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SB 6780 Would Close RHCs, Without Knowing the Cost

Senate Bill 6780 caters to special interest groups not special needs.  The opening sentences set the tone of the bill by jealously comparing underfunded community services with adequately funded RHC services.
      At a time when our state must save money, this bill would spend money.  No one even knows how much money.
      The bill requires DSHS to submit a plan by November 1, 2010 with timelines and estimated costs to carry out the many events outlined in this bill. Shouldn't the costs be known now? 
      This bill is yet another attempt to transfer funds from RHCs to private providers.  Past attempts at such closures have resulted in excessive costs to the state and misery for those forced out of RHCs.
 Read the SB 6780

Parents, Elected Officials Seek Ways to Save Residential Care Facility
By Rosette Royale - February 2, 2010
Olympia Newswire
Pat Johnson, mayor of Buckley, estimates the shuttering of Rainier School would result in the loss of nearly 1,000 jobs.  The facility is the town’s largest employer.  Parents fear loss of care and harm to loved ones.  Members of Legislature oppose closures. 
Read the full story
 

Families, Legislators Working to Save Frances Haddon Morgan Center

By Derek Sheppard January 13, 2010, BREMERTON — Lobbying efforts are underway in Olympia to save the Frances Haddon Morgan Center, a state-run home in Bremerton that houses severely mentally disabled children and adults.
      With the state facing a $2.6 million budget shortfall, Gov. Chris Gregoire had announced plans to close the Bremerton facility as well as the Rainier School in Buckley. She reiterated those plans in her State of the State address on Tuesday.
      Her recommendations are part of an effort to reduce the number of people the state houses in prisons, juvenile rehabilitation centers and so-called residential habilitation centers, or RHCs, like the Bremerton center.
       “The last time the state closed an institution was in the 1970s. Now is the time — this session — for us to demonstrate, as difficult as it is, that Washington state government makes good business decisions, not political ones,” Gregoire said.
      But advocates for Bremerton’s Frances Haddon Morgan Center, which is home to 55 long-term residents, believe keeping the center open is best for the residents and dispute the savings the state believes it will realize.
      The state estimates that it can save at least $70 million by closing habilitation centers and prisons.
      A report to the Legislature says it will cost $1.8 million in the first year to move residents out of the RHCs, with savings to come in future years. Residents would be moved out of the center in phases, with the Frances Haddon Morgan Center vacated by October 2011, according to the state report.
      “It’s a nightmare to try and figure it out,” Paul Strand, whose son Eric has lived at the Frances Haddon Morgan Center since 1977, said of the state’s budget numbers. “They just don’t know what it really costs.”
      Strand is vice president of ActionDD, a group that has lobbied since 1995 to keep the RHCs open. He believes officials advocating for the closures have an outdated view of institutions and don’t understand the stable, homelike atmosphere at places like Frances Haddon Morgan Center.
      He said stability is critical for people with severe autism, which many Morgan Center residents have. He worries that community-based homes run by for-profit companies would hire less experienced caretakers. He said a similar move in Oregon led to patient deaths.
      “They don’t understand change,” he said of the residents. “They just have to be taken care of.”
      He’s skeptical of for-profit caretakers.
      “You can’t take care of people for profit,” he said. Some Kitsap lawmakers met Wednesday to discuss how to handle the situation.
      Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, is advocating to keep Frances Haddon Morgan Center open and believes the residents need intensive, qualified care.
      “And they’re getting it at the Frances Haddon Morgan Center,” she said.
      Because moving residents from the Bremerton center and others around the state would cost money, it would present the state with an immediate problem, she said.
      “Right now we don’t have any money to open community group homes,” she said. Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, said the state’s budget focus should be on caring for its most vulnerable residents, which would include those at Frances Haddon Morgan Center.
      “That’s not a cut I would like to see,” he said.
      Rep. Jan Angel, R-Port Orchard, is analyzing information on the residents, the numbers, and why the governor requested the closures.
       “At this point I’m really fact-finding,” she said

