Newsletter April 2004

Volume 11 Issue	RCOMO NEWS	April 2004
Parent Power	Parent Power	Parent Power

VOC REHAB
“COOKS THE BOOKS”!

State Auditor McCaskill’s recent audit showed that the division of vocational rehabilitation inflated their successes in moving disabled people into the work force. Surprise, surprise!

Several years ago our state and federal voc rehab agencies pulled the plug on Sheltered Workshops by eliminating them as viable placements for people with disabilities. Instead, they opted for community employment of at least 90 days as a successful placement. That’s right, only 90 days!

Here is a message to social engineers: Sheltered Workshops provide lifetime, gainful employment for people with disabilities. The workers earn a commensurate wage to their abilities, receive transportation to & from work, socialize with their peers, provide their families with respite and don’t drain federal dollars for not working!

We opposed the changes to no avail…our protectors in Jefferson City and Washington D. C. knew best. Now we find our state voc rehab department has “cooked the books” to meet federal requirements AND THE DISABLED AND THEIR FAMILIES SUFFER.

HE SHOULD DO BETTER

Betty Coll, President of RAM wrote a letter to Director Schuffman about her concerns with DMH’S plan to remove 200 people from habilitation centers over the next two and one half years. She outlined nine specific areas of concern and asked that he respond to each of them.

His reply was a typical bureaucratic response that parents of people with mental retardation have unfortunately come to expect from the Division of MR/DD. Not one concern was addressed and even more demeaning was his reference to these decisions being “of a personal nature.” Really! Betty Coll is the last person the Director should be lecturing about the personal aspect of having a severely retarded son or daughter. She and her late husband John have been the “shining lights” for those in our state who can’t speak for themselves for almost a half century!

Director Schuffman has a tough job. Money is tight. He’s having to be a juggler. One of his favorite expressions is “we can do better.” In this instance, “he should do better.”

Go to Page 2

Need Help?

Call our Hotline

1-800-417-8275

Need Information?

E-mail us at: info@rcomo.org

WILL IT EVER STOP?

The Department of Mental Health has released its “5 year plan” to dump over 200 severely retarded residents of habilitation centers into the community over the next two and one half years. Almost all parents and staff oppose the plan. In spite of the Departments often repeated philosophy that families wishes will be honored, they are proceeding full steam ahead!

Once again the Department knows best. [See “Parents Be Damned” at our web site: www.rcomo.org] DMH staff continues to insinuate that parents don’t know their options. What a joke. Most parents were caring for their children with mental retardation long before current professionals were even in the field of disabilities.

Many of those professionals continue to harass parents when parents don’t agree or don’t accept the outcomes the professionals prefer.

There are many things wrong with the plan that will be discussed at a later time, but two that are most troublesome are the expanded “interdisciplinary team” and the Facility Advisory Group. Placing community advocates, 2 community providers and a SB 40 representative in the “team” is like placing the fox in the henhouse! The FAG is also stacked with community advocates. While community representatives could be helpful in oversight AFTER placement, having them actively involved in placement is inappropriate.

Once again, the Department is on their train riding roughshod over clients, parents, guardians and families. Will it ever stop?