State agrees to settlement in mental retardation lawsuit
NASHVILLE (AP) — The state has agreed to settle two lawsuits over services for mentally retarded citizens at a first-year cost projected at $18 million, which Gov. Phil Bredesen has included in his budget.
Two lawsuits were filed four years ago alleging the state was not providing adequate help to the mentally retarded and their families, as required by law. There are an estimated 3,200 citizens on a waiting list for these services, which generally are provided in the home or community, rather than an institution.
“I think it’s fair to characterize it as a good settlement,” said Steve Norris, deputy commissioner in the state Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and an arbitrator on the lawsuits before joining the state several months ago.
“These are things we should be doing. These programs are designed to help people who need help, and that’s what we’re in business for. I think the administration recognized that and decided to fund it,” Norris said Friday.
The settlement, which will be presented to U.S. District Judge Robert Echols on April 12 for a fairness hearing, covers two years of what is envisioned as a five-year plan to reduce the waiting list and extend mental retardation services more widely.
The state has agreed to remove 600 people from the waiting list in the first year and an additional 900 in the second year.
“We didn’t want to promise more than we could deliver,” Norris said. “We think this ultimately will protect the folks who need these services. After two years the parties will go back to the negotiating table, look at what needs to be done, and move on from there.”
Gary Housepian of Tennessee Protection and Advocacy Inc. was the lead plaintiff’s lawyer in the case.
“This signals some hope for individuals who have waited for years that the state of Tennessee will be providing services so family members and individuals with mental retardation can live and thrive in their communities,” he said. “Cost wise I would say this is a positive step on the part of the state. From a humane standpoint it’s a very positive step in terms of public policy.”
Norris said the settlement also requires the parties to talk on a monthly basis. “That contributes to a very healthy dialogue where we can inform them where we are,” he said. “It keeps us talking as opposed to launching shots across each other’s bow all the time.”
The settlement also calls for the state to provide services to an additional 200 people in each of the next two years under and existing program for home- and community-based services.
It also requires the state to advertise the availability of services to people who may be eligible.
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On the Net:
State government, http://www.Tennessee.gov
Tennessee Protection and Advocacy Inc., www.tpainc.org