A White paper opposing the reopening of
Lincoln Developmental Center

Submitted by Anixter Center ’s Employee Government Action Committee
November 13, 2003

Over the past few decades, community-based care of individuals with developmental disabilities – rather than institutional care – has consistently proved itself a superior choice for a variety of well-documented reasons. The key benefits of community-based care are:

1. A humane setting that maximizes an individual’s skills and abilities, is more effective in treating challenging behaviors and provides a richer quality of life

2. A more positive, responsive and rewarding work environment for employees

3. An economic solution that is far more feasible for taxpayers and less wasteful of state resources

4. A contemporary model that is in greater demand by consumers

5. An enlightened approach to providing residential care for people with disabilities, one that reflects the intent of the 1999 Olmstead Decision

With these well-documented factors in mind, we strongly urge that Lincoln Developmental Center remain closed. Even though the reports say the “new and improved” Lincoln would be smaller and consist of (at least in part) four 10-bed homes -which Illinois taxpayers would have to pay to construct – the facility would still be every bit an institution. A group of 10-bed homes on a sheltered campus in no way represent community-based living. Other plans for the facility are said to include more full-blown institutional living.

Consider one factor at a time:

• First, community-based care offers a humane setting that is more effective in treating challenging behaviors and provides a richer quality of life. Let’s look at the environment one encounters at a community-integrated living arrangement, or CILA. Perhaps the most compelling observations come directly from employees who have worked in both types of situations. Several Anixter Center employees (one whom we spoke with for this paper is referred to simply by her first name) have years of experience of working with people with disabilities in both types of settings. When Lynne was employed at Approved Home in Chicago before its closing in the mid 1990s, she worked with a client named Lawrence who literally was speechless: He never said a word. After Approved Home closed, both Lynne and Lawrence relocated to Oakley, an Anixter Center residence. “And he soon began to talk! “ recalls Lynne. “Like many of our clients, his whole demeanor has improved. We have a family atmosphere in the CILAs, and clients benefit from the caring and nurturing atmosphere.” She comments that because clients in community-based care often are able to enjoy a variety of excursions, many learn to become more comfortable in the world and less afraid of new people and situations.

• Second, community-based care offers a work environment that is more positive, responsive and rewarding for many employees. These are typical comments from employees who have experienced both small group homes and institutional care: “I feel I am able to observe the progress that clients make on a more personal level in a smaller residence;” “I have more direct input with clients when working in a CILA;” and “Management asks my opinion more often, and we work as a team to solve problems for the benefit of the clients.”

• Third, community-based care is an economic solution that is more economical for taxpayers and less wasteful of state resources. In all their simplicity, numbers tell the cost-efficiency story.

According to Equip for Equality, here’s the situation in Illinois: (http://www.equipforequality.org/news/equalizer/fall02/16presidentsforum.php)
“Roughly 3,000 people with developmental disabilities live in the state’s 11 institutions. It costs $106,000 a year, on average, to keep them there. Compare that to the average cost of a person living in a community setting with 24-hour care: $44,000 to $51,000. So roughly a quarter of the $1.2 billion spent on individuals with such disabilities goes toward less than 5 percent of this population. That puts Illinois behind only Texas, California and New Jersey in terms of the number of its developmentally disabled population living in state-run institutions.” If you add approximately $10,000 a year for day training programs, the estimate for community-based care increases to about $54,000-$61,000 a year.

Also, from a financial perspective, Lincoln Developmental Center was essentially dismantled in late August 2002 when the remainder of the institution’s 370 residents were moved out of the facility. In October 2002, saws, lights, file cabinets and other items were auctioned off to the highest bidder. Under the current proposed scenario, costs to be incurred include the building and furnishing of new residences, a plan that just doesn’t compute; it would be cheaper to build or buy houses in the region. Considering that Illinois is in dire financial straits, the prospect of spending an estimated $7 million to renovate and reopen Lincoln Developmental Center – along with a $5 million operating budget for FY 2005 – is ill-conceived.

Because jobs are being held out as the primary reason to reopen Lincoln Developmental Center , it should be noted that the community-based care industry is a considerable statewide economic engine that employs thousands of people. Therefore, we feel the “jobs argument” is not valid, especially when people’s lives are being devalued. People with disabilities are not material goods, whose “manufacture” entitles people to employment.

• Fourth, community-based care is a contemporary approach in greater demand by consumers. Simply put, consumers aren’t lining up to secure rooms at state institutions. Who, exactly, will fill the beds at Lincoln ? Last August, Lincoln ’s residents were relocated to other state-operated centers and into CILAs. It certainly doesn’t make sense to relocate these same folks back to Lincoln , since they’ve already undergone a major uprooting and transitions to their new facilities. We also note the relative proximity of Fox and Jacksonville Developmental Centers , whose capacities continue to decrease.

• Fifth, community-based care is an enlightened approach to providing residential care for people with disabilities, one that reflects the spirit of the 1999 Olmstead Decision. According to Olmstead, the U.S. Supreme Court holds that states discriminate against people with disabilities if they prevent those persons from having the opportunity to live in community-based environment rather than institutions. Disability advocates from every corner decry the proposed reopening of Lincoln – under any circumstances – rightfully asserting it would catapult Illinois backwards in time.

Now, today, is the time to move Illinois forward by closing Lincoln Developmental Center… once and for all. Instead, let’s work together to provide positive housing options for people with disabilities and improved working conditions for those who have the important responsibility of caring for these individuals. Illinoisans deserve the best care we can provide, and that means advancement of true community-based options in central Illinois .