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By J. Patrick Coolican (contact) 
Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 | 2 a.m.
Rachelle Reynolds has two autistic boys and saw how their quality of life was improved by occupational therapy, which helps the disabled or people undergoing physical or cognitive changes become active and independent. So she enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada, hoping to learn how to become an occupational therapy assistant. As I reported last year, the program faced the loss of accreditation because the college couldn’t find a person qualified to run the program and another to coordinate students’ field work. Now the Board of Regents is moving to eliminate the program, which is the only one of ...
Simple: Life suffers.
CarmineD
Education has never been a priority in Nevada.
The real shame is the number of corporations, good jobs and good people who will not move here because of the education system.
Continuing the "Too bad, so sad" meme she could move to another state...Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho or Utah...take the courses and move back to Nevada. Except that she would likely find that the occupational license she requires would have some unique Nevada course required like Nevada Law and Regulation of Licensed Assistant Occupational Therapists offered by UNLV at some outrageous tuition with a large cut for the UNLV Department of OvertheTop Athletics. Then she'd have to pay bribes to Metro to get a work card and bribes to the State for the license [renewable every time we change our minds]. You ever wonder why people don't move back here?
Please note there is a difference between an occupational therapy assistant (OTA), which requires a 2 year associate's degree, and an occupational therapist (OT), which requires a master's degree. Touro University (a private school) offers the only master's OT program in Nevada. UNLV does not have either an OTA or OT program.
Expanding Medicaid and reducing education.... gee, that sounds sustainable.
It is really simple. Stop spending more per capita on everything up north (from roads to education) and we could probably continue this program and many like it, without raising taxes.
Well Nevada didn't shoot itself in the foot with Harry reid we blew our leg off. Reid hasn't done squat for Nevada. Hope he retires. He's a multi-millionaire from being a public servant as is Shelly.
Article explains the SOP of Nevada's DHHS. Expanding Medicaid while not paying the providers.... Expanding Medicaid without authorizing cost of services for recipients--the doctors need to make enough to see those patients. What DHHS does results in insured and cash patients paying more to cover losses and spirals the ever-increasing costs of health care and insurance. I remain extremely skeptical about anyone labelled "autistic." Almost seems like if the doctor isn't absolutely sure what is wrong, here comes that label. And there is NO WAY that taxpayers can cover cradle to grave 24/7 for soooo many people with that label. We're going to reach a point where it is hopeless and just eliminate everything but subsistence in group homes for anyone medically disabled or medically unable. It's as if the K-12 people and the "health"-care providers are using the same script--baffle them (taxpayers) with b.s. and they will fund everything.
Mr. Miller: In general, there is NOT more per capita spending "up north." Mucho mega-bucks federal funding goes DIRECTLY to City of Las Vegas and County of Clark where parallel funding for much of the rest of the State is funneled thru the State of Nevada. Has something to do with population in the City, population in the County. I'm not aware of a convenient link. It would take research into federal funding formulas and reading the fine print in public laws. OMB Circulars A-87, A-133...and on and on and on. One could start with CPS--Local Vegas gets direct aide while everyone else goes thru State DHHS programming. Pros and cons to this--like Vegas pays Social Workers MUCH MORE than State of Nevada does.