Fw: Arc and Ligas Settlement to Increase Community Services

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Ellen Garber Bronfeld

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Arc and Ligas Settlement to Increase Community Services

The Arc of Illinois

June 14, 2011

Leaders in The Arc:

This morning in Federal Court, I expect the Judge to approve the Ligas Consent

Decree. This settlement will improve the disability system in Illinois and move

3,000 individuals off the PUNS Waiting List in the next six years.

Read the story on Ligas from the Chicago. The Arc is quoted.

Tony auski

The Arc of Illinois

815-464-1832

www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-disabled-housing-lawsuit-20110613,0,478\

3121.story

Adults with disabilities poised to win more housing options

Lawsuit's settlement could force state to move more of them into community-based

homes

By Black, Tribune reporter

8:03 PM CDT, June 13, 2011Thousands of Illinois adults with developmental

disabilities many of whom have spent years on a 21,000-plus waiting list for

state services will soon have more choices in housing under a proposed

settlement to a long-running federal lawsuit.

The settlement, if approved as expected Wednesday by U.S. District Judge

Holderman, would upend how the state now pays for their care. Rather than

assigning dollars to institutions, the money would follow the individual to the

housing of their choice. The goal is to bring Illinois into compliance with the

1990 federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that people with

disabilities be allowed to live in the " most integrated setting " within their

communities.

The case could mark a significant and potentially costly turnaround for

Illinois, which has lagged nationally in its attempts to move people out of

larger institutional settings and into apartments or homes closer to their

families. Under a consent decree supported by both sides in the civil lawsuit,

the state would move at least 3,000 people into community-based settings within

the next six years, expanding opportunities for those at home or in

institutions, according to the court document.

" We view this as a civil rights case in the truest sense of the word, " said

Grossbart, a Chicago lawyer representing five plaintiffs in the lawsuit against

the Illinois Department of Human Services. He noted that Illinois ranks second

to last nationally, just above Mississippi, in serving people with developmental

disabilities in community-based settings, according to the State of the States

in Developmental Disabilities 2011 report by the University of Colorado.

While many advocates remain concerned over how debt-ridden Illinois will find

the money to meet the new legal requirements, most support the settlement

because it would not force anyone to move. That was not the case two years ago,

when families balked at a prior proposal that some believed would jeopardize

their relatives' placement at a larger facility, which they preferred.

" This agreement really respects choice, " said Barry , a lawyer for Equip

for Equality, based in Chicago. " Before this lawsuit, thousands of people who

wanted to live in the community couldn't do so. "

Children with disabilities get special education services until they reach age

22, as required by federal law. But the state has been slow to help cover the

needs of adults, who often find little use for their education without jobs,

housing or services.

Because of limited funding, many adults with the most severe developmental or

intellectual disabilities are placed in state-funded institutions or remain at

home with their parents, who worry over what will happen after they die. The

state, which allocates Medicaid money, has helped only those in extreme crisis,

leaving others on the waiting list for services.

One woman, Diane Neese, of Bradley, Ill., who supports the consent decree,

stated that when her son , 21, graduated from high school in 2009, " his

daily scheduled life stopped. "

" A state caseworker advised me to 'throw him out on the street and he will

receive services immediately,' " she wrote. " Why would I throw my autistic child

out on the street like a piece of garbage? "

State officials declined to comment. Besides DHS, the suit names the Illinois

Department of Healthcare and Family Services as a defendant.

It is difficult to estimate how much it will cost Illinois to meet the new

requirements, but historically, Illinois has faced strong resistance from labor

unions and families to closing state-run institutions.

In 2009, the state spent $1.7 billion on long-term residential care for 23,730

people with developmental disabilities, according to the State of the States

report. About $419 million of that amount went toward serving 2,308 residents at

state-operated institutions, only eight of which remain after the closing of

Howe Developmental Center in Tinley Park last year.

To cover the costs associated with the consent decree, Illinois will have to

" either reallocate money that is going to state-operated developmental centers

or come up with new funding for community support services, " said Kay

Rizzolo, clinical associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago

and co-author of the State of the States report.

" I don't see us getting new dollars, so we will have to be more efficient with

the dollars we do have, " she said.

The Arc of Illinois estimates that it costs on average $55,000 per year for a

group home setting, compared with $192,000 annually at a state-run institution.

Per-person costs vary widely by individual, though, and critics remain skeptical

that community settings would stay that inexpensive if serving people with more

severe disabilities.

The landmark case, filed by Stanley Ligas and eight other plaintiffs in 2005,

alleged that the state unnecessarily segregated them by placing them in

institutions. Some plaintiffs dropped out because their personal situations

changed. Five plaintiffs, including Ligas, remain.

Under the proposed settlement, officials would move at least 1,000 people off

the waiting list within two years, serving an additional 500 people annually

during the third, fourth, fifth and sixth years under the settlement.

" I see it as the beginning of the courts taking over the disability system

because the governor and legislators have not done their part to provide viable

community services, " said Tony auski, executive director of Arc of Illinois,

based in fort.

" If there are problems in terms of funding or people moving out of institutions,

the court will intervene, " he said.

The court also would appoint an independent monitor to oversee the state's

compliance.

Advocates are excited because the settlement would force the state to provide

funding to its most vulnerable population. Yet some still worry about whether

funding will simply shift from institutional care to group homes.

Carl La Mell, president of Clearbrook, one of the state's largest nonprofit

providers of housing for people with developmental disabilities, supports the

latest consent decree. " I think it's the right thing to do for people, " he said.

But La Mell was among those who objected to the earlier attempt at a settlement.

Arlington Heights-based Clearbrook operates a 92-bed facility, three homes for

up to 16 residents and 29 group homes that house eight or fewer people.

" Are they going to fund it by taking existing dollars that go to people or are

they going to take money from someone else? " La Mell asked. " That is what scares

me. "

Tribune reporter Rex Huppke contributed.

lblack@...

Copyright 2011, Chicago Tribune

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