Potential closure of program for disabilities leaves families in limbo

PITTSBURGH — Jeanne McMullen would do anything for her 29-year-old daughter, Caitlyn, who has survived despite her disabilities.

“She’s a miracle,” McMullen said. “She has survived countless surgeries, and she has gone into cardiac arrest nine times.”

Caitlyn, who has CHARGE Syndrome, an IQ below 60, visual impairment and autism, requires extra care and has been a client at the UPMC Vocational Center’s day program in Pittsburgh for more than 10 years. The program, located on the South Side, serves 67 clients and provides routine, structure, and paid work.

For McMullen and others, the program has been a lifeline.

“This is their world, their stability,” McMullen explained. “They look forward to getting up every day to go do something.”

But in late November, families were notified that the program would close on Dec. 31. It comes after UPMC tried to move the program to another building as they were selling the current building where the center is located. Due to changes in state law, programs now only allow for 25 clients per building. UPMC’s application for a waiver to the PA Office of Developmental Programs to relocate along with its 67 clients to a building that already had a program of 25 was denied.

“It’s left us in limbo,” McMullen said. “My daughter is starting to show signs of cracking under the uncertainty. These people need to know what they’re doing from one day to the next, and she keeps asking me, ‘Where am I going?’”

The only available alternatives in Allegheny County are in McKeesport and Pleasant Hills, locations far from the families’ homes and medical appointments. These areas also have limited transportation options.

McMullen tells Channel 11 that UPMC was granted an extension through mid-January to try to secure the waiver, but the future of the program remains unclear. Families are scrambling for answers, frustrated that the available options are not adequate.

“They didn’t do the research to see what options were available,” McMullen said. “They didn’t care what this would do to the clients and families when they realized the options weren’t there.”

For now, Caitlyn will try the Pleasant Hills program as families await a resolution from the state.

UPMC did not respond to requests for comment. The state’s Department of Human Services was not prepared to give us a comment today.

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