State homes lean toward settings in community Jan. 31, 2005�
By Tim Zorn / Post-Tribune staff writer Built in the early 1970s, the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center used to house more than 600 people. Now about 230 clients live there. A little more than one-quarter of them are from three Northwest Indiana counties � Lake County, 59; Porter County, 3; and LaPorte County, 7. The state�s Family and Social Services Administration has not announced plans to shut the Fort Wayne center. But its closing appears inevitable, given the national and state emphasis on housing disabled people in community settings instead of institutions. �They�re just sort of an understanding they�re going to close it in January 2007,� said Nanette Whightsel, director of family education and community resources for The Arc of Indiana. The state has closed similar centers in New Castle and Muscatatuck, moving the residents there into community settings, including individual homes housing up to three people and in group homes housing up to eight. The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, based at Indiana University in Bloomington, surveyed the caregivers of Muscatatuck residents in 2002 and 2003. While most expressed satisfaction with the services at Muscatatuck, the surveys showed, satisfaction levels were higher after their loved ones left the center for community settings Before they left Muscatatuck, though, at least one-third expressed worry about leaving. Whightsel, whose daughter formerly lived at the New Castle institution and now lives in an Indianapolis home, understands why many parents are initially reluctant to face making the change. �Placing someone in an institution is not something anyone does easily,� she said. �It�s very, very painful.� Then after making that decision, she said, it�s very difficult to undo it and move the loved one into another setting. Whightsel talks to parents about the transition, helping them navigate the system. The Fort Wayne State Developmental Center formerly covered more than 100 acres, but its grounds have been shrinking as nearby Ivy Tech State College has expanded. The state plans to build a hospital in Fort Wayne to provide short-term care for people with mental illness or developmental disabilities. It would be smaller and not in the same location as the developmental center. Mitch Roob, the newly appointed secretary of FSSA, plans to visit the Fort Wayne center soon. His administration doesn�t intend at this point to change the plan for closing that center, Roob said recently, �but we will look at it.� Reach reporter Tim Zorn at 648-3073 or by e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
