2SSB 5459 -
By Senator Chase
NOT ADOPTED 05/19/2011
On page 13, after line 19, insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 13 A new section is added to chapter 71A.20
RCW to read as follows:
(1) The department shall keep all residential habilitation centers
open until there are sufficient community options and support services
and appropriate safety precautions and supports available to serve the
clients who currently resident in these residential habilitation
centers. The department is directed to admit those individuals who are
at "immediate risk" or in need of "immediate stabilization".
(2) Any fiscal assumptions related to moving people from
residential habilitation centers to the community must factor in
adequate funding to provide oversight in a fractured system that is as
good or better than the current oversight achieved in the institutional
settings in the state. The assumptions must take into account
protection needed for very vulnerable individuals in small isolated
settings around the state, not just for the relatively few years that
aging individuals reside in them. The oversight needed in community
settings for people with developmental disabilities must be for the
lifespan of individuals, which means decades."
Renumber the remaining subsections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.
EFFECT: Requires RHCs to stay open until sufficient community
options with adequate safety precautions for people with developmental
disabilities are established.
Mandates that the department admit to RHCs individuals who are at
immediate risk or in need of immediate stabilization.
Fiscal assumptions must include consideration of safety factors and
oversight in the community that are as good or better than current
conditions in institutions.