40th History Brochure-r2 - Frank D. Lanterman Regional Center

R E M O V I N G R E M A I N I N G B A R R I E R S T O F U L L I N C L U S I O N1996 – 2005“Though progress has been made in the lastdecade, too many barriers remain. Too manyAmericans with disabilities remain trapped inbureaucracies of dependence and are deniedthe tools and access necessary for success...People with disabilities want to be employed,educated, participating, tax-paying citizensliving in the community and contributing tothe economic and social fabric of Americanlife. And, in today’s global new economy,America must be able to draw on the talentsand creativity of all its citizens.”President George W. BushAnnouncing his “New Freedom Initiative”on February 1, 2001During this decade…The U.S. Supreme Court further advancesdeinstitutionalization and creation of community alternativesby holding that federal law prohibits unjustified isolationof people with disabilities in institutions. The court alsosupports the notion that a state can be required to fundcommunity placements by moving resources from theinstitution to the community. President George W. Bushissues an executive order calling for swift implementationof this decision.The federal government, through the Medicaid Waiverprogram, supports implementation of “self-directedservices,” through which people with disabilities and theirfamilies are given an individual budget and responsibility toindependently purchase services and supports as identifiedin their individual program plan. California implements pilotprograms in five regional centers and signals its intent toexpand this policy initiative in coming years.For the first time ever in California, a governor is recalled.In the face of the biggest budget deficit in the state’shistory, Governor Gray Davis loses his office to ArnoldSchwarzenegger. The continuing fiscal crisis in the stateis acutely felt by regional centers and many providers ofcommunity services. The controversy over the funding ofcommunity services becomes a major issue for regionalcenters, clients, families and advocates, and the stateLegislature.Twenty-five years after the first closure of a state institution,Stockton Developmental Center closes. A year later theinstitution in Camarillo also closes. State institutionscontinue to be cited for their failure to protect the healthand welfare of their residents even after more than 40 yearsof scrutiny, judicial orders toimprove conditions, and successin moving many residents to thecommunity. In the face of theseconditions and of the clearmandate to de-populateinstitutions, a vocal group ofparents supported by stateemployees within theinstitutions, resist furtherclosings. While the state’scommitment to closure ismaintained, it becomes clear that the pace of movingpeople out of institutions and into the community willbe unacceptably slow.22