COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio says it’s closing two state centers housing people with developmental disabilities as the number of individuals living in such facilities declines.
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
Residents of the centers in Huber Heights in suburban Dayton and in Youngstown can move to one of Ohio’s eight remaining centers, an intermediate care facility or a community option like a group home, said John Martin, director of the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.
The agency said Tuesday the number of residents living in state centers has declined 40 percent in the last eight years, and continues to decrease by about 90 people each year.
The move reflects a national trend toward smaller-scale community living for those served by disabilities systems.
But there’s disagreement over whether that quickening pace is welcome or worrisome.
The Montgomery Developmental Center and the Youngstown Developmental Center would be closed by July 1, 2017, the department announced Tuesday.
About 180 residents live in cottages at the two centers, which have approximately 485 full- and part-time employees.
“We want to work really hard with the families to explain what the options are,” Martin said. “We’ll do the same with our staff.”
Nearly a decade has passed since one of the state-run centers was closed. The Apple Creek center in Wayne County shut its doors in 2006; Springview, in Springfield, ceased operating in 2005.
“It creates stress on families, it creates stress on staff,” Martin said. “But we feel that we’ve gotten to the point where we need to consolidate.”
Officials say increased housing options and services have led to a steep decline in the developmental-center population, which has dropped from 1,600 in 2007 to about 900 today — a decrease of more than 40 percent — and continues to decrease by about 90 people each year.
The department did not cite a projected cost savings with the closings but said it doesn’t make sense to keep 10 centers open. For fiscal year 2016, the state budget appropriation for the developmental centers is about $218.8 million.
The state says workers at the Montgomery and Youngstown development centers will get help finding new jobs. Ohio’s largest public employees’ union criticized the move, saying residents in centers need significant extra care.