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FORConn
Friends
of Retarded Citizens
of Connecticut
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FORConn
Priorities
FORConn's
Top Priority :
FORConn
board members meet around the state with legislators
and officials to discuss our priorities, including
our top priority: equal pay for equal work! We
are all familiar with a problem that has long plagued
those who work in the field of mental retardation
in Connecticut – the disparity between wages
paid in the publicly run facilities and in the private
provider facilities. FORConn is dedicated to working
towards correcting this problem. There is now looming
a financial crisis with the Private Providers that
will put our mentally retarded citizens at great risk
because these providers can no longer absorb all the
costs of running the facilities they have now. Cuts
in staff and services and even worst closure of some
of these facilities would mean our citizens will be
in even more danger.
FORConn is asking the State of Connecticut to provide
the funds to eliminate the disparity between wages
paid to Department of Mental Retardation (DMR) employees
and staff versus lower wages paid to private care
providers who are funded by the DMR. These
services may occur in residential or day care facilities,
as well as "at home" for folks who receive
respite and therapy care through private providers
of the DMR.
Although
both providers deliver equitable services for persons
with mental retardation, the pay the DMR staff receive
can be substantially higher. The pay differential
causes a drain of resources from the private sector
to the public sector and quality of services and care
in private facilities can be dramatically affected.
FORConn
believes that Connecticut must do what a 1991 Legislative
Task Force said should be done --- Establish an equitable
system for funding state run and privately run facilities.
This issue has been discussed in the General Assembly
for many years but no action has been taken to solve
the problem.
Our
Priorities also include:
- Laws
requiring random Drug Testing of all Direct Care
staff (public & private) who work with Department
of Mental Retardation clients.
- Laws
requiring National as well as state Criminal Background
Checks of all Direct Care staff (public & private)
who work with Department of Mental Retardation clients
- More
respite centers and funding to support respite.
- The
establishment of Dental Clinics for persons with
mental retardation, and for professional staff to
"train at" as part of their professional
dental degree. The problems in providing good
medical and dental care for our retarded citizens
has grown considerably.
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Supporting issues concerning Health & Aging.
The FORConn Health & Aging Committee, established
in the spring of 1996, has met regularly with DMR
Commissioner Peter H. O'Meara, and David Carlowl,
Director of the Division of Health and Clinical
Services.
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Supporting increased funding and considerations
in place to take care of the changing needs of older
persons with mental retardation.
As people age, their medical problems increase and
they need more staff attention. Other problems of
aging may turn up. Increased funding for the inevitable
changes in the needs of persons with mental retardation
and should be built into the Department of Mental
Retardation budget for those who seek state services
and support.
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Supporting a state plan so that the Department of
Mental Retardation is prepared for the large number
of elderly persons who will need services soon (especially
the unknown number who are now being taken care
of by very elderly parents).
We have asked DMR to provide data to us on the number
of elderly DMR clients and the number of DMR clients
who do not have Guardians (or Advocates).
FORConn's
Concerns about Possible Current or Future Connecticut
Legislation:
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The Guardianship Law in CT could possibly be reviewed
at any time and changes attempted
to be made to it - if you want to get involved in
making sure you have appropriate guardianship rights
for your child the day they turn 21, and the days
that follow....get involved now. Changes in
the Guardianship law may take away the rights given
to Guardians by the Probate Court. There are persons
who work in the field of mental retardation who
would like to see your parental and guardianship
rights reduced once your child turns 21, whether
they live at home, in a community group home, or
a larger facility. If you would like to work with
FORConn board members to protect parental guardianship
rights, join us and protect
your guardianship rights now.
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A
lawsuit to eliminate the waiting list (ARC CT et
al v. O'Meara and Wilson-Coker) was filed on October
2, 2001. The United States District
Court has received a Settlement Agreement
negotiated by the parties to this class action
civil rights lawsuit concerning the "Waiting List"
for residential placement, support, and services
maintained by the Department of Mental Retardation
(DMR), and the administration and operation of the
"Home & Community Based Services" waiver, under
Title XIX of the Medicaid Act, by the Department
of Social Services (DSS) and DMR. The
lawsuit sought on behalf of the class injunctive
and declaratory relief requiring the defendants
DMR and DSS to provide services and supports
responsive to the individual needs of DMR clients
listed on the DMR Waiting and Planning Lists.
The Settlement Agreement provides a commitment of
state resources, within an average cost of
$50,000, which are sufficient to meet the
residential placement/support/services needs of
150 individuals on the DMR "Waiting List", who are
determined to have the most urgent needs, this
year and each year through June 30, 2009. In
addition, the settlement requires enhanced
support, not less than an average of $5,000 per
individual, to 100 individuals and families each
year until June 30, 2009. The Settlement
Agreement also requires the state to apply for a
second, more flexible, waiver to meet the needs of
class members and to develop policies and
procedures concerning the administration of the
waivers, including formal hearing processes to
contest decisions regarding waiver and waiver
service eligibility. Under the settlement
these new policies and procedures must permit
application by any person wishing to apply for the
HCBS waiver, must require that individual service
plans developed under the waiver be based on the
needs of the disabled individual, must require
that individual services plans be developed by a
"team" (consisting of a DMR Case Manager or
broker, an independent broker, as applicable, the
individual, family and Circle of Support), must
establish an individual budget negotiation process
consistent with DMR cost standards and based on
individual needs for each HCBS waiver recipient,
must require that the DMR client may use
negotiated funding to purchase services from an
approved provider of his/her choice, and must
require that disputes over individual budgets will
be resolved through the fair hearing process.
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CT
law states that "No mentally incompetent
person shall be admitted as an elector".
(GSC, Vol. 3, Chapter 143, Electors: Qualifications
and Admission, Sec. 9-12). Federal law requires
that persons with mental retardation be allowed
to register to vote.
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FORConn
- Working since 1984 For Connecticut Residents
who have Mental Retardation.
Contact Us!
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