NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee government officials say the only remaining state-run facility for people with limited mental functioning has effectively closed after the last two patients were transitioned to their new homes.
State officials announced that the Greene Valley Developmental Center in eastern Tennessee had closed after more than five decades of operation. Officials say Tennessee joins the ranks of 13 other states and the District of Columbia that have no large state-run institutions for the intellectually disabled.
The closure is a result of a federal lawsuit filed in 1995 by advocates over conditions at the Greeneville institution and others like it in the state.
The state agreed to close the facilities so people with intellectual disabilities could be served better in more home-like settings, instead of a large state-run asylum.
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