News
Your source on political action, legislation & voter info

Parents, staff and community tell commission of MR/DD care crisis if Springview Developmental Center closes

April 23, 2004 - Members of the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association as well as family members, community leaders and citizens today slammed a proposal to close an 89 bed state-run center in Springfield for clients with profound mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

Witnesses told members of a special legislative commission investigating the proposed closure of the Springview Developmental Center that loss of the center would eliminate specialized and extremely hard-to-get care at a time when the community MR/DD system is in shambles.

Last year, Governor Taft and the Ohio Department of MR/DD announced that both the Apple Creek and Springview Developmental Centers would close due to budget cuts. The Ohio General Assembly, however, had doubts about the proposals and established a “closure commission” to investigate. The six-member panel took testimony today in Springfield and will make a recommendation by May 31.

“It’s unbelievable that ODMR/DD wants to close two Developmental Centers when there is a waiting list of 17,000 people without services and when funding is being cut to community programs,” said 15-year Springview staff member Angie Kerns. “This tells us this department will go to any lengths to close these centers.”

Ohio’s share of federal Medicaid dollars for community MR/DD programs was recently cut because of discrepancies in bills submitted to Washington by the ODMR/DD. The resulting decrease in Medicaid reimbursements caused an outcry by county MR/DD boards, private providers, parents and guardians. “Now there’s even less money in the community system. They don’t have enough money to provide for the population they currently serve, let alone Springview residents with specialized medical needs that will be dumped into the system,” said Joanne Hall, who has a sister at Springview.

“ODMR/DD is consistently making news with their blunders,” said OCSEA President Ron Alexander. “The only thing they’ve done right is maintain the 12 state-operated developmental centers. It’s bewildering that they would want to cut these vital services.”

“These residents are being uprooted from their homes with no available alternatives. Montgomery Developmental Center, where many of our residents are scheduled to be placed, has no available beds. Likewise, community-based facilities don’t have the services or the room for these clients with extreme medical needs. Eliminating the Springview beds will lead to the deaths of some of these individuals,” said Kerns.

OCSEA is the largest state employees union with over 2,800 working for the Department of Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities and 115 members at Springview.

See Related

Parents, staff and community to address closure commission in public hearing to save Apple Creek Developmental Center

Parents, staff and community address closure commission in public hearing to save Springview Developmental Center

Blanton picked to sit on closure commission

MH, MRDD & OVH News Archive