http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006606060
08



Sawyer named to D.C. post



Montgomery Advertiser

Kathy Sawyer, a former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental
Health and Mental Retardation, has been appointed acting administrator
for the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration
in Washington D.C.

Sawyer's appointment was announced today by D.C. Mayor Anthony A.
Williams.

"We are lucky to have found someone of Ms. Sawyer's reputation and
ability at this challenging and pivotal time for MRDDA," Williams said.
"She is a proven leader and reformer."

According to the Washington Post, Sawyer will replace Marsha Thompson,
who was fired by Williams today. Sawyer will reportedly take over on
June 19 on a six-month contract.

The agency has been under fire of late for egregious lapses in service,
the Post reported today. In a filing in U.S. District Court last week,
the Justice Department cited 14 "preventable and questionable" deaths in
group homes run by the city agency since January 2003. University Legal
Services, which represents a group of plaintiffs in a 30-year-old
lawsuit over quality of care, wants the judge to order a court takeover
of the agency, which is responsible for the care of nearly 2,000
mentally and physically disabled residents.

Sawyer led Alabama's Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
from 1999 to 2005. In that time, she led the department to a
court-approved settlement of a lawsuit that had spanned 33 years and 14
commissioners.

Since her retirement last year, she has been a consultant and served on
a number of boards and commissions. She has also served as co-director
of Alabama State University's Camp Sunshine.

Sawyer was the Montgomery Advertiser's Citizen of the Year.











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