STOP

THE ARBITRARY CLOSURE OF VIRGINIAS TRAINING CENTER HOMES

FOR PEOPLE WITH SIGNIFICANT INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

MAKE SURE THEY ALL HAVE SAFE AND SOUND PLACEMENTS

WE CARE. and are watching what you do with this small, but extremely fragile population. This matters to us
because we want to live in a society that protects the safety and well being of our most vulnerable citizens.

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PLEASE SEND COMPLETED PETITON TO:
Karen Schupak
10922 Lamplighter Lane
Potomac, Maryland 20854

SUMMARY OF ISSUE
The Commonwealth of Virginia has 5 training centers that provide safe and supportive environments for
more than 800 individuals with significant intellectual disabilities (ID), most of whom also have either
severe behavioral problems or complex medical needs. Virginia has decided to close 4 of the centers on an
arbitrary schedule, before good placements have been found for each and every resident. If a community
placement is not found for a resident by the stated closure date, Virginias Department of Behavioral
Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) has said that the resident will be sent to another training
center many hours away from family and their communities, only to await its closure. Virginia is
continuing down this path even though the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and federal District Court
Judge John Gibney have stated that the DOJ-Virginia Settlement Agreement to increase community living
options for people with ID does not require the closure of these training centers, and that the final
decision resides in the hands of the General Assembly. While the General Assembly supports strong
measures to assure quality care for those who choose community placements, it has not endorsed this
closure plan. Nonetheless, the DBHDS continues to pressure representatives of training center residents
to move their medically fragile and severely disabled loved ones into communities that are not ready to
receive them. Several Community Service Boards, which provide pre-admission screening, have stated
that they are not able to provide services for this population on such a short schedule and with the current
Medicaid stipend per person (Medicaid waiver). While Virginia plans to seek an enriched Medicaid
waiver, any new waiver will not be ready before scheduled closures. Inadequate waivers hurt all disabled
Virginians; those already in the community on waiting lists for services, and those being discharged from
training centers without adequate and necessary services in place.


PETITION PURPOSE

We, the undersigned residents of the Commonwealth of Virginia, ask the next Governor and the General
Assembly to:

SLOW DOWN THIS CLOSURE PROCESS and take a closer look at the needs of Virginias most
vulnerable and fragile population.

REMOVE THE ARBITRARY, UNREALISTIC TIMELINE FOR DISCHARGE. Make sure that each of
these individuals is living in the safest, most appropriate setting of their choosing.

DO NOT TRANSFER THESE INDIVIDUALS MANY HOURS AWAY from their families because the
DBHDS decided to close a training center before an appropriate local community home could be
found or built.

CONSIDER ALL THE OPTIONS, including downsizing current training centers and sharing grounds
with other groups needing similar services to achieve economies of scale.

CONSIDER THE HUNDREDS OF LOST JOBS of highly skilled Virginians if the training centers close.


For more information, visit our Facebook page at:
https://www.facebook.com/KeepVirginiasTrainingCentersOpen
or send email to KarenSchupak@gmail.com