Providing information, education, and training to build knowledge, develop skills, and change attitudes that will lead to increased independence, productivity, self determination, integration and inclusion (IPSII) for people with developmental disabilities and their families.

The METO Settlement

Steve Larson: What is METO?

Steve Larson: METO is the Minnesota Extended Treatment Options program that was created in the 1990s. There was concern that there would be situations in which individuals with disabilities were going to have crises or be at risk of entering the prisons, and so they wanted an alternative to that. So a 48-bed facility was established on the Cambridge…former Cambridge State Hospital campus.

The original intent was that there were individuals with disabilities that had severe behavioral issues or had been involved in the criminal justice system. So this was going to be a facility that would meet the needs of individuals that had lost their placements, were coming out of prison, or were at risk of going to prison to try to meet their needs while community placements were developed for them.

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The GCDD is funded under the provisions of P.L. 106-402. The federal law also provides funding to the Minnesota Disability Law Center, the state Protection and Advocacy System, and to the Institute on Community Integration, the state University Center for Excellence. The Minnesota network of programs works to increase the IPSII of people with developmental disabilities and families into community life.

This project was supported, in part by grant number 2401MNSCDD, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.

This website is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,152,808.00 funded by ACL/HHS and $222,000.00 funded by non-federal-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.