August 11, 2015:
The attached document was provided to the Department of Developmental Services (DDS) at a meeting on August 7th in response to the request from the Department to sit down and talk about what the SDC Coalition would like to see in the Center’s closure plan. This memo represents our best effort to summarize all the feedback we received from the community at our May 2nd “Transform SDC workshop” in Sonoma, and our technical analysis of what we need to see in the closure plan in order to meet our overall objectives for the future of SDC.
It remains to be seen how much of what we proposed will make it into the draft closure plan. The public comment deadline is September 1st, and we expect that a draft closure plan will be publicly released in mid-September. DDS has indicated that they will also likely hold another public hearing to solicit feedback on the draft plan prior to the October 1st submittal deadline to the Legislature. If you or your organization are planning on submitting comments to DDS prior to September 1st, please feel free to use this memo as a basis for your comments. The meeting on the 7th is also covered in today’s Index Tribune article by Christian Kallen, “Upcoming SDC meetings: public, private.”
Transform SDC 
I still believe we should be working for Transformation and not Closure. There are too many people that are developmentally disabled, mentally ill and physically disabled–many suffering from all three disabilities–for California to even think about closing a facility that is so well equipped to handle all these pressing needs. I think it is disgraceful that the prisons are having to open additions to the prisons to take care of the mentally ill, while at the same time the developmental centers are being scheduled for closure.
I feel very discouraged. No one in Sacramento–from the Governor to the Depts. of DDS and Human Services–is truly listening and looking at how dire the situation is.
PLEASE!! LET’S TRANSFORM SDC, FAIRVIEW AND PORTERVILLE. WE MUST NOT ALLOW THESE FACILITIES TO CLOSE.!!
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