June 25, 1999

Governor Gray Davis

State Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA 95814

Attention: Dario Frommer, Appointments Secretary

Re: Director/Deputy Director of the Department of Developmental Disabilities

Dear Governor Davis:

I am writing this letter to urge the appointment of Phillip Campbell and Dr.

Mary Cerreto for the positions of Director and Deputy Director of the

Department of Developmental Services.

After reading about these two individuals and talking to other people in the

field, I feel that Phillip Campbell and Mary Cerreto will bring to our

developmental disabilities system in California the values, skills, energy

and experience that we sorely need to solve help solve the Department's

systematic problems and forge new directions for persons with developmental

disabilities and their families. Although Massachusetts is a small state,

this team's track record is very impressive in working with the Health Care

Financing Administration, the legislature and local communities.

California's system is facing many problems with Developmental Centers;

fragmented and in adequate community services; rate setting for those

services; and a challenge to infuse more flexibility and family support in

the Regional Center system. Campbell and Cerreto seem to have the experience

and the ideas to address these issues.

I have been involved with this system for over 37 years, as a parent of a

child with disabilities, a special education teacher, an advocate for other

families and the founder and director of a Parent Training and Information

Center to support families of children with disabilities. I have served on

the Board of Directors of an ARC, an Independent Living Center and I am

currently a member of the Board of Area Board 5 on Developmental

Disabilities. You can see I've participated in this system over a long time

and from several perspectives.

I'm sure you are considering many applications for these positions. I urge

you to look at Phillip Campbell's and Mary Cerreto's application as an

opportunity to bring an experienced and exciting team to California.

Sincerely,

Joan Kilburn