After 40 Years at SORC, Oklahoma DHS Developmental Disabilities Services Successfully Transitions Longtime Resident to Live in her Own Community

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Letha Vance was about eight months old when her parents, Joan and Lloyd Vance, grew concerned about her intellectual and physical development. After many doctors' visits, Letha was eventually diagnosed as profoundly disabled and needed 24/7 care. The lion’s share of this care came from her mother, but by the time Letha was 10, her mother’s health began to decline.

“(We’d) kept her way too long,” Lloyd Vance said. “She was getting way too heavy to handle. We didn’t know there was anything else that we could do. We didn’t ask very much of anybody and just did the best we could. That’s how Letha wound up in Pauls Valley [at the Southern Oklahoma Resource Center (SORC)]; she was there for 40 years.”

Managed by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS), SORC is residential and habilitative facility that provides immediate care for individuals with severe and/or profound developmental and/or intellectual disabilities. Lloyd Vance said he and his family, including his daughter, Sevilla Vance, would go and visit Letha often at SORC.

“We’d go and visit her and all and they had taken good care of her there.” Lloyd Vance said. “They had conscientious people working there and they (had) their own doctor that just worshipped them little kids, so (that’s) the reason we could accept it the way we did. It was because she was so much better off there than she would have been with us.”

Today, Sevilla Vance is Letha’s guardian. She and her family grew concerned when a resolution was passed by the former Oklahoma Commission for Human Services in November, 2012. In one of its last acts, the commission mandated that DDS close its two remaining state-run institutions, SORC and the Northern Oklahoma Resource Center in Enid (NORCE). The reason for the closures is to integrate individuals with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities from the institutions into their own homes and communities – a proven best practice that provides former residents with more personalized care and a higher quality of life.

“I knew that DHS will be closing the facility in Pauls Valley and I wanted to be one of the first to move my sister for a couple of reasons,” Sevilla Vance said. “Number one, I felt like it was the right thing to do because of her age, my age and it was going to be an opportunity for her to live a different life…to be in a home, like I’ve been allowed to live in my life.”

As she worked with DDS and learned more about the residential and community opportunities available to Letha, Sevilla Vance said she grew even more convinced that moving her sister into her own home and in her own community was the right thing to do. She visited with her father and they agreed to transition Letha into the community as long as they knew that Letha would be very well cared for.

DDS’ Amanda Hogue is Letha’s case manager and she explained to Sevilla Vance that parents and/or guardians who advocate for individuals with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities are always welcome to become a part of the transition process.

“We find out their guardian’s or family’s expectations,” Hogue said. “Sevilla wanted Letha to be close and to have more opportunities around her. Based on this, we started looking for a home that could meet her needs and that had the right kind of roommates. We want to make sure they all get along and invite the family and/or guardian over.

“If they like it and feel like it will work out, they can come and look at the house. Letha hit it off with her new roommates immediately and it has been really nice to see them enjoy being around each other. I built a team based on SORC’s recommendations of what she needed in terms of her physical therapy, nutritionist, equipment, wheel chair, shower chair and lift. We all worked well together.”

Sevilla Vance said DDS held a large meeting with the two teams involved in Letha’s transition, including the team that was going to have to let her go at SORC and the other team that now provides services.

“You could just feel it in the room,” she said. “There was a lot of discussion about Letha and there was a lot of love, ‘let’s make sure this happens’ and questions and answers shared. Letha, our father and I were there and we set a date and got it all coordinated.”

Sevilla Vance said Letha’s transition last spring from SORC into her new home and community was very emotional.

“Thank you to all the people at SORC,” Sevilla Vance said. “I saw people who have known Letha and worked with her for 40 years. Those ladies had tears in their eyes, our father had tears in his eyes and they were saying thank you to each other. Best of all, our father knew Letha was safe and comfortable.”

Letha’s transition has been successful and her vocational program manager also found meaningful part-time work for Letha at Show, Inc. in Sapulpa, Okla. It is an employment training center for adults with developmental disabilities. Meanwhile, DDS continues to work with Letha’s providers, the staff and all team members, including her healthcare coordinator, nutritionist, the Office of Client Advocacy and more.

Lloyd Vance said he likes Letha’s new home, too.

“It’s a good building, clean and I appreciate that,” Lloyd Vance said. “If the girl is happy and well taken care of here, well then I’m the happiest person in the world.”

Sevilla Vance said she is looking forward to more family time with her father and Letha.

“I hope Letha has a long, healthy and prosperous life,” Sevilla Vance said. “She’s got a dog, Cleo, so it’s pretty nice to have a pet. It’s been a very difficult decision for my father, and I have great respect for him for the decision he made then. It was the right decision at the right time.”

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