The Legislature is launching an investigation of the troubled Beatrice State Developmental Center, with lawmakers vowing to uncover what led to problems and how to prevent them in the future.
NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, April 7, 2008 7:00 pm
The seven state senators who will investigate the problems at the Beatrice State Developmental Center will be selected Wednesday, when the Legislature’s Executive Board meets.
That committee — the Developmental Disabilities Special Investigative Committee — is expected to report its findings by the middle of December, before the next Legislative session begins.
“It is time for the legislative branch to take oversight” of this problem, said Speaker Mike Flood of Norfolk, sponsor of the resolution that gained 43-0 legislative approval Tuesday.
Senators decided to launch their own probe after several outside investigations showed staffing and care problems at the center, which is home to about 300 people with serious developmental disabilities.
The state faces the loss of about $28.6 million in federal funds for the center and the potential of federal civil rights lawsuits.
“This is the first step,” said Sen. Norm Wallman of Cortland, whose district includes the center. “The next step is a firm commitment to better understand the entire system of care for people with developmental disabilities.”
Residents “should be safe, they should be respected and above all encouraged,” he said.
Senators need to keep an open mind about services for people with developmental disabilities, said Sen. Joel Johnson of Kearney, chairman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.
About 100 residents at Beatrice are expected to be moved to community-based services before January as one solution to the institution’s problems.
But senators should not have a preconceived idea that community services are the entire answer, Johnson said.
Community-based services are harder to monitor to make sure they “are doing the right thing and doing it in a responsible way,” he said.
“Put the clients first as we look at this,” he said, and base decisions on what’s best for them.
The Legislature’s Executive Board will name the seven senators from among the 12 who have asked to be on the committee, said Sen. Pat Engel of South Sioux City, chairman of the Executive Board.
The study will include the quality of care and related staffing issues at the center, quality of care in community-based programs statewide, staffing practices at 24-hour facilities, and the history of how problems developed at the center.
Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.