Settlement Reached In DMR Waiting List Lawsuit

HARTFORD (AP) — The state of Connecticut has reached a tentative settlement with advocates for the mentally retarded to settle a class action lawsuit and possibly eliminate or reduce a years-long waiting list for housing services.

The five-year, $41 million agreement, completed in recent weeks, needs approval from the legislature when it reconvenes in January. Once approved, the settlement can be signed by all parties and submitted to the US District Court for final action.

Proponents hope the agreement will help solve one of the most financially vexing and emotional problems that the Department of Mental Retardation (DMR) and state lawmakers have faced.

Some people have been on the agency’s waiting list for up to 15 years. Their elderly parents have testified before the legislature every year, expressing fears that they might die before their adult children with mental retardation are finally placed in an apartment or group home.

“The bottom line is, this lawsuit never should have been necessary,” said Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, whose office represented DMR in the negotiations with Arc/Connecticut. “The state should have been undertaking this task without a lawsuit.”

Calls were left seeking comment with Arc/Connecticut.

As of September 30, there were 1,064 people on DMR’s waiting list for residential placement, support, or services, including respite programs for family members, according to DMR spokesman Matthew McKeever.

Under the proposed settlement, slots will be added to remove about 150 more people from the list each year over the next five years. Blumenthal said that will cost about $4.5 million per year, but much of it will be reimbursed by the federal government under the Medicaid program.

Last session, lawmakers voted to increase the amount of reimbursement the state can seek from Washington. Marc Ryan, the governor’s budget director, said DMR Commissioner Peter O’Meara came up with a plan for the agency to scrutinize the waiting list and seek out people who would qualify for the federal reimbursement.

The deal also calls for $5,000 a year, per person, for about 100 people on the list with urgent needs. The state will also be required to retain an expert consultant to help develop policies and procedures to continue to reduce the list beyond July 1, 2009, Blumenthal said.

Ryan said he expects the federal government will ultimately pick up about three-quarters of the total $41 million initiative.

Senator Cathy Cook, R-Mystic, who has a son with mental retardation and has passionately advocated to eliminate the waiting list, said she was pleased state officials had finally found a solution.

“I’m sorry that it had to come through a court case,” Cook said. “What it will do is force the legislature to fund it. Now we’ll have to put it in the budget.”

Mr Ryan publicly acknowledged at a budget hearing earlier this year that he regretted not tackling the DMR waiting list when Connecticut had consecutive budget surpluses. On Friday, he said he was pleased a deal had been reached before he leaves his job in January.

“It’s one of the largest areas we really overlooked in the good years,” he said.

The groundwork for the settlement was laid earlier this year in former governor John G. Rowland’s budget proposal, Mr Ryan said. Lawmakers ultimately approved $4.6 million for this fiscal year to place 150 people with urgent needs, and to provide support to families of another 100.

He said total cost of the arrangement was also built into the budget in hopes of settling the case.

There have been complaints from the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, a union that represents many DMR workers, that much of the new money has not yet translated into many housing opportunities for those on the waiting list.

Deborah DeVivo, a DMR case manager in East Hartford, said it is sometimes difficult to match people on the list, who have myriad needs, with the types of housing that become available. Because the waiting list is so large, it is a cumbersome process to keep track of everyone and determine what is the best type of housing for them.

“It’s a major task to match these people up,” she said, adding how she sent letters recommending one of her clients for a particular spot but no one followed through with her request.

Terry Edelstein, president of the Connecticut Community Providers Association, said many of the nonprofit groups she represents that provide services to people with mental retardation are looking forward to the settlement becoming reality.

“There is a huge amount of interest,” she said. “This is just another way to help people be more independent in the community.”