In 1982, the Department of Public Welfare submitted a report called "The Future of the Minnesota State Hospital System" to Governor Al Quie.
The report called for the creation of regional governing boards for state hospitals, removing the department from the facilities' day-to-day operations. The report also noted that no state hospital should close and that if funding reductions were needed, cuts should be made at all facilities.
A six-year plan to comply with the Welsch Consent Decree was issued separately. It called for changing the state's day program funding system and expanding semi-independent living services.
Sam Newlund Articles Relating to Welsch, Minneapolis Star Tribune (1984-1989)
Used with the permission of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune
Governor Al Quie received a report calling for regional governance.
The Rochester facility officially closed on June 29, 1982. Its remaining residents transferred to the other institutions.
The hospital closed in the "middle of the night" with little planning or advance warning.
That same year, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that group homes could be located in residential areas. This ruling furthered the community services effort by allowing people with developmental disabilities to live not only in the same county as their families but in the same neighborhood.
The Rochester State Hospital closed on
June 29, 1982.