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NJACP, along with concerned advocates, people with developmental disabilities and families, urge you to support A-1673-S811.

What is the goal of A-1673

Legislation sponsored by Assemblymen Louis Greenwald (D-6), John McKeon (D-27), John Bramnick (R-21) and Assemblywoman Joan Voss (D-38), and Senator’s Joseph Vitale (D-19) and Tom Kean (R-21) provides a plan for rebalancing State resources to provide community services and supports for persons with developmental disabilities. The genesis for the A-1673/S811 occurred because of the commitment of the New Jersey Association of Community Providers, Advocates for Alternatives and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network to assist people living with developmental disabilities to lead the lives of their choice. We are also indebted to Assemblyman Louis Greenwald who believed in making a difference and had the courage and daring to take a different path.

New Jersey’s fiscal climate presents an opportunity to revise our continued investment in large public institutions to better meet the needs of people living with developmental disabilities, enabling them to live quality lives in the community. Rebalancing the allocation of fiscal, human, and capital resources within the Department of Human Services through the consolidation and downsizing of the number of developmental centers is a critical step that must be taken in a restrained fiscal climate and addressing spiraling costs for institutional care. Rebalancing fiscal and staff resources are intrinsic to shifting the historical investment from institutional care to promoting community living for people with developmental disabilities consistent with their assessed level of need. Consolidating and closing developmental centers offers opportunities not only for efficiencies, but will align services with need and address the deficits of the current system. These deficits are evidenced by our continued inappropriate reliance on developmental centers, our inability to significantly reduce the Community Services Waiting List and our inability provide a seamless transition for young adults entering the developmental disabilities system from the educational system. This course of action will create the long awaited opportunities for people to live quality engaged lives in the community and create fiscal resources to allow New Jersey to move forward with systems change.

With the additional support of temporary bridge funding to develop and expand community services and supports consistent with the direction that has been taken across the country over the last four decades, New Jersey will be able to right size the system.

Rebalancing resources from the developmental centers will align public resources with national trends and address the unmet needs of people in the community while serving significantly more people with the same fiscal resources. Establishing a moratorium on future admission to developmental centers coupled with a temporary allocation of bridge funding repaid from the net proceeds of the liquidated properties, additional federal financial participation and other cost savings, minus the cost of the development and expansion of community based services and supports we can:

• address the needs of 8,065 consumers and families awaiting services and supports of the growing community services waiting list, and
• support young adults transitioning from the educational system to the adult system who aspire to achieve the opportunities that life offers.

“The goals of the Nation properly include a goal of providing individuals with developmental disabilities with the information, skills, opportunities and support to make informed choices and decisions about their lives; live in homes and communities in which such individuals can exercise their full rights and responsibilities as citizens; achieve full integration and inclusion in society, in an individualized manner, consistent with the unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities of each individual” (The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (P.L.106-42).

We need YOUR HELP to change the story for thousands of people and give them freedom of choice to live their lives.