Colorado would shut down its state-run campus for people with severe disabilities in Grand Junction under legislation halfway through the legislature.
The 29 people now living at Grand Junction Regional Center could choose to move to one of the state’s two other regional centers, in Pueblo and Wheat Ridge, or could transition to a group home in the Grand Junction area, state human services spokesman Robert Thompson said.
The state oversees various group homes in Grand Junction that are already home to 57 people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Families also could choose to seek services through private agencies.
“We want to make sure that they know their services will continue,” Thompson said. “We are committed to the clients there. They know that we are there for them.”
Human services officials will “talk to each resident to determine what kind of care will best fit their individual needs,” he said.
The , approved this week by the state Senate and sent to the House, was a collaboration of human services officials and the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee.
Grand Junction Regional Center — outdated with buildings as old as the 1800s and on a large, 46-acre campus — is expensive to run.
It costs $1,100 per day for residents in Grand Junction compared to $700 per day for residents in Wheat Ridge, the department said.
The legislation requires the state to vacate the center and list it for sale by July 1, 2018, or sooner. It also requires the department to submit a plan by December, including how to spend the proceeds of the sale and how it will help transition Grand Junction residents.
