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Archived
News and Projects Opinion Piece Against Closing Development Centers
Mentally disabled deserve better
February 01, 2002
SOME major corrections are in order regarding the Jan. 26 article on a lawsuit to transfer the developmentally disabled from state developmental centers to care homes.
The cost disparity in making the transfer is a straw-man argument because the cited $169,000-per-person cost of state facilities such as Sonoma and Agnews factors in all costs of running the 24-hour facilities, including administrative and infrastructure costs.
The costs of any government service (police, fire, paramedics, emergency rooms) used by regional center homes are not factored into the per-client cost of that system. The state's own study several years ago only found a difference of about 10 percent.
Relatives of developmentally disabled persons might not realize that at developmental centers, daily care is provided by licensed psychiatric technicians and other trained professionals -- registered nurses, psychologists, physicians, recreation, physical, occupational, music and art therapists, teachers and social workers. Volunteers -- including parents, foster grandparents and many other talented and generous people from the community -- also participate actively.
These centers should be available to serve more Californians in need.
The state contracts with the 21 nonprofit regional centers to operate care homes. Oversight and quality-assurance duties fall to these centers, as does the power to admit clients to the state centers. Thus, few clients are admitted to state centers yearly, even though they could be better served there.
The regional centers system is a privatized system that has a vested interest to admit clients to its own system. The state's own mortality study and UC research found a tragically high client mortality rate (due to abuse and neglect) in regional center homes, 88 percent higher when compared to state centers.
Privatization is often a failure, just as in the case of privatized airport security checkpoints.
There are estimates from the Department of Developmental Services that 50,000 developmentally disabled adults are living with their aging parents and receive little or no support from the regional centers.
What will happen to these people once their parents can no longer provide care?
As for the quality-of-life argument, not all mentally disabled people should live in state facilities.
When reminded of the mortality rates, Assemblywoman Dione Aroner told parent and physician group representatives that "people die all the time" and "there are costs and benefits to everything."
Protection and Advocacy Inc. lawyers (funded by federal tax dollars) say that retarded people who die on the mean streets "enjoy their dignity of risk." Such ideologues should not be influencing state policy.
When a few East Bay mentally disabled adults were missing recently, Aroner didn't apply the "dignity of risk argument" to their plight. Why not?
Why did San Franciscans overwhelmingly support the rebuilding of Laguna Honda Hospital?
Money might be another reason behind the zeal to close the state centers and sell off the land. Cisco -- a strong contributor of soft dollars to both parties -- bought a huge tract of Agnews developmental center acreage for a song.
Paul Ferrario is a 40-year Union City resident. He has been advocating for a developmentally disabled relative for 20 years, and says as a result he has examined both parts of the care system -- the state centers and privatized care homes. Read More Archived News Stories AB896 General Human Interest Litigation State Budget
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