In late May of this year California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Diana S. Dooley
today announced she will establish a Task Force on the Future of the
Developmental Centers. The Task Force was charged to develop a Master Plan that addresses
the service needs of all developmental center residents, the fiscal and
budget implications of the declining population, the aging
infrastructure, staffing, and resource constraints, the availability of
community resources to meet the specialized needs of residents now
living in the developmental centers, a timeline for future closures and
the statutory and regulatory changes that may be needed to ensure the
delivery of cost-effective, integrated, quality services for this
special population.
On June 17th the Task Force met for the first time, and on August 19th the group convened for the second time, and The Kenwood Press has just published a report on that second meeting.
from the article...
"The people charged with formulating a plan to manage the future of California’s developmental centers received a massive amount of data from the state at their second meeting on Aug. 19. They will use it to help sort out the difficult questions raised at the first meeting.
“'We are attempting to compile and organize data on characteristics of those in the developmental centers, the resources available for those types of individuals, and the gaps in service,' task force member Kathleen Miller said after the all-day meeting in Sacramento. Miller is president of the Sonoma Developmental Center’s Parent Hospital Association (PHA), mostly parents, guardians and family of SDC residents.
"While initially cautious about the nature of the task force, given its
mission to come up with a comprehensive plan by November to resolve
issues that have beset the state, private providers, clients and parents
for decades, Miller expressed quiet optimism about what’s happened so
far.
“'I think Secretary Diana Dooley is really looking, genuinely
searching for a path forward,' Miller said. 'She is approaching this
with an open mind. I feel that would be the consensus of both sides
represented on the task force.' Dooley heads the state’s Health and Human Services Agency.
“'We’re getting the data,' Miller added, 'with the help of the
Department of Developmental Services. [Dooley] has been able to get data
that I haven’t.'"
[read the full article here: Developmental Center Task Force forges on, by Jay Gamel, Kenwood Press 09/01/2013.]
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