Parent joins fight to save ‘place of last resort’ BROOKYN — Anthony Cosentino, who served in a combat unit in Germany, is now fighting his most important battle back home. His son John, who was born in 1964 in Fort Bragg, N.C., seemed like he was developing well until age 2, when he began to display unusual behaviors like constantly flapping his hands. Mental and developmental disorders like autism were not as well known or diagnosed in those days, so after a series of exams and appointments with psychologists, he was placed in a respected day program. It would be the beginning of a roller coaster ride of schools, special programs and hospitals that would eventually land him at the Brooklyn Developmental Center in 1978. Place of stability That year, John was 14, and Cosentino and his wife finally felt like John was at a place where he would be treated with the dignity, respect and care he deserved. Now, Cosentino said, with the planned closure of Brooklyn Developmental Center in 2015, the state wants to take that all away. John, who was diagnosed with Pica and is also prone to injuring himself, needs around-the-clock, one-on-one attention. There are many more individuals at Brooklyn Developmental Center like him. “We tried every school from Maine to Florida when he couldn’t stay in Maimonides School (after John started hurting himself),” said Cosentino. “Nobody would take him.” Taking action The state has already closed and is planning to close several more facilities like Brooklyn Developmental Center to comply with the Olmstead Act that requires states to place qualified individuals with mental disabilities in community settings rather than in institutions. Parents and patient advocates like Cosentino, however, wonder how individuals like his son can continue the same kind of care and attention they need and have been receiving at facilities like Brooklyn Developmental Center. “If John can’t make it at a group home, where are they going to return him?” Cosentino said. “I can’t find a group home that can replicate the services at Brooklyn Developmental Center.” Not one to sit back and merely Anthony Cosentino, right, whose son is getting long-term treatment at Brooklyn Developmental Center, joins CSEA members and community supporters at a recent demonstration to urge the state to keep the facility open. allow things to happen, Cosentino has channeled his military skills and discipline and is fighting back against the closure. He’s joined demonstrations, written letters to legislators and agency heads and even started an online petition to save the center. “Brooklyn Developmental Center was the place of last resort that opened to take care of the people from Willowbrook (closed after inhumane living conditions were exposed) and for the people who cannot stay in their homes,” Cosentino said. “Why are they closing the place of last resort?” “I can’t find a group home that can replicate the services at Brooklyn Developmental Center.” Fears about future care Cosentino fears that the state is already moving at lightning speed to move individuals from the facility and is not consulting with parents and staff about the placement of individuals. “Without the adequate support in a group, John is going to injure himself or be aggressive to staff that he is unfamiliar with,” Cosentino said. “John has been there 36 years. Doesn’t anybody realize the consequences?” Meanwhile, Cosentino also knows that Brooklyn Developmental Center staff are trying to do more with less. “Staffing has been cut back and people are working 16 hours a day and dealing with four to five difficult patients (at once),” said Cosentino. Cosentino said he was told that some beds will be moved to a facility near the Canadian border and perhaps Westchester County. Yet, he wonders, why the state is eliminating all the beds at Brooklyn Developmental Center and also closing Bernard Fineson in Queens, leaving nothing for individuals like his son who need medical attention and care around the clock. “They tell us this is done deal and that it’s all going to work out,” said Cosentino. “Somebody is going to die.” — David Galarza Anthony Cosentino, left, and his wife with their son, John, center, who depends on aroundthe clock treatment at Brooklyn Developmental Center. 8 The Work Force May 2014
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