After Clash with State, Son with Autism Finally Allowed to Move Out of Parents' Home

Cindy Burke and her son Casey
 unpack personal belongings in
 Casey's new bedroom in a group home.

BANGOR, Maine — A Hermon couple who clashed with the state over moving their autistic son into an assisted-living facility finally has an empty nest.
Gary and Cindy Burke spent this week lugging boxes to The Getchell Agency in Bangor, their 24-year-old son Casey’s new home. The move marks the end of months of frustration in the couple’s dealings with the Department of Health and Human Services and the beginning of a home life free of Casey’s increasingly violent outbursts.
“Casey left home this morning and we were both pretty emotional because we know he’s not coming home tonight,” Gary said Wednesday. “We know it’s the right thing to do, we know it’s right for him and for us, but it’s hard to let go of 25 years of 24/7 care.”

N.J. Moves Toward More Community Homes

Paul Salavatore with state Human
Services Commissioner Jennifer
Velez in Closter on Tuesday. Salavatore
lives in a group home in Haworth.

CLOSTER — At least 16 New Jersey municipalities have committed to using affordable housing trust funds to provide supported homes for adults with developmental disabilities, Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez said Tuesday.
Combined with state matching funds, the money is expected to help open at least a couple dozen community homes for the disabled, each of which would house several people with disabilities ranging from severe intellectual disabilities to cerebral palsy and autism.