Christie administration completes plan to close Vineland Developmental Center

[DainBramaged]

Vineland Developmental Center, home to 347 women with intellectual disabilities, would close its door forever by June 2013 under a plan the state Department of Human Services published on its website today.

First announced by Gov. Chris Christie in his budget message in February, Vineland's closure has worried families of its residents and 1,400 state employees who rely on it for a paycheck.

But administration officials say the decision is not driven by money; the state must reduce its overreliance on large residential centers in order to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court mandate that says disabled people ought to live in the least restrictive setting. New Jersey is second only to Texas to the number of people it houses in institutions.

Closing Vineland would be the department's latest move to reduce the overall number of people living at developmental centers from the 2,640 people last month to 1,500 by June 2015.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/05/christie_administration_comple.html


This is a horrible horrible man.

The average Vineland resident is about 55 years old, according to the report. Two-thirds of the population has lived there for 30 or more years. Some 300 residents need help grooming, bathing and feeding themselves, while 63 people have "challenging behaviors" that will require supervision to protect themselves and others