County Council disbands disabilities board

By Charles Sowell  

MAY 25, 2012 9:16 a.m. (5)

The troubled Greenville County Disabilities and Special Needs Board became history Tuesday evening when Greenville County Council unanimously voted to rescind the 1992 ordinance creating the board and voted to establish a new board under county supervision.

The move effectively begins the healing process for an embattled agency that has faced financial problems and a litany of criticisms from the public regarding transparency issues and the amount of care owed the 2,200 disabled clients it is chartered to serve.

With a unanimous decision, “there is such a feeling of not just relief, but it is like a wrong has been righted,” said Jane Delisser, mother of a client.

State Department of Disabilities and Special Needs staff will fill in at the local board offices until the council can finalize an ordinance creating the new board, which will have seven members rather than the original 12. Tuesday’s ordinance dissolving the old board takes effect immediately as an emergency measure.

“The actions taken by County Council Tuesday night are an example of representation at its best,” said Carolyn O’Connell, an advocate for disabled county residents and their families, in a statement after the meeting.

“I congratulate the council as a whole for their support and diligence in finding a way to make this happen,” she said. “Several council members stood out as leaders for change. Willis Meadows, Joe Dill and Dan Rawls attended agency board meetings for several months to get firsthand knowledge of the issues. After completing an in-depth investigation, Liz Seman, Lottie Gibson and Dan Rawls, members of the ad hoc committee, made recommendations for change.

“The citizens of Greenville County should be proud and thankful that the Greenville County Council will step up and act on the difficult decisions. They did not let politics or friendship stand in the way of making a moral decision for the most vulnerable citizens in the county.”

Maj. Shea Smith of the Greenville County Sheriff’s office said deputies were posted at the DSN headquarters at the Patrick Center overnight on Tuesday at the request of County Administrator Joe Kernell.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, Cynthia Windey, who has a daughter served by DSN, said the decision to dissolve the board and revise its form of governance “will make policies and procedures more open. People can have more input. Now we can be the best. My only question is how it will affect the interim executive director.”

SCDDSN spokeswoman Lois Park Mole said Wednesday that interim director Patrick Haddon turned in his keys and passwords to state DSN staffers Wednesday morning at the Patrick Center and left the premises.

DDSN Deputy Administrator for Operations David Goodell will handle day-to-day operations on site at the Patrick Center, while members of the DDSN auditor’s staff will be on hand to handle financial matters.

“What will happen with the rest of the (local) senior staff hasn’t been determined yet,” Park Mole said. “We have a lot to get done and have hit the ground running.”

The Greenville agency has been beset with financial problems and a growing chorus of complaints about dysfunction and a lack of transparency within the board and administrative staff hierarchy.

Seven of the 12 previous board members have already resigned, most citing the internal disarray and two specifically citing harassment by former board Chairwoman Roxie Kincannon and her son Todd Kincannon in their letters of resignation.

Haddon and Todd Kincannon did not returns calls or emails asking for comment by press time, but Roxie Kincannon emailed the following statement:

“We’re discouraged by last night’s County Council decision. While state law provides that only the governor can disband the board, more importantly, the county’s Disabilities and Special Needs Board has been handed to a state agency fraught with the same problems we worked so diligently and successfully to fix in Greenville County. Lives are at stake, and our board has no other motive than the health and welfare of the 2,200 clients we serve. Our hope is that the financial turnaround and improved client service we generated will be recognized and that cooler heads will prevail before permanent damage is done to the agency charged with caring for our county’s special needs residents.”

County Council created a five-member interim board on Tuesday to supervise the agency until term lengths and qualifications are determined for the permanent board. The state DDSN will continue to run the agency until the interim board is nominated and approved. Second reading on both ordinances is set for the first council meeting in June.

“I want to emphasize that citizens who rely on the board for care will not experience a disruption of services,” Kernell said.

State DDSN executive director Beverly Buscemi promised to make the local DSN more responsive to family and client needs and said she intends to meet with family members at 6 p.m. on May 30 at County Square to answer questions.

Journal writer April A. Morris contributed to this report.

Comments

Add New

Satisfied  - She Still Doesn't Get It!   |2012-05-25 04:51:41 Based on her quote, it's obvious that Ms. Kincannon still doesn't get it. She and her mentor Connie Holmes are the reason this action had to take place. For her to take any credit for the financial turnaround is a slap in the face to those staff of the agency that have done the hard work required for this to have happened. The bottom line is "Ding Dong the Witch(es) is/are Dead" and the agency can now get back to the job they are charged to do. Reply

Super Satisfied  - DIng Dong the Witch(es) is/are Dead   |2012-05-26 11:57:24 Thank you, God, for this answer to prayer!! Reply

Harold Smith  - Another quote!   |2012-05-25 08:51:39 After Tuesday nights meeting, I remembered a quote that Roxie sent to ALL board members about me and several other members. It seems so fitting now. "I have not laughed so hard in ages. I’m glad to see that despite your recent failures, you are maintaining your sense of humor". Reply

Frankie Marcell  - Chairman of Operation hope committee for council 1   |2012-05-25 11:24:32 It is downright unprofessional how Miss Morris had the opportunity to post something good involving GDSNB but just chose to write the negative story.Monday night We at council 10819 donated a little over Thousand dollars to Washington Center , Meyer Center and GDSNB Day services , even provided April Morris with a picture and story.Not very professional Miss Morris. Reply

louis vuitton bags  - http://www.mysteriousplanet.net/mybolg.php ugg aus   |2013-12-20 16:54:19 Xi Hao gently link:http://www.minuscule-blog.com/wp-links.php  nodded his head. That ugg australi link:http://www.consulting-foresters.com/is_templ ate_default.20130328.php a means it is possible to repair enough to be able to fly, and that coach handbags is still a glimmer of hope, as long as the practice continues, I thin link:http://www.consulting-foresters.com/is_templ ate_default.20130328.php k coach usa someday be able to practice more than his realm, from here out. Then, hopefully he stood Reply

Leave a Comment
Comments are moderated and may not be posted immediately.
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Title:
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."