State Has Too Many Developmental Centers, Study Says
By Alan Johnson, The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio
Feb. 1–Ohio should consolidate or close some of the state’s 10 developmental centers to focus on community services, a consultant recommended.
However, the Incident Management Services report released yesterday did not recommend any specific centers for closure or say how many should close. The $116,000 study was commissioned by the state.
Closures are a hot-button issue for families, guardians and advocates of the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled. Many of them vigorously opposed Gov. Bob Taft’s decision on the Springview Developmental Center, which closed last year, and on the Apple Creek facility, which will close Feb. 18.
“Our organization does not support any more closures at this point,” said Sonya Mawhorter of the Ohio League for the Mentally Retarded, representing 8,000 disabled people and their family members.
“What the department does with this report is a true test of their integrity . . . and the money that Ohio taxpayers are giving them to support people with MRDD.”
Closing institutions for the disabled, with a subsequent move to community-based programs, follows a 30-year national trend, the report indicated.
All but two states reduced institutional populations dramatically from 1965 to 2000, with 174 institutions closing.
In Ohio, 1,600 people live in developmental centers, an 84 percent drop since the peak of 10,173 in 1965.
At the same time, 3,377 employees work at the facilities.
The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities will hold meetings across the state seeking family and public input on the future of the centers.
Director Kenneth W. Ritchey, who told state lawmakers last year that state institutions will play a role for many years, said the report is a blueprint for the future and is advisory only.
“I want to give the next governor, the next director, an approach that we think will be a good way to support the MRDD system.”
He said a plan will be complete by the end of the summer.
The Collegeville, Pa., consulting firm interviewed 1,300 individuals, parents and stakeholders.
Family members were “driven by apprehensions for their individual family member,” the report said. The majority opposed closing more centers.
On the other hand, more than half the superintendents of county programs for the disabled said the state should stop running developmental centers.
The study found several factors favoring closures: a small waiting list for state institutions, a large waiting list for community-based services, state budget constraints and a legislative will to “do more with less.”
Last year, a legislative committee estimated that each closing would save $3.5 million to $4 million annually.
The study cited a University of Colorado report showing that state facilities for the disabled were most costly at $126,027 per person per year, followed by private facilities at $64,463 to $85,432, and supported living/assisted living at $29,763.
Gary Tonks, of ARC of Ohio, said the trend is away from state institutions.
“I think there’s a role for publicly funded support. I’m not sure there’s a role for 200-bed facilities,” Tonks said. “The ARC believes the money should follow the person and you should have the services you choose in the least-restrictive setting.”
Representing private service providers, Maureen Cochran said the report reflects turmoil in the system.
“We are struggling. We have lost federal funds. The system is undergoing a great deal of change and there are less expensive alternatives.”
The Ohio Civil Service Association, the union that stands to lose jobs if centers close, wants to convert the centers to regional resources.
“We’ve tried to talk to this administration about a change in role,” said union spokeswoman Sally Meckling. “We know change is necessary. There are still disabled and medically fragile people who need services out there.”
ajohnson@dispatch.com
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