Gobi claims the study, done by the Department of Developmental Services, did not even address the question whether community settings are less expensive than institutional ones.
Funny, we thought cost was a major reason for closing the Fernald, Monson, Templeton, and Glavin Developmental Centers.
Last year, the Legislature approved language in the state budget, requiring that the administration provide a report to the Legislature that would examine: “…the prospective costs and benefits of maintaining the facilities…” The budget language also required that the study examine the quality of care in the facilities and in alternative community-based settings.
Gobi and other lawmakers are now trying to insert language in the budget for the coming fiscal year which would require a new study, and require that the Legislature approve the study before any facilities could be shut down. That legislative-approval requirement was in the House version of the budget last year, but was taken out by a House-Senate conference committee.
Ironically, Senator Stephen Brewer, D-Barre, whose district includes two of the state facilities, was a member of the conference committee. Brewer personally removed the Fernald Center from the watered-down study last year. Now, Brewer is quoted in The Republican as saying he will work to get the new study approved in the Senate.
We wish Brewer and his friends the best of luck. Unfortunately, due to Brewer's own actions, any new study would most likely come too late to save the Fernald Center, which is slated to close at the end of June.
