CSI/CUNY News Release
	For Immediate Release - Monday, April 21, 2003

Willowbrook: 1972- 2003, The Case Continues
The Status of the Willowbrook Consent Judgment

Over thirty years ago, parents of residents at the Willowbrook State School on Staten Island and their lawyers marched into federal court to file one of the most historic cases regarding civil rights for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

The resulting consent judgment obligated the State of New York to provide appropriate housing and programs for the more than 6,000 residents known as the “Willowbrook Class.”

Hailed as a “Declaration of Independence” for the developmentally disabled, the consent judgment was the model not only for closing other institutions in the state, but also across the country, and indeed, inspired the closing of notorious institutions around the world.

The Willowbrook Case was never closed, however. Although the consent judgment remains the guiding instrument in the care of the Willowbrook Class, it continues to be a subject of debate in and out of court.

• WHAT:
  A public discussion on the status of the historic consent judgment.

• WHO:
  Katie Meskell, sister of a Willowbrook resident; Executive Director of United Cerebral Palsy of Westchester; and executive producer of “The Unforgotten: 25 Years after Willowbrook”
  Beth Haroules, Esq., New York Civil Liberties Union
  Ann Nehrbauer, parent of a Willowbrook resident
  Ronnie Cohn, Independent Evaluator for the Willowbrook Class
  Dr. David Goode, College of Staten Island, moderator

• WHEN:
  Wednesday, May 7, 2003
  6:30 p.m. reception
  7:00 p.m. program begins

• WHERE:
  College of Staten Island Library
  Archives and Special Collections, 1L-216
  2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island NY 10314

The program is free and open to the public. It will be recorded and the tape will become part of the Willowbrook Collection in the CSI Library Archives.

This public discussion is part of the CSI Staten Island Project initiative.  CSI-SIP uses the expertise and resources of the college to study issues such as transportation, the environment, business, and health, serving as a non-partisan public affairs interface between borough officials and community leaders.

For additional information, contact Dr. Jeffrey Kroessler in the CSI Library at 718-982-4021, or visit the CSI-SIP Web site at www.csi.cuny.edu/csisip

EDITOR’S NOTE: You are invited to send a reporter and/or camera crew. If you plan to attend or send a representative, please contact Ken Bach at 718-982-2328 to make arrangements or for more information.

The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a senior college of The City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s leading urban university. CSI offers 35 academic programs, 15 graduate degree programs, and challenging doctoral programs to 12,000 students. The 204-acre landscaped campus of CSI, one of the largest in NYC, is fully accessible and contains an advanced, networked infrastructure to support technology-based teaching, learning, and research. For more information, visit www.csi.cuny.edu

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