Killing plan to move disabled back to N.J. doesn't end stress for families

TRENTON -- On Thursday, the state Assembly voted to end an unpopular policy that would have uprooted 370 people with developmental disabilities from outside the state and transfer them back to group homes in New Jersey.

But the 79-0 vote on (S3117) did not end the stress and uncertainty that some families who had launched letter-writing campaigns, staged protests and testified at legislative hearings to stop  "Return Home New Jersey," say still inflicts on their lives.

Before Gov. Chris Christie and Senate leaders agreed in July to halt the policy --intended to save money and move disabled people closer to their families -- the state Department of Human Services had relocated 170 people since 2009.

Some say these arrangements are failing, jeopardizing the health of their loved ones. Others say they are still anxiously awaiting word whether their children may remain outside the state. Others are caught in the middle of a financial dispute between the state and the housing provider.

RELATED: See what happened with the disabled man who helped topple Return Home N.J.

Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-Somerset), one of the senators who negotiated with the governor to suspend the transfers, said he was disappointed not everybody was helped by the compromise.

"I'm am sorry to hear that. I am not sure these issues were contemplated," Bateman said. "They sound like they are stuck between the old and the new systems."

"This is something I will have to talk to the commissioner (of Human Services) about. It seems only right these people should be given an opportunity."

Son's birthday can't come too soon

Annie Mullock's 20-year-old son, Will, is a minor in the eyes of state agencies that serve people with developmental disabilities until March when he turns 21. His birthday can't come soon enough for his anxious mother.

Annie Mullock of West Cape May appeared at a protest at the Statehouse in June on behalf of her disabled son, Will, whom she fears may be removed from his out-of-state placement in Langhorne, Pa. back to New Jersey. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media)

The legislation ending forced transfers by state Human Services officials should allow Will to remain at Woods, a group facility in Langhorne, Pa. But as long as he is a minor, his public services are managed by a different department, the Department of Children and Families, and caseworkers there continue to look for a placement in New Jersey.

"His DCF case manager called to say, 'He is doing so well as Woods. Maybe he would do even better here,' '' Mullock said.

"He's doing well because he is supported there," she added. "His speech is crazy good. He has a little job in the cafeteria."

Will already tried living in a group home in Woodbine, close to where his mother lives in West Cape May. He wound up in the hospital for four months because employees at the group home delayed taking him to the doctor for a respiratory illness. The state ruled the employee medically neglected him, according to a copy of a letter revealing the results of the investigation.

Mullock said she hopes to hear from a caseworker at the Department of Human Services' Division of Developmental Disabilities any day now ready to take over his case, so the transition from the children's system to the adult system is seamless.

"My son has finally landed at a place that understands how to support him properly, and he is finally thriving and accepted," Mullock said. "And now looming over my head (is the fear) he will get yanked back to a state that almost killed him."

Holding the tab

Mary Alice "Molly" Passantino has spent 12 uninterrupted years living at the King's Daughter's School, a group facility in Tennessee. But that could change, even with Return Home New Jersey suspended.

The state stopped paying her room and board two years ago, said her stepfather, Phil Passantino of Totowa. He turned down group homes state officials had selected for her because they didn't come close to providing the "blanket" supervision she has now.

"Molly functions at a 3-year-old level and is highly autistic," he said. "She runs up to strangers and grabs their watches and belts. She will run into the road if she is not watched. She can choke, she eats so fast."

Passantino hired an attorney and appealed the state's decision to withdraw its support for her in Tennessee, arguing the out-of-state placement, at $67,000 a year, was cheaper than the New Jersey options. He lost.

Now he is on a payment plan in order to keep Molly there. The tab is $142,000.

"They told us they needed to get paid or they will discharge her," Passantino said. "So I made an arrangement with them that I would pay so much as I could each month -- it is in the thousands -- so they would keep her until New Jersey began paying."

He's called legislators asking for help and is awaiting a response. "I am worried, but am trying to keep my cool and pray for the best."

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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