Meet your legislators at upcoming PHA general meeting

The next general membership meeting of the Parent Hospital Association is scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, March 10, 2012, in McDougall Hall on the Sonoma Developmental Center campus.
The agenda is our annual 'Meet Your Legislators' meeting, and everyone is encouraged to come with your questions and concerns.

In the most recent edition of The Eldridge Gazette, PHA President Kathleen Miller provided some pointers for what to say at the upcoming legislative meeting. Here's what she suggested:

WHAT TO SAY AT THE MARCH MEETING

As PHA President I have had e-mails and phone calls from family members asking me, 'What do I say - how do I get my message across to the legislators at the up coming March meeting?' I have difficulty answering, not because there is not much to say, but because there is so much to say. I will list just a few of the potential topics here for your consideration:

• DDS makes it a goal for all regional centers to get our family members out of developmental centers. Regional Centers are clearly expected to comply. They are also discouraged from placing anyone into developmental centers. What happened to consideration of individual program planning based on individual needs? For that matter, what is happening to having options or to us as family members even having a voice in the lives of our loved ones?

• As DDS, regional centers, and others continue to push residents out of developmental centers into community placements it has become increasingly difficult for me to get information (much less all of you) on how developmental center movers are doing out there in those homes. I have made a number of legal requests for information, including asking about deaths, but it is appearing like the channels are jammed. Are we supposed to take it on faith that former developmental center residents are doing well?

• Budget cuts and downsizing are affecting the care at Sonoma and the quality of the lives of our loved ones. We are concerned that any further cuts will cause greater losses to the developmental center systems of care. The cuts should be made away from direct client care, both in and outside the centers.

• Share personal stories that demonstrate why the care at SDC is important and needs to be maintained.

• Stress the importance for families and conservators having a voice in what happens not only in the lives of their developmentally disabled loved ones, but also in the broader system as a whole. We are the true watchdogs of this system!

Best of all express your own concerns! I represent all of you and the residents of SDC. I can offer suggestions but it is you who steer the direction the conversation. Let the dialogue begin!

Hopefully this list gets you thinking about all those important questions on your mind -- and you're able to bring them to the meeting in March. This is definitely one of our most important meetings of the year.