ARGH! (Was Springfield Journal Register needs posts)

[Guest guest]

Hit the send button before finishing!! The link to paper is:

http://www.sj-r.com/letters/x1388107250/Letter-Developmental-centers-waste-of-st\

ate-money

And here’s Kim’s original post – you have to follow the link above to read

all of the vile responses this has garnered.

THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

Posted Jun 11, 2011 @ 11:03 PM

There is really no solid argument to keep investing in large, costly, archaic

dinosaurs called State Operated Developmental Centers that warehouse people!

It’s a shame our governor was too focused on keeping his job and forgot to do

his job when he signed a labor agreement promising not to shut down any

institutions or lay off staff.

Based on recent data, the state plans to pay an average of $168,000 per year to

house more than 2,000 people with developmental disabilities in these state run

institutions. That amount buys people with disabilities the opportunity to live

at a place like the Shapiro Developmental Center, built in 1877, where you get

to live with 575 other people all day, every day in a ward-like setting.

To put it in perspective, Todd Lincoln lived there!

For that amount of money, you could stay at a five-star hotel on Michigan Avenue

365 days per year. But even better, for the same cost Illinois could fund four

people in community residential services, or eight people in home based

services, or 145 families could receive regular help caring for disabled loved

ones through respite programs, or people could receive more than 6,800 hours of

job coaching.

If everyone in our state institutions transitioned to a community-based

residential setting, a $200 million savings would be realized and our state

could serve nearly 4,000 more people in critical need of community-based

residential supports, or more than 9,000 people could be awarded home-based

services that are designed to support people to craft meaningful days and keep

families intact. This would make a substantial, positive impact on many of the

20,000 people in need of community-based services waiting in line today.

Illinois needs to seriously analyze the return on their investment! It is not

about needing more money, it is about responsible spending.

— Kim Zoeller, president and CEO, Ray Graham Association, Lisle

From: Jerue Family

Sent: Sunday, June 12, 2011 4:00 PM

IPADDUnite

Subject: Springfield Journal Register needs posts

Hi all,

Below is a link to the Springfield Journal-Register from yesterday, with a

Letter to the Editor from Kim Zoeller at the Ray Graham Association. I happen

to agree with most all of what she says, so I was distressed to see/read the 14

comments posted there, mostly all in favor of the state ops and vehemently

against community services. If you read this and decide you’d like to add

your two cents to the online discussion (as I did) please go to this link and

make a comment. I hate to see all the negative viewpoints and so few positive

ones – especially on this topic. Here’s the link to the article: