Boro recognizes group's efforts to help disabled
BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer

SPOTSWOOD - When Margaret Griscti began fighting for the rights of developmentally disabled persons, she couldn't have imagined that it would take 30 years to attain victory.

Griscti, who was recently honored by the Spotswood Borough Council, has been fighting to ensure proper safety measures during the transport of disabled persons. Her dedication to the issue began because her son, Stephen, suffers from a developmental disability and Margaret was determined to see that he is kept safe.

The group has actively supported bills currently before the state Senate and Assembly that provide the type of stable environment Griscti and others like her have sought for so long.

Bill A-3459 would require that those who transport people with such disabilities have a staff that is trained in the measures needed to ensure safe transportation. The risk of noncompliance is a fine. Bill A-3538 would allow police to give summonses to drivers who do not use the proper safety methods during transportation.

Though Griscti's interest in the cause goes back 30 years, it was intensified in 2000 when her son's wheelchair fell over when a driver turned a corner.

She said that wouldn't have happened if the proper safety measures such as the so-called four-point method as well as a shoulder-to-lap seatbelt were used.

Her son broke his femur and eventually needed hip surgery.

At a recent meeting, the Spotswood Borough Council honored Griscti along with Diane Gruskowski, Robin Turner and Anne Brady for their efforts in trying to make transportation safer. The council presented the women, who are part of the group Family Alliance to Stop Abuse and Neglect, with a resolution of support.

Griscti, a North Brunswick resident, said the group is based out of West Trenton and has members in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. It fights for the rights of the developmentally disabled.

Griscti's battle began when her son was still a baby.

Upset with a lack of safety measures, she found herself having to personally ensure that proper methods were used by the facilities where her son stayed. Much of her time was spent fighting with the state Division of Developmental Disabilities, she said. Whenever her son changed facilities, she had a new battle.

Griscti said she was usually able to secure proper transport for her son, because the "squeaky wheel gets the grease." However, others were not so fortunate.

As a result, the alliance fought so all transportation used the four-point system, essentially a series of belts. Prior to the use of that system, poles were inserted between the wheels of a wheelchair.

"But in an accident, the wheels are the first to fall off," she said.

A provision of the 1990 federal Americans with Disabilities Act made it law that the system be used. However, the law was not always enforced. Griscti said she and other parents realized many transporters did not maintain the belts or train staff how to use them.

The problem really hit home after the 2000 incident, where her son was injured because his wheelchair was not properly secured.

Griscti said that about two years ago the alliance went to New Jersey legislators asking that the act be enforced. The two bills are now being considered, but she admitted they "still have a long way to go."

"We've been working on this for 30 years," she said. "[With the laws in place] there'd finally be some accountability."

Anyone interested in contacting the organization can do so via e-mail at Whlchr2@verizon.net or by mail at The Family Alliance to Stop Abuse and Neglect, P.O. Box 77238, West Trenton, NJ, 08628. The group also has a Web site at www.TheFamilyAlliance.net.