Support Item 278#1h, the Bipartisan Filler-Corn Budget Amendment

How the amendment addresses the reality that DBHDS cannot meet its Training Center closure schedule
It has been two years since the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) announced its schedule to close four of the five Training Centers for persons with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities (IDD). In Northern Virginia, for example, the Training Center is scheduled to close by June 30, 2015. However, the reality is that the region cannot meet that schedule. The Community Services Boards (CSBs) and group home providers have told the State that the community will not be able to support the remaining extremely disabled residents of the Northern Virginia Training Center (NVTC) by that time and that the short-term measures proposed by the DBHDS are not sufficient to secure the necessary housing, fund properly trained staff, and obtain day supports. Item 278#1h addresses this practical problem by prohibiting the discharge or transfer of Training Center residents until the necessary services are in place. It also uses that time to secure better information about different cost options for implementing the Settlement Agreement.

How the amendment addresses the Settlement Agreements objective of providing proper care for those with complex needs
Aware of the deficiencies of present community services for people with complex needs, the DBHDS has commissioned a study of a new program (waiver) to meet the needs of all such persons, whether they reside in the community or are considering leaving the Centers. Everyone in the process expects the new waiver to be available in 2016, in time to mesh with more mature crisis stabilization and quality management services. The amendment prohibits the discharge or transfer of any resident against the will of an Authorized Representative until the new, improved waiver is in place.

How the amendment addresses Virginias concerns about costs

There is agreement that the present waiver is insufficient to provide the necessary care for people leaving the Training Centers. The stakeholders in Northern Virginia have told the DBHDS, the Department has said so in several reports and briefings to the legislature, and now the DBHDS has commissioned a study to develop a new waiver because they know the present one is inadequate. Yet, the DBHDS continues to base its cost estimates on its outdated, unrealistic contention that the cost of community living is less than half that of care at a Training Center. The amendment requires a study of the comparative costs of community supports and of operating efficiently reorganized Training Centers. Since families of about half the Center residents will choose to remain in the Centers, the General Assembly needs to understand the real world costs of both the community and Training Centers to make fully informed decisions.
Offered by Presidents of Training Center Family Organizations: CVTC: Jane Powell -- Pashabean@verizon.net NVTC: Jane Anthony janthonyjane@comcast.net and Judith Korf r3n39ad3@gmail.com SVTC: Lorraine Koury lmkoury@verizon.net and Colleen Lynch Colleenlynch@gmail.com SWVTC: Wanda Robinson theredhead@embarqmail.com

Support Item 278#2h, the Bipartisan Filler-Corn Budget Amendment to Assure Quality Care for Training Center Residents Item 278#2h is designed to assure continuing high quality services for people who leave a Training Center to move into the community or to another Training Center. Item 278#2h is similar to SB627, a bill that was reported out of the Senate Finance Committee unanimously and passed the Senate on February 10, 2014 by a margin of 39-1. The Senate bill was revised from its original content, which was nearly identical to that of Item 278#2h. To assure that it would have no fiscal impact, SB627 was amended to provide that, before a resident is moved to either the community or another Training Center, the DBHDS shall certify that the new residence provides a quality of care that is comparable to that provided in the residents current training center. The families of Virginias Training Centers would support the provisions of either the House amendment or the Senate bill. The issue arises because the Settlement Agreement with the Department of Justice affords opportunities for people in Training Centers to move into the community and permits Virginia to move residents from one Center to another. The standard of care in Item 278#2h is drawn from the DBHDS own commitment. In the June 2013 Report on Compliance with the Settlement Agreement, Independent Reviewer Donald Fletcher states, on page 21: DBHDS has assured ARs (Authorized Representatives of Center residents) that they will have choices of community programs that are equal to, or better than, current services. Assuring the necessary level of care for the severely disabled persons leaving Training Centers is essential because, unlike the program for Center care, the present waiver does not cover all needs. Some families who have chosen community settings have not received all the services they need, and some have even suffered serious harm. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Settlement Agreement and state law, Training Center residents have the option to remain in a Training Center. While many families have moved their loved ones into the community and many more are considering it, over 400 Authorized Representatives are opposed to such moves and will need to be accommodated in Training Centers. Yet the DBHDS plan calls for keeping open only SEVTC, with its 75-bed capacity. Not only is there insufficient capacity at SEVTC for all those who elect Training Center care, SEVTC does not provide all the specialized services available at the other Training Centers. For example, residents of CVTCs 5-star dual-certified nursing/skilled nursing facility are at particular risk, since SEVTC does not offer such care. For these and other residents with specialized needs, a move to SEVTC would mean a serious reduction in care that could be life-threatening, absent adoption of this bill. Item 278#2h and SB627 would assure proper care for Training Center residents, whether families choose to move their loved ones into the community or choose continued Training Center placement that results in a move to another Center.
Offered by Presidents of Training Center Family Organizations: CVTC: Jane Powell -- Pashabean@verizon.net NVTC: Jane Anthony janthonyjane@comcast.net and Judith Korf r3n39ad3@gmail.com SVTC: Lorraine Koury lmkoury@verizon.net and Colleen Lynch Colleenlynch@gmail.com SWVTC: Wanda Robinson theredhead@embarqmail.com