Arkansas Relying More on Institutions Than Most States

LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Mike Beebe has championed Arkansas’ use of large state-run institutions to house people with developmental disabilities, but advocates for the disabled say such institutions are being phased out almost everywhere except Arkansas.
“Arkansas is behind the curve, there’s no question about it,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network in Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit last year alleging mistreatment of residents at the Conway Human Development Center, and on March 9 the Justice Department filed a motion for an injunction to halt all admissions of children to the center. The state denies that any residents have been mistreated.
Less than a week after the Justice Department filed its motion, a report was released showing that numerous deficiencies were found in an inspection of a similar Arkansas facility, the Alexander Human Development Center. The deficiencies included improper supervision of patients and unsanitary conditions.
Defending the Conway facility, Beebe told reporters that community-based care should always be the first option, but “there is sometimes no other option” besides institutionalization.
A state-by-state analysis conducted by The Coleman Institute at the University of Colorado shows that Arkansas uses that option more than most states.