Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois
A voice for justice and equal opportunity since 1985!
A voice for justice and equal opportunity since 1985!
Can Illinois' Budget Crisis do what our Lawmakers Won't?
Today Illinois Governor, Pat Quinn, announced plans to reduce and restructure the number of state-operated facilities for people with developmental and psychological disabilities. This will result in the closure of:
I'm not sure what reaction the Governor was expecting, but here's mine: HOOOOORAAAYYY!!!
This announcement presents Illinois the opportunity to move away from an institutional bias and to allow people with disabilities to live with dignity and participate fully in the community of their choice.
CCDI recognizes that the closure of these institutions will temporarily disrupt the lives of many residents with significant disabilities. We strongly suggest that the wishes and needs of these people be given the utmost consideration as they are transitioned into a community setting. The state must work with the people who live in these institutions and their families to make sure that their wishes are respected and their needs are met. It goes without saying that Illinois must not simply transfer these people from one institution to another. This will result in worsening of conditions, overcrowding and without a doubt, more lawsuits.
In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right of individuals with disabilities to live in their community in its 6-3 ruling against the state of Georgia in the case Olmstead v. L.C and E.W. The Olmstead Decision has given rise to class action lawsuits on behalf of people with disabilities all over the nation, and Illinois is involved in settling a number of such suits. Illinois could have realized a great deal of savings had it put together and implemented a comprehensive and aggressive plan to help people transition from institutions to communities early on rather than wasting money on litigation and consent decrees.
Advocates have been crunching the numbers for years to demonstrate that it is much more costly to house people in institutions than it is to facilitate people to live in their communities. We are confident that the closure of state institutions will be an effective cost-saving method. But Illinois cannot see these closures as a 100% budget cut. Money must be re-allocated to ensure a quality infrastructure of community-based services and supports so that people who transition can thrive in their community.
Illinois has been participating in a CMS-funded Money Follows the Person demonstration grant for a number of years now. CMS's intent in providing these grant funds was to assist states in not only shifting the bias away from institutional care and toward home and community based services and supports but likewise rebalancing Medicaid funding. And people have, slowly but surely, been transitioned into communities.
But what Illinois policymakers seems to have completely missed in the whole money follows the person/rebalancing thing is that the money is supposed to actually follow the person. There only one way to rebalance, save money in Medicaid programs and to allow people with disabilities to realize their full potential. As people move from an institutional setting to community-based services and supports, the bed that is vacated must be de-certified for Medicaid reimbursement.
I'm not so naļve as to not recognize political posturing when I see it, and I realize that the Governor's announcement was his way of throwing down the gauntlet to the General Assembly. But for those who believe that people with disabilities deserve to live in the least restrictive setting, if handled properly, the closure of these state-run institutions is a good start toward what we've been hoping for all along.