Montana Begins Community Transition

HELENA, Mont. — As part of plans to close the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder, the Bullock administration has arranged to move 40 percent of MDC residents to local, privately run group homes this year.

The administration said this week it has contracted with Anaconda-based AWARE Inc. to move 21 developmentally disabled residents from MDC over the next seven months. The first patients will be moved in mid-February.The state will pay $5.235 million to AWARE for the first year of the contract, including a one-time payment of $1.26 million for the transition costs.