Fw: Arc and State Operated Group Homes

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Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Arc and State Operated Group Homes

The Arc of Illinois

March 10, 2011

Leaders in The Arc:

Senator Steans has introduced SB1614 Amendment 1 which states that DHS/DDD will

develop a pilot program of State-operated community-based group homes!

I have been hearing rumors about state operated group homes for a few months

now.

Please share with others.

This bill is scheduled for hearing on 3/15 at 1:00 in Capitol 212. The

testimony on this should be extremely interesting.

Here is the link to the bill:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1614 & GAID=11 & DocTypeID=SB & \

LegID=57562 & SessionID=84 & SpecSess= & Session= & GA=97

The bill is copied below.

Tony auski

The Arc of Illinois

815-464-1832

09700SB1614sam001

LRB097 09399 KTG 51924 a

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AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1614

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AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1614 by replacing

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everything after the enacting clause with the following:

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" Section 5. The Mental Health and Developmental

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Disabilities Administrative Act is amended by adding Section

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4.4 as follows:

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(20 ILCS 1705/4.4 new)

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Sec. 4.4. State-operated 6-bed group homes.

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(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that the

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Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental

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Disabilities is steadily shifting service provision from

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State-operated developmental centers to smaller

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community-based settings. Whether that process is due to

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changes in philosophy on how to best serve individuals with

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disabilities, changing individual and family choices, or an

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attempt to capture cost savings from the substantially lower

09700SB1614sam001

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LRB097 09399 KTG 51924 a

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wages and benefits paid to the direct care workers in

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alternative settings, one indisputable outcome of this process

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is the replacement of a highly experienced and adequately

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compensated workforce with a poorly compensated and much more

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transitory workforce. Inadequate compensation is one of the

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primary causes of the high employee turnover rate in community

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settings. Numerous studies have shown that a more stable and

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experienced workforce creates better outcomes for individuals

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with developmental disabilities. Conversely, very high

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turnover can contribute to emotional distress and disruption in

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the lives of individuals. The failure to develop a fairly

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compensated and stable workforce has been a key obstacle to

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creating a uniformly high quality system of care in

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community-based settings.

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( Pilot program. In order to determine the efficacy of

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improving quality of care by ensuring a more fairly compensated

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workforce, and in consultation with stakeholders, including

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the collective bargaining representative of the majority of

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employees working in State-operated developmental centers, the

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Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental

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Disabilities shall develop a pilot program of State-operated

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community-based group homes.

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© Residential accommodations. Each State-operated

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community-based group home shall provide residential

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accommodations for up to 6 individuals with developmental

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disabilities.

09700SB1614sam001

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LRB097 09399 KTG 51924 a

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(d) Staffing. The State-operated community-based group

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homes shall be staffed by Department employees whose

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compensation and rights shall be governed by existing

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collective bargaining agreements. " .

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