HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- New Jersey families are fighting to keep their disabled relatives safe, and they say Gov. Chris Christiie is the man that holds the key to making it happen.
CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reported Tuesday on the families' concerns. Special needs children and adults have been forced to move from out-of-state facilities to group homes in New Jersey, due to a program called Return Home New Jersey.
Christie vetoed a bill that would have allowed the disabled New Jerseyans to remain in out-of-state homes.
On Wednesday, Schneider asked Christie about the issue. He declined to comment.
"Governor Christie, I have one more question for you," Schneider said.
"I'm not taking any more questions," Christie replied.
Christie declined to answer Schneider's questions about people such as Drew Adams, 31. He contracted bacterial meningitis when he was 3 years old, and has not been able to speak or see his entire life.
He has been living at the Woods facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania for the past 14 years so he can receive the round-the-clock care his condition requires. The State of New Jersey initially sent him there.
But under the Return Home New Jersey program, the state wants to transfer him and others in his situation back to New Jersey and place them in group homes that the state said will cut costs.
Parents such as Drew's father, Bob Adams, said the move will not save money – and his son will suffer. Bob Adams questioned Christie's decision, comparing it to the governor's own children.
"I voted for his twice, for God's sakes," Bob Adams said. "With his children, he didn't want to move, and I understand that. You know, I understand he didn't want to upset their lives. And that's all we're asking for is the same thing in return."
Bob Adams wrote a letter to Christie asking him to visit his son's home. Christie did not reply. And when Schneider continued to try to talk to Christie after an unrelated news conference Wednesday morning, he refused.
After Christie walked out the door, Schneider approached Christie's appointee, New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez, who runs Return Home New Jersey.
"Right now, there's a conditional veto pending," Velez said. "That's the status."
Christie's office said the Return Home New Jersey program is all intended to comply with a federal law mandating "community-based services to persons with disabilities."
But what they do not mention is the caveat in the law when those "services are appropriate."
Members of one family who spoke with CBS 2 on Tuesday said they have been turned down by 10 group homes because the group homes cannot meet their need, Schneider noted.
In response to that, Velez said: "The process of matching an appropriate setting in New Jersey to a family's needs, needs to work in conjunction with the department. Every group home does not match an individual's needs by any measure."
Christie and Velez have stuck to their guns about the program. But the affected families have asked lawmakers to override Christie's veto when the legislative session begins on Thursday – a move that could allow their disabled relatives to stay where they are.
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No Comment From Christie On Program Forcing Some Disabled New Jerseyans To Move
/ CBS New York
HACKENSACK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- New Jersey families are fighting to keep their disabled relatives safe, and they say Gov. Chris Christiie is the man that holds the key to making it happen.
CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reported Tuesday on the families' concerns. Special needs children and adults have been forced to move from out-of-state facilities to group homes in New Jersey, due to a program called Return Home New Jersey.
Christie vetoed a bill that would have allowed the disabled New Jerseyans to remain in out-of-state homes.
On Wednesday, Schneider asked Christie about the issue. He declined to comment.
"Governor Christie, I have one more question for you," Schneider said.
"I'm not taking any more questions," Christie replied.
Christie declined to answer Schneider's questions about people such as Drew Adams, 31. He contracted bacterial meningitis when he was 3 years old, and has not been able to speak or see his entire life.
He has been living at the Woods facility in Langhorne, Pennsylvania for the past 14 years so he can receive the round-the-clock care his condition requires. The State of New Jersey initially sent him there.
But under the Return Home New Jersey program, the state wants to transfer him and others in his situation back to New Jersey and place them in group homes that the state said will cut costs.
Parents such as Drew's father, Bob Adams, said the move will not save money – and his son will suffer. Bob Adams questioned Christie's decision, comparing it to the governor's own children.
"I voted for his twice, for God's sakes," Bob Adams said. "With his children, he didn't want to move, and I understand that. You know, I understand he didn't want to upset their lives. And that's all we're asking for is the same thing in return."
Bob Adams wrote a letter to Christie asking him to visit his son's home. Christie did not reply. And when Schneider continued to try to talk to Christie after an unrelated news conference Wednesday morning, he refused.
After Christie walked out the door, Schneider approached Christie's appointee, New Jersey Department of Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez, who runs Return Home New Jersey.
"Right now, there's a conditional veto pending," Velez said. "That's the status."
Christie's office said the Return Home New Jersey program is all intended to comply with a federal law mandating "community-based services to persons with disabilities."
But what they do not mention is the caveat in the law when those "services are appropriate."
Members of one family who spoke with CBS 2 on Tuesday said they have been turned down by 10 group homes because the group homes cannot meet their need, Schneider noted.
In response to that, Velez said: "The process of matching an appropriate setting in New Jersey to a family's needs, needs to work in conjunction with the department. Every group home does not match an individual's needs by any measure."
Christie and Velez have stuck to their guns about the program. But the affected families have asked lawmakers to override Christie's veto when the legislative session begins on Thursday – a move that could allow their disabled relatives to stay where they are.
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