The Cider House care facility in Fortuna

A Fortuna woman who runs two care homes for the developmentally disabled says she was told to kick one of her clients out on the street by an employee of the Redwood Coast Regional Center, the local nonprofit responsible for providing services for such folks. And she believes others have been given the same treatment. Representatives of the regional center, meanwhile, say the whole incident was a misunderstanding.

The care home owner, Tina Rose, said the trouble started earlier this week when she contacted the regional center about a challenging client. The client, who has a history of alcohol abuse, had once again fallen off the wagon, Rose said, so she gave her a 30-day eviction notice. She had no intention of actually evicting the client, Rose said. Rather, such notices serve as procedural maneuvers that, like placing someone on probation, allows her and her employees to keep a closer eye on the client.

But when she notified the Redwood Coast Regional Center, Rose said, they sent out an employee who demanded the client be given a much harsher three-day eviction notice.

“I said, ‘Where would she go?’” Rose recalled. The regional center employee suggested the client could get help at the Eureka Rescue Mission, a facility that offers food and showers — but not long-term shelter — to the homeless, Rose said. Rose was stunned. “I said, ‘She’ll die if you put her on the streets!’ She [the employee] said, ‘Maybe it’s a good thing if she gets arrested and goes to jail.’”

Rose claims the regional center employee also told her that they have “a lot of clients” living on the street. When Rose fought back against the three-day notice, she said, the regional center employee threatened to have her employer conduct a “health and wellness” inspection on each and every one of Rose’s clients.

Rose has since filed a complaint with the California Department of Developmental Services, she said.

The Redwood Coast Regional Center offers services to developmentally disabled children and adults in four counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Lake. Reached at his office in Ukiah, Executive Director Clay Jones said there was a simple miscommunication. 

“Unfortunately, one of our staff did convey misinformation when she spoke to Ms. Rose,” Jones said. “It was an unintentional mistake.” His agency’s official recommendation was exactly the same as Rose’s, he said — a 30-day notice, which is standard in such situations.

Jones was adamant that his agency would never condone pushing someone with developmental disabilities into homelessness. “The very mandate and purpose of our organization couldn’t be more opposite” from that suggestion, he said.

But Rose remains skeptical. She believes that the regional center has deliberately been directing clients to other types of living situations, such as living in their own places with help from In-Home Supportive Services or living with private caretakers who has been properly trained and certified. Rose believes these other options are inferior but less expensive, which she assumes is why the Redwood Coast Regional Center hasn’t sent her a single new client in the past year — or at least they hadn’t until this week. The morning after her disagreement with the regional center employee, Rose said, someone from the center called to tell her they had a new client for her. That client moved into the house yesterday.

Jones acknowledged that fewer and fewer developmentally disabled people are living in licensed facilities such as Rose’s, though he said it’s a trend state- and nationwide and it has little to do with expense. In fact, he said, “the overall costs can often be greater for a person living in their own home, depending on what their needs are.” Clients themselves are choosing other options for their own reasons, Jones said.

He also acknowledged that some of his center’s clients might wind up homeless for reasons as varied as with non-developmentally disabled people. There could be mental health problems, substance abuse, etc. “But there would always be an effort to try to locate that person and help them” get housing, he said.

Jones and other regional center employees are planning to meet with Rose personally on Monday.