State proposes 1,000 housing units for NYC adult-home residents
State officials on Friday evening filed a U.S. District Court-ordered remedial plan for how to ensure that residents of adult homes in New York City have the opportunity to live in settings that are more integrated into the community. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis ruled in September that about 4,300 people with mental illness living in New York City adult homes were not getting adequate care. The judge said that was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, which mandate that they live in the least restrictive setting possible.
Under the plan, which has to be approved by the court, the state would fund 200 units of supported housing per year for five years—2011-12 through 2015-16—for a total of 1,000 units. The housing and other elements of the plan, which include educating adult-home residents about the supportive-housing option and performing clinical evaluations of their eligibility, are contingent on the Legislature’s passing budgets that include adequate funding, according to the plan.
If the number of people eligible for supported housing exceeded the number of units available, the state would seek additional funding through the budget and assistance from the federal government.
If state officials believe the number of individuals who want to move into supported housing is less than the number of units being provided, they would ask the court to modify the order and reduce the number of units. If the opposite were true, the state would submit a proposal to deal with the shortfall, the plan said.
The U.S. Department of Justice requested permission to intervene in the lawsuit, which Disability Advocates Inc. filed six years ago on behalf of the adult-home residents. Adult homes are for-profit institutions that have long been criticized for their conditions and treatment of the mentally ill. The Justice Department told the court that the state’s remedy may serve as a model for other courts around the country with similar cases.
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None of them know what in hell they are doing. Never have, never will. Too many bogus PhDs and half-wit judges created this and myriad other major problems from small ones as a result of their arrogance, ignorance, and need to justify the fact that they have been “educated” beyond their intelligence. Problem with common sense is that it just ain’t that common no more.
Adult homes are for-profit institutions that have long been criticized for their conditions and treatment of the mentally ill.
I am sure you intended to write:
Adult homes are for-profit institutions that have long been criticized for their conditions and treatment of mentally ill residents.
Harold A. Maio, retired Mental Health Editor
Ft Myers FL
khmaio@earthlink.net
I am truly dismayed by the sheer arrogance of this lawsuit. Any clinician who has been working with the Adult Home population is aware that approximately 80% is completely incapable of living in any form of independent or supportive living setting. It could be further argued that 10-15% would be more appropriately served in a long term hospital. Any testimony to the contrary is either misinformed, incompetently researched or deliberately contrived for political purposes.