Carol Dailey is afraid of what will happen to her son if state lawmakers continue their plan to shut down the Montana Developmental Center, in Boulder. The treatment and housing center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities is set to close in June 2017.
"It is a beautiful campus-like facility, it is more home-like and community-like than any private placement he has been in. It has worked great for him. And it is the only place where he has thrived," says Dailey.
Dailey’s son, Shawn, is 34 years old. He’s nonverbal, and can understand language at the level of a 2-year-old.
Dailey says she was nervous when Shawn first moved in to MDC in 2004.
"You’d hear about MDC, and it was sort of the last place, the place where they put people no-one else could handle. And it was just like the last place you wanted to admit your child."
But now, after Shawn has spent 12 years living on and off the MDC campus, Dailey says it’s her son’s home. And she trusts that he is safe there.
In 2015, legislation aiming to close MDC passed with bipartisan support. Governor Steve Bullock signed the bill into law in May of last year.
This law passed amid allegations of abuse and mistreatment at MDC. In 2015, a former MDC employee pleaded guilty to felony abuse of a disabled person. Supporters for keeping MDC open, including Carol Dailey, have said those reports of abuse were overblown.
"Even if MDC was abuse free, that is no reason to keep it open."
That’s Allan Bergman, former President and CEO a multimillion dollar Chicago nonprofit that provides services for people with developmental disabilities.
Last week, the National Conference of State Legislators and advocates for closing MDC hired him to come to Montana and talk about ending state institutions, like MDC, for people with developmental disabilities.
"Institutions are dinosaurs. They do nothing but suck up a lot of money and control people’s lives. And these are people who, for the most part, are there because they have a label. They have a diagnosis. Someone thought that somebody like that needs to be in a big place like that, and they need to be taken care of. That is not the case. We now know that the best community living arrangements for people with developmental disabilities is not a group home of eight or a group home of six, but three or fewer people living together."
Bergman says when MDC is closed, Montana will join 15 other states in being institution free.
Bergman says MDC needs to close for the good of the people there and for the good of the taxpayer.
"We’ve got to start looking at this, not only on the human side, which is first. But what I've said is we’ve got to look at cost effectiveness and cost efficiency."
In 2014, it cost $760 per person, per day, to live at MDC. That cost of $15.5 million was picked up by the state with some federal government reimbursement.
Bergman doesn’t know exactly how much the state would save by shutting down MDC. But his opinion is that after an initial investment of $3 million to $5 million, the state could raise the standard of care for less money that it is currently spending.
The governor's office says closing MDC will save about $12 million next year.
"There is nothing that can be done at MDC that cannot be done in the community. The major difference is when you are in the community, you get to have a life," Bergman says.
Bergman says this is a civil rights issue and people with disabilities should have the freedom and right to be a part the larger community.
"Freedom is a funny thing."
Here’s Carol Dailey again. Her son Shawn has lived in community placements twice, but always came back to MDC.
"Independence, it needs to be tailored to what the individual is capable of making wisely. And I feel like at MDC he is independent in a way that is very appropriate for him. And he loves it, and he has the structure he needs to thrive and have a good quality of life."
Dailey wants some kind of backup center available if her son does leave MDC and moves into small community with just a few other people, in case of crisis.
Allen Bergman agreed that some kind of crisis program would have to be put in place, and the state would need to invest in that when MDC is closed.
Starting this year the state is paying $200,000 a year to contracted crisis services in preparation for the MDC closure.
Dailey said, ideally, she would want her son to live in a large community, but with people like him.
"I realize this isn’t where the current politically correct view is going right now, but I think it may be turning this direction, actually. I would like a congregate community where he can be around, in the cottages, with other disabled people. Go to dances, go to church community, go to outings and have a full social life with the people at that community.”
Dailey says she has tried to explain to her son that he might be leaving MDC soon. When she talks to him about it she says he looks scared and alarmed, other times, she says, he doesn’t understand what she is saying at all.
The law shutting down MDC requires most of its 50 residents to move out and be placed in community settings by the end of this year.
