The social service center in Southern California where a husband and wife killed 14 people will not reopen until next year, raising concerns that some of the 30,000 people with developmental disabilities it serves might not receive needed treatment.
The Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino had hoped to reopen next week, but spokeswoman Leeza Hoyt said Tuesday that it was pushed back to sometime after Jan. 1.
Because many of the center's 600 employees work in the field, officials hope services won't be disrupted for too many people, Hoyt said. But she could not say for sure that no one would go without care.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Monday, December 7, 2015
'Born This Way,' new A&E Series Focuses on Young Adults with Down Syndrome
John, 28, is a budding rap artist; Rachel, 32, is very independent and has worked for the past three years as a mail-room assistant; Sean, 21, is a ladies’ man; Megan, 22, lives in Denver, goes to college and has her own business, but is determined to relocate to Los Angeles to become a film producer.
They are among the seven young adults whose lives intertwine in the new six-episode A&E real-life series “Born This Way,” premiering Tuesday, Dec. 8. You might expect to find the seven on shows like “Big Brother” or “The Real World,” except for the one thing they all have in common: They were born with Down syndrome.You won’t forget that fact as you watch the show’s premiere — that’s the last thing the show’s producers or most of its cast members would want. But in so many other ways, what they all go through in their day-to-day lives is a lot like what other people their age go through. They have career dreams and life plans; they love hanging out, listening to music, going bowling. But perhaps the most important take-away from the first episode is that while they all have Down syndrome, it doesn’t make them all the same.
They are among the seven young adults whose lives intertwine in the new six-episode A&E real-life series “Born This Way,” premiering Tuesday, Dec. 8. You might expect to find the seven on shows like “Big Brother” or “The Real World,” except for the one thing they all have in common: They were born with Down syndrome.You won’t forget that fact as you watch the show’s premiere — that’s the last thing the show’s producers or most of its cast members would want. But in so many other ways, what they all go through in their day-to-day lives is a lot like what other people their age go through. They have career dreams and life plans; they love hanging out, listening to music, going bowling. But perhaps the most important take-away from the first episode is that while they all have Down syndrome, it doesn’t make them all the same.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Mourning Loss of Regional Center DSP
Columnist really hit home.
I was working from my home computer on Wednesday when I received a text at 11:59 am from a good friend who is parent disability activist and close to many people who work in the Regional Center system. The words were chilling: "Active shooter at Inland Regional Center. At least 12 dead." I gasped, and turned on the news. Why would the next crazy shooter target one of California's 21 Regional Centers for the developmentally disabled? Did they know that Regional Centers help children and adults with developmental disabilities such as autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities? Was this a case of a disguntled former employee?As the horrible details of the mass shooting in San Bernandino emerged, we learned that the killers were aiming their AK-47s at the staff of the San Bernandino County Department of Public Health, who had rented out a conference room at the Inland Regional Center for a holiday party, and furthermore, there was no connection between the attackers and the regional center.
I was working from my home computer on Wednesday when I received a text at 11:59 am from a good friend who is parent disability activist and close to many people who work in the Regional Center system. The words were chilling: "Active shooter at Inland Regional Center. At least 12 dead." I gasped, and turned on the news. Why would the next crazy shooter target one of California's 21 Regional Centers for the developmentally disabled? Did they know that Regional Centers help children and adults with developmental disabilities such as autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities? Was this a case of a disguntled former employee?As the horrible details of the mass shooting in San Bernandino emerged, we learned that the killers were aiming their AK-47s at the staff of the San Bernandino County Department of Public Health, who had rented out a conference room at the Inland Regional Center for a holiday party, and furthermore, there was no connection between the attackers and the regional center.
NJ Return Home Program Nears End
TRENTON — The Christie Administration’s practice of requiring developmentally disabled people getting subsidized care out-of-state to return to New Jersey would end under a bill approved unanimously by the State Assembly on Thursday.
The bill to end the state’s “Return Home New Jersey” program was passed by a vote of 79-0 with one seat vacant. Having already drawn Senate approval, it is expected to be signed by Governor Christie, because it is the product of negotiation between the Democratic majority and the administration, said a spokeswoman for the Democratic majority.
The state Department of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities, noting the ongoing growth of supportive housing for the disabled, states the goal of “Return Home New Jersey” has been to return individuals “to a comparable or better setting in New Jersey … and to better manage the state resources that serve the community of nearly 29,000 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New Jersey.”
Opinion: NYS Ignoring Challenges
The field of developmental disabilities in New York state is confronted with massive challenges seemingly hitting us one after the other and, because of this, supports for people and their families have begun to erode.
