State scheming to close center, parents say
Source: By Carolyn Tuft, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH (MO), 03/26/2006
..... Betty Coll, president of the Mental Retardation Association of Missouri Inc., said at Sunday's news conference that the state was wasting tax dollars not only on the consultants but also through its efforts to shut the place down. State records show that since the state moved 100 of Bellefontaine's 460 residents to private homes, the federal funding that historically had paid most of the bills had dwindled while the center's expenses remained about the same. .... While two residents have died in state-run centers, parents are convinced state-run facilities are safer. They question whether the state can protect residents in hundreds of private homes if it has to hire consultants to solve problems in the seven state centers. Parents point to two state audits in the past five years that showed private providers had hidden abuse and neglect allegations and state officials failed to properly oversee them, thus allowing banned workers to work in the private sector. One private home operating under a banned worker had 11 proven cases of neglect, leading to a death.