Coalition looks to future ?of SDC

Change is coming to the state’s remaining developmental centers – and stakeholders need to be prepared.

That’s the broader topic this weekend, when the Sonoma Developmental Center Coalition launches a series of public meetings to gather input for its Transform SDC Project, designed to provide the state with a set of recommendations for what the Sonoma Developmental Center could look like – and how it could be ?funded – when and if closure comes.

The first of four scheduled meetings will be held this Saturday, May 2, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Vintage House senior center on First Street East. The workshops will be facilitated and led by the Center for Collaborative Police, affiliated with Cal State University Sacramento, to give everyone in the community a chance to be heard in the debate over SDC’s future.

Partnered in the 2-year-old SDC Coalition are the Sonoma Land Trust, the Parent Hospital Association, the Sonoma Ecology Center and the County of Sonoma. First District Supervisor Susan Gorin is the chair of the ad-hoc coalition, and she will be opening the meeting on Saturday.

“The public is hungry for information about what the coalition is doing and how they can be helpful,” said Gorin. She characterized this weekend’s meeting as “an unveiling of our approach – letting the public know what we’ve been working on the past two years.”

The idea of “transformation” instead of closure as the way forward for the SDC and other developmental centers was introduced in January 2014 by Diana Dooley, secretary of the state Health and Human Services Agency. Her agency’s task force on the future of the centers found that “the need for fundamental transformation of the developmental centers system is shared by all.”

Several issues are at stake in determining SDC’s future, including the well being of the men and women currently under care at the facility, the future of the thousand-acre estate, and not least the state’s interest in reducing its financial support of the 120-year-old developmental center, which currently houses more than 400 residents and employs about 1,300 people.

It is the largest of the three developmental centers still in operation statewide – and the largest employer in the Sonoma Valley by a substantial margin. The other two developmental centers are at Fairview in Orange County and Porterville, Tulare County.

In the 16 months since Dooley’s recommendations, developmental centers in both Sonoma and Fairview have been earmarked for permanent closure by the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), and legislation to accomplish that has been introduced by State Sen. Jeff Stone, R-Temecula (Riverside County). The bill was delayed for a year following by mutual agreement between Sen. Stone and Sen. Mike McGuire, chair of the Health Services Committee, but the issue is not going away.

Comparing the situation at SDC to the shutdown of developmental centers at Lanterman (in Pomona) in 2013 and Agnews (Santa Clara) in 2009, Gorin said, “From our perspective, reviewing the severe medical and behavioral challenges our residents have at the Sonoma Developmental Center, this closure is unlike either of the other two closures. The complex medical needs of this population are not the same as at Lanterman and Agnews.”

Another key element distinguishing SDC from the other developmental centers is its rural location. The 950-acre property is adjacent to several protected wildlife and open space regions, including Sonoma Valley Regional Park and Jack London State Historic Park.

The Sonoma Land Trust has taken the lead in scheduling these community workshops, and integration with existing protected land use properties is frequently mentioned in visions of the SDC’s future. John McCaull of the Land Trust is the point man for this path.

“That area is a prime movement corridor,” said McCaull. “Deer, bobcat, mountain lion, badger, other mobile species try to get across the Valley from Marin County to Lake County. So while our focus is on protecting the habitat and open space in the long term, it’s inextricably linked to a solution for the campus and healthcare services there.”

McCaull points out that only about 200 acres of the property are in use as a healthcare campus, but the whole 950 acres is owned by the State of California. As such, the state can declare all or part of it surplus, transfer it to another state or county agency, or sell it. “We’re unabashed in saying that if the state owns this land, why should we have to pay for it to protect it, if we can help them solve the problems with the campus?”

Other uses for the Arnold Drive campus – whether or not its healthcare services are retained – is another topic for discussion this weekend. The Presidio in San Francisco, the extensive former military base at the southern end of the Golden Gate, is often mentioned as a model for the SDC’s reuse. Buildings and facilities could be converted to other purposes, for nonprofit offices, commercial or even residential use.

Saturday’s Transform SDC community workshop starts at 9 a.m. at Vintage House. After an orientation, attendees will break into three groups to workshop ideas and strategies on reuse, habitat and healthcare services, the three primary areas of concern.

During the four-hour meeting, attendees can take part in two of these breakout sessions, with time for summaries. Refreshment will be provided, said McCaull. “We wouldn’t get anything done if we didn’t feed the troops.”

For more information, and to stay informed on the issue, visit the SDC coalition’s project website at transformsdc.wordpress.com.