Organizations that strive for equitable treatment of those with disabilities have for years fought their own battle to close such institutions, seeing them as outdated when compared to community care options.
While the center employs 400 and has an economic impact of about $1.7 million annually for the city, what would be come of those jobs and dollars is still a large collection of unknowns.
Illinois Department of Human Services spokesman Januari Smith said closure would be a long process, requiring the evaluation of about 200 residents. But the money that would be saved in closing the center would be re-invested in other areas of care.
Putting aside arguments that the governor’s plan might be a simple political game, some are hoping to see the closure Jacksonville Developmental Center come to pass.
Ruth Burgess Thompson, executive director of Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois, is among many that have been fighting for the closure of state developmental centers. The Arc of Illinois and Access Living are other groups that have supported the governor’s plan.
Burgess Thompson said for her the bottom line is the Olmstead decision — the federal Supreme Court decision that states individuals with disabilities have a right to live within the community rather than institutions.
“People with disabilities, no matter what their I.Q., have the same wants and needs as everyone else,” she said. “People enjoy a better quality of life in a community setting. We believe that disability is natural and people don’t need to be warehoused in institutions.”
She said moving away from an institutionalized model creates community-care oriented jobs within smaller group homes or though services that focus on dietary or hygienic care.
This also saves the state tens of thousands annually per resident, which largely come from lower payroll expenses.
Smith said moving towards these kinds of smaller, community based options have been a long-term goal of the DHS.
“We were already moving towards that, but with these closures it’s put that on fast forward,” Smith said. “Although we wanted to do this long term, this is not the way we wanted to go about it.”
The Olmstead decision was made in 1999, so for Burgess Thompson it’s been long enough.
“They’ve had 12 years, what are they waiting on?” she said. “If it’s been part of their goal for all this time why isn’t it happening? It’s like the Americans with Disabilities Act and that was 20 years ago. No other minority would have waited this long to have their rights upheld.”
There still would be a concern for some residents at the Jacksonville Developmental Center who can be violent or need round-the clock supervision and care.
Smith said individuals like these would probably not find a place in a community care.
“Every person affected by this has to be evaluated first,” Smith said. “If someone isn’t approved for community settings they would probably be transferred to another institution or facility that could take care of them.”
While saying that it’s not a popular opinion in her field, Burgess Thompson said that given historical attitudes about institutionalizing those with disabilities, a transition would be hard for some.
“Back when I was a child, parents were told, if a child was born with a disability, they would have to go to an institution. That there was no place in the community for them,” she said.
“So there are people who have lived their whole lives in an institution and they will probably live nowhere else.”
Having spoken to many during a petition drive on Tuesday, Watson said there was an incredible amount of support expressed in saving the Jacksonville Developmental Center.
To the argument that community care services are better than institutional care, Watson said the real answer is somewhere in between.
“It’s not a one-size-fits-all thing. For anyone to make a statement that it has to be one way or the other might be an expression of bias,” Watson said. “I would encourage them to talk to the guardians who came here today. If it was a bad place, or a place that was even less than desirable, then the father I spoke to ... wouldn’t want his child to stay here.”
Many employees, guardians, residents and former residents arrived during the drive to get their own personal testimonials on camera. Watson said he hopes to have a video of these testimonials online by next week.
Watson said he expects to have around 10,000 signatures collected from his drive, the drive at JDC over the weekend and the many more petitions collected by businesses and individuals in and around Morgan County.
#Source for article: Jackson(IL) Courier Article by CODY BOZARTH
September 14, 2011 : http://www.myjournalcourier.com/news/center-35193-closure-community.html
###
Ability Chicago Note:
As our policy, we do share different opinions on subjects. Ability Chicago does support in Illinois, as so many other states have done we offer a Group Home community care settings for those with developmental disabilities that choose to live in such. Illinois has more people with disabilities in nursing homes and institutions then any other state, at a estimated $60,000 per year per person; in a group home setting with proper support the cost is $30,000 per year. And the individual has a choice on how they live there life on a daily basis - and that is a good very good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment