In 1970, the Department of Public Welfare recommended that Governor LeVander further regionalize all state hospitals because resident populations were declining. The report also said some buildings were aging and should be demolished.
By 1971, six new regional care units had opened at St. Peter, Willmar, Fergus Falls, Rochester, Moose Lake and Hastings to allow residents to be transferred to facilities closer to their home counties.
By 1971, developmental programming was also underway.
Developmental programming meant that all people could learn if learning was divided into small tasks taught in sequence.
By the early 1970s, developmental programming was being widely used to teach people with developmental disabilities important skills such as using the telephone.
Progress was being made throughout the state. For example, at the Faribault facility, Travis Thompson, Professor at the University of Minnesota, demonstrated the power of behavior modification using a token system.
Dr. Len Fielding of the Anoka State Hospital reported that a 3-year study of 190 institutionalized people with self-inflicted injuries indicated that the causes usually stemmed from dissatisfaction, boredom, teasing, abuse, and forced attitudes.
When the Owatonna State School closed in 1971, Dr. Reynolds and his colleagues conducted a follow-up study of 158 residents who were transferred to regional facilities.
The study found that the transfers were accomplished with few problems. County staff was successful in making the transfers happen.
Following the closure of the Owatonna State School in 1971 (above), residents were transferred primarily to Brainerd State Hospital.
That same year, Governor Wendell Anderson established the Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities. The Legislature also expanded mandatory special education to include all students between the ages of 5 and 21.
The Governor's Council was created to ensure that people with developmental disabilities receive the support they need to live independently, to make their own decisions and to be productive, integrated community members. To do so, the Council plans, coordinates and evaluates the State's system of services for people with developmental disabilities.
Governor Wendell Anderson