Apr 09, 2005 - 23:16:15 CDT
HAZEN -- Visitors to the Knife River Group Home rarely make it to the door before someone comes to meet them. The curious faces of the five men and three women who live there appear between curtains, and inevitably someone wanders out to say hello."I don't go to the door," said Marilyn Jensen, the home's director. "This is their home."
Knife River is a privately run home for a group of mentally retarded adults, who range in age from 46 to 85 years old. In the shorthand of the North Dakota Legislature, Knife River is a "DD provider," with DD short for developmentally disabled, and how much state aid to spend on the providers is one of the session's prominent issues.
Lawmakers are arguing about whether to provide enough money to give workers at group homes like Knife River a raise of 10 cents an hour, or more than $1 an hour. Another bill would require legislators to treat nursing homes and DD providers equally when raising payments.
Workers at Knife River start out making $7.50 an hour. Turnover is frequent at DD homes across North Dakota, but Jensen says she's lucky. Most of her employees have been at the home at least eight years.
"The ones that stay are doing it because they love the jobs," she said. "They get so attached within the first week, they don't want to leave."
The Hazen group home, which specializes in caring for the elderly, is called a congregate care facility. It is one of four types of group living arrangements in North Dakota for the developmentally disabled.
The eight residents at Knife River care for their own home. There's a list of chores with seven jobs, including taking out the trash and setting the table, where residents take turns. The cook's helper may aid in preparing food, or just put bread in the toaster.
At the group's insistence, signs were put up telling visitors to remove their shoes, to lessen the chance that someone would track in dirt.
Jim Miller's space is no larger than a college dorm room, with a tiny table, a small closet, an ancient TV and a twin bed. There's no clothing out of place, the bed neatly made.
He's fond of a silver and lime green portable compact disc player and radio that he picked up on a Bismarck shopping trip. It's better at picking up his favorite country music station in Bismarck.
"I'm crazy for them dancing polkas," Miller said.
Knife River has nine employees, five full-time and four part-time, who help those living in the home. At least one employee is in the home at any time.
Jensen said most of the help residents need is limited to reminders about they need to do next. Noelle Gustafson, who's been working in the home for five years, prompts residents to take needed medicine, and often gives them ideas about ways to spend their time. Employees also do much of the cooking.
Because of the relatively high skill level of Knife River residents, workers rarely need to help them with hygiene. Some residents need help washing their hair, but most are able to care for themselves, Jensen said.
Thomas Newberger, the chief executive officer of the Red River Human Services Foundation, said some providers watch over people with developmental disabilities who are living on their own, as well as clients in group homes. The foundation has providers in Fargo and Wahpeton.
Newberger said patients at some homes need more attention. Employees often have to help them clean themselves, or deal with uncomfortable situations, he said. He has been pushing for an increase in state aid, to allow employees who work for the providers to be paid more.
"People can go down the street to a fast food establishment and make the same amount (of money) with less responsibility," he said.
Knife River opened in December 1985, when similar group homes were opening all over North Dakota. A federal judge ruled that North Dakota should care for its mentally retarded residents in community settings, rather than at the state's two primary institutions, the Grafton State School and its branch at San Haven in Rolette County.
At the time, Grafton, which is now called the Developmental Center, had more than 1,000 residents. It now has about 140. San Haven was closed in 1988.
The Developmental Center is used for more difficult patients. The institution has staff trained to handle patients who act up. One wing, which can be locked, is used for developmentally disabled people who are prone to misbehavior, superintendent Alex Schweitzer said.
"We're the safety net," he said. "We're used as a last resort."
Gene Hysjulien, director of disability services for the state Department of Human Services, said North Dakota has 38 licensed DD providers, who run 112 group homes with 826 beds. Last year, 4,213 people received DD services, he said.
The Developmental Center costs $392.70 a day per patient. Knife River gets $80.69 a day per person from the state, which covers staffing costs and the upkeep of the home, Jensen said.
The home's residents also must pay $428 a month for room and board. Some earn money from jobs, but the primary source of money is Supplemental Security Income, a federal program that aids elderly and disabled people who have little income.
Miller is one of three Knife River residents who lived at Grafton before it was ordered to move most of its residents. He still gets upset when he recalls the boredom of Grafton life, and being hassled about his diet.
"I don't like that dumb place," he said. "I was glad to leave Grafton. I like it here a darn sight better."
Alven Christmann, another Knife River resident, occasionally walks a few blocks to visit with employees at the Napa auto parts store about cars, trucks and farm equipment.
"I know about combines," said Christmann, who remembers his family's John Deere combine and International tractor.
Gertie Zins, sitting at the home's dining room table, spends about half an hour trying to fit a 9-piece puzzle of a sunflower together before Christmann wanders over and finishes it for her.
Miller can order meals with little help and take the bus to his job at Spendthrift, a Hazen secondhand store run by the home. He works four to six hours a week, separating clothes hangers and bags, and answers the back door when someone drops off a donation. Two years ago the store named him volunteer of the year.
"It has become his job and he's very proud of it and does a good job," said Esther Grosz, manager of the store. "They fit in. We turn into a family."
Residents are not required to have jobs. Christmann often occupies himself with a 300-piece puzzle, spread out on a table. Scott Stebbins and Ronald Schopp like to shuffle, deal and stack a dog-eared deck of cards. Watching "The Price is Right," a television game show, is a daily ritual.
Workers also reward residents who do daily chores without reminders. They get poker chips, which can then be traded for a favorite activity. Christmann saves his chips in a Minnesota Twins cup, hoping to get a discarded TV that's stored in the house's tool shed for him.
Staff help the more capable residents plan summer vacations, ordering brochures from visitor centers and letting them pick what they want to do. The group has visited Medora and South Dakota's Black Hills.
Marvin Sevigny sometimes clenches his fists and growls in frustration when visitors talk to the workers or his homemates, worried that he's being ignored. But Jensen says bickering is rare. A short word from the staff is usually enough to settle disagreements, she says.
"There's no more fighting than you would have anywhere else, where eight nonrelated people live under one roof," she said.
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