The Arc of King County recognizes that parents, family members, friends and others who wish to maintain and even expand the number of people living at Fircrest School and other state owned and operated institutions are no less motivated by love and concern than people who have a family member with a disability living at home or elsewhere in the community.  However in keeping pace with the advances in  civil rights of people with developmental disabilities, The Arc of King County is proudly committed to the stated goals and positions of The Arc of the United States, AAMR, and dozens of other organizations and tens of thousands of individuals world-wide. Central to these goals and positions is the idea that large state-run congregate living facilities are no longer necessary or desirable service options to promote the maximum welfare and potential of our citizens with developmental disabilities.

Throughout our history as an organization, The Arc of King County has advocated for quality services and supports for children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families.  In recent decades, governments and societies around the globe have broadened their recognition of the individual rights of people with developmental disabilities.  Those rights include but are not limited to the right to live, work and play in the same communities as their nondisabled peers. 

Legal and social advances ushered in by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act (1990) and other landmark legislation and rulings by the United States Supreme Court have resulted in many changes in how people with developmental disabilities are viewed and served by their communities.  Those changes have included the complete closure of all institutions for the developmentally disabled in seven states and the substantial downsizing of such facilities in most others in favor of supporting people in homes of their own in regular neighborhoods.  The Arc of King County has kept pace with this growing recognition of rights, and of the goals of people with developmental disabilities and their families to live quality lives in the community.

• People with disabilities should no longer be "placed" or made to fit into a program or facility. Rather, flexible supports and services must follow the person to the location he or she chooses, including their family home.
  

• People must be empowered with the opportunity to control their housing by renting or buying their own homes, whether a house, apartment, or condo. Thus public policies must ensure that they receive their fair share of all local, state, and national housing resources.
  

• Individuals with disabilities should live together only when they freely choose to do so.

Other Information and Position Statements

• Frequently Asked Questions:  Downsizing Fircrest School and the Impact on Residents with Developmental Disabilities
  
  

• Joint Position Statement of The Arc of the United States/AAMR on Housing for People with Mental Retardation and other Developmental Disabilities (full text)
  
  

• Position Statement:  The Community Imperative (Washington Protective and Advocacy System - WPAS)
  
  

• Closing the State Centers for the Developmentally Disabled (DAWN)