Plans are in the works that could move some hab center residents to other housing

Although Benton Hall is safe for the time being, plans are in the works, unrelated to now abandoned plans to close Benton Hall, to place some state residents in Individualized Supported Living units (ISLs). Chris Baker, Nevada Habilitation Center Superintendent, said that the plans actually predate Governor Nixon's short-lived plan to close Benton Hall by a month or more.

"We are going to be doing some ISLs," Baker said. "Before all that came up last month about closing Benton Hall we had come up with a plan to put some clients in state-operated ISLs."

The plan is to begin with a small number of clients, evaluate the program and proceed from there.

"We're going to start with about 15 clients," Baker said. "We'll see how that works out and go from there."

Baker said he didn't know what the impetus was to place clients in ISLs, a program that the state had in place previously but had discontinued.

"We had ISLs but did away with them in 2005," Baker said. "I don't know that (bringing them back) was done in response to the opposition to the group homes Jhan Hurn was going to build but they (the ISLs) are being planned."

The city of Nevada does not impose the same restrictions on ISLs as they do on group homes, including the restriction on distance between units. Doug Nickleson, Skills Unlimited, said that state guidelines are that group homes are those who have four or more unrelated adults in residence.

Theoretically there could be 100 or more ISLs in Nevada without running afoul of local regulations to limit group homes.

Baker said that the ISLs would be started after preparations were made.

"We're kind of in the middle of that," Baker said. "It should happen in three or four months."