Closing Rainier School? Washington Struggles with Proposed New Disabled Housing and Education Model
Seattle residents and public officials continue to debate the proposed closing of a large housing and education program for those with developmental disabilities. According to a Feb. 13 Associated Press report, the closure of the state’s Rainier School in Washington’s Pierce County has been controversial for many who are involved.
As the state ponders moving the center’s nearly 2,000 care receiving individuals to smaller community-based programs, some families of disabled residents are resisting the idea, saying that care may not reach the same standard. However, disability rights groups argue the exact opposite. These groups call the move a “civil rights issue” for disabled citizens that they say deserve to live among others in their communities, as a residential group home model provides.
Cost is an issue as well; different cost projections have residents arguing over whether a move to smaller programs would decrease costs for the state. Many other states and municipalities have moved to small “group home” type programs for the disabled. This was partially a response to the historic closure of large facilities called “institutions,” some of which were seen as inhumane when care standards improved in the second half of the twentieth century.
Some of those disabled individuals who live in the Rainier School’s campus have been there for over 50 years, and the school has provided employment for local families over multiple generations. Closing the Rainier School will be a difficult decision for local officials to make. It may also highlight some of the applicable state and federal laws regarding rights for the developmentally disabled, where current law provides substantial protection for those who are among the least able to advocate for themselves. The case of the Rainier School also provides a study for whether large group facilities or small group home programs are generally more desirable for various parties.
Monheit is the managing lawyer at Monheit Law, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He has practiced law since 1989. Michael Monheit was the managing attorney of the law offices of Herbert Monheit — now Silverman and Fodera — a firm founded by... Michael Monheit→
