By Gina Tabonares
Variety News Staff

THE government of Guam has until Monday to reply to the third contempt of court case filed by four persons with disabilities in connection with GovGuam’s failure to comply with a stipulated court order to improve the services of government agencies handling individuals with disabilities.
The plaintiffs — J.C., S.F., J. M. and R.A. — reiterated their demand to put the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities, or DISID, and the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, or DMHSA, under federal receivership.
Lawyer for the plaintiffs, Daniel Sommerfleck of the Guam Legal Services, lamented that they have to go back and forth to court to call the attention of GovGuam officials in improving the care for individuals with disabilities.
According to Sommerfleck, their complaint against Gov. Felix P. Camacho, DISID director Roseanne Ada and DMHSA director Dr. Andrea Leitheiser is like the Ordot Dump case wherein the local government continues to ignore the federal government’s plea to comply with a consent decree.
“It’s equally disheartening. It affects maybe 200 people with disabilities, but it’s severely affecting these individuals,” Sommerfleck told Variety.
Sommerfleck said the latest filing for contempt of court was the third plea since they first brought up the situation during the last administration.
“We waited for so long and they continue to ignore this issue. It is a matter of prioritizing and we don’t understand the local government’s priority,” he said.
He also questioned the need for GovGuam officials to hire a private law firm when it has been represented by the Attorney General’s Office.
“I am just hoping that hiring a different law firm would give them a better understanding (of the case) and would help them realize the seriousness of our complaint,” Sommerfleck added.
GovGuam hired the services of Mair, Mair, Spade & Thompson to represent Camacho, Ada and Leitheiser.
The plaintiffs asked the District Court to hold the defendants in contempt after GovGuam failed to comply with the court order and a stipulation made by the plaintiffs and the defendants.
According to the plaintiff, GovGuam did not accomplish any timelines to achieve incremental steps in improving the services of DISID and DMHSA.
Based on the stipulation the parties made, GovGuam should formulate an amended comprehensive implementation plan to address the minimum care requirement wherein the administration will utilize the Joint Commission of Accreditation of HealthCare Organizations as a barometer and obtain accreditation.
However, the plaintiffs stated that deadlines have come and gone but GovGuam continued to fail in meeting the agreed deadline to make the changes.
The court earlier warned the local government of federal receivership after DMHSA and DISID missed a deadline last year to improve its services.
On Oct. 11, GovGuam submitted its three final plans: a comprehensive implementation plan to develop community services, policies and procedures for changes in community placement; the return of individuals to the Department of Mental Health’s Adult Inpatient Unit; and the implementation of minimum care requirements was forwarded to the AGO which, in turn, submitted a copy to the federal court.
A permanent injunction was imposed against DMHSA and DISID after a person with disability filed a complaint against the two agencies for their failure to provide “a safe and humane environment for individuals with disabilities.”
The permanent injunction also prompted the governor to issue an emergency declaration and asked the legislature to appropriate $3 million to enable DMHSA and DISID to comply with the federal court’s requirements.