Comments on : Did you know?

Katie! You go girl! I like the way you presented y...

2008-04-04T14:55:00.000-05:00

Katie! You go girl! I like the way you presented your points. Thank you for showing us a side of things not often discussed in rational terms. Be encouraged!
your fan, Kathy in Rochester NY

Did you know that children who grew poorly or lear...

2008-03-28T11:35:00.000-05:00

Did you know that children who grew poorly or learnt differently in the middle ages were referred to as 'changelings' and 'killcrops' and believed to be demonic or supernatural beings swapped for the real child?

What's wrong with people demanding being paid enou...

2008-03-12T22:20:00.000-05:00

What's wrong with people demanding being paid enough to be a human being?

Why the negative attitude towards Union members looking for a decent wage?

Hell, if it came down to non-unionized labor and getting paid shitbricks to work at the institution---I'd rather get my free ride, 3 meals a day, and bed to sleep in at night as one of the institutionalized...!

I don't think you should save the mentally disabled by paying the workers in insane wage. Unions are not evil. Funding is the problem.

The ironic part about this is that it costs the st...

2008-03-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

The ironic part about this is that it costs the state significantly less to provide supports in the community than it does to institutionalize people (1/3- 1/2 the price by most estimations). The primary political roadblock of deinstitutionalization in Illinois is unions. AFSCME has a vested interest in the operation of institutions, and politicians know it.

If I know anything about Democrats, as a group, it is that they like to paint themselves as the champions of the underprivileged, they like unions, and they like to spend money. (Gross generalizations, I know, but at least somewhat true). I suppose Democrats in Illinois are likely to support institutions because they meet two of those three criteria: they cost a lot of money and they employ union workers. But many Democrats, and many Republicans alike, certainly cannot claim to be champions of the rights of people with disabilities in this state.

Nowhere did I call you a do-gooder or an idealist,...

2008-03-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

Nowhere did I call you a do-gooder or an idealist, Katie.

Robert Heinlein said that anytime someone asks, "Why don't we?" the answer invariably involves money. Where would the money come from for the individualized supports you're suggesting? If it's from taxes, or if it's administered by the Illinois state government, I'm afraid I have to unconditionally oppose it. The history of corruption within the state over the last couple of decades is undeniable and it should be assumed, rather than overlooked, that any future administration of funds will be inefficient and neglectful.

I am in favor of governmental units helping--as a matter of fact, I believe that governmental administrators should be held criminally liable if citizens are harmed because of their inaction. In my opinion, however, the proper level for this to happen would be on the county level, and it should be done in tandem with religious institutions to insure the morality of the treatment of the institutionalized.

In a sane society, the families of the people involved would be able to take care of them, but in the present artificial povertization of the middle and lower-classes (accompanied by the destruction of any remaining family units left) that's not possible.

Tom

Thanks to everyone else for the comments, I promis...

2008-03-12T17:24:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone else for the comments, I promise to respond more adequately later today.

Billy- these facts are from "Disability at the Dawn of the 21st Century and the State of the States" by Braddock. It's a huge book, but very interesting to flip through. Those numbers are from the 2000 and 2004 reports.

I'm between meetings, so I don't have time to resp...

2008-03-12T17:20:00.000-05:00

I'm between meetings, so I don't have time to respond to everyone right now, but Tet, I'd like to respond to you in particular.

First of all, I resent being called an idealist or a do-gooder. They might both be true, but neither are applicable here.

Second, I am by no means advocating the closure of all institutions and I do not want anyone turned out onto the streets. In terms of institutionalization, I am advocating appropriate individualized supports that would allow people to choose where and with whom they live, to the best of their ability. Most states (Illinois not included) have developed personalized budgets for people with disabilities that allow them to make, or at least contribute to, all major life decisions. The closest thing Illinois has to a program like this is the Medicaid Home and Community Based Waiver, which is a very new program with little awareness in the disability community.

Several states have successfully closed all public institutions without turning any residents onto the streets.

I'd be happy to recommend a plethora of reading on why deinstitutionalization does not mean homelessness for people with disabilities. A great place to start is "Raymond's Room" by Dale DiLeo.

Did you know that there IS a goverment institution...

2008-03-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

Did you know that there IS a goverment institution perfectly happy to house all of these individuals indefintely, and that it's called the county jail? That new ordinances and trespassing codes and bar-lists for public housing and retail establishments have the effect of creating a 'life sentence on the installment plan'? That juveniles over the age of 12, who are mentally ill, are often criminally prosecuted and adjudicated delinquent (which bars them from DCFS wardship and free mental health services in most cases), and sent to prison, for crimes so minor that an adult would face a minor fine and a short period of court supervision? That community mental health resources are so strapped that most have a '2 no-show and you're out forever' policy that keeps many from accessing ANY mental health treatment at all, short of the emergency room and/or the short-term hospital stay?

