Waiting List Funds, Oversight Still Critical

LINCOLN, Neb. -- With the number of high-profile issues facing state senators, they might be tempted to move on from focusing on developmental disabilities.
Credit Sen. Steve Lathrop for not letting a still-critical issue slide. Lathrop on Monday introduced a resolution asking the Legislature's Executive Board to extend the committee he chairs that was created in 2008 to focus on issues at the Beatrice State Developmental Center and other community facilities serving the developmentally disabled.
The committee was formed in light of a Department of Justice report in March of that year that detailed the systemic culture of abuse at the center as well as revocation of federal Medicaid certification, causing the annual loss of about $30 million in federal dollars.