The Future of STS                                                 

​On December 8, 2015, Connecticut’s legislature approved a bill that is designed to close the projected budget deficit in 2016-2017.  The bill calls for state officials to develop, prior to December 31, 2016, a report on a plan to close STS and the five regional centers.  Before the bill was passed, a deficit of $552 million was projected for 2016-2017.

We do not believe that this bill will jeopardize the future of STS.  Any responsible analysis of the impact of closing STS and the regional centers on Connecticut’s finances will clearly show that such a closure would be very expensive over at least 10 years, with all of the facilities remaining open during that period.  In addition, the residents of these facilities have the legal right to remain there and we intend to defend that right.
 
In addition, the Home and School Association, and others, such as VOR, the national advocacy voice for I/DD individuals, see expanded use of STS and the regional centers as at least a partial solution to the waiting list crisis in Connecticut.  We hope to preserve for our most vulnerable citizens the level of care and support that STS and the regional centers currently provide to their residents.  
 
The Facts STS and Regional Center Advocates Need to Know:
 

•  As of December 2016 there are currently 240 I/DD individuals at STS and 162 at the three remaining regional centers.  

 

•  If STS and the five regional centers were to close, these 402 individuals would have placement priority over the more than 2,100 I/DD individuals already on Connecticut’s DDS waiting list.This prolongs the wait for group home placement for these individuals who have already waited years for a place to live.

 

• One group home can only accommodate three I/DD residents without considerable additional expenditure in adapting the home. This means that about 134 homes would be needed to care for the current residents of STS and the regional centers. 

 

• The cost to DDS to build a home (which has been done only once), or refurbish and adapt an existing home, is likely to exceed $500,000 resulting in an aggregate cost of $67 million, plus continued cost to maintain STS and the regional centers until they close, if that happens while any of their residents remain. 

 

•   It can take one and one-half to two years to move just one STS or regional center resident into a group home. 

 

• There are beds at the five regional centers ready and available to house many of the I/DD individuals on the CT waiting list, and cottages on the beautiful STS campus could easily be refurbished to house hundreds more.

 
Our Answer to the DDS Call for Recommendations on the Future of STS
 
In response to DDS Commissioner Murray’s request for public recommendations for the future of STS, (deadline December 31, 2015) the Home and School Association has made four recommendations to improve the I/DD waiting list crisis in Connecticut and the overall health of the DDS system in Connecticut. Please read our complete list of recommendations, backed by facts and statistics, to better understand why we believe closing STS, and the five regional centers will cost Connecticut a significant amount of money over many years and will only worsen the waiting list crisis.  

Read the report here.