Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Latest PHA newsletter includes important questionnaire for SDC friends and families

By now Parent Hospital Association (PHA) members have probably received their copy of the latest Eldridge Gazette. Our March/April issue, which includes a full report of the Annual Legislative Meeting, is just out.

This issue also includes a questionnaire being circulated by the PHA board to Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) friends and family. The questionnaire is designed to solicit valuable feedback and insight on what is most important for Center clients and their advocates and conservators. The board encourages everyone to take the time to complete the questionnaire and return it to PHA.

If you don't have your copy of the Gazette, or would like another copy of the questionnaire, use the links below to access additional copies.

The Eldridge Gazette, March/April 2014 issue
SDC Friends and Family Questionnaire

Hope to see everyone at our next General Membership Meeting, coming up on Saturday, May 10th -- as always, from 10 a.m. to noon, in McDougall Hall on the SDC campus.

McDougall Hall is at the corner of Sonoma and Wilson, on the SDC campus
(blue building on the map).

Friday, April 25, 2014

PHA President reacts to SDC-Lanterman comparison

Kathleen Miller,
PHA President



The following was written in response to a recent article in the Sonoma Valley Sun that suggested fears of transition from a developmental center to community placement may be overblown, as evidenced from the one case cited of a Lanterman resident who did make a successful transition after fears to the contrary.

In her response, Parent Hospital Association board president Kathleen Miller points out that every developmental center is unique -- just as every resident of a center has individual challenges and requirements -- and that the future of Sonoma Developmental Center requires its own plan forward.

You can access both articles at the following links:
Treatment in transition: When a developmental center closes, by Laura Gold, Sonoma Valley Sun, 04.10.14
Sonoma Developmental Center needs its own path forward, by Kathleen Miller, Sonoma Valley Sun, 04.25.14

Sonoma Developmental Center Needs Its Own Plan Forward


My first reaction to the article is to point out that Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) is not Lanterman. The differences between the two centers are striking. To begin with they include the Lanterman urban location vs. the Sonoma rural location, a Lanterman community where neighbors voiced strong objections to having Lanterman residents live in their neighborhoods vs. Sonoma, where local community residents tend to see the SDC as part of their community.

There is also the fact that Lanterman is closing and SDC, while facing changes, may not close but transform the services offered. The article, first printed in the Pasadena Star in 2013, does not really reflect the situation with SDC and should not, in my opinion, be offered as a prediction of what can or should happen in the future of there.

In my role as PHA President I am in communication with families of Lanterman residents and former residents. While some families appear satisfied with the alternative homes provided for their family members, others are clearly not. The state staffing program, where staff from Lanterman can transfer to other settings and agencies to continue working with the developmentally disabled community, has been mostly a failure at Lanterman. The result is that many staff moved on and Lanterman has suffered from staff shortages. Unlike what this article seems to suggest the picture of the Lanterman closure is mixed at best.

Jerra Letrich, whose sister resides at Lanterman, reacts to the article and states “Most Lanterman families are experiencing frustrations in the transition process for their loved ones while the pressure for closure is in full swing. Some Lanterman families are facing legal threats to force acceptance of homes they have rejected. There are countless personal experiences like these, often repeating many of the same themes.”

Comments for Jimmy Smith are even more direct. He states “Can you imagine a so called regional center challenging a probate court order of appropriate placement at Lanterman DC of a profoundly retarded child… the home of a loved one for over 50 years!“ He goes on the say, “A regional center challenging the conservatorship of a loving brother! A regional center telling a judge, in sworn testimony that many community homes have been offered to the brother and are well suited for a consumer transition — when they don’t even exist!” He is conservator for his sister, a Lanterman resident.

There seems to be an effort to paint the Lanterman closure as a success and marginalize those who do not agree. This is concerning to myself and the families of Sonoma Developmental Center residents. It does not bode well for the future of SDC or its residents.

PHA supports the policy of full disclosure. Only when both the successes and the failures are acknowledged and needed adjustments made, will the majority of former developmental center residents have any chance of true success.

Let me be clear. We of PHA celebrate when anyone leaving a developmental center is successful in an alternative home and we hope for a soft landing for all former developmental center residents. However, we also know that not all are so lucky and even when the alternative placement works at first it may be no assurance of ultimate success. Some former developmental center residents succeed at first but are only one budget cut, one staff change, or one medication change from disaster. By that time the press has lost interest in their fate and families are alone in their fight to get the help their family members need.

The Lauren Gold article (reprinted in The Sun) tells one side of one story. The Lanterman closure is a mixed picture at best. The fate of Sonoma Developmental Center and those who call it home needs to have a different path forward. Sonoma Developmental families, the Sonoma Coalition, and supporters of the center’s residents and staff are hoping to create a new path forward. We want to have a voice in the future of Sonoma Developmental Center. We want a voice in the fate of the residents, and the fate of the land, the fate of those who have chosen to work at the center, and the fate of the community role to impact the future of this valuable asset.

Join us!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Senate Human Services Committee approves Sonoma Developmental Center 'last resort' bill

A State Senate bill, introduced by Senator Noreen Evans (District 2), which would establish Sonoma Developmental Center (SDC) as the final refuge for the developmentally disabled in Northern California, cleared the Senate's Human Services Committee on Tuesday. SB 1344 is intended to forestall the loss of services for the disabled community as California's remaining centers downsize and close -- and to protect the open space and wildlife habitat represented by the SDC property.

SB 1344 SUMMARY

This bill would require the state to establish the Sonoma Developmental Center as the center of last resort for Northern California. The bill would require the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) to confer and cooperate with the County of Sonoma to develop a detailed action plan, as specified, prior to establishing the Sonoma Developmental Center as a center of last resort and would require the County of Sonoma to ensure the inclusion and participation of certain community entities, including consumers living in the developmental center. By imposing additional duties on the County of Sonoma, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Read the bill analysis here: SB 1344 Senate Bill.

