May 27, 2015:
The following article offers evidence that for some developmentally disabled people, large campuses and farmsteads are better than small group homes.
Click on the link below to read about these insightful findings, where new state laws could infringe on big facilities ability to survive.
Who Decides Where Autistic Adults Live?
Provided courtesy of The Atlantic website, by Amy S.F. Lutz.
May 21, 2015:
The following is an additional letter that has been submitted to the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees from Assemblymember Marc Levine regarding the Governor’s recent budget proposal to close SDC by 2018 along with the trailer bill language requiring that the Department of Developmental Services provide a closure plan to the Legislature by October 1st of this year.
“Therefore, I respectfully request that if closure of SDC remains in the budget, that the appropriate Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittees consider the following changes in adopting budget language relative to closure of SDC…”
Click on the link below to read the entirety of the letter.
May 21, 2015:
Lost in the flurry of articles, local writer Will Shonbrun wrote a well written editorial over a month ago that still holds true to the SDC Coalition’s goals despite recent news of the state’s plan to close the Sonoma Developmental Center by 2018.
Please take a look at the article below, describing possible and more desirable plans for the future of SDC than closure.
Preserving Sonoma Developmental Center
Provided courtesy of The Kenwood Press website, by Will Shonbrun.
May 20, 2015:
Below, you’ll find the two latest articles on the recent news of the state’s plan to close the Sonoma Developmental Center by 2018. With such a short timeline, news has spread quickly, where members of the SDC Coalition and our local legislators are pushing back to extend such a timeline.
Click on the links provided to read more.
Editorial: Closing SDC will be no easy move for residents
State Closing Last Three Developmental Centers Community; ‘Blindsided’ by Plan
Provided courtesy of the Sonoma Index-Tribune website, by Jason Walsh and the California Healthline website, by David Gorn, respectively.
May 20, 2015:
The following is the letter state legislators representing Sonoma County and the Sonoma Developmental Center have submitted to the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees regarding the recent budget proposal.
“We ask that the Senate and Assembly Budget Committees consider a more reasonable timeline to allow better planning to ensure patient health and safety, community preparedness, and….”
Click on the link below to read the entirety of the letter.
May 19, 2015:
Seen at the Sebastiani Movie Theater in Sonoma, this nicely done video from Impact100 Sonoma describes the importance of this project as well as the efforts being put forth in aiding to keep SDC open and protect the surrounding land. Thanks to Impact100 Sonoma and many other generous donors. They have made it possible for the ‘Transform SDC’ Project to move forward.
Thank you!
Provided courtesy of YouTube, by Impact100 Sonoma.
May 19, 2015:
Before the first workshop on May 2nd at Vintage House, there was a flurry of press coverage through different media formats that went out to let community members know the workshops main goals, as well as the goals of the entire project moving forward. Here are a few radio snippets in the link below for your enjoyment.
Our goals still remain.
Envisioning a Future for Sonoma’s Developmental Center
Provided courtesy of KRCB website, by Bruce Robinson.
May 19, 2015:
As stated in last weeks article post, Governor Brown has revealed a plan to close the facility by 2018. SDC, and all of the remaining DC facilities in California, are home to the most fragile populations within our state health care system. The Governor’s budget has proposed that the Department of Developmental Services submit the closure plan for the Sonoma Developmental Center to the Legislature by October 1, 2015. Members of the SDC Coalition and our local legislators are pushing back to extend the timeline for this report, and require a more collaborative and open dialogue with our local elected officials and community groups before submittal of a closure plan. Stay tuned!
Please check out the following articles below for all of the details.
New Budget calls for closing Sonoma Developmental Center by 2018
PD Editorial: A hasty bid to shut down Sonoma center
Provided courtesy of the Press Democrat website, by Derek Moore.
May 14, 2015:
The following information is provided via CDCAN (CA Disability-Senior Community Action Network):
BREAKING NEWS:
GOVERNOR PROPOSES MULTI-YEAR GOAL FOR CLOSURE OF ALL THREE DEVELOPMENTAL CENTERS
Target Date for Sonoma Developmental Center Closure 2018 With Closure of Fairview and Porterville Approximately 2021 – Closure Plan And Transition Will Be Based On Recommendations and Work of Developmental Centers Task Force; Includes Recognition of Need of Some Type of State Operated Facility or Crisis Center – Negotiations With Federal Government on Compliance Issues in Sonoma and Other DCs Will Continue Toward A Settlement
SACRAMENTO, CA [CDCAN LAST UPDATED 05/14/2015 – 10:10 AM] – In a stunning move, Governor Brown, in his budget revisions released this morning, includes a major proposal for a plan to close all three of the remaining state owned and operated developmental centers where currently 1,108 adults with developmental disabilities reside, based on the transition and process as recommended by the Developmental Centers Task Force last year. The closure process would cover several years, with the focus first on Sonoma.
Under the Governor’s proposal, Sonoma Developmental Center in Eldridge, where 408 persons with developmental disabilities reside, would be targeted for closure by 2018, with the other two centers – Fairview Developmental Center in Pomona and Porterville Developmental Center near Bakersfield, slated for closure around 2021.
The Brown Administration made it clear that the closure process and transition would be different from the previous closures of developmental centers, including most recently the closures of Lanterman Developmental Center and Agnews Developmental Center, and be based on the new transition ideas as developed over a two year process by stakeholders who made up the Developmental Centers Task Force last year headed by California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Diana Dooley.
Those recommendations included looking at different ways the land, once closure of the facilities are completed, can be used and developed possibly for other uses by the Department of Developmental Services. The task force recommendations also recognize the need of some type of state operated facility or crisis center, which would be developed as part of the larger transition of closure of the developmental centers.
The Brown Administration said that negotiations with the federal government will continue on the compliance issues related to Sonoma Developmental Center and the other facilities with the goal of reaching an agreement, and continued support through the closure process.
While the Legislature will likely make adjustments and additions to the Governor’s closure plan, it appears all but certain both houses will approve it.
CDCAN will release a report later today with more details about this proposal and other proposals in the Governor’s budget revisions.
Provided courtesy of CDCAN website, by Marty Omoto.
May 12, 2015:
Looking over the wildlife corridor, the tops of buildings at the Sonoma Developmental Center can be seen.
Photo courtesy of Scott Hess Photography.
Transform SDC 