Disabled Virginians get their own state agency

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Disabled Virginians get their own state agency

The Virginian-Pilot

© March 18, 2002

It has taken four years, but finally Virginia is on the verge of

establishing an independent watchdog agency to protect disabled citizens.

As soon as Gov. Mark Warner signs the bill, something his predecessor twice

refused to do, the long-sought legislation will become law and an impossible

situation will become history.

That day will be one of celebration for disabled citizens and their friends

across Virginia.

Unlike almost every other state, the Old Dominion has housed the protection

and advocacy office required by federal law -- known here as the Department

for Rights of Virginians with Disabilities -- within the executive branch of

state government.

The upshot has been a weak monitoring system that picked at the edges of

problems but almost never pushed for broad, systemic change in the treatment

of disabled citizens.

This woeful inadequacy was obvious: The federal government over the past

decade investigated five Virginia mental health institutions, revealing

alarming abuses and forcing the state to spend millions in clean-up.

Where was the DRVD when all that was taking place? Usually tiptoeing along a

half dozen or so steps behind the feds.

In large measure, the timidity reflected a structural conflict of interest.

The department reports to the governor, who is also in charge of mental

health and mental retardation facilities and who, therefore, has egg on his

face if abuses become public.

Compounding the situation is the fact that the attorney general's office,

until recently, signed off on various DRVD hirings and actions. That would

be the same office that represents the Department of Mental Health, Mental

Retardation and Substance Abuse.

It's no wonder that every DRVD director, except the most recent, has urged

greater independence.

Now, their wish is coming true. Under legislation on its way to the

governor, who campaigned in support of an independent DRVD, the agency will

be renamed the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy. The director

will be hired and will report to an 11-member board with three members

appointed by the governor, three by the Senate and five by the House. The

attorney general will have no role in directing or monitoring the work of

the office.

Disabled Virginians have long been the stepchildren of state government.

State spending on their behalf is among the lowest in the nation, and the

programs and services available to them reflect that fact.

Now, at last, the state is creating a watchdog agency that will put the

interests of the disabled above those of the governor or attorney general.

Mike Savory

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