New Website Wants RHCs Closed

Action DD, Olympia, January 5, 2010 -- No money will be saved by closing any RHC, and tragic harm can come from the community dumping of RHC residents, but a new website called, weallbelong.org, wants to do both.
      The website asserts that “Children and adults with developmental disabilities belong in our communities, neighborhoods and schools.” Pictures on the website show a person boarding a bus, and another person working in what looks like a bakery. It’s not realistic to believe that the severely disabled folks at Rainier or the Morgan Center would be riding buses or working in public places.
      The website quotes governor Gregoire as saying, “…[by] reforming how we care for these citizens we free up badly needed funds to extend better care for more clients.” While this sounds good, it simply means taking resources away from one group and giving to another.  This is an assault on the most innocent people in our society.
      It’s long been the goal of many advocates that people should be freed from institutions. This was a good thing to do 30 years ago, and we did it. However, not everyone could be moved to the community, and others had to be rescued from unsuccessful community homes. The result was a restructuring of our RHC system, one that replaced institutional buildings and procedures with houses and programs that would provide the best care for each individual. Today, people move in and out of the RHCs as needed, and others remain there as their best placement.
      Past actions taken by the state to force people from RHCs to community homes has resulted in abuse, neglect and even deaths, while not one dollar was saved.
      This new website also sites as evidence a recent legislative study that recommends RHC closure, but the study -- which uses seriously flawed data -- showed an additional cost of 1.8 million dollars to downsize RHCs in the current biennium. Even more worrisome is the person who directed the study. As past director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities, he tried to close the Morgan Center in 1995. Years earlier, he was instrumental in closing Northern State Hospital (which put many of those vulnerable persons on the sidewalk, begging).
      Instead of constantly wasting money trying to close RHCs, why not use the money to improve services to people with developmental disabilities?
      The people behind this website have vowed for years to get rid of the RHCs, and are paid government salaries while lobbying for RHC closure. They believe that money will transfer from state-operated living arrangements to private community providers. This for-profit incentive, coupled with an outdated idea of institution closing, is the mainstay behind all movements to close RHCs.
      We must protect our RHCs as part of a needed continuum of care for all who need it, not just now but for the future.
 

Action Lobbyist looks ahead to the legislative session

Olympia, December 9, 2009 -- The economic state of Washington continues to worsen with little evidence of any significant recovery. Sound familiar? That was the outlook prior to the Legislative Session 2009, and unfortunately, that is the story as we get ready for Session 2010! Lawmakers will be looking for nearly $3 billion in order to balance the biennial budget they passed last session. This can’t be accomplished through state employee travel curtailments and hiring freezes, it is going to take significant program cuts and/or tax increases. So look for a combination of the above.

The governor and her fiscal staff are now entertaining cost saving ideas that were totally ignored a year ago. Ideas like using underutilized state-owned facilities rather than renting additional office space, including potential office space for DSHS at Fircrest and Yakima Valley School. The concept of “if you watch your pennies the dollars will follow” may finally be hitting home, even though the financial crisis has gone far beyond that form of sensible management, meaning the sixty-day 2010 legislative session will be consumed with budget and revenue battles, and we will be right in the middle of it.

The interim between sessions has been a busy one, mostly because of the legislatively directed RHC Bed Reduction study that was the tradeoff for keeping Yakima Valley School open. Interestingly enough, the hastily organized and completed Bed Reduction study recommends the phased in closure of two RHCs; the Francis Haddon Morgan Center and the Rainier School. How the Bed Reduction study quickly evolved into a closure recommendation, will be addressed in discussing these ill-founded recommendations with legislators. A point made in the Bed Reduction study that we can agree with, is that there is NO savings realized by closures, and it will actually cost more in the short term. They will then be dealing with a $3 billion “short term” financial problem! So where does the money come from, to accomplish the recommendations in the Bed Reduction study?

One Senator has been telling our pro-closure friends that if they think RHC closure will be a windfall for community services, they better think again. They should be supporting services that are available at RHCs, crisis and respite care, which, among other services, are essential components of the continuum of care needed in the DD community.

The lessons we learned, and the grassroots support group that succeeded in preserving the Yakima Valley School, give us the direction we need to shift our efforts on behalf of FHMC and Rainier School. Our continuing efforts to enlist more legislative allies have created an effective, growing support group in Olympia. Our Weary Warriors from the Yakima Valley School defense force are gearing up, and will hit the ground running when the legislative session begins on January 11, 2010.

It is heartening to know that family advocacy groups and legislators from currently unaffected RHC districts are ready to jump in and support those that are in jeopardy now -- as was the case when YVS was targeted.

We will continue to work our bills that provide incentives to medical students who pursue experience in the care of the developmentally disabled (HB 1446 & SB 5376). We have an ongoing commitment from the U of W Medical School for their continued support. Discussions will continue on the patient bill of rights legislation (HB 1407 & SB 5640). All bills are still active from the 2009 session. As is Senate Bill 6182, that would facilitate the closure of RHCs without legislative action. This is a BAD bill that we will keep a close eye on!

But Job #1 for 2010 will be the preservation of the Francis Haddon Morgan Center and the Rainier School, along with making sure that the Bed Reduction study stays quietly on the shelf. We need all the help we can get. We have proven that we have what it takes!

Feasibilities Study for the Closure of State Institutional Facilities Released

Consultant Christopher Murray & Associates delivered their final report to the Office of Financial Management regarding closing or consolidating state facilities. Among other institutions, the consultants were asked to study the cost effect of closing 250 RHC beds, to see if that would save money for the cash strapped state budget. Read full story

The study showed an additional cost of 1.8 million dollars to downsize RHCs in the current fiscal year, but concluded that by 2013 costs would break even, and thereafter show savings.  This cost seems light given that the study alone cost .5 million.  The study based some of its conclusions on older reports that are know to be flawed. 

