The state of Arkansas, Gov. Mike Beebe, prop., doggedly insists that it has labored over the years in the best interest of its disabled citizens by housing them in big institutions, rather than following the national move to community-based care.
Even still, it won’t budge in the face of news that the feds intend to sue over the adequacy of all the institutions, not just the problem-plagued unit in Alexander and the huge institution in Conway.
Fine.
But how good a job are we doing if the experts hired by the state to address substandard care have concluded the center at Arkadelphia Alexander alone can’t be operated properly without 70 more employees (where it now has about 200) and needs the equivalent of 14 other full-time workers on special contracts besides.
And what kind of accountability exists in a state where the failed director of that center is rewarded by a return to the vast and highly paid DHS hierarchy?
These questions were raised by report in D-G today, subscription only, unfortunately.