Privatization Is the Reason for Hope

COOPERSVILLE —A tentative agreement was reached in mid-July for transferring Community Haven, an adult care facility in Ottawa County, from the county to a private agency in Grand Rapids that manages a network of adult foster care homes in Michigan.

Under the plan, the 60-bed facility was to be sold for one dollar to Hope Network. Originally opened in 1866 as Ottawa County’s "poor farm" for indigents, the facility houses 54 mentally ill and physically and developmentally disabled adults. Hope Network serves about 5,000 clients statewide through adult homes, job training, medical and transportation services.