Friday, August 30, 2013

Save the Date - Sept. 14 Rally for SDC on Sonoma Plaza

Parent Hospital Association members are planning to rally in support of Sonoma Developmental Center on Saturday, September 14, at Sonoma Plaza in downtown Sonoma. People will gather after PHA's general membership meeting, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon, at McDougall Hall on the SDC campus.

Sonoma's mayor is expected to attend and a wrap-up report of the Governor Brown: Save Sonoma  Developmental Center petition on MoveOn.org will be given.

Plan to attend and show your support for developmental center care as an option for California's developmentally disabled residents!

More details to follow…

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Department of Developmental Services Director Terri Delgadillo Announces Retirement

Yesterday Terri Delgadillo announced her resignation as the Director of the Depatrtment of Developmental Services (DDS) after thirty-five years of state service. She cited health issues as her reason. She will stay on until a replacement is found.

PHA is grateful to her for her years of service and her recent commitment to improve services at Sonoma Developmental Center.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

PHA Meets with Legislators for the Future of California's Developmental Centers

Parent Hospital Association (PHA) members organized a lobby day in Sacramento on August 19th in conjunction with the second meeting of the task force that is considering the future of California's remaining developmental centers.

Sonoma families spent the morning meeting with legislators and the afternoon at the task force meeting. Many offered heartfelt testimony at the meeting about how Sonoma Developmental Center has served as a haven for family members for decades. In reporting back on the day's activities, PHA President Kathleen Miller said, "I was proud to be associated with PHA and such articulate and loving family members." Kathleen also serves as a member of the task force.

Offering both personal testimony and a unified message from PHA was a goal of the group. Below is the information presented that day to legislators, and anyone else interested in PHA, its goals, and concerns. All PHA members are welcome and encouraged to use the statement in any way.

* * *

WHO IS PHA?

Parent Hospital Association of Sonoma Developmental Center is a group of families and friends of Sonoma Developmental Center’s residents and former residents. We advocate for choice and individual supports for all regional center consumers.


PHA Core Beliefs
  1. Transparency -- PHA members know that there has often been a climate of secrecy around issues surrounding both the developmental centers and community care. Decisions about funding and creation of services for individuals with developmental disabilities need to be guided by data and a clear understanding of what works, what does not, and where gaps in services exist.
  2. Communication -- PHA members believe that open communication is key to resolving and preventing problems. Individuals and families need to be included in decision making. Decisions made without including those most affected are not in the best interests of anyone.
  3. Options -- PHA supports consumer choice. Choice is only possible when positive options for living are available. PHA members support both developmental centers and community-based service options and believe the decisions about where to live should be based on individual needs and choices.
Current PHA Concerns

PHA members have concerns that the community system of services has gaps. We believe that the deflection policy from developmental centers has led to some individuals in the community to be denied a needed safety net. The current patch work of services for some challenging individuals, particularly those with behavior issues and dual diagnosis, represents very real risks to those individuals. Current plans to create locked perimeter delayed egress facilities are of grave concern as they are more restrictive than developmental centers and have less oversight.

Also of concern are medically fragile individuals, many of whom may not even make it to a community home but die during the closure process. There is a lack of data to supports that medically fragile survive in community settings at the same rate they do in developmental centers.

* * *

Read more about the task force on this blog:
California Health and Human Services to Establish Task Force for State Developmental Centers

Appointments Announced to Task Force that Will Consider the Future of California's Developmental Centers

First Meeting of Developmental Center Task Force Today in Sacramento



Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Legislators Urged to Keep Sonoma Developmental Center Open

The second meeting of the State task force considering the future of California's remaining developmental centers was held yesterday in Sacramento, and the first press report is in on the lobbying activities organized around the task force meeting. Many family and advocates for developmental center residents testified in support of maintaining centers as an option for some, while others lobbied for closure of all state-run facilities.

from the article:
“'The next 25 years of Mark's life should not be spent with caregivers who are recruited from Craigslist and promised a wage of $10 an hour,' Diane Halcromb said of her 50-year-old brother, Mark Dunkelberger, who has been a resident of the Eldridge facility since 1988.

"Halcromb was among several family members to address the task force, which is weighing California's role in providing services to 260,000 of the state's disabled residents, including 1,510 who reside in one of the state's four remaining developmental centers. With nearly 500 residents, Sonoma is the largest of those facilities.

"Fighting through tears, Marcella Harris described for the panel the struggle to find quality care for her autistic 17-year-old son. She said she finally obtained a court order for him to be placed at Sonoma, but not before he may have permanently blinded himself, the result of him banging his head against walls and repeatedly hitting himself.

"She now fears for his future with the court order expiring and his return to a group home in San Jose.
Harris told the task force that 'there's something wrong in the safety net. There's a hole in it.'"

According to the PD, "about 50 people who staged a counter-rally outside the Department of Rehabilitation building called for the immediate closure of developmental centers, which they say have led to rampant abuse of patients, out-dated models of care and a waste of taxpayer money"

You can read the entire article here: Families urge keeping Sonoma Developmental Center open, by Derek Moore, in The Press Democrat, 8/19/2013.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Join PHA in Sacramento for Lobby Day

We all know that these are challenging times. Secretary Dooley’s task force has a timeline for closure of the Developmental Centers as one of its stated agendas. The task force will meet on only three separate occasions over the next five months. Now is not the time to sit by and let the future -- and the future of those we love -- be decided by others. Join with Parent Hospital Association on Monday, August 19th at 9 a.m. for a Sacramento lobby day. Here is the plan:
  1. Meet on the west steps of the capitol building between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. We will meet as a group and plan and strategize. Bring pictures of your family member. Bring along kids and grandkids and teach them to be part of this.
  2. To prepare for the day, schedule meetings with your representatives or their health aides. You will only have time to meet with three representatives so make them count. Plan on sharing your stories and the reasons why Sonoma is important to you. If you have concerns about community care, share them. Express simply why you believe it is not an option that will work for your family member.
  3. Lunch on your own. (There is a cafeteria in the capitol basement.)
  4. At 12:45pm -- no later -- meet again on the capitol steps. Remember the task force meetings are not held at the capitol building but at the Department of Rehabilitation Services. The address is 721 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, Room 242. PHA supporters should join the task force meeting at 1:00 p.m. You should be given three minutes to speak. Plan your statement carefully.
PHA needs to be strong now more than ever. The PHA Board continues to work hard to support you and your family member but we need your support. Please make plans to join us in Sacramento on August 19th aside and let your voice be heard. Together we will make a difference!


California State Capitol Building, 915 Capitol Mall #200
Sacramento, CA 95814
The west steps are on the 10th street side of the building.
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