wait. Nebraska Father Sues DHHS for Records.

Oct 20, 2026 |

Curt Safranek wanted answers about Nebraska’s developmental disability services. DHHS responded to his public records request with an estimate of nearly $1 million—and a completion date in 2076.
Even after he narrowed the request, the estimate remained nearly half a million dollars, with a 25-year wait.

Safranek and his attorney, Daniel Gutman, join Dan Parsons to discuss the lawsuit, the services Curt’s 24-year-old son Will depends on, and why families are demanding transparency.

The records concern communications surrounding a proposed $420,000 consulting contract to review Nebraska’s controversial interRAI assessment system. Safranek explains his concerns about the review’s independence, while Gutman outlines their challenge to the state’s cost and time estimates.

What does accountability look like—and what happens to families while they wait?

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#Nebraska #DHHS #PublicRecords #DevelopmentalDisabilities #TheDanParsonsShow

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