At a general employee meeting Friday morning at Lanterman Developmental Center in Pomona, state Department of Developmental Services representatives officially announced plans to close the state center that provides care for hundreds of Californians with developmental disabilities.
“The unique, professional services provided at Lanterman and at other state developmental centers simply don’t exist anywhere else”
No actual closure date was given, and other details were not available from the DDS at this time.
The 24-hour facility currently has 398 clients and employs 511 members of the California Association of Psychiatric Technicians.
CAPT members at Lanterman -- Psychiatric Technicians, Psychiatric Technician Assistants and Senior Psychiatric Technicians -- provide round-the-clock level-of-care nursing and therapeutic care for the Californians with profound to severe developmental disabilities who call the facility home.
CAPT members say client care should be first in the minds of everyone involved. It is unclear what the plans are for the individuals living at the developmental center, but the association worries many clients will be transferred to community homes that lack the high level of vital services individuals depend upon at Lanterman.
“The unique, professional services provided at Lanterman and at other state developmental centers simply don’t exist anywhere else,” said CAPT State President Tony Myers, himself a Lanterman Senior Psychiatric Technician. “We will fight for our clients and the services we proudly provide them.”