INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Parents of medically complex children on Monday said their meeting with top officials of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration came better late than never.

Families who use the attendant care program have protested for months over the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) plan to remove parents from the list of caregivers eligible for reimbursement under the program, a move prompted by the discovery of a nearly $1 billion Medicaid funding shortfall.

The change will take effect July 1. At that point, parents of children with severe disabilities will have to move to the structured family caregiving program if they want to continue serving as their children’s primary caregivers and get reimbursed for it. The structured family caregiving program reimburses at a far lower rate than the attendant care program.

Jennifer Dewitt led a group of roughly half a dozen mothers of medically complex children in a Monday meeting with Gov. Eric Holcomb and FSSA Secretary Dr. Dan Rusyniak. During the hourlong meeting, the mothers gave Holcomb and Rusyniak the results of a survey of more than 200 affected families along with testimony about the impact the changes to the program will have. They also gave officials a list of requests including providing families with the criteria that would determine eligibility for the structured family caregiving program, delaying the implementation of program changes for 90 days and allowing applications for reimbursements of related services such as home modifications to proceed.

Dewitt said afterward she believed her group gave Holcomb and Rusyniak a great deal of information to work with. She said at this point, it’s up to them to take the data back to FSSA and figure out the next steps.

“We really appreciate the fact that they finally took time to meet with us, although we wish that we would have had this opportunity sooner,” she said.

Dewitt said Holcomb told them his administration will give them a response to their requests by the end of the week. FSSA officials told News 8 they are reviewing the mothers’ requests and will get back to them.

Statement

“I listened carefully and appreciated the moms bringing their concerns forward. They obviously only want the best for their children. Dr. Rusyniak was with me during the meeting, and we’ll consider the issues they raised as well as changes we can make to better communicate with impacted families.”

Gov. Eric J. Holcomb, a Republican

After a stunning performance by Pacers forward Myles Turner during game four of the first-round playoff matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers are one game away from winning their first playoff series in a decade.  

Gainbridge Fieldhouse erupted in a frenzy during the game’s final moments, with fans spinning their pacer yellow towels in the air to celebrate some of the most dominant Pacer performances in recent history. 

“The fans were fantastic. We had some really good individual performances…But when you’re in a playoff series and you win, your celebrations have to be pretty short, and you have to keep focusing,” said Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle. 

On Sunday, April 28, the Pacers beat the Bucks 126-113 to take a 3-1 lead in round one of the playoffs. The series will travel back to Milwaukee for game five on Tuesday. If the Pacers win, they’ll move on to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014. 

Turner had the best playoff game of his career, leading the Pacers with 29 points, seven three-pointers, and a strong bid for the dunk of the postseason so far against Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez. Turner looked at home in Gainbridge, consistently interacting with the crowd after big plays.   

“That was very special, just knowing how much the city means to me and they reciprocated that love. It was a dope moment for me,” Turner said of the fans chanting his name during the game. 

All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton finished with 24 points and five three pointers, the most he has scored so far this series. However, Haliburton has been productive in every game. In game three, he scored a triple-double and the final point in overtime to seal the game. 

While the Pacers had a dominant win, they were aided by the Bucks’ missing star players. MVP and champion Giannis Antetokounmpo was out again with a calf injury, and All-Star Damian Lillard was ruled out for the first time this series with an Achilles injury. During the season, Antetokounmpo averaged 30 points, while Lillard averaged 24 points. 

“I think we’ve got to understand all year we’ve struggled when teams miss their guys. That’s kind of been the story of our season, losing games we’re quote-end quote supposed to win. Just looking at this, it could have been like, some call it a trap game, just letting your guard down…We didn’t want to do that. We wanted to come out and play the right way,” Haliburton said on the undermanned Bucks.  

To make matters worse for Milwaukee, the Bucks starting forward Bobby Portis was ejected in the first quarter after a scuffle with Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard with five minutes to go. Portis shoved and then slapped Nembhard in the head under the visitor’s basket after a routine play. 

“It ramped up the intensity of the overall game,” Carlisle said on the ejection. 

Now the Pacers will look to put the Bucks down in Milwaukee for game five on Tuesday, April 30, for the first series win in 10 years. 

“We’ll celebrate tonight, but we need to get right back to it tomorrow. We still have one more game to win. Never too high, never too low,” Turner said.  

Contact Racial Equity Reporter Garrett Simms at 317-762-7847. 

It was announced last week that Circle Centre Mall in downtown Indianapolis has been sold for redevelopment. It’s been a part of the downtown landscape since 1995.

According a Circle Centre Preview aired on Channel 6 at the time, and now available on YouTube, the mall originally had space for 100 tenants including restaurants, retail and entertainment.

Here’s what was in Circle Centre Mall when it first opened on September 8, 1995.

Retail stores and businesses Circle Centre Mall in 1995

• Abercrombie & Fitch
• Ann Taylor
• Banana Republic
• Barani Shoes
• Bentley’s
• Brookstone
• Cacique
• County Seat
• Doubleday Books
• Eddie Bauer
• Enzo Angiolini
• Express
• FAO Schwarz
• Farmer’s Almanac
• Field of Dreams
• Finish Line
• Garden Botanika
• Indiana News
• Kitchen Express
• Junkyard
• Lane Bryant
• Lerner NY
• Limited Too
• Nordstrom
• Parisian
• Ralph Marlin
• Sam Goody
• The Body Shop
• The Disney Store
• Victoria’s Secret
• Warner Bros. Studio Store
• William H. Block

Restaurants and food in Circle Centre Mall in 1995

• Big Easy
• California Cafe Bar & Grille
• Great American Cookie Company
• Johnny Rockets
• Spaghetti Factory
• Sports City Cafe
• Steward & Co.
• Sweet Factory

Entertainment in Circle Centre Mall in 1995

• Starport
• United Artist Theater

The latest: Circle Centre has officially been sold for redevelopment. Here’s when construction could start

The Indianapolis Artsgarden was originally a major draw to the mall and cost $13 million on its own, with a capacity of 600 people.

According to local reporting at the time, the Circle Centre Mall was a $314 million (approx. $643 million today) investment into Indianapolis that brought several businesses into the heart of downtown to be near the mall, including Steak n’ Shake, Clancy’s Inc. and Pizzeria Uno.

The mall was sold for $85 million earlier this week and is planned to be redeveloped. Read the full story about the plans for the future here.

Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at klwiseman@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.