Illinois - Associated Press - Dec. 30, 2016 - The rush to close a large institution for adults with developmental disabilities during former Gov. Pat Quinn's (failed) administration led to extraordinary strategies to move residents quickly and hide problems with an underfunded group home system, according to a newspaper investigation.
The Chicago Tribune (article) says state officials required group home operators to sign a pledge not to undermine the state's plans to close Jacksonville Developmental Center - or risk getting no referrals from the facility to fill empty beds.
What's more, the Department of Human Services held what amounted to an auction in April 2012 where a state official read aloud the medical histories of the Jacksonville facility's residents. Group home officials raised their hands to indicate which residents they would be willing to take.
"We were appalled by the auction," said Art Dykstra, executive director of Trinity Services, the state's largest group home provider.
State records show at least 67 businesses signed the loyalty pledge - promising to "not do anything to inhibit, diminish, or undermine" the state's closure plans - to avoid being shut out of the auction and referrals, the Tribune reported.
Jerry Stermer, a former senior adviser to Democrat Quinn, said the auction system was changed to a paper process when group home operators complained. It had been designed to match residents with group homes that could meet their needs, Stermer said.
Motivated by a federal consent decree, Quinn had wanted to close several developmental centers but succeeded with only Jacksonville.
The Tribune's story is part of an investigation that earlier found at least 42 deaths linked to abuse and neglect in group homes or their day programs over the last seven years. The newspaper's investigation prompted Human Services Secretary James Dimas to order widespread reforms to improve public accountability and streamline investigations.
The Tribune's investigation found that adequate funding hasn't followed when residents are moved from large institutions to smaller group homes, which in theory give adults with disabilities greater opportunities to live and work in the larger community.
Illinois group homes have gone nearly nine years without an increase in reimbursement rates for staff wages.
The Chicago Tribune (article) says state officials required group home operators to sign a pledge not to undermine the state's plans to close Jacksonville Developmental Center - or risk getting no referrals from the facility to fill empty beds.
What's more, the Department of Human Services held what amounted to an auction in April 2012 where a state official read aloud the medical histories of the Jacksonville facility's residents. Group home officials raised their hands to indicate which residents they would be willing to take.
"We were appalled by the auction," said Art Dykstra, executive director of Trinity Services, the state's largest group home provider.
State records show at least 67 businesses signed the loyalty pledge - promising to "not do anything to inhibit, diminish, or undermine" the state's closure plans - to avoid being shut out of the auction and referrals, the Tribune reported.
Jerry Stermer, a former senior adviser to Democrat Quinn, said the auction system was changed to a paper process when group home operators complained. It had been designed to match residents with group homes that could meet their needs, Stermer said.
Motivated by a federal consent decree, Quinn had wanted to close several developmental centers but succeeded with only Jacksonville.
The Tribune's story is part of an investigation that earlier found at least 42 deaths linked to abuse and neglect in group homes or their day programs over the last seven years. The newspaper's investigation prompted Human Services Secretary James Dimas to order widespread reforms to improve public accountability and streamline investigations.
The Tribune's investigation found that adequate funding hasn't followed when residents are moved from large institutions to smaller group homes, which in theory give adults with disabilities greater opportunities to live and work in the larger community.
Illinois group homes have gone nearly nine years without an increase in reimbursement rates for staff wages.
"We've said all along the community system is grossly underfunded," said Zena Naiditch of the disability rights group Equip for Equality. "It's been grossly underfunded for decades."Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration plans no institutional closures this fiscal year, which ends in June. About 1,650 residents still live in seven developmental centers statewide. A nonprofit advocacy group, the Arc of Illinois, continues to lobby for closing at least six of them.
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