From the Richmond Times Dispatch this past weekend:
"In a 20-page assessment of Virginia's care for the disabled released Friday, federal investigators detail hundreds of mentally and physically challenged people languishing in state facilities, subject to harm and neglect.
"Virtually no one who has been institutionalized long-term … ever leaves," one section of the report states, referring to residents at the sprawling Central Virginia Training Center in Lynchburg."
From CNBC, also this past weekend:
"Virginia violates federal law by needlessly institutionalizing people with intellectual disabilities and failing to provide adequate community-based treatment, the Department of Justice said in a report made public by Gov. Bob McDonnell on Friday."
Virginia has an extremely long waiting list for community services. Currently, 6,400 people are waiting, including nearly 3,000 identified as having urgent needs that could result in them being institutionalized.
Virginia's governor has 49 days to respond to the Justice Department or face a federal lawsuit.
This is huge - and about damn time.
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