A Small And Perhaps Temporary Victory...

The Star-Ledger reports:

Bill delaying plans to move disabled from institutions OKed by NJ Assembly
Gov. Chris Christie's administration would have to stop relocating people with developmental disabilities who now live in state institutions and suspend transfers of others from out-of-state facilities back to New Jersey until their safety and well-being are evaluated, under a bill that passed the state Assembly on Monday. But time is short and the bill’s future is uncertain. The Department of Human Services has already relocated 183 residents from the North Jersey Developmental Center in Totowa this year, emptying it in anticipation of closing it next week. The state has also transferred 83 residents this year from the Woodbridge Developmental Center, which is scheduled to close by the end of the year.

The Vote's On Monday, June 23

Suddenly there's a critical vote scheduled for this Monday, June 23. It's time to get in touch with NJ legislators... immediately! Here's what you need to know:

New Jersey Assembly Bill 1110(introduced by Assemblywoman Valarie Huttle (D) (which passed the Assembly Human Services Committee and is scheduled for a floor vote on June 23) and Senate Bill 2198(introduced by Peter Barnes III (D)), will impose a “moratorium on DHS transitions and transfers of certain individuals with developmental disabilities to new residential placements until certain conditions are met,” if passed. These bills were prompted by the tragic choking deaths of two former developmental center residents who were transferred recently as part of the State’s plan to close Woodbridge and North Jersey. Your help is needed now to secure strong bi-partisan support for these bills for passage and to overcome Governor Christie’s expected veto. Republican support is especially critical. Here’s how you can help TODAY: CALL your elected legislators (Assembly and Senate) and ask that they COSPONSOR A1110 or S2198. You can find your legislators and phone numbers here.

For additional info about the bill and how to help, click here.

NJTV News Focuses On The RIsks Of Closing Disability Centers

Advocates for Disabled Say Closing Disability Centers May Result in Deaths (via NJTV News with Mike Schneider)

Brenda Flanagan Correspondent Cindy Bartman’s brother, Cliff, is 51 – but he thinks like a three-year-old, she says — mostly communicates with hand signals. Born with Down Syndrome — Cliff lives here at the Hunterdon Developmental Center. “…

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Asking For A Moratorium

MyCentralJersey.com reports:

A group representing families with relatives in state-run developmental centers support a bill seeking a moratorium on moving any more developmentally disabled residents until the deaths of two people moved to a group setting are investigated.

“The state is moving way too fast,” said Joanne St. Amand, president of the Woodbridge Developmental Center Parents Association, whose sister is a longtime resident of the Woodbridge facility, which is one of two scheduled to close by the end of this year. “We need to do this safely. We need to slow down and not put people in jeopardy so quickly.”

The Record Takes A Closer Look At Group Home Deaths

Stephanie Akin, staff writer at The Record, tells us:

After lifetimes spent at state institutions for the disabled, Richard Fornarotto and Steven Cortes had no family left to speak for them when they died, in February and May.

NJ's Most Vulnerable Residents At Risk

Balanced budgets and fiscal probity are generally good things, but not when the hard choices fall heavily on the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable members of society. Unfortunately, this tragedy is currently in progress in New Jersey, where the state government is planning to close the Woodbridge Developmental Center (WDS) at the end of 2014 (and the North Jersey Developmental Center in Totowa even sooner, on July 1).