Lou in the News

Gloucester County Times
February 6, 2009
GCT Staff

Legislation that would require the state include information about Shaken Baby Syndrome to new parents cleared the state Assembly on Thursday.

The legislation (A-725) would require the state to include information on Shaken Baby Syndrome in the resource guide it provides to new parents. The guide also would be published in Spanish.

Bergen Record
January 28, 2009
By John Brennan

Two South Jersey assemblymen, noting today that Las Vegas casinos may take on $100 million or more in bets on Sunday’s Super Bowl, renewed their call to legalize betting on professional sports in Atlantic City.

Assemblymen Louis Greenwald, D-Camden, and Nelson Albano, D-Cumberland, hope their bill, which passed the Assembly last year, also will pass in the state Senate. The bill calls for a referendum in November that would ask New Jersey voters whether they approve sports betting — excluding college sports.

New Jersey is one of 46 states banned from allowing such betting under a 1992 federal law. Only Nevada, Delaware, Oregon and Montana are exempt from that law.

Delaware officials last month floated a plan to allow “parlay bets” at its casinos, meaning a bettor would have to choose two or more games to bet. The more games selected, the longer the odds and the bigger the potential payout. Sports betting in Delaware could cut into already faltering Atlantic City casino revenues.

Greenwald said the state’s struggling economy makes sports betting more attractive.

“We have to look at things that we didn’t have the courage to try before,” Greenwald said. “And the concerns that people had in the 1970s about organized crime getting involved in the casinos hardly exist anymore.”

The bill probably would face opposition from the Giants and Jets, the two National Football League teams on the other end of the state from Atlantic City. Greenwald countered that newspapers carry betting lines, and that the betting is a significant factor in the league’s popularity.

An even more formidable opponent figures to be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Reid’s home state has the country’s the only legalized sports betting.

“Well, there are things that his state needs as well, and that’s why I think we should begin a dialogue with the federal government immediately,” Greenwald said.

Star-Ledger
January 26, 2009
Editorial

Financially, it's a no-brainer. But this isn't only an economic issue, it's a moral issue, too.

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald has introduced a bold bill to close five of the state's seven developmental centers and disperse most of the 2,861 residents into the community, to group homes or independent living with support services.
To sell the idea, many proponents have focused on the money it will save at a time when New Jersey desperately craves creative financial solutions.

Everyone agrees on the numbers: Housing in a developmental center costs roughly $223,000 annually -- or $641 per day -- per resident, while community living runs approximately $300 daily.

But opponents, like state Sen. Jeff Van Drew and the unions representing the approximately 2,500 workers at the institutions, downplay the savings. They warn that the five-year plan is too aggressive and that the state can't afford the loss of jobs during a recession, especially by leading employers in two of Van Drew's counties. The unions, not surprisingly, are trying to protect the $48 million spent on overtime last year.

"It's not about the jobs, but, really, it is about the jobs," Van Drew says. But he's wrong. It's about quality of life.

Beaming Bernard Krakosky is giving a tour of his two-bedroom condominium in Marlton, when he stops at the coffeemaker in the tiny kitchen. "Two cups of Folgers every morning," he says as he caresses the buttons. Krakosky, 53, starts his weekdays at 4:59 a.m., so he needs the caffeine. Developmentally disabled and with limited sight, he requires extra time to dress for his receptionist's job. He is living on his own -- out of the developmental centers -- and he loves it, even if it means rising before the roosters to pay his mortgage. He is a poster boy for the success of community assimilation, but, to him, he is just a regular guy with a job and a roof and independence. "If I want to stay up, watching TV," he says, "nobody can tell me what to do." 

For decades, New Jersey has warehoused many of its developmentally disabled, tucked them into beds, given them three square meals and board games, and decided that was good enough -- even though research says most, if not all, would enjoy a better life among the rest of us. They are promised a better tomorrow, then stuck on a waiting list for community living that has doubled in the past decade.

Greenwald's bill (A3625) would allow individuals with developmental disabilities, their families and doctors to decide what's best -- a move into the community or a room in a center. Either way, funding would follow them.

Ten other states have moved toward eliminating developmental centers, but New Jersey lawmakers have resisted change -- maybe because change is scary, maybe because the developmentally disabled don't vote. Armed with research and spread sheets, Greenwald is shaming his colleagues. 

In the living room of their tidy Barnegat group home, Michael, Sean, Nancy and Terry are mesmerized by the television coverage of the ditched US Airways flight. They nervously watch passengers stranded on the wings of an airplane that slowly sinks into the Hudson River. "Hurry! Hurry!" they tell the boats. They know what it's like to be rescued. Nancy and Terry, once in developmental centers, have been living in the home -- donated by the developer -- for two years. The men arrived in 2008. Nancy clears tables at a soup kitchen. Terry works at a McDonald's. Michael, a Rutgers football fan, trains to be a landscaper. "I love it here," he says. "This is my home." Sean, the newest addition, worries about his living status. "I'm staying here, right?" he asks Dawn, the supervisor. When she says, "Yes," he grins and high-fives everyone. 

