Appeals of the Welsch class action lawsuit continued throughout the mid-1970s. Testimony on both sides of the issue was graphic and intense.
In September 1980, more than six years after the initial opinion was filed, the Welsch consent decree was signed.
Key provisions of the consent decree required the total population of residents living in state institutions to be reduced to 1,850 within seven years.
Testimony in the Welsch class action suit was graphic and intense.
The state budget crisis of the early 1980s accelerated the regionalization agenda.
In 1981, the Rochester hospital was voted to be closed by the Legislature and AFSCME – whose members kept state institutions operating – went on strike.
A strike by public employees strained the ability of state institutions to provide adequate care.
U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker of Connecticut, chair of the first Senate Subcommittee on Disabilities, held hearings in April of 1981 to investigate best practices in caring for people with developmental disabilities.
Drawing upon national experts, Karen Green McGowan, a leading consultant in the field, testified about the power of developmental programming. When people do not learn, she said, they haven't failed, we have.
Karen Green McGowan