Schiavoni proposes panel in response to planned closure of YDC

YOUNGSTOWN

State Sen. Joseph Schiavoni has proposed legislation that would establish a 13-member commission that would evaluate and make binding rulings concerning proposed closings of state institutions.

Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd, said he has bipartisan support for the bill, known as Senate Bill 62, and that a similar bill will be introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Even if the bill passes in both the House and Senate, however, Schiavoni said Gov. John Kasich might veto it. “We have to be realistic,” Schiavoni said.

The commission would include elected officials, advocates and professional experts and labor-union members at the facility targeted for closing.

The senator was one of several state legislators, who spoke at a meeting called by the Mahoning County commissioners to discuss the planned closing of the Youngstown Developmental Center.

Friday’s meeting at Oakhill Renaissance Place was attended by YDC staff and representatives of local agencies serving people with developmental disabilities and county boards of developmental disabilities from around Northeast Ohio.

YDC, which is slated to close by June 30, 2017, has a staff of 272 serving 85 residents with developmental disabilities in seven homes on the campus in Mineral Ridge.

The majority of YDC residents have severe disabilities and need extensive supports in daily living, health care and social skills development.

Read more about the impending closure in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.