State-run institutions will soon be a relic of the past in Georgia under a landmark settlement reached Tuesday that could serve as a model for similar efforts in other states, Justice Department officials said.
Under the agreement, Georgia will stop admitting individuals with developmental disabilities to state hospitals by July 1, 2011. What’s more, all those currently living in such facilities will move into the community by July 1, 2015.
The settlement comes in a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department in January alleging that Georgia was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and specifically the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C., which favored the option of living in the community whenever possible.
“It is the most comprehensive settlement that the department has ever reached in an Olmstead case and we will use it as a template for our enforcement efforts across the country,” Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in announcing the agreement. “It addresses the needs of people who are currently institutionalized who don’t need to be there and it also addresses the needs of people who are in danger of institutionalization.”
Under the agreement Georgia will establish 750 home and community-based waivers by July 2015 to help those with developmental disabilities who are currently living in institutions transition into the community. In addition, 400 new waivers will assist individuals who are already living in the community so they can remain there.
Those who receive waivers will be able to choose whether they want to live in their own home or with a family member and they will get help from the state to obtain medical, social, educational and other types of supports.
Beyond assistance for individuals, the settlement calls for Georgia to provide support to 2,350 families currently caring for a person with a developmental disability in their home through respite and other services by 2015. Crisis supports will also be put into place by 2012 in the form of six mobile teams prepared to come to individuals who are in need anywhere in the community. What’s more, the state will create 12 crisis respite homes by 2014.
Perez called the changes the right thing to do legally, morally and financially and said he wants other states to follow Georgia’s lead. It costs an average of $174,000 a year to house a person in an institution versus $47,000 to assist them in their home, he said.
Despite the changes, the settlement will not completely end institutionalization in Georgia. While there will no longer be any state-run institutions after July 2015, private facilities in the state may continue to operate to serve those “who don’t meet the framework of Olmstead,” Perez said.
In addition to changes for those with developmental disabilities, Georgia will also expand community options for residents with mental illness under the agreement.
Congratulations, but beware! Keep monitoring the changes as they happen and make sure they done right and without shortcuts. Especially for the hardest ones, those with behavioral problems or a mental health disorder who aren’t able to live in the community. It’s very easy for those people to slip through the cracks. When they do they become street people…
I would like to believe the news that the Justice Department Brokers Deal To End Institutionalization, but this institution is very strong at the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. I would like to see state-run institutions soon to be a relic in the United States, but I would like to know how this landmark would be something of the past at territories of the United States. I would like to see it as a Settlement Agreement so it can have an effect elsewhere. Somehow the long hand of the law is not reaching. Many cases have not received the proper attention of the authority nor the lawyers as the case of Orria-Medina v. Metro. Bus Auth., 565 F. Supp. 2d 285 (D.P.R. 2007). This type of assistance does not exist at the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Closing large state institutions is a good thing. Waivers are a good thing. But having everyone live in either their own or their family home is not appropriate for some people. Living situations have to be individualized, based on abilities, preferences, needs.
Also, the reason the large insititutions cost so much is because their staff receive higher pay than those direct care workers who work in the community. The DCW’s in the community make minimum wage and often do not have health insurance.
The Olmstead decision actually requires that individuals with developmental disabilities in institutions cannot be denied a choice of institutional or community based services. The whole focus of Olmstead was to guarantee that states did not deny people the right to leave the institution and receive community based services. By now requiring that ALL individuals currently receiving facility based care in Georgia MUST be relocated out by July 2015, it appears that their civil right to choice is now being denied. Rather ironic! For individuals with profound neurological impairment and complex medical issues, community based care will not be the most appropriate setting and certainly not the cheapest. And now we cannot even turn to the United States Department of Justice to right the wrong.
According to UCP’s ’2010 Case for Inclusion’, there are more than 10,000 people on the waiting list for the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Waiver. I’m concerned that I don’t see any mention of solutions for those individuals and their families. Perhaps Georgia will earmark the funds saved by closing state institutions for addressing the waiting list.
It is good to see 30 years later the State of Georgia is doing a deinstitutionalization. We did it in New York State in the early 70’s where we emptied out Letchworth Village and Willowbrook. Today there are many group homes and different housing and living arrangements people with developmental disabilities have to chose from in New York. I hope the State of Georgia will go to New York and see the many different services and programs available there. I am a retired disabled New York State Developmental Aide. I was 16 years old when I went to work at Letchworth Village which was the largest human warehouse in the United States. Now “consumers” have their own clothing and shoes. Now there are chooses on what to eat and the food is prepared for the “consumers” to like. Activities are planned and being part of the community is all part of living in the community. Good luck in moving forward and getting the victims out of the institutions and into the community. Linda D. Montalbano
I absolutely agree with Rebecca. Choice also means the right to stay in the residential centers if desired. We like to say “one size does not fit all.” Group homes are also institutions, just smaller, and have had their share of problems. Many residents of the facility my son lives in have successfully moved to community homes and many have had to return to the centers because of behavior or medical problems.