Monday, April 21, 2014

A message to Parent Hospital Association (PHA) members from PHA President Kathleen Miller…

Dear Sonoma families and friends,

Please take the time to read the attached Sonoma Developmental Center Service Plan. The PHA Board has voted to support the plan and post it on the website for your review. Please know that the changes that are coming, the implementation of the task force recommendations, are not our first choice. Like you we would rather that SDC services remain as a safe haven for all of our residents. We do know however that changes are already being implemented for some as regional centers step up efforts to force SDC residents into alternative placements. This plan is our attempt to provide some safeguards for our beloved residents as they face the changes ahead. Remember -- the task force recommendations are the blueprint for change!

You will note that there is a family questionnaire included in the upcoming issue of the Gazette. Please take a moment to complete it and return it. It is your chance to give voice to your choices and concerns.

As always I welcome your thoughts and input. Lets continue to work together to make a better and safer future for all of our SDC residents! Thank you for your continued support.

[Click the link below to continue to the Services Plan.]

Friday, April 18, 2014

Sonoma Developmental Center in the News: Weekly recap


The Sonoma Developmental Center sits on the last large undeveloped property in Sonoma Valley. The nearly
1,000-acre state site is home to many native plants and animals. (Conner Jay / The Press Democrat)

Changes are in store for Sonoma Developmental Center -- as well as California's other remaining centers for the developmentally disabled -- if the recommendations of the state's special task force are anything to go by. A coalition has formed around the issue for Sonoma Valley to make sure services are preserved for the disabled community and a valuable open space and natural resource is maintained for the community. Below are three articles and one petition that have been circulating the past few weeks as people continue to discuss and debate the way forward.

Agreeing on a vision for the future of Sonoma Developmental Center, by Susan Gorin (The Press Democrat, April 15, 2014)

from the article...
We are [again] at a crossroads, facing a challenge that requires communal courage as we navigate the threat of closure of the Sonoma Developmental Center. It is not enough to hope the state of California will do the right thing; instead, we must demonstrate the dedication of our community for the humane treatment of our most vulnerable population, as well as our commitment to preserving the bucolic lands that surround the center. ...read more

Treatment in transition: When a Developmental Center closes, by Lauren Gold (Sonoma Valley Sun, April 10, 2014)

from the article...
Like the Sonoma Developmental Center, The Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona was one of California’s last large institutional care centers for people with profound developmental disabilities. When it was ordered closed by the state in 2010, the population of the 302-acre campus had dwindled from a peak of nearly 3,000 in the late 1960s to 398 when the facility was shut down. Over several years, in a process that will soon take place at the SDC, all but a few of those patients have been moved off-site. This article tells the story of some of those patients. ...read more

Preserving Sonoma Valley land, by Will Shonbrun (The Press Democrat, March 23, 2014)

from the article...
The Sonoma Land Trust, perhaps the county’s most outstanding land preservation group with a long and unmatched history, is eager and dedicated to preserving Sonoma Development Center land and maintaining the vital services that have been provided there for its population.
The Land Trust has joined with a coalition of other preservation groups including the Sonoma County Open Space District, Sonoma County Regional Parks Department, Sonoma Ecology Center, Sonoma Mountain Preservation and the Valley of the Moon Natural History Association. ...read more

MoveOn.org Petition -- Save Sonoma Developmental Center

Lobby to keep Sonoma Developmental Center open and operating so that the needs of the most severely developmentally disabled citizens are met. There is no other safety net at this time and too many developmentally disabled who have dangerous behaviors are ending up in the prisons -- and many of those who are frail with multiple disabilities are ending up in nursing homes. ...more on the PHA blog here

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Sign the Petition - Keep Sonoma Developmental Center Open

from PHA member Mary O'Riordan,






The Sonoma Developmental Center needs to remain open and operating so that the needs of the most severely developmentally disabled citizens are met. There is no other safety net at this time and too many developmentally disabled who have dangerous behaviors are ending up in the prisons and those who are frail with multiple disabilities, many of them are ending up in nursing homes.

The board and care homes and the group homes are not equipped to provide this specialized care at this time and until then, the Sonoma Developmental Center needs to remain open and operating and providing the specialized care that so many families have fought for over many years for their beloved severely disabled children.

That's why I created a petition to The California State House, The California State Senate, and Governor Jerry Brown, which says:

"CHANGE THE LAW AND ALLOW ADMISSIONS TO THE SONOMA DEVELOPMENTAL CENTER FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT FOR THEIR VERY SURVIVAL."

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name:
MoveOn.org Petition: Save Sonoma Developmental Center 

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

PHA Spring 2014 Updates

Mark your calendars now for the next Parent Hospital Association General Membership meeting, coming up on Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to noon, in McDougall Hall, on the Sonoma Developmental Center campus. Spring is always beautiful in Sonoma Valley -- why not make a day of it in Sonoma?!

Also, watch your mail boxes for the next issue of The Eldridge Gazette. Snail mail copies should arrive early May -- just before the next meeting. Email copies go out a bit earlier. Paper copies go to all PHA members. If you'd like to receive an email copy, send your details to info@parenthospitalassociation.org and we'll get you on the list. You can also download a copy of The Gazette when it becomes available from the resources page of the PHA website. This next issue will contain a full report of the March Legislative Meeting -- and an important questionnaire that the PHA Board hopes every member will take the time to complete and return. So watch for the next Gazette!

Spring, by St0rmz on flickr.com

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