In reaching this conclusion the study deviated from its 250-bed study to make the following sweeping recommendations:
    - Close all beds for intermediate-care facilities at all facilities over an
       eight-year period.
    - Close, in phases, the Francis Haddon Morgan Center in Bremerton by 2013.
    - Close, in phases, Rainier School in Buckley by 2017.
    - Keep open Fircrest, Lakeland Village and Yakima Valley with a small number of skilled nursing facility beds.

This study wants all RHCs closed. This is nothing new. Closing RHCs has been the agenda of DSHS and for-profit community providers for decades. Buried in their study is this statement: “Washington should eliminate ICF/MR long-term care from the RHCs and relocate people to state and privately operated homes. Long-term ICF/MR care programs at the RHCs should be eliminated by 2018 or before.”

The RHC portion of the study was subcontracted to Norm Davis of Davis DeShais LLC. Davis is well known as an institution-closer, involved with the closure of Northern State Hospital, Interlake School and his failed attempt to close The Francis Haddon Morgan Center. It can be argued that his bias set the tone for this study.
 

Disability Rights Washington accused of selective advocacy

Attorneys for RHC residents accuse Disability Rights Washington (DRW), a protection and advocacy system for people with developmental disabilities, of denying RHC residents meaningful political participation and lobbying against their civil rights, among several other charges. A letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services asks for an investigation of DRW for violations of federal requirements.  See letter here

State employees union encourages RHC employees to challenge closures

  October is half way over. That means that the legislative session is about to begin. For our members in RHC’s who’re gearing up to go to battle to save the facilities in danger of being closed, its time to assemble and organize the troops!  Here are some suggestions for our folks at the Francis Haddon Morgan Center and Rainer School:
1)  Make appointments with your local legislators now.  It’s best if you go in small groups of
     4  or 5, so your legislator doesn’t have to make several appointments on the same
     message. You can find your legislators contact information at this link:
     http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/visitingthelegislature.aspx
2)  If you don’t feel comfortable visiting, you can email your local legislators. Tell them why
     you oppose the proposed closures. You can also call the legislative hotline at
     800.562.6000. If you have problems with what to say you can always check out the
     WFSE hotline. Our communications guru, Tim always has some tasty talking points
     you can use or change to your liking.
3)  Engage the public. Write an editorial to your newspaper. Many articles are being writtenten
     about the closures right now. You can add your comments to the comments thread.
4)  Develop a contact list of your co-workers who are willing to fight for their jobs and the
    services they provide to the public. Home email addresses and cell phone numbers will
    be critical for fast action as the legislative session opens and progresses. Since you
    all work in 24/7 work sites, it is also a good idea to have days off of the member
    activists on file so you can spare an annual day by coming down on your weekday
    off. It will also help to spread the work out over more people.
5)  Gather names and schedule a Lobby Day on the hill early in the legislative session.
    To schedule your local for a lobby day, you will need to contact our administrate
    associate par excellence, Diana Whitmore at 1.800.562.6002 or email at diana@wfse.org.
    She will coordinate the lobby day and try to set up appointments with your local legislators
    for your visit during the legislative session.
6)  Prepare to attend events like Lobby Training
     (a training offered by WFSE leg. Dept. We will have a date of that event posted shortly.),
     the WFSE legislative reception (again the January date will be announced soon) and
     legislative committee meetings. Many of these activities require taking a day off, but it is
     an investment you can’t afford to not make.
7)  Stay in the communications loop. Sign up for the WFSE hot line. It will send the latest
     news to your home computer. We also have blogs set up for the RHCs that you can
     access through the WFSE web site at WFSE.org. Calls to action will be posted there
     regularly when we need to act quickly. Successful efforts will require as many members
     as possible to respond to calls to action quickly. Be ready to call the legislative hot line,
     send an email or come to the hill on a moment’s notice. (Many times that is all the notice
     we get) We have a tough job ahead of us. In my humble opinion there is little chance at
     victory in this effort unless we can get as many members, in green shirts, up to the hill,
     as many days of the session as possible. I know that this is asking a lot of you and your
     coworkers, but the cause is just and the need is critical. Starting to plan and act now will
     help spread the burden and use our biggest resource (YOU!) most effectively!

Families, Legislators Working to Save Frances Haddon Morgan Center
By Derek Sheppard
Kitsap Sun
January 13, 2010, BREMERTON — Lobbying efforts are underway in Olympia to save the Frances Haddon Morgan Center, a state-run home in Bremerton that houses severely mentally disabled children and adults.
Read the full story

New Website Wants RHCs Closed

Action DD, Olympia, January 5, 2010 -- No money will be saved by closing any RHC, and tragic harm can come from the community dumping of RHC residents, but a new website called, weallbelong.org, wants to do both.
Read the full story

Proposed Rainier School closure ill-informed, ill-advised

Rep. Christopher Hurst Speaks out Against RHC closures.
Read full Tacoma News Tribune article

 

 

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