Re: Arc and Dont Rush Into State Familities Decision

[Guest guest]

Arc and Dont Rush Into State Familities DecisionThat’s not possible in all

cases, of course. Some people suffer from disabilities so severe that they

require 24-hour care...

It is sad that Ms. Burke and the Register don't understand that 24 hour support

does not equate to a need for institutional care. Everyone can and should live

in smaller, community settings with the appropriate supports and services, which

would allow for everyone to live in their own communities.

How that gets done in Illinois should of course be with a great deal of planning

and compassion for those involved.

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Arc and Dont Rush Into State Familities Decision

Important editorial from the State Journal Register about

closing state institutions in Illinois . Is this email not displaying

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Dear Ellen,

The State Journal Register makes some excellent points

in its editorial today but it is my understanding that the family organizations,

the union and other advocates will be at the table involved in the closing of

State Operated Developmental Centers after the Governor makes his decision on

which centers will close. This was the process utilized in the Howe closure and

a similar process is planned. The objective now is that the transition plan for

persons leaving the centers will be person-centered and fully based upon their

individual needs. In this process there is every reason to believe that the

person can be relocated close to family and friends if that is their choice.

Tony

Our Opinion: Don’t rush into state facilities

decision

We are firmly on record advocating that Illinois move

away from its reliance on large institutions to house the developmentally

disabled.

Housing people with developmental disabilities in

large facilities is an antiquated, expensive and, most importantly, ineffective

way of allowing the disabled to live the fullest and most productive lives

possible. By and large, advocates for the developmentally disabled favor

providing residential care in residential settings — group homes with six or

fewer residents supervised by a properly trained staff.

That’s not possible in all cases, of course. Some

people suffer from disabilities so severe that they require 24-hour care. But

with eight institutions operating statewide, Illinois operates with a severe

imbalance that relies far too heavily on the institutional model. A 2011 study

by the Institute for Cognitive Disabilities at the University of

Colorado placed Illinois third in the nation in the number of people housed in

institutional settings. California, New York and Florida, all more populous than

Illinois by generous margins, had fewer developmentally disabled people in

institutions than Illinois. Ten states and the District of Columbia no longer

even have state-run institutions, the study notes.

The Arc of Illinois, an advocacy group that includes

some 60 agencies that serve the developmentally disabled and their families,

estimates it costs six times as much to house a person in an institution than as

in a group home setting. But the $190,000 annual cost for institutional care

comes with an additional price: Those housed in institutions largely learn

institutional life. Without the stimulus of interaction in the community,

advocates say, their development is further stunted.

We can’t honestly advocate for a movement away from

institutions without acknowledging that ville Developmental Center could

be one of the institutions closed in that effort. No community ever wants to

lose jobs and the economic activity attendant to any state facility, be it a

prison, health-care center or regional agency office.

What we can and do advocate for is a thorough and fair

evaluation of all state facilities that places the priorities of the residents

and their families before financial concerns.

Just as the federal government goes to great lengths

to eliminate political influence in closing military bases, so must the

administration of Gov. Pat Quinn isolate itself from politics in making any

decisions about the eight centers for the developmentally disabled that now

operate in Illinois.

Neither of those criteria can be met if all concerned

parties are not allowed into the discussion. That includes those who represent

the residents and families of residents for whom life in a residential group

home is not a viable possibility.

“Some of them absolutely require 24-hour care, which

is not available in the community,†said Rita Burke, president of the Illinois

League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled. “This is not a plan.

This is a move out of desperation and political expediency.†Burke says her

side has been excluded from the process.

Regardless of the end decision, this process must not

be exclusive. One advantage to having so many institutions is it provides

families proximity to their loved ones. Those whose loved ones can’t live in

group homes should not suffer undue hardship as the state makes this transition.

The state’s finances may be dire, but this is too important a decision to rush

for the sake of savings.

Copyright 2012 The State Journal-Register. Some rights

reserved

Tony auski

Executive Director

The Arc of Illinois

20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209

fort, IL 60423

815-464-1832 (OFFICE)

708-828-0188 (CELL)

Tony@...

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