Family Groups at Virginias Training Centers Call on Governor McDonnell to Stop Efforts to Coerce the Families into Moving

their Loved Ones into Communities that are Not Prepared to Care for Them Properly

July 9, 2013 Leaders of the family groups representing residents at the four Training Centers the Commonwealth has scheduled for closure Southside Virginia Training Center (SVTC), Northern Virginia Training Center (NVTC), Southwest Virginia Training Center (SWVTC), and Central Virginia Training Center (CVTC) sent a letter to Governor McDonnell today calling on him to suspend the arbitrary timetable for closure of the Centers and stop the coercive practices designed to force the residents to move into the community before it is prepared to meet their needs. The letter states that respecting the rights of the Authorized Representatives (ARs) to make free and informed choices is not only the legally correct thing to do [in accordance with the Settlement Agreement approved by Judge Gibney on August 23, 2012], but also the morally correct one. It goes on to say that a policy shift from arbitrary administrative scheduling to one of acting when quality community supports are in place would yield much better results for our most vulnerable citizens. The pressure is currently most intense on the families of residents of SVTC and NVTC, which are scheduled to close in mid-2014 and mid-2015, respectively. The Training Center leaders stated that the families of residents have received form letters from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) that indicated fixed closure dates, as well as tentative dates for their residents to leave the Center and move into the community, without qualification that there are adequate placements available in the community. The form letters also state that any resident who has not yet found an acceptable community placement three months prior to the scheduled closing will be transferred by DBHDS to another Training Center, well over 100 miles away. There is also pressure on the residents of SWVTC, which offers only the option of sponsored homes, and CVTC, whose 75 residents requiring skilled nursing care lack an alternative placement with comparable care. The letter to the Governor also cites many other examples of coercion, such as revised, less severe diagnoses for some residents; the failure of key documents to disclose the right to remain in a Training Center; DBHDS directives to social workers to call ARs frequently to encourage community placement; and DBHDS staff encouragement to ARs to move residents while there are still good placements. The letter points out that many Community Services Boards agree that the communities are unprepared to properly care for people who wish to leave the Training Centers. In addition, the letter identifies major flaws in the DBHDS cost analyses that have misled legislators into believing that care in the community is far less expensive than in Training Centers.

Families are asking the Governor to take the following actions:

Immediately stop all efforts to coerce authorized representatives (ARs) into accepting community placements for their residents; Make sure that all assessment documents accurately reflect resident needs; Make sure that ARs are aware of their legal right to make an informed choice of residences, including the option to continue to receive care in a Training Center; Qualify the closure schedule to establish a policy of adequate preparation of the community to serve Training Center residents with complex needs before closing a Training Center; Prevent any administratively driven transfer of a Training Center resident out of that Training Center when the community is not ready to provide necessary supports; Immediately conduct an independent survey of all ARs to determine whether they wish their loved ones to remain in their current Training Center or another Training Center, or move into the local community; and Secure an independent analysis of the DBHDS cost figures.

Supporting documentation is available upon request. For further information, contact:

Jane Anthony, Co-President Parents and Associates, NVTC (703) 860-8652 janthonyjane@comcast.net Judith Korf, Co-President (571) 201-8428 r3n39ad3@gmail.com Jane Powell, President CVTC Families and Friends (804) 262-1548 pashabean@verizon.net Wanda Robinson, President Parent Advocacy & Advisory Council of Southwest VA 276-236-2122 theredhead@embarqmail.com

Lorraine Koury, Treasurer Parents Organization of SVTC (703) 352-9432 lmkoury@verizon.net

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