Problems persist – Abuse allegations plague Montana Developmental Center

Montana Department of Justice findings released this month detail widespread client abuse at the Montana Developmental Center http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/dsd/institutions.shtml , a state facility in Boulder charged with caring for cognitively impaired adults. The latest findings have disability rights advocates and state legislators considering more drastic changes at a center mired in scandal in recent years.

"If we have that level of abuse going on in a facility, there’s a problem," says Bernadette Franks-Ongoy, executive director of Disability Rights Montana http://www.disabilityrightsmt.org/janda3/ , which is empowered by law to investigate and remedy instances of abuse and neglect of developmentally disabled people. "There’s a very, very serious problem that residents in that facility are not safe."

By Jessica Mayrer

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