925 South Country Club Dr.
Jefferson City MO 65109
Administration:
573-893-3333 / 866-777-7199 / Fax 573-893-4231
Application Unit:
573-659-0678 / 800-392-8667 / Fax 573-659-0677
MO Relay (TDD) 800-735-2966
mopasjc@embarqmail.com
Board of Directors
Larry Opinsky
Chair
Chesterfield
Joe Wrinkle
Vice-Chair
Independence
Michele Ohmes
Secretary/Treasurer
Larry Daniels
PAIMI Advisory Council Chair
Florissant
Vivian Dixon
Kansas City
Gloria McGill
Kansas City
Ethel Wesson
Kansas City
Sharon Williams, Esq.
Lee's Summit
PAIMI Advisory Council
Larry Daniels
Chair
Florissant
Mary Crutchfield
Vice-Chair
Moberly
Barbara French
Beulah
Beryl Gratts
Ozark
Tom Pirmantgen
New Bloomfield
Mary White
Columbia
Jenise Wolf
St. Louis
MISSOURI PROTECTION & ADVOCACY SERVICES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Policy Statement on the Future of Missouri's Habilitation Centers
and Community-Based Support for
Persons with Developmental Disabilities
Approved by the Board of Directors on March 11, 2005
The Board of Directors for Missouri Protection and Advocacy Services is
committed to supporting policies and programs in the State of Missouri
that will help individuals with disabilities lead lives of dignity,
opportunity, safety, and inclusion in their families, neighborhoods, and
communities. We believe that both the weight of available research and
the practical experience of other states demonstrate that such policies
and programs can only be achieved by supporting individuals in
community-based settings.
Our policy statement has two equally important parts. First, it is our
position that the State of Missouri should eliminate its reliance on
large, segregated, institutional settings (the habilitation centers) as
part of its system of residential support for individuals with
developmental disabilities. We believe that there are no persuasive
arguments for continued use of such facilities. The movement of current
residents from the habilitation centers to small community-based
programs should be done with care, planning, and the involvement of the
individuals themselves, as well as their families and advocates. New
admissions should be eliminated or reduced to temporary emergency
placements.
The second part of our position is that the State of Missouri should
improve both the capacity and the quality of the community-based
residential support programs through increased support to agencies
providing such programs and through improved opportunities for flexible
self-direction by individuals and/or family members. The system
developed must also provide oversight and ongoing quality assurance in
community-based programs. Appropriately designed and funded, such
programs can provide even the most intensive levels of support and care
for individuals, while also fulfilling the commitment of dignity,
opportunity, safety, and inclusion.