Dave Denniston Letter to the EditorSanta Barbara NewsPress
Editorials
Sunday, July 30, 2000
Developmental centers not equal
In a recent News-Press commentary, Barbara Turner and Bob Cross accuse writer Terry Boisot of including ".Ê.Ê. errors, exaggerations, and outright false information" in an earlier commentary. This is a perfect case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Turner and Cross are the most vocal members of a small group of pro-institution zealots that will stop at nothing to maintain the status quo in California's developmental centers.
Many of us who have children with disabilities living in Santa Barbara have visited and rejected the poor quality of life provided to the approximately 3,300 people living in California's developmental centers.
My daughter, who is more impaired than many I have seen in developmental centers, has been living happily, with support, in her own home in Santa Barbara for over 12 years.
I think Turner and Cross are afraid to look at successful community living opportunities and would rather dwell on the sensationalism of the press, such as a series of articles in the San Francisco Chronicle.
While lauding the "... experience and well-trained professionals who provide services in the compact environment of California's developmental centers," they have failed to inform us of the decertification of Sonoma Developmental Center, the most recent in a string of actions against California's developmental centers.
As well as bringing into question the quality of care, this decertification probably means the loss of $3.1 million in federal funding per month. Agnews Developmental Center, which was decertified over a year ago, has been unable to regain certification and has cost an additional $2.1 million per month. These are losses that then must be covered by the state's general fund.
While we, the families of people with developmental disabilities, believe quality of life is our primary issue, money drives this system. What is spent on developmental centers isn't available for community-based programs. Turner and Cross try to convince us of equitable funding by quoting from a 25-year-old study.
The state auditor's report of October, 1999, noted that community-based programs were underfunded by at least 30 percent and could only afford to pay staff an average of $8.89 an hour.
Staff at developmental centers earn an average of $15.47 an hour and as unionized state employees also enjoy good benefits packages. Since the major cost of any human services program is wages and their associated costs, it is clear that funding heavily favors developmental centers.
The California developmental disabilities system is based on
separate and unequal services for individuals living in our
communities vs. those in developmental centers.
California needs a unified developmental disabilities system to bring back equality for all the individuals it serves.
David B. Denniston
Santa Barbara