The METO Settlement

Steve Larson: One, I think as we look at this whole situation and how it evolved, you have to question whether it makes sense putting people that are potentially violent, or have a history of violence, or at risk of criminal behavior all in one facility. People feed off the behaviors of other individuals. The rate for the METO program a few years ago was over 1000. We believe that you can support individuals in the community, either by themselves or living with one or two other people, and help prevent some of the situations that creates violence or outbursts by individuals.

And so we think we should be planning for each individual, look at their history, what are the factors that are there before they become…get involved in an outburst or a violent activity, try to anticipate that, and create some alternative behaviors for individuals to engage in, rather than trying to communicate their frustration with the situation by acting out. And so I think we have to look at how we support individuals and do planning on the individual personal basis in order to provide the type of living situation they can be successful in.