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End of a disability era in Tennessee?

DIDD

 

 

 

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge has accepted the state's proposal to close Tennessee's last large facility housing mentally disabled people by the end of next June.

Media report that Judge Kevin Sharpe issued his ruling on Thursday, about a week after hearing arguments in Nashville for and against the closure of the Greene Valley Developmental Center in Greenville, which has nearly 100 residents and about 600 workers.

State officials recommended closing the facility to end a long-running lawsuit over care of the mentally disabled. They plan to move the residents into more community-like settings as part of a larger movement to improve services and get people out of large institutions.

The judge ruled the state's proposal was "fair, reasonable and adequate" and denied a request by families with loved ones at the center to intervene.