Letter: Move toward community care - The State of Illinois is at a crossroads | May 22, 2012

Letters to The Editor - Opinion
The State Journal-Register | Springfield, IL

The State of Illinois is at a crossroads. Either it can honor its commitment — and legal duty — to provide services for people with disabilities in the most integrated setting or it can bow to special interests and continue to provide services in large, outmoded and inefficient institutions. The latter choice will not only deepen the state’s financial crisis, it will invite further legal action to enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

For decades, Illinois has spent a disproportionate amount of its long-term care budget on institutional care for people with disabilities. Yet research and experience have shown that people with disabilities are safer, healthier and happier living in the community. It is more than time for the state to shift its priorities — and the funding necessary to meet them — to provide quality services and supports so that people with disabilities can lead full, productive lives in the community.

The governor’s plan to close Jacksonville and Murray developmental centers is an important step toward achieving that goal. Illinois must not retreat from this decision.

The notion that some people are not suited for the community is soundly refuted by the evidence. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have closed all their state institutions and are successfully serving former residents in the community. Illinois’ first affirmative step toward community integration should not be thwarted.

With the appropriate services and supports, even those with the most significant disabilities can live successfully in the community. Rather than continue to fund an outdated system of institutional care that does not give people with intellectual and developmental disabilities the ability to make quality choices, Illinois should honor the governor’s commitment to rebalance the system and invest the energy and resources needed to increase person-centered care in the community.

— Zena Naiditch, president and CEO, Equip for Equality, Chicago

@ http://www.sj-r.com/opinions/x1832936953/Letter-Move-toward-community-care

For Equip for Equality visit: www.equipforequality.org/