Fw: Arc and Disabled Win Housing Rights

[Guest guest]

FYI

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Arc and Disabled Win Housing Rights

The Arc of Illinois

June 16, 2011

Leaders in The Arc:

It was a great day in court yesterday! Judge Holderman indicated he intended to

okay the Ligas Consent Decree. Now the real work of the implementation begins

and it will be a nine year process. A court monitor will be hired, individuals

in private institutions will be able to exercise their right to chose where they

want to live and in the next six years, 3,000 individuals will move of the

waiting list.

I urge you to sign and reaffirm your choice for community services, even if you

are on the PUNS waiting list.

This may be the only way to get community services.

The form is attached to this email.

Story below, be sure to click on to the link and see a great picture of

plaintiffs Cicarelli and Stanley Ligas.

Tony auski

The Arc of Illinois

815-464-1832

Deal gives 3,000 developmentally disabled people choice of community-based

housing

Settlement gives state 6 years to complete plan

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-met-disabled-ruling-0616-20110615,0,7673\

383.story

By Black, Tribune reporter

9:58 p.m. CDT, June 15, 2011

State officials will begin drawing up plans to move 3,000 people with

developmental and intellectual disabilities into community-based housing of

their choice, as directed under a federal settlement approved Wednesday that

allows for a six-year timetable.

The governor's office praised the settlement, which will expand services to new

residents on a 21,000-member waiting list but officials offered no answers on

how they expect to pay additional costs during Illinois' fiscal crunch.

" The final cost will be determined by how many people elect community-based

care, " said Januari , spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare

and Family Services and the Department of Human Services, the defendants in the

lawsuit.

" The funds will now follow the individuals, and over the long term,

community-based care is less expensive, " said , who said the average yearly

cost of a community setting, such as an apartment or group home, is $32,000.

Funding was not the issue Wednesday, though, when U.S. District Judge

Holderman lauded the lawyers for reaching agreement, saying the consent decree

holds " great significance " and was the result of fierce negotiation.

" I firmly believe that the state of Illinois, the citizens, have been well

served by these efforts, " Holderman said, after hearing from two parents who

support the settlement.

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.

Stanley Ligas, 43, who filed the lawsuit against the state in 2005, will be

allowed to move within 60 days into a home of his choice, under the consent

decree. In the past, the state has been willing to pay only for Ligas to remain

at a 96-bed facility, Sheltered Village in Woodstock, denying his requests to

move to a smaller group home.

" I am so happy today, " said Ligas, who has Down syndrome, after Wednesday's

hearing. " My family too. "

The state also must quickly move four other plaintiffs in the case, including

Cicarelli, 37, who lives at Riverside Foundation in Lincolnshire. He and

Ligas hope to become roommates, he said.

Under the settlement, the state has 180 days to complete a broader transition

plan for nonplaintiffs who currently live at home or in private, larger

facilities.

" This agreement will allow adults with developmental disabilities to have the

freedom of choice in where they want to live and receive services whether that

be at home, in a smaller community setting or in a larger residential facility, "

the Illinois attorney general's office said in a prepared statement.

The governor's office called the settlement a " step in the right direction. "

State officials said they believe 500 to 1,000 people will immediately request

services, but they expect that number to grow as families learn about the

settlement.

Residents of larger private institutions, defined as facilities with nine or

more residents, will not be forced to move if they are pleased with their

setting a key part of the settlement that helped it gain approval.

A court-appointed monitor will oversee the state's compliance with the consent

decree, according to the court document.

" We are at the finish line of this chapter, " said Grossbart, lead attorney

for the plaintiffs and a partner at the Chicago firm SNR Denton, which handled

the case for free, alongside Equip for Equality, an advocacy group. " We have

always said that this is a civil rights victory. "

Just two years ago, the lawyers reached an impasse when hundreds of people

turned out to oppose an earlier attempt at settlement. Dozens told the court

they were afraid that family members would be forced to move out of large

residential facilities, which they preferred.

In 2009, about 38 percent of the 23,730 Illinois adults with developmental

disabilities receiving long-term care lived in settings of six or fewer people,

according to the State of the States in Developmental Disabilities 2011 report

by the University of Colorado. That is considerably lower than the national

average of 75 percent, according to the report.

According to the Arc of Illinois, the annual per-person costs for residential

settings range from an average of $55,000 for a group home to $192,000 for

state-operated institutions.

lblack@...

REQUEST FOR COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES OR PLACEMENT IN A COMMUNITY-BASED SETTING

Illinois Department of Human Services

Division of Developmental Disabilities

c/o Mr. Brent Stratton

Office of Illinois Attorney General

100 W. Randolph St., 12th Floor

Chicago, IL 60601

This request is on behalf of _________________________________________, an adult

with a developmental disability, who currently lives:

_____ at home OR at __________________________________________________________

(an Intermediate Care Facility for the Developmentally Disabled).

This is a request for Community-Based Services or placement in a Community-Based

Setting under the Illinois Home and Community-Based Services Waiver for Adults

with Developmental Disabilities.

I understand that, by completing this form, I am NOT getting myself/my family

member on a waiting list for services or placement.

I understand that, in order to be placed on a waiting list, I need to enroll

myself/my family member on PUNS.

I understand that I can get more information about PUNS by calling

1-888-DD-PLANS (or 1-866-376-8446 (TTY)) or by going to

http://www.dd.illinois.gov/SignUp.cfm.

I understand that this request is NOT a request for a determination of

eligibility for services or placement. Eligibility determinations are completed

upon selection from PUNS.

Signature: ________________________________________________

Printed Name: ________________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Phone: ________________________________________________

Date: ________________________________________________

Relationship to person requesting services: ___ Self ___ Guardian

___ Family member ___ Other

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