As Val and Ralph La Terra reached their twilight years, they thought they could rest easy knowing their daughter was in the best possible hands.
Connie, 51, has lived in her group home in Melbourne's northern suburbs for 20 years.
On the day the ABC visits, the rich tenor of singing star Andrea Bocelli fills the home as she watches one of his Christmas concerts, occasionally letting out a squeal of delight.
Connie has cerebral palsy, which has severely affected her ability to move and speak.
Her parents say she loves her four fellow residents and the staff — some of whom have worked with her for more than 20 years.
So tight are the bonds here that she even attended one of her carer's weddings.
"The staff are part of my family and Connie's family, I can honestly say it," says her mother, Val.
"They give her everything that she needs and she wants."
But Connie's happy home may be about to be ripped apart.
Hundreds of group homes like hers — housing almost 2,000 of Victoria's most vulnerable disabled people with the highest care needs — are at risk of closing when a state government funding package dries up at the end of the month.
The not-for-profit organisations that run the homes say the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding they receive from the commonwealth government is not enough for them to keep the houses viable.
There are fears residents who have lived together for decades will be separated and moved to other disability houses with vacancies with different tenants and carers, which could be a long way from where they live now.
Those with the highest needs could end up in hospital and aged care if appropriate places can not be found.
Mum would be 'devastated' if group home closed
Connie's fellow resident Karen plays with a Christmas reindeer as her parents, Helen and Paul Struc, look on.
Their smiles belie the pit that has been opening in their stomachs.
They looked after Karen, who has a rare genetic disorder, until she was 40.
It took a lot of trust for them to move her to this home eight years ago.
But as the months progressed, they realised the workers here cared for Karen just as they would.
They are scared she might not get that care somewhere else.
"If this house was to close … we would be devastated, quite frankly," Helen Struc says.
While Connie and Karen have parents to advocate for them, many residents across the 500 homes are older and have no family left alive to be their voice.
Some have lived in the same home since being transferred from institutions decades ago.
Paul Healey, from the Health and Community Services Union, says those people could get lost in the system.
"I think there's going to be a crisis," he says.
"While the governments are going to be pointing at each other, I think participants are going to miss out on the care and support they need."
Top-up funding set to run out on December 31
The residents and their families have ended up in this situation because of the changing roles of the state and federal government in disability housing.
The 500 group homes in question were historically owned and operated by the Victorian government.
But soon after the federal National Disability Insurance Scheme was introduced in 2018, then-premier Daniel Andrews handed over operation of the homes to five not-for-profit organisations: Aruma, Scope, Life Without Barriers, Melba Support Services and Possability.
To allay fears about standards of care, the Victorian government promised $2.1 billion over eight years in top-up funding for the providers, in addition to NDIS funding they had received from the commonwealth.
The extra funding ensured a higher wage for workers in the homes and minimum staffing requirements — standards that do not exist in group homes that are not legacy Victorian government homes.
But on December 31, that top-up funding runs out.
Dr Martin Laverty, the CEO of disability care provider Aruma, says it may be forced to shut its 55 formerly government-owned houses across Victoria, unless more money is found or workers agree to a pay cut.
"Going into next year, unless we get a breakthrough, in Aruma's case, we know a number of the homes in Victoria, if we are still paying at public sector rates, they will become unviable," Dr Laverty says.
On top of the higher staff rates, Dr Laverty says participants who live in the houses are not being funded by the NDIS to the required level.
The five not-for-profits have embarked on a fierce lobbying campaign to get emergency funding from the federal or state government, to no avail.
In a statement, an NDIA spokesperson said it was working closely with the providers.
"The NDIA has processes in place to manage participant safety if their providers cease services, particularly for participants in supported living," it said.
A Victorian government spokesperson says it is lobbying the NDIS to boost the funding of participants.
"Funding decisions such as Supported Independent Living services for NDIS participants are the responsibility of National Disability Insurance Agency."
Concerns Paul's life could be turned upside down
The funding stoush is a hard pill to swallow for Hennie van Leeuwen, whose 47-year-old son, Paul, lives at a former government home in Melbourne's east.
"It's always the same story, it's always about saving money," she said.
He has Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes intellectual disability and constant hunger and can lead to obesity.
She says the staff at the house know Paul well and how to manage his diet. If that changes, it could turn his life upside down.
"It may break my heart [if it closes]," she says.
Paul also loves the home, telling the ABC his best friend also lives there.
On the wall are all the activities they get up to, from sports to concerts and fishing.
"We have parties, we have dinner together. We go places and go out for dinner," he says.
"I feel happy and relaxed."
Residents' quality of life could suffer if staff leave, says union
Paul Healey, state secretary of the Health and Community Services Union (HACSU), is worried that quality of life may stop for many of the residents if they move.
"That's because former Victorian government-run group homes are legally required to have more staff than group homes that were never run by the state," he said.
"[Outings and activities are] not going to happen because they won't have the staffing to actually provide all those services."
Healey says many of the staff in the former government homes will likely leave the industry because they will need to take a pay cut if they stay.
Staff in the former Victorian homes also had to have disability qualifications. No such requirements exist for other homes.
"Victoria's always had the gold standard in care and our fear is it's gonna go backwards, and that the people [with disability] aren't going to be living their best lives," says Healey.
The parents of the residents the ABC spoke to are pleading for the state or federal governments to step in and not treat their children like numbers.
"These are people," Val La Terra says.
"They deserve a happy life."
