Hearings to continue on closing state hospital

? A hearing on a bill that could lead to the closure of state hospitals for the developmentally disabled started Tuesday.

Amy McCart, a Kansas University researcher, told lawmakers that research showed people with disabilities did better outside an institution.

“There are significant increases in desired behavior and reductions in challenging behavior of people with disabilities after moving into the community,” she said.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee is considering a bill that would set up a commission to recommend closure of one of the state’s two institutions for the developmentally disabled by June 2006 and the closure or reduction of the other.

The two hospitals for the developmentally disabled are the Kansas Neurological Institute in Topeka and Parsons State Hospital and Training Center. Hearings on the bill will continue.