The state says it does not need as many centers because of a steep decline in residents stemming from its efforts to move developmentally disabled people into the community.
The announcement was met with swift criticism by some employees and family members, who say the closure could negatively impact services for a vulnerable population.
“They talk about placement in the community, but the closest facilities that provide similar supports are the Columbus Developmental Center and the Southwest Developmental Center in Batavia,” said Jeffrey Fox, whose autistic son, Matthew Fox, lives at the local center. “We are pretty outraged about what’s going on here.”
The residents at the center in Huber Heights, 7650 Timbercrest Drive, will be transitioned into community settings or other state-run centers. The Montgomery County center opened in 1981, said Kerry Francis, spokeswoman with the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.
“We’ve helped more and more people move into the local communities,” Francis said. “We believe that helping those who want to move the community is the right thing to do.”
The Department of Developmental Disabilities also said it plans close a developmental center in Youngstown.
About 900 people with intellectual and other disabilities live in 10 intermediate care facilities operated by the state.
The closures could occur before July 2017, but it depends on how quickly residents move out and into a community setting or another intermediate care facility, Francis said.
The state will meet with families of residents to explain the transition process and their options, Francis said. The state will craft an individualized transition plan for every resident.
The state will pay to place residents into the community using state-funded waivers, she said. But residents also can move to other developmental centers.
The state has been downsizing its developmental centers for years.
In recent years, the centers housed about 1,500 residents. The population has fallen to about 900, and the state is working to reduce it to 800 by September.
In 2005, the state closed the Springview Developmental Center in Springfield. When the closing was first announced in 2003, Springview had more than 200 employees and nearly 90 residents.
“At our peak in 1965, we had more than 10,000 residents in 17 developmental centers across the state,” Francis said.
She added, “It is not the intent of our department or administration to close all of the centers, because we realize we need these facilities ….”
Ohio has stood out nationwide for its reliance on large, segregated facilities to serve people with developmental disabilities, said Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt, director of advocacy for Disability Rights Ohio.
Sjoberg-Witt said her organization wants to see more community integration.
“It is positive that the state is beginning to provide more opportunities for individuals to choose a community based, integrated home setting and still receive the specialized services and supports they need,” she said.
There are economic benefits of community integration.
People who live in the community but receive care and services through the waiver program cost the state about $105,000 per year, Francis said. It costs the state about $200,000 annually to house a resident at a developmental center.
The state will help workers find a job at another developmental center or with other private or public care providers, said Francis. It is unclear whether layoffs will be necessary. Francis said the state hopes to handle staff reductions through attrition.
Residents at the centers often end up there because there is nowhere else for them to go, said Sally Meckling, spokeswoman with the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association, which represents about 120 staff at the Huber Heights center.
Residents require a tremendous level and variety of services, and it is unfortunate that local parents and family members may have to now travel an hour or longer to visit their loved ones because they need to be in a developmental center, she said.
“We have a stressed out system where we don’t have enough services,” she said.
Before Matthew Fox moved to the development center, he lived in a group home.
But he has behavioral issues related to his autism, and the group home could not meet his needs, his parents said.
Fox’s parents fear they will have to move their son an hour away. They live in Centerville.
They said they would be OK with moving their son to a group home nearby, but that will only work if he gets support services.
“We had a meeting in Columbus, and they say the whole thing is about choices,” said his mother, Betty Fox. “But they are taking away the choice we wanted for now.”
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