The General Assembly Has the Final Say on Settlement Agreement Implementation with Respect to Training Centers

The Agreement requires the Chairmen of the Senate finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee to consult with the Commonwealth on a plan to close four Training Centers; it does not require closure of any Centers. Under the modified settlement agreement, which was approved by Judge John Gibney on August 23, 2012, the principal responsibility of the General Assembly is to fund the new Medicaid waiver slots for people with ID in the community and the training centers (a reduced number of waivers than currently offered under Virginia law) as well as the required quality assurance provisions and the new crisis stabilization centers. The legislatures only obligation with respect to the Training Centers is to consult on the Commonwealths plan to close four of the five Centers. Specifically, section III (C)(9), Enhancement of Community Services, states: The Commonwealth has made public its long-standing goal and policy, independent of and adopted prior to this Agreement or the Department of Justice's findings, of transitioning from an institutional model of care to a community-based system that meets the needs of all individuals with ID/DD, including those with the most complex needs, and of using its limited resources to serve effectively the greatest number of individuals with ID/DD. This goal and policy have resulted in a decline in the population of the state training centers from approximately 6000 individuals to approximately 1000 individuals. The Commonwealth has determined that this significant and ongoing decline makes continued operation of residential services fiscally impractical. Consequently, and in accordance with the Commonwealth's policy of transitioning its system of developmental services to a community-based system, the Commonwealth will provide to the General Assembly within one year of the effective date of this Agreement, a plan, developed in consultation with the Chairmen of Virginia's House of Delegates Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, to cease residential operations at four of the five training centers by the end of State Fiscal Year 2021. (Italics added) The above language was added at the request of the Commonwealth and does not reflect the opinion of the DOJ. The Department of Justice has repeatedly stated that the Agreement does not require the Commonwealth to close any Training Center, merely to devise a plan to do so. Judge Gibney stated in his Order of August 23, 2012, that VA Code section 37.2-837(a)(3) provides bedrock assurance that no Training Center resident will be forcibly evicted from a Training Center. The General Assembly may devise and adopt a different plan that respects the ADA, Virginia law, and Olmstead choice while fulfilling the obligations of the Settlement Agreement. The Court has stated clearly that the ultimate responsibility for the future of the training centers rests with the General Assembly. Judge Gibney has reiterated this view several times. In his August opinion approving the revised settlement agreement, he stated that: Nothing in the decree compels Virginia to close any facility. Decisions of that sort lie in the hands of the Virginia General Assembly. If it deems it wise, the General Assembly can appropriate funds to continue to operate some or all of the Training Centers, even while funding the Medicaid waivers. The Court recognizes that the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services is trying to move away from a care model with Training Centers, but the ultimate decision whether to close any Training Center lies not with the Department, but with the legislature. U.S. v. Virginia, pp. 8-9.
PROVIDED BY TRAINING CENTER FAMILIES. CONTACTS: JANE POWELL, CVTC, PASHABEAN@VERIZON.NET JANE ANTHONY FOR NVTC, JANTHONYJANE@COMCAST.NET WANDA ROBINSON FOR SWVTC, THEREDHEAD@EMBARQMAIL.COM JUDY SCOTT FOR SVTC, JUDITH.SCOTT@YAHOO.COM