HELENA — A state Senate committee heard emotional testimony on a bill that proposes closing the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder and transferring its disabled clients to community-based settings.
At a hearing Monday, supporters of the bill criticized the center’s ability to treat clients and keep them safe. The parents of several clients testified their children had been mistreated by staff members or clients while others argued their children were not receiving proper services because of staffing shortages.
Opponents argued there is no other place in the state that specializes in the care needed for center clients, who are developmentally disabled and ordered by a court to the facility because they are a danger to themselves or others.
The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee did not take immediate action.
Sen. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, introduced Senate Bill 411, calling for the closure of the center over the next two years. She argued that recent assaults and sexual assaults brought into question whether the center can keep clients safe. The residents of the center can be better served at less cost in community-based care facilities, she said.
Ellen Marten of Great Falls testified that her son was fully independent and able to care for himself when he was sent to the center, but at some point suffered a severe neck injury that went undiagnosed for months because staffers believed he was faking his pain. He eventually lost weight, became incontinent, suffered leg spasms and could no longer feed himself, she said.
After a complaint to an advocate, her son was taken to the hospital in Helena, where he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung and two herniated disks in his neck that required surgery. He must use a wheelchair and has no bowel or bladder control, Marten said.
“If he had medical attention, he would not be living in a nursing home,” she said.
Opponents of the bill argued the center’s services are needed, and are not provided elsewhere in the state.
Anna Studenski of Great Falls said her daughter’s placement in the center saved her life, because she had begun sneaking out of the house and running across busy streets and trying to jump out of vehicles traveling at highway speeds.
“Individuals at MDC are those for whom there are no qualified services in the community because of the severity of their problems,” Studenski testified.
Richard Opper, director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services —which oversees the center — said the agency has softened its stance, noting it was vehemently against closing the center in 2013.
“We are in a different spot this session than we were two years ago,” Opper told the committee. “If it is the decision of the Legislature to close this facility, we will work with people to ensure that it’s done thoughtfully and that it’s done with the best interest of the clients.”
If the center remains open, officials will take steps to guard against neglect and abuse of clients, he said.
“We have to do a better job, and we know that and we accept that,” Opper said.