Family members of patients at a state-run center for the developmentally disabled say Maryland officials are threatening lawsuits if they don’t back off resistance to its closure.
State health administrators say the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills will be shuttered by June 30. Family members fighting the closure have scheduled a news conference Sunday, saying that they are being “coerced” to leave and that Michael Chapman, director of Maryland’s Developmental Disabilities Administration, has threatened lawsuits if they don’t.
Gov. Martin O’Malley announced plans to close the 120-year-old facility in January amid reports of abuse and neglect. The facility is currently under scrutiny of the U.S. Justice Department for alleged civil rights violations.
Officials said most of Rosewood’s remaining 125 patients can be served in community-based homes.
In a statement released late Friday, Maryland health Secretary John Colmers said the agency welcomes input from family members.
“The transition process relies on the input of individuals who know the resident best.”
