Letter to Senator Mike Flood, Speaker of the Legislature

Letter

Letter to Senator Mike Flood, Speaker of the Legislature

Senator Mike Flood
Speaker of the Legislature
State Capitol, Room 2103
Lincoln, NE 68509

Dear Mr. Speaker:

I am writing today to provide you an update about upcoming actions related to developmentally disabled individuals.

My budget proposals will include an additional $17 million for the Beatrice State Developmental Center (BSDC) to aggressively pursue a plan of action that continues federal participation in the operation of BSDC and $1.2 million for additional staff in the Division of Public Health to increase the frequency of facility reviews for community-based providers of services for the developmentally disabled. My recommendation also includes $5 million to continue the financing of our agreement with the Department of Justice and $100,000 to conduct a BSDC privatization study.

Based upon my meeting with Senator Lathrop and subsequent conversations with his staff, I have asked Joseph Toy, who was responsible for turning around a similar situation to BSDC in Kentucky, to conduct an independent evaluation of BSDC and to provide us options for moving forward. I appreciate Senator Lathrop's recommendation and I have been impressed with Mr. Toy's knowledge and experience regarding developmentally disabled individuals.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dave Heineman
Governor

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