8/10/2019 20150113 Plum Letter to McAuliffe

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COMMONWEALTH

OF

VIRGINIA

HOUSE

OF

DELEGATES

RICHMOND

KENNETH

R.

PLUM

2073

COBBLESTONE

TANE

RESTON.

VIRGINIA

2019I

THIRTY-SIXTH

DISTRICT

COMMITTEE

ASSIGNMENTS

i

AGRICULTURE,

CHESAPEAKE

AND

NATURAL

RESOURCES

SCIENCE

AND

TECHNOLOGY

RULES

January

73,2015

The

Honorable

TerrY

McAuliffe

Govemor,

Commonwealth

of

Virginia

State

Capitol

Richmond,

YA232l9

Dear Governor

McAuliffe:

Thank

you for

the

outstanding

leadership

you

are

providing

to

the

Commonwealth

in

human

rights,

economic

development,

and

-uny

other

areas'

I

look

forward

to

working

with

you

and

supporting

your ug"rrdu

in

this

General

Assembly

session.

I

am

writing

today

to

ask

for

your

personal

and

direct

involvement

in

a situation

that

threatens

human

rights

and

personal

safety.

I

refer

to

the

movement

underway

to

close

training

centers

fJ,

p"rrot s

with

major

intellectual

disabilities.

Contrary

to

the

views

of

sorie,

I

do

not

read

the

agreement

with

the Department

of

Justice

(DoJ) as

requiring

closing

the

training

centers.

I support

the

view

that

persons

with

disabilities

should

be able

to live their lives

as

freely

and

as

normally

as

their

disabilities

will

permit.

With

early

intervention

services

*a

pouti.

education

progr*,

to

age

22

we

are

coming

closer

to

realizing

that

goal

than

ever

before.

Residents

of

training

centers

are

a

special

population,

however'

Some

residents

have

lived

their

entire

lives-of

more

than

40

years in training

centers.

To

uproot

these

individuals

who

have

significant

intellectual

disabilities

and

who

are

medically

fragile

is

dangerous

and

irresporrJUl".

The

argument

that

comparable

facilities

and

services

are

available

in

the

community

has

not

been

found

to

be

the

case.

For

over

40

years,

the

Northem

Virginia

Training

Center

G\IVTC)

has been

the

safety

net

for

o*

r" io,

ior

the

small

group of

people

with

significant

intellectual

disabilities

(ID)

who'are

also

medically

fragile

or

behaviorally

challenged'

The

excellent

frog.u,,,

and

staffnot

only

protect

the

residents'

health

and

safety,

but

they

assure

community

integration

by

offering

numerous

opportunities

for

the residents

to

spend

time

in

the

community

and

foi

hundreds

of

community

residents

to

volunteer

their

time

at

NVTC.

DlS]-RICT:

(7O3,

75A-9733

'

FAX:

(7o3)

391-O465

WEBSI']-E:

.

RICHMOND:

(AO4)

694-I036

'

E_MAIL:

KENPLUM@AOL.COM

\MWW,KENPLUM.COM

8/10/2019 20150113 Plum Letter to McAuliffe

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Unfortunately

the

58627

work

group

did

not

reach

consensus

because

several

of

the

appoint.",

oppor"

the

very

existence

of

training

centers'

Fortunately'

work

$oup

members

who

support

their

continuation

in

a

streamlined

fashion,

including

Peter

Kinzler

on

behalf

of

the

NVTC

families,

made

many

thoughtful

suggestions.

I

urge

you to read

Mr.

Kinzler's

comments

in

particular

as

they

outline

opportunities

for

an

integrated

continuum

of

care

options

for

all of

Virginia's

citizens

with

ID'

I know

we

can

balance

the

need

to be

fiscally

responsible

with

the

need

to

meet

our

obligations

under

the

DOJ

settlement

agreement

which

affords

the

families

of

center

residenti

the

right

to

remain

in

a

training

center.

I

t.hink

a. simple

survey

of

how

many

families

prefer for

their

loved

ones

to

remain

in

their

local

center,

a

key

to

keeping

families

intact,

will

provide

the

basis

for

planning

the

most

efficient

reconfiguration

of

NVTC

and

the

othei

centers

to

accomplish

both

of

these

goals.

Governor

McAuliffe,

I

must

emphasize

my

belief

that

your

personal

intervention

is

critical

to

resolving

tttis

issue

in

a

faii

and

equitable

manner

for

all

involved'

Thank

you

in

advance

for

your

attention

to

this

matter'

Sincerely

yours,

---'7r/

Z-*'4[4---

'

Kenneth

R.

PIum