Farewell to a Place Once Called Home

WEST SENECA, N.Y. -- The long hallways where Wendy Orzel remembers hiding as a child are empty.
The lobby, once bustling with visiting families and ringing pay phones, is quiet.
But the memories of growing up among hundreds of other children and adults at the West Seneca Developmental Center flooded back Tuesday as Orzel returned to say goodbye.
"It's bittersweet," said Orzel, now 51, married and living in Albany. "I can't go, 'yeah, yeah, yeah, it's closed,' because they're like family. It's like family."

Crackdown on Care: State Stands up for Developmentally Disabled

An interesting opinion piece from Syracuse's Post-Standard.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The state is finally getting tough with agencies that abuse the trust placed in them to care for people with developmental disabilities.

This month, the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities started to publicly disclose those nonprofit organizations that have had serious problems maintaining an adequate level of care or financial viability.

It’s a terrific idea. All families of developmentally disabled people — indeed, all New Yorkers — need an early alert to know which agencies are not meeting standards.

New York State Hearings Begin on Investigation of Abuse at State-Run Facilities

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Are some of New York's most defenseless citizens the victims of abuse in state-run facilities? A downstate lawmaker says yes, and he was in Buffalo Friday calling for some serious changes.
Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz held Friday's hearing at City Hall, a hearing prompted by a New York Times investigation into abuse of adults with developmental disabilities at state-run facilities and homes licensed by the state. The testimony was disturbing.

With Officials' Confirmation Comes Hope

ALBANY -- Lawmakers and advocates on Monday hailed what they hope will be improvements in the way the state cares for disabled people in its charge with the confirmation of a new commissioner of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
In addition to confirming Courtney Burke as commissioner of OPWDD, the state Senate also confirmed Robert Bearden as chairman of the Commission on Quality of Care, an independent organization that serves as a watchdog over state and private institutions for the disabled

Court Rules New York State Facility Must Open Records to Advocates

The state must turn over records of developmentally disabled residents at a state facility in Wassaic, N.Y., who an advocacy group says have "languished" for years without being placed in community homes, a state appellate court has ruled.
In a unanimous decision, a four-judge panel ruled that Disability Advocates Inc. of Albany is entitled to review clinical and medical documents if attorneys "have probable cause to suspect abuse or neglect" — even without seeking the consent of family members who are not legal representatives, a point of contention between the parties.