Tom,What do you think is the ideal solution to the...

2008-03-12T16:11:00.000-05:00

Tom,

What do you think is the ideal solution to the problem of homeless people who are unfit for work? You seem to prefer government-funded institutions to just throwing them on the street, but I know you're not a fan of government and taxes in general.

Is this an exception to your usual point of view, or is there a better way to solve this problem without government intervention?

Curious about what your sources are for your openi...

2008-03-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

Curious about what your sources are for your opening paragraphs?

"Did you know that Illinois spends over $120,000 per person, per year housing people with disabilities in public institutions? That came out to over $330 million in 2004.

Did you know that most of those people did not choose this living arrangement, do not need 24-hour care or supervision, and could live in the community with appropriate supports and services for under $40,000 per year?"

Please note that even though the funding was drast...

2008-03-12T11:52:00.000-05:00

Please note that even though the funding was drastically reduced in the '80s, LDC specifically continued to attempt to function for another twenty years before Governor Ryan finally closed its doors permanently.

I was speaking about institutions in general in the 1980s.

Katie, let me tell you what happened when the Linc...

2008-03-12T11:37:00.000-05:00

Katie, let me tell you what happened when the Lincoln Development Center, with its so-called "poor living conditions and inhumane treatment of residents" was closed:

Before 1980, there were almost no homeless people in America. There was an occasional drunkard or junkie in the skid row area of large cities, but places like Champaign-Urbana had no one on the streets panhandling.

There was an occasional itinerant workman passing through--the old definition of hobo, who would rake your lawn for a hot meal while casing your house to see if it was an easy mark. They were very, very rare. You saw one about once every three or four months, and never in the winter, when they went south.

Around 1980, two things happened. First of all, the State and Federal government cut almost all money and aid to places like the LDC while offering no alternatives for their patients. As a result, the quality of care deteriorated rapidly, creating situations similar to the ones noted in the veteran's hospitals recently. The governments then used the poor quality of the institutions as an excuse to close them and put the residents, many of whom had no close relatives or were unable to take care of themselves, onto the streets.

At the same time, disability activists successfully lobbied for laws that made it virtually impossible for an unfit person to be institutionalized, even if it meant that they would starve or freeze to death.

The result of these two actions was the creation of the homeless problem in the United States. The people pushing shopping carts around mumbling to themselves weren't there thirty years ago.

It was idealists that put them on the streets.

So, certainly there should be a history of the disabled. It should be posted as a warning to the do-gooders of the future that sometimes, leaving well-enough alone is best.

Did you know all that?

Tom

One our readers can do, encourage your state reps ...

2008-03-12T10:48:00.000-05:00

One our readers can do, encourage your state reps to sign on as cosponsors of HR 4537

Current sponsors are: Rep. Robert F. Flider - David E. Miller - Kathleen A. Ryg - Roger L. Eddy, Karen A. Yarbrough, Naomi D. Jakobsson, Elizabeth Hernandez, Esther Golar and Linda Chapa LaVia

If you don't know who your state rep is, this tool will help:
http://tiny.cc/rep

Katie:Would you tell us a little about the likelih...

2008-03-12T10:08:00.000-05:00

Katie:

Would you tell us a little about the likelihood of passage? Where is the bill now and what is being done to lobby it? Who are your champions in the legislature?

What do you think is the strongest argument against the bill? Cost to schools/academic freedom? On the balance, I'd support it too.

Is there anything we can do to help?

You could consider having ISS partner with students and staff at DRES to do a lobby day in support of this, and rent a bus.

I did not know! Thanks for these interesting facts...

2008-03-11T23:57:00.000-05:00

I did not know! Thanks for these interesting facts, Katie and Segen, and welcome, Katie.

U of I's Women's Wheelchair Basketball team is als...

2008-03-11T23:51:00.000-05:00

U of I's Women's Wheelchair Basketball team is also ranked number one in the nation.

Did you know....That the University of Illinois at...

2008-03-11T23:27:00.000-05:00

Did you know....

That the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is:

#1 Rated as one of the most "disability friendly" U.S. campuses

* First to provide students with disabilities access to all university services, curricula, and facilities; developed first architectural accessibility standards; designed & instituted a wheelchair-accessible bus system; first to offer comprehensive wheelchair sports programming

* Developed the first transitional living program for students with physical disabilities needing personal assistant support services.Students with physical disabilities who require personal assistant support services have an 87 percent graduation rate; nearly 60 percent obtain employment within a year of graduation, while another 32 percent enroll in graduate or professional schools

http://publicaffairs.uiuc.edu/facts/facts.html