STOPTHEARBITRARYCLOSUREOFVIRGINIA’STRAININGCENTERHOMES

FORPEOPLEWITHSIGNIFICANTINTELLECTUALDISABILITIES

MAKESURETHEYALLHAVESAFEANDSOUNDPLACEMENTS

WECARE….andarewatchingwhatyoudowiththissmall,butextremelyfragilepopulation.Thismatterstous

becausewewanttoliveinasocietythatprotectsthesafetyandwellbeingofourmostvulnerablecitizens.

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PLEASESENDCOMPLETEDPETITONTO:

KarenSchupak

10922LamplighterLane

Potomac,Maryland20854

 

 SUMMARYOFISSUE

TheCommonwealthofVirginiahas5trainingcentersthatprovidesafeandsupportiveenvironmentsfor

morethan800individualswithsignificantintellectualdisabilities(ID),mostofwhomalsohaveeither

severebehavioralproblemsorcomplexmedicalneeds.Virginiahasdecidedtoclose4ofthecentersonan

arbitraryschedule,beforegoodplacementshavebeenfoundforeachandeveryresident.Ifacommunity

placementisnotfoundforaresidentbythestatedclosuredate,Virginia’sDepartmentofBehavioral

HealthandDevelopmentalServices(DBHDS)hassaidthattheresidentwillbesenttoanothertraining

centermanyhoursawayfromfamilyandtheircommunities,onlytoawaititsclosure.Virginiais

continuingdownthispatheventhoughtheU.S.DepartmentofJustice(DOJ)andfederalDistrictCourt

JudgeJohnGibneyhavestatedthattheDOJ-VirginiaSettlementAgreementtoincreasecommunityliving

optionsforpeoplewithIDdoesnotrequiretheclosureofthesetrainingcenters,andthatthefinal

decisionresidesinthehandsoftheGeneralAssembly.WhiletheGeneralAssemblysupportsstrong

measurestoassurequalitycareforthosewhochoosecommunityplacements,ithasnotendorsedthis

closureplan.Nonetheless,theDBHDScontinuestopressurerepresentativesoftrainingcenterresidentstomovetheirmedicallyfragileandseverelydisabledlovedonesintocommunitiesthatarenotreadyto

receivethem.SeveralCommunityServiceBoards,whichprovidepre-admissionscreening,havestated

thattheyarenotabletoprovideservicesforthispopulationonsuchashortscheduleandwiththecurrent

Medicaidstipendperperson(Medicaidwaiver).WhileVirginiaplanstoseekanenrichedMedicaid

waiver,anynewwaiverwillnotbereadybeforescheduledclosures.InadequatewaivershurtalldisabledVirginians;thosealreadyinthecommunityonwaitinglistsforservices,andthosebeingdischargedfrom

trainingcenterswithoutadequateandnecessaryservicesinplace.

PETITIONPURPOSE 

We,theundersignedresidentsoftheCommonwealthofVirginia,askthenextGovernorandtheGeneral

Assemblyto:

ü 

SLOWDOWNTHISCLOSUREPROCESSandtakeacloserlookattheneedsofVirginia’smost

vulnerableandfragilepopulation.

ü 

REMOVETHEARBITRARY,UNREALISTICTIMELINEFORDISCHARGE.Makesurethateachof

theseindividualsislivinginthesafest,mostappropriatesettingoftheirchoosing.

ü  DONOTTRANSFERTHESEINDIVIDUALSMANYHOURSAWAYfromtheirfamiliesbecausethe

DBHDSdecidedtocloseatrainingcenterbeforeanappropriatelocalcommunityhomecouldbefoundorbuilt.

ü 

CONSIDERALLTHEOPTIONS,includingdownsizingcurrenttrainingcentersandsharinggrounds

withothergroupsneedingsimilarservicestoachieveeconomiesofscale.

ü  CONSIDERTHEHUNDREDSOFLOSTJOBSofhighlyskilledVirginiansifthetrainingcentersclose.

Formoreinformation,visitourFacebookpageat:

https://www.facebook.com/KeepVirginiasTrainingCentersOpen

orsendemailtoKarenSchupak@gmail.com