One issue is the development of new residential opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, which is lagging far behind the increased demand, particularly for adults who have been living at home for years, now with aging parents who are coping with health problems of their own. What happens to these individuals when the elderly parent is no longer able to provide adequate support to ensure safety and well-being? Additional residential development is critical and needs to be funded in the 2016-2017 budget.
One issue is the development of new residential opportunities for people with developmental disabilities, which is lagging far behind the increased demand, particularly for adults who have been living at home for years, now with aging parents who are coping with health problems of their own. What happens to these individuals when the elderly parent is no longer able to provide adequate support to ensure safety and well-being? Additional residential development is critical and needs to be funded in the 2016-2017 budget.
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Community Mourns Shooting at Center
Thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.
Spokespersons for the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino said they have "heavy hearts" following the mass shooting on Wednesday morning which resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people.
The Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA) represents the network of 21 non-profit regional centers that coordinate services for, and advocate on behalf of, California’s 280,000 people with developmental disabilities. Inland Regional Center is one of those centers, serving people who have autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disabilities.
Spokespersons for the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino said they have "heavy hearts" following the mass shooting on Wednesday morning which resulted in the deaths of at least 14 people.
The Association of Regional Center Agencies (ARCA) represents the network of 21 non-profit regional centers that coordinate services for, and advocate on behalf of, California’s 280,000 people with developmental disabilities. Inland Regional Center is one of those centers, serving people who have autism, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disabilities.
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
'They Did All the Things Right'
Hard to imagine this happening. The parents did everything right, yet the thought of what would happen to their adult children with IDD once they were gone was unbearable. It's a tough read from The New York Times Magazine.
On the Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend in 2014, an 82-year-old man named Frank Stack hobbled out of his house in Elmhurst, Ill., a quiet suburb of Chicago, and drove 15 minutes northwest to the group home where his 48-year-old son, Francis, lived with five other men with developmental disabilities. David Clark, the supervisor on duty, knew the whole family well and was friendly with Stack. ‘‘You’re here on Saturday,’’ Clark said, surprised. Stack normally took his son home for dinner on Sundays. ‘‘Mom wants to see Slugger,’’ Stack said. It was a holiday weekend, so a change in plans was no big deal. Stack promised to have his son back by 5.
About an hour later, Stack arrived at the group home in Woodridge where his oldest daughter, Mary, lived. Mary, 57, was also severely developmentally disabled. Stack told the staff there that he’d come for Mary because her mother, Joan, was very sick and wanted to see her. Joan, also 82, had been living under the care of home hospice aides and was bedridden with severe arthritis.
Stack brought his children back to the small, well-kept bungalow at 610 S. Chatham Avenue where they’d been raised alongside two nondisabled sisters, Gloria and Barbara. Raising Mary and Francis, whom most people referred to as Frankie, had been a challenge for the entire household. Both had diagnoses of profound intellectual disability, with I.Q.s listed in various court records as somewhere between 7 and 45, but most likely no higher than 20. Frankie was nonverbal, prone to seizures and couldn’t use the bathroom by himself; Mary could say a few words but also required near-constant care and help with dressing, eating and most of the basic tasks of life. Frank and Joan looked after them at home until the late ’90s, when declining health made it impossible to provide the hands-on, full-time care Frankie and Mary required.
On the Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend in 2014, an 82-year-old man named Frank Stack hobbled out of his house in Elmhurst, Ill., a quiet suburb of Chicago, and drove 15 minutes northwest to the group home where his 48-year-old son, Francis, lived with five other men with developmental disabilities. David Clark, the supervisor on duty, knew the whole family well and was friendly with Stack. ‘‘You’re here on Saturday,’’ Clark said, surprised. Stack normally took his son home for dinner on Sundays. ‘‘Mom wants to see Slugger,’’ Stack said. It was a holiday weekend, so a change in plans was no big deal. Stack promised to have his son back by 5.
About an hour later, Stack arrived at the group home in Woodridge where his oldest daughter, Mary, lived. Mary, 57, was also severely developmentally disabled. Stack told the staff there that he’d come for Mary because her mother, Joan, was very sick and wanted to see her. Joan, also 82, had been living under the care of home hospice aides and was bedridden with severe arthritis.
Stack brought his children back to the small, well-kept bungalow at 610 S. Chatham Avenue where they’d been raised alongside two nondisabled sisters, Gloria and Barbara. Raising Mary and Francis, whom most people referred to as Frankie, had been a challenge for the entire household. Both had diagnoses of profound intellectual disability, with I.Q.s listed in various court records as somewhere between 7 and 45, but most likely no higher than 20. Frankie was nonverbal, prone to seizures and couldn’t use the bathroom by himself; Mary could say a few words but also required near-constant care and help with dressing, eating and most of the basic tasks of life. Frank and Joan looked after them at home until the late ’90s, when declining health made it impossible to provide the hands-on, full-time care Frankie and Mary required.
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