Supervisors begin process of shuttering San Joaquin Activity Center

April 25--STOCKTON -- A day program in Stockton that has served the county's developmentally disabled adults for 57 years appears inexorably headed toward closure following a unanimous vote by the Board of Supervisors.

Despite pleas by several family members, supervisors approved a motion Tuesday authorizing the county to begin the layoff process for San Joaquin Activity Center employees.

And Greg Diederich, the county's director of health care services, said he is recommending the Activity Center not be funded in the county's 2018-19 budget, which takes effect July 1.

"We have operated the program on a very lean budget," Diederich told supervisors. "The Activity Center has had a history of deficits, with a loss of $3.5 million over the last 10 years."

Valley Mountain Regional Center pays the bulk of Activity Center costs. County dollars have filled the gap between what VMRC covers and the additional cost of running the program, which operates out of a building at the county fairgrounds that officials say is incompliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Parents and siblings of Activity Center clients made a last-ditch effort to sway supervisors before they voted Tuesday.

"My son has been in this program for 15 years," said Elida Avalos, referring to her 40-year-old son, Pedro Avalos. "That's his life. He gets up at 6 in the morning every day to wait for the bus at 7. ... He says he is going to work."

Youssef Avalos, Pedro's brother, also spoke.

"Please do the right thing," he said. "There's got to be another solution than just closing it."

Supervisors expressed sympathy for the families before voting, but also voiced some frustration.

Supervisor Chuck Winn blamed "a lack of attention by the state and perhaps the federal government" in helping to foot the bill for facilities like the Activity Center.

"They do these things feeling like they're dealing with numbers, when actually they are dealing with people," Winn said. "It is unfortunate we're stuck with the government bureaucracy. Sometimes you need to get out in the real world instead of checking boxes or signing papers."

Program Director Cara Dunn of San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services said the majority of Activity Center clients have already moved on to other programs or are about to do so.

There are about 30 licensed adult programs in the county, and Dunn said seven of those providers are absorbing the majority of the Activity Center population.

Just a few months ago, the Activity Center had 141 clients. Dunn said the population will decrease to 46 clients by May 11, with the facility closing its doors for the final time May 25.

Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or rphillips@recordnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @rphillipsblog.

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