HISTORIC HISSOM MEMORIAL CENTER

LAWSUIT HITS 25-YEAR MARK

Tulsa Oklahoma Posted: May 05, 2010 5:04 PM EDT

Updated: May 06, 2010 10:52 AM ED

NewsOn6.com

The Hissom Memorial Center was an institution for severe developmentally disables persons that was closed in 1994.

Nine years after a lawsuit was filed against the institution for the treatment of the people within it.

The Homeward Bound class action law suit challenged the state of Oklahoma to create

communities for people to live in, rather than be forced into

institutions.

Homeward Bound class action lawsuit video

All About the Money?

Those behind the move say the residential living option is cheaper

for the state and closing the remaining institutions would help

the state's budget today. Do the people whom support the closures of

the institutions have to use money as a hook just to be heard?

They estimated the state could save $17 million in the

first year by offering the Homeward Bound services to

all of its residents

According to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services

What about the people not included in the lawsuit?

If the state of Oklahoma is saving so much money closing

the institutions why wasn’t everyone included?

To comply with the federal court’s 1987 order in the Homeward Bound case, funding was appropriated to create a system of community-based services to serve the 950 members of the Homeward Bound class in community settings.

There has been no similar mandate to serve people in the community who were not members of that class action lawsuit

IN OUR OWN BACKYARD

• March 31st, 2009 Ontario closed the last three institutions in the province

• This action was started by the Ontario government in 2004.

• What is the difference between Ontario’s actions compared to the state of Oklahoma?

• Did Ontario take too long to propose these actions or are they a step ahead?

• Do you feel Ontario is about the money or the people?

•The government provides only information on how much money the government has put into the project

•Ontario created new legislation – The Services and Supports to Promote the Social Inclusion of Persons with Developmental Disabilities Act – passed September 2008.

•The budget for the developmental service system is currently 1.5 billion/year.