Tuscaloosa, AL – The state's plan to close the W.D. Partlow Developmental Center in Tuscaloosa is causing concern among both workers and the families of some mentally disabled people who live there.
Karen Gritzmacher of Gadsden has two adult brothers at Partlow, and she says she likes having them there because she knows they are safe and getting good care. She says the state told her they'd never have to move again after 2003, but that wasn't true.
At Partlow, a former employee says friends who still work there are upset about the decision to close the center. Many residents will be transferred to smaller, community-based centers, and some have had the same caregivers for years.
A spokesman for the state mental health agency, John Ziegler, says the move to community-based programs has been going on for years. The state is promising to provide job fairs and other relocation assistance to Partlow employees.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)