SJ0015 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0015 LRB097 02777 KTG 50288 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C. Ex Rel. Zimring, 119 S. Ct. 2176 (1999), held that under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), States are required to provide community based treatment for persons with mental disabilities when the State's treatment professionals determine that such placement is appropriate, the affected persons do not oppose such treatment, and the placement can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account the resources available to the State and the needs of others with mental disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Title II of the ADA further states that a public entity shall administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities, defining that setting as one that enables individuals with disabilities to interact with non-disabled persons to the fullest extent possible; and

WHEREAS, Almost 10 years after the Olmstead decision, a report titled "The State of the States in Disabilities 2008" by the Department of Psychiatry and Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities of the University of Colorado ranks the State of Illinois 40th nationally in fiscal effort for services for individuals with developmental disabilities, including all home based programs, group home, and congregate care; 43rd in State fiscal effort for community services; 47th in home and community-based waiver spending per capita; and 51st in serving persons with developmental disabilities in environments of 6 or less; and

WHEREAS, The State has not adequately invested funding for home and community-based services for individuals with developmental disabilities, and has cut funding for those services in the past 3 State fiscal year budgets; and

WHEREAS, Funding for home and community-based services does not currently meet the cost of providing those services and supports due to inflationary pressures, increased personnel costs, mandated increases in minimum wage, rising health insurance costs, and the increased cost of doing business with vendors; and

WHEREAS, Wages for community-based direct service professionals are generally at or barely above the poverty level for a single person supporting one or more children, leading to excessive turnover and undermining the availability of quality services; and

WHEREAS, "Person-centered" means that services and supports are identified and authorized to address the specific needs of each person as a result of an individualized assessment and through a person-centered planning process; and

WHEREAS, Illinois has a disproportionate number of Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities who are served in Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled and State-Operated Developmental Centers (SODC); and

WHEREAS, Data shows that Illinois lags substantially behind nearly all other states in fostering the provision of services in the most integrated setting; the Illinois utilization rate for SODC services in 2009 was 18.0 individuals per 100,000 persons in the general population; the nationwide utilization rate in 2009 was 11.1 individuals per 100,000 in the general population; and

WHEREAS, The majority of other states have significantly reduced their utilization of large state-operated facilities; in order for Illinois to achieve parity with the national average by 2017, Illinois would need to serve an average of 8.9% fewer individuals in SODCs annually; and

WHEREAS, As long as the State continues to perpetuate short term measures to address crises in the system, in the long term, Illinois will perpetuate its inability to serve the growing number of individuals with developmental disabilities who are not currently receiving services; and

WHEREAS, The total budget for all services across all settings for persons with developmental disabilities falls far short of what is needed for a quality service system; and

WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities (Division) developed and released its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2011-2017 in July 2010 which aims to substantively reorient Division priorities and resources to support a truly person-centered system of services for which there is a popular mandate; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that in alignment with the Division's 7-year Strategic Plan, all children and adults with developmental disabilities living in Illinois will receive high quality services guided by a person-centered plan that maximizes individual choice and flexibility in the most integrated setting possible regardless of intensity or severity of need; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Division's Strategic Plan will employ national utilization or funding rates as benchmarks to measure progress, and the Division will continue to monitor the Prioritization of Urgency of Need for Services (PUNS) waiting list to evaluate system-wide service needs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Illinois will implement at least one new, outcome-based model for service delivery that improves the coordination and integration of habilitation, social, and clinical care for people with developmental disabilities; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the number of individuals living in the most integrated settings will achieve parity with the national utilization rates so that more individuals will live in settings of 6 or less; fewer individuals will live in private intermediate care facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities; and fewer individuals will live in SODCs; and be it further

RESOLVED, That in order to ensure positive outcomes for all persons, Illinois will work to achieve parity with the average national rate of funding for developmental disability services in order to achieve the goals set forth by the Division's 7-year Strategic Plan; and be it further

RESOLVED, That more individuals with developmental disabilities will receive integrated employment services to achieve parity with the national utilization rates; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the number of people receiving Medicaid-funded Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) will achieve parity with national utilization rates; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the disparity between wages paid to State of Illinois employees and community-based direct service professionals will be reduced; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Illinois will seek to provide funding for an annual cost-of-living increase for community-based direct service employees in order to ensure that these workers receive a fair wage that allows them to support their families; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Division will develop a comprehensive, integrated data management system that captures, aggregates, and analyzes data from various sources, allowing timely analysis of service processes and outcomes; and be it further

RESOLVED, That persons with developmental disabilities are linked to the services that best meet their needs and to promote that linkage there must be an effective service coordination system that is available to all regardless of geographic or network boundaries and available to support individuals, families, and guardians; and be it further

RESOLVED, That persons with developmental disabilities will be actively involved in policy discussions and will be respected as partners in the process, making informed choices and decisions in order to support productive and fulfilling lives; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the input from families and guardians will be respected and taken into consideration in conjunction with the wishes of the individual; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois recognizes that home and community providers are a vital part of healthy communities and are counted on by individuals and families and the State to support their goals and therefore should be listened to and respected; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the allocation of resources to support people with developmental disabilities will accurately reflect service demand and be a priority at all levels of government and for the citizens of Illinois and that funding for developmental disabilities services will be realigned to reflect the strategic priorities and benchmarks identified in the Division's 7-year Strategic Plan; and be it further

RESOLVED, That future budgets shall take into consideration the steps necessary to achieve the plans laid out in this joint resolution; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the Governor, the Secretary of the Department of Human Services, the Director of the Governor's Office of Management and Budget, and all members of the General Assembly.