Virginia has reached a $2 billion settlement with the Justice Department that forces the state to close four of its five institutions that house people with intellectual disabilities, according to a report Friday in the
Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The settlement also forces the state to provide community-based services to thousands of people over a period of 10 years, the Times-Dispatch noted.
The agreement, which an assistant U.S. attorney described as a “landmark” case, followed a federal investigation that begin in 2008 and expanded in 2010. The probe focused on state training centers.
According to the Times-Dispatch, a report on the investigation revealed that “hundreds of mentally and physically challenged people were languishing in state facilities.”
The Time-Dispatch said the settlement, which will serve as a national model, would add 4,170 waiver slots to help move people from the training centers that will be closed to community-based care.
It will also prevent people on a waiting list for state services from being institutionalized.
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