As the days since the Montana Developmental Center was initially supposed to be closed mount up, the pace of placement of clients into the community has slowed.
Statistics showing the trends will be shared with the legislative Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee on Thursday afternoon. The agenda calls for a 3:45 update on the MDC closure.
The committee will meet both Thursday and Friday, January 18 & 19, in Room 102 of the State Capitol in Helena. Chaired by Sen. Mary Caferro of Helena, the committee will also deal with Medicaid expansion, prescription drug pricing, DD services for adults, the Montana Medical Marijuana Act, and related issues.
According to a report by Legislative Research Analyst Sue O’Connell, “MDC Closure: Client Status as of Dec. 31, 2017,” twenty-one individuals remained on the Boulder campus at the end of the calendar year. Of those 21, 12 were at the IBC (Intensive Behavior Center) and nine were living in MDC cottages. Thirteen had been accepted into and were awaiting placement in community services while eight had not been accepted into community services, says the report.
When the legislature initially passed Senate Bill 411 in 2015, the MDC was slated to be closed by June 30, 2017. From the spring passage of SB 411 to the end of 2016, 27 of the 52 clients were placed out of the facility, a rate of about 1.3 placements per month.
With 25 clients remaining at the MDC, the 2017 legislature voted to extend the closure date for two years, allowing the 12-bed IBC to be permanent for crisis commitments of up to 90 days.
Throughout 2017, the client census reduced by only four, a placement rate of one-third of a client per month. In the final four months of 2017, the census dropped by only one client, a rate of one-quarter client per month.
Of the 21 remaining clients at the MDC, three were sentenced to the Department of Public Health and Human Services custody after committing crimes.
The report details the average length of stay at the MDC as well as the highest, lowest and average cost plan amounts for current clients.
The full report and the meeting agenda are available online through leg.mt.gov by clicking on interim committees, selecting Children, Families, Health & Human Services Interim Committee from the menu and choosing “Meeting Materials” under the January meeting notice.
The meeting comes shortly after the state announced budget cuts eliminating targeted case management services for DD individuals in the community. Some community providers reportedly said that will make it more difficult for them to serve former MDC clients.
Private providers had already said repeatedly during a two-year MDC transition study that they are being inadequately funded for the services they provide. They also said a provider of last resort is a necessary part of the continuum of services, a factor that figured into the creation of the IBC.
The topic of DD services for adults makes up a major portion of the committee’s agenda for the two-day meeting.
The committee meeting, which is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Friday, is open to the public.
