New Direction

More than a change at the top is needed to turn around D.C.'s troubled agency for the disabled.

ONE SIGN of the trouble that has roiled the D.C. agency serving the disabled is the turnover at the top. There have been 10 directors in eight years, and an 11th has just been named. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's choice is a woman of accomplishment with an inspiring life story. But a lesson learned from the past is that one person alone won't be able to correct the massive failures.

In announcing that Judith E. Heumann would head the Department of Disability Services, Mr. Fenty acknowledged as much; he simultaneously unveiled a restructuring of the troubled agency. The plan spells out 64 measures to be completed by November. Among them: identifying providers of care who have bad records; reorganizing and retraining staff members; and moving clients to less restrictive settings. Even then, the plan will be only a start in improving the health, safety and welfare of the 2,000 people served by the agency. Advocates for the disabled are rightly skeptical, having watched directors come and go while conditions remained wretched. Among those most harmed by the unkept promises are some 650 mentally retarded people who were former residents of Forest Haven. Their 31-year-old lawsuit against the city could lead to the court placing the agency in receivership if Mr. Fenty fails to deliver change.

We have no illusions about the difficulty of the task facing the city. Ms. Heumann, an expert on disability and diversity issues who worked for the World Bank and the Clinton administration, captured this best when she said what daunted her most about taking the job is that the problems have persisted for so long. Ms. Heumann, herself disabled, is used to taking on hard cases. As a child she was barred from a public school, and as an adult she had to sue to be allowed to teach. Ms. Heumann lacks familiarity in dealing with this city bureaucracy, so it's good that Kathy Sawyer, the retired disability commissioner from Alabama who was brought in to lead the agency temporarily, will stay on to help in the reform until Ms. Heumann is able to assemble her management team.

There are other hopeful signs that the city might finally be getting serious. The court monitor, in her most recent report, noted "considerable responsiveness" from the new administration. An outside contractor has been rehired to conduct independent investigations of patient deaths. Peter Nickles, the mayor's general counsel charged with the reform effort, and his deputy have accompanied the monitor on unannounced visits to community residences. A process has been established to identify homes that should be closed. There are plans to expand employment opportunities. The mayor is devoting more money to the agency.

The city also promises to shake up and hold accountable a workforce that has poorly served the vulnerable people entrusted to its care. No doubt some will push back as the city seeks to reclassify jobs, impose stricter performance standards and remove bad performers. But changing this culture is key to turning this agency -- and people's lives -- around. A clearer picture of just how serious Mr. Fenty is will emerge this fall, when his self-imposed deadline coincides with that of a full review from the court monitor.