Parents, Advocates Blast Housing Plan

TRENTON — One parent of a man with autism called it confusing and terrifying. A housing developer of community housing for people with developmental disabilities called it "a misguided social experiment."

Marsha Adams testifies about
 her son who needs 24-hour care.

The Christie administration's sweeping proposal to promote community living and wider access to jobs and activities for the developmentally disabled was roundly criticized at an Assembly hearing at the Statehouse Thursday. Parents, advocates speciality home builders and community agencies said they feared the Department of Human Services' blueprint to spend a large portion of its Medicaid funding could disrupt the living arrangements and daily routines of thousands of people.

Opiniion: NJ Must Re-Evaluate Developmental Center Transfers

Bob Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, represents the 38th District in the state Senate; Peter Barnes III, D-Middlesex, represents the 18th District in the state Senate.

Almost three decades ago the Krautman family of Fair Lawn struggled to find a local community living facility for their daughter Stacie, who has a severe form of Down syndrome. They could not find a New Jersey facility to meet their daughter’s unique needs but, thankfully, they found one in neighboring New York that did.
But after 27 years of living in New York, Stacie and hundreds of others living in out-of-state facilities are being uprooted by the Christie administration and forced to move back to New Jersey. Why? Because the state qualifies for additional federal funding if Stacie and others live here.