Dear Readers,
Some advocates are upset that Fircrest Residential Habilitation Center has admitted children. The numbers vary month to month but Fircrest has about 18 residents under the age of 21. Most are short term admissions. Short term residents are typically there for medical, behavioral, and/or environmental stablization. Fircrest acts as safety net for people in crisis when their needs are not met in private care. Fircrest is also a home for long term residents whose needs are extensive. All live in family cottage settings.
You may recall that when Fodor Homes imploded Fircrest met the otherwise unmet needs of the children who had resided at the Fodor Homes complex. Fodor was a private vendor for children with autism. Some of those children were admitted to Fircrest. Fircrest has been successful as a stabilizing force for these kids.
You may also recall that when Fodor first opened it's Shoreline complex the Shoreline School District became suddenly and severely burdened with the special ed. costs attributable to the Fodor children. The state funding of schools program capped special ed. funding on a per school district basis. The special ed. costs seriously threatened the financial health of Shoreline Schools. A Thurston County Superior Court judge recently held that the special ed. cap is unconstitutional [state constitution]. I don't know if the State appealed this ruling, but the ruling made very good sense.
Now we find that Shoreline Schools cannot meet all the special ed. needs of the children with developmental disabilities due to lack of state funding or possibly other reasons as well.
Fircrest will meet the special ed. needs of it's residents whose needs cannot currently be met by Shoreline Schools. In the past Fircrest has operated a primary school on campus. Mainstreaming special ed. students and freezing RHC admissions did away with the primary ed. program at Fircrest many years ago.
Once again Fircrest is there for vulnerable people whose needs are not met in the community outside of Fircrest. The funding battle over which agency or department pays for special ed. will be fought politically in Olympia and perhaps in the courts. In the meanwhile Fircrest is the safety net for the people who need it.
Our decision makers should appreciate the Fircrest resource. Families and people with profound intellectual disabilities appreciate Fircrest. Regardless of when and how the special ed. issue is resolved Fircrest is the safe harbor, the port in a storm, for people we need to keep safe.
J.R. Hardman, J.D., C.P.G.
President, Friends of Fircrest