As they work to speed up the movement of persons choosing to leave the three state mental retardation hospitals into Kansas communities, community agencies have a well-tested, successful process to build upon.

With closure of Winfield State Hospital and Training Center (WSH&TC) scheduled for December 1997, the 28 Community Developmental Disability Organizations (CDDOs) across the state and their affiliates are being challenged to accelerate the number of community placements for persons in Winfield or one of the two other hospitals in Kansas for persons with mental retardation or developmental disabilities.

In a day-long meeting in late February, leaders of the CDDOs and their affiliates reached agreement on a series of improvements to accelerate the current placement process. They worked with officials from the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services' Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Commission, including superintendents and key staff from all three state MR hospitals.

Over the last three years, these same agencies have facilitated the move to community living for about 250 persons with mental retardation who chose to leave state hospitals. Now they are gearing up to make arrangements for about the same number of persons expected to choose community living over the next year and one half. Currently, 170 persons have requested to move from state mental retardation hospitals to community service.

"I felt quite positive about the meeting; there were lots of ideas generated about speeding up the placement process and making it smoother," said Ned Lakin, chief executive officer of Northview, a CDDO in Newton. Lakin is also past president of INTERHAB, the CDDO statewide association.

Lakin and other directors of CDDOs in Kansas have high praise for the Community Integration Project (CIP) already in place for moving persons from state mental retardation hospitals to the community. They indicated the availability of additional funding for community programs announced early this year by Governor Bill Graves, will enhance the CIP process. The governor announced in February that $6.2 million will be available to help with closure of both Winfield and Topeka State Hospital.

Under CIP, all people who know and care about the person considering community living -- including family members and guardians -- work together on placement plans. This team determines the needs, life styles and personal choices of the person leaving the hospital and designs services and housing options needed in the community.

It's a process I support," Lakin said. A number of guardians and family members of individuals we've had placed in our service area are extremely pleased and have volunteered to speak to other parents and guardians considering doing a similar thing. The CIP process has worked."

Two in-depth, independent reviews echo Lakin's strong support of the CIP process. In a 1993 study, Rucker, Powell and Associates, LTD, a internationally-recognized firm with expertise in evaluating systems of support for persons with mental retardation, called CIP a clear and exciting success." And in 1994, the Kansas Legislative Post Audit said CIP focuses on the needs and desired lifestyle of the individual and appears most likely to result in high-quality, successful placements of hospital residents in community settings."

Among items agreed upon at the recent meeting:

*Payments for CDDO pre-placement staff costs will be expanded to include necessary travel and staff expenses incurred in making placement arrangements.

*The education process to inform family and guardians of individuals considering a move will be improved.

*Funding for additional start-up costs of a move will be increased, with more 'hard costs' such as utility deposits, furniture and other items needed to start a household included.

*Statewide training on CIP for family, guardians and staff will be provided through interactive television.

*A process will be developed to look again and possibly adjust rates paid after a placement has been finalized. CDDO representatives indicated that redetermining individual rates sometimes is necessary because additional or surprise" costs crop up after a placement.

All three state hospitals are working to speed up the community placement process because persons now in WSH&TC who choose to stay in a hospital setting will move to either Kansas Neurological Institute (KNI) in Topeka or Parsons State Hospital, and space for these new arrivals must be freed up.

Ginger Clubine, executive director of Topeka Association for Retarded Citizens, pointed out the need to provide community placements for individuals from all three hospitals. While very few persons from WSH&TC will relocate to community living in Shawnee County, nonetheless some will move from WSH&TC to the KNI when Winfield is closed.

We're all in this together," Clubine said.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001