Meeting Slated on Handicap Housing

The chief lawyer for the state Department of Developmental Services said Wednesday that the agency plans to meet in early January with an Orange County group that has complained about the lack of housing for the handicapped in the county.

“We don’t believe their allegation that we’re failing to meet our legal obligations,” said Joseph O. Egan, chief counsel for the department, in a telephone interview from Sacramento. “But we want to meet with them to discuss some of the issues they are raising.”

Egan was referring to a Dec. 13 letter by the Tustin-based citizens group that oversees governmental aid to the handicapped. That watchdog group, whose formal title is Area XI Developmental Disabilities Board, accused the state of acting illegally by not providing enough money for housing handicapped adults and children in Orange County.

The letter also formally charged the department with being “out of compliance” with state law--a charge that automatically requires the department to make an internal review. The Orange County group, under state law, has the power to review the government’s performance in providing aid to the handicapped.

Egan said Wednesday that the department now has received and reviewed the letter from the watchdog group. He said that while the department rejects the group’s charges of not obeying state law, “we think we can work with them and clear up some of their problems.”