The governor has proposed merging developmental health services

with DHS.

AUGUSTA – Some people concerned about services for Maine’s mentally retarded citizens met last week to discuss the proposed merger of two state agencies.

Gov. John Baldacci has proposed merging the Department of Human Services and the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services.

Jane Gallivan, director of adult mental retardation services at the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services, said, “There is a very short institutional memory here why Pineland closed and a comprehensive community system emerged.”

The proposed merger of the two departments and state budget woes at the same time make the process more difficult, said Gallivan.

She described it as the “perfect storm.”

“These are two very entrenched cultures. Who will monitor the process? There are real fiscal and legal issues that play into a merger,” said Gallivan.

During their Breakfast Club meeting, about 15 people were joined by several state officials from Maine’s Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services. The 15 included parents, area agency providers, advocates and lawyers involved with upholding the federally mandated Pineland and community consent decrees.

The Breakfast Club was hosted by the Consumer Advisory Board, a volunteer board authorized by a federal court in 1978. The board oversees the implementation of the Pineland consent decree and the community consent decree. The board wanted input to ensure the rights of those with mental retardation and autism.

DHS oversees general health, safety and welfare, including public health programs, financial assistance to families, child protective services and the foster care program.

The Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services provides similar services with a focus on the needs of the mentally ill, mentally retarded and substance-abusing population and their families.

Gov. Baldacci intends to submit the merger legislation, shaped by the work of an appointed council, to the upcoming session of the Legislature.

Today, the Pineland and community decrees form the basis for service for 4,500 clients throughout the state with a diagnosis of mental retardation, said advocate Skip McGowan of the Lewiston-based office of Behavioral and Developmental Services.

Roughly 800 people scattered throughout Maine are supported by the mandates of the Pineland Consent Decree of 1978. These people formerly lived at Pineland Center in New Gloucester, a state institution that closed in 1996.

Richard Estabrook, chief advocate for Behavioral and Developmental Services, said, “Especially people who don’t have connections with Pineland face decreased services and the potential to not have adult services when they graduate from special education programs.”

Behavioral and Developmental Services has 4,500 clients with mental retardation, and there is a waiting list for services for about 230 eligible people.

Charlene Kinnelly, executive director of Uplift of Gardiner, which provides services to people with developmental disabilities, said, “We’ve been thorough highs and lows with this one. There’s no safety net. In the early 1990s, Pineland was available if need arose. If all the agencies fold, there is no safety net.”

Peter Kowalski, executive director of John F. Murphy Homes in Auburn, said his agency serves 500 people in the Lewiston-Auburn area with a variety of program offerings.

Day treatment programs, children’s services, recreational opportunities and respite care are available. Residential facilities are home to 130 people in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

“This is a model-driven issue and doesn’t fit a neat package, and it costs,” said Kowalski. “The Department of Human Services administers service, they control the entire process. We slid into Medicaid and it doesn’t fit, and we’re asked to fit into a health care program,” he said.

The public can attend the next Breakfast Club on Jan. 7 in Augusta. The time and place haven’t been scheduled yet.

Copy the Story Link