Greenwald's bill answers the major concerns of its detractors. If it turns out more than two centers are needed for more severely disabled individuals who want -- or need -- to remain institutionalized, additional centers will remain open. And most jobs won't be lost. Center employees, like others in this fluid economy, would be retrained, so they can provide services in the community.

Finding enough housing and fighting fear and NIMBY will prove challenging, but nothing that concentrated effort couldn't overcome. Sure, the time frame is aggressive, but the bill will get the state moving in the right direction. 

After more than 50 years, Gloria and Felix DiNicolantonio are physically unable to care for Mary, their 56-year-old daughter, who is confined to a wheelchair. So they had to place her in round-the-clock care. With redirected funding through Greenwald's bill, she could rejoin them. But they worry that, in their 80s, they don't have much time. Heartbroken, they stroke her hair, kiss her forehead and promise to bring her home soon.

When public policy wastes millions of dollars, it's bad policy. When that policy also prevents people from reaching their full potential, or needlessly separates them from those who love them, it's inexcusable.

Philadelphia Inquirer
January 24, 2009
Editorial

New Jersey lawmakers should move ahead with a proposal to eliminate warehouse-style institutional care for the developmentally disabled and move them to community settings.

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald (D., Camden) wants New Jersey to follow in the footsteps of 10 other states that have placed people with disabilities such as cerebral palsy and mental retardation in group homes or shared apartments rather than large, state-run facilities.

Under the proposal, introduced earlier this month, five of the seven developmental centers would be closed within five years. About 80 percent of the population, more than 2,000 people, would be relocated to community settings.

Supporters, including the group Disability Rights New Jersey, say the move is long overdue and will integrate the developmentally disabled into everyday life and give them a chance to live independently, make friends and work. In other words, a better life.

It also would save money, costing about $300 per day for community settings, compared with $614 per day in developmental centers. Overall, the developmental centers cost about $230,000 per person.

By focusing resources on community sites, Greenwald believes the new approach would help reduce a separate waiting list of nearly 8,000 developmentally disabled people living at home. Some have languished on the list for years, much to the angst of their parents, who worry about what will happen when they die or grow too old to care for their children.

Labor unions representing workers at the state institutions fear that the developmentally disabled may not get the same level of care. They argue that the state workers are better trained and provide more support services. The state must make sure there is adequate supervision and regulation to ensure that the disabled get the proper care.

It may also need to find more community slots to meet the demand. The proposal keeps open two centers to accommodate those unable to live independently in a community setting.

Critics also say the proposal limits the number of options for the disabled. But it actually offers a more attractive option for many who have spent most of their lives institutionalized and shut off from society. Currently, most of the nearly 40,000 developmentally disabled clients the state serves live in communities, not institutions.

Greenwald's proposal has the right intent and strikes the right balance. Lawmakers should move forward with the plan. The developmentally disabled deserve a chance to improve their quality of life.

Daily Record
January 14, 2009
Gannett Staff

Reactions to Gov. Jon S. Corzine's State of the State speech delivered Tuesday:

Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cumberland: "New Jersey has already taken strong steps, including the largest spending cut in state history and measures we sponsored to ensure no debt is incurred without voter consent and implement historic new business grants and tax cuts, but this isn't enough."

Sen. Diane Allen, R-Burlington: "After three years of tax increases, toll hikes and increased state spending, Gov. Corzine continues to contend that he is capable of making the tough decisions necessary to make New Jersey more affordable for seniors and middle class families. His actions, however, simply do not match his rhetoric."

Sen. Jennifer Beck, R-Monmouth: "Over the past few months, Republicans have presented a number of common-sense solutions that could quickly be enacted to prevent New Jersey's massive budget deficit from growing even further. For months, Republicans in the Legislature have offered to work with Gov. Corzine to fix our broken budget. Each and every offer made by Republicans to work with the Governor was summarily dismissed."

Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, R-Union: "Gov. Corzine should have started cutting the state's budget four years ago. Corzine failed to plan for a rainy day. Now, when we're in a storm, he's trying to embrace some of the budget cuts we've been calling for and taxpayers have needed."

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce, R-Morris: "The governor's attempt to spin a positive message about the state of New Jersey's economy and business climate is nothing more than political posturing in an election year. Middle class families didn't need a pep talk. It won't put bread on their tables or keep a roof over their heads."

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, D-Camden: "New Jerseyans don't want to hear more rhetoric or see more finger-pointing. They want us to focus honestly on how we can improve the state's economy and business climate."

Assemblyman Matthew Milam, D-Cumberland: "We must do more. We must stop spending money we don't have. Only then can we ensure New Jersey and its residents emerge stronger from this economic crisis."

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., D-Camden: "Gov. Corzine should be recognized for never sugar-coating our fiscal situation, recognizing early the need for tough action and for laying out our choices in plain terms.;'

Communications Workers of America union state director Hetty Rosenstein: "His approach to this year's budget is a blizzard of contradictions — praising the work of government, while shortchanging the people who do the work. The governor says all New Jerseyans must come together to get through the economic crisis. But his proposal to impose an 18-month wage freeze pits private workers against public workers."