The decade between state Fiscal Years (FYs) 1991 (July 1, 1990 through June 30, 1991) and 2000 (July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2000) continued a pattern of the previous 3 decades of decreasing populations and increasing expenditures in state institutions. Table 1 presents summary statistics gathered from a survey of all state institutions operating in each of the United States for FY 1991 and FY 2000. It shows trends in the number of state institutions by state, along with their average daily populations and per resident average daily expenditures. The statistics for FY 1991 were gathered in a survey of all state institutions conducted by Richard Scheerenberger (1992) and for FY 2000 in a survey of all state institutions we have recently completed. Both surveys included 100% of all state institutions with 16 or more residents identified by state agencies responsible for services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with the exception of about 25 small “state institutions” in New York that were excluded in the latter study because they had been excluded in the former. Both surveys were conducted under the auspices of the American Association of Public Developmental Disabilities Administrators with funding from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities through the Residential Information Systems Project at the University of Minnesota.

Table 1

State Institutions Over the Past Decade: Changes in the Number of Facilities, Residents, and Expenditures Between Fiscal Years (FYs) 1991 and 2000

As shown in Table 1, there were 76 fewer institutions operating in FY 2000 than in FY 1991. During the decade, 9 states closed the last of their state institutions, as average daily populations decreased by 33,487 (41.3%) during the decade. Every state decreased its average daily population, with the largest decreases occurring in New York (−5,606), California (−2,896), Pennsylvania (−1,726), Massachusetts (−1,625), Texas (−1,585), and New Jersey (−1,447); the smallest decreases were in Arkansas (−9), Nevada (−30) and Arizona (−32).

Between FY 1991 and 2000, national average daily expenditures per state institution resident (as reported by the individual facilities and then weighted by each institution's average daily population) increased from $211.78 to$346.22, or on average $134.44 per person per day. This was a nominal increase of 63% and, given a consumer price index increase of 29.9%, an inflation adjusted increase of 26%. The largest average increases were reported by the state institutions of New York (+$427 per day), Tennessee (+$381), and Minnesota (+$503). Minnesota's increase occurred as the state approached final closure of the last two of its state institutions during FY 2000.

During the 3 decades between FY 1970 and FY 2000, state institution populations decreased from 186,750 average daily residents to 47,580 average daily residents. This was an average decrease of 46,450 per decade. Although the decade of the 1990s contributed to the decreasing average daily resident populations in state institutions, it did so at only 65% of the average rate of decrease of the previous two decades. A major factor in the slowing rate of decrease in average daily population was that 10 states that have contributed substantially to institutional depopulation could no longer do so because they have closed all of their state institutions. As shown in Figure 1, the one-third of all states (17) that reduced their average daily populations by the greatest amount in 1990s (a combined average of 75.5%) had only 4,143 average daily residents in FY 2000. In contrast the one-third of states (17) that had the slowest rate of average daily population reduction in the 1990s (a combined average of 23.5%) had 27,232 average daily residents in FY 2000 or 57.2% of the national total. They, and to a lesser but important extent the middle one-third of states with an average reduction of 43.3% in average daily residents in the 1990s, hold the key to continuing national patterns of institutional depopulation.

Figure 1.

Changes between FY 1991 and FY 2000 in average daily state institution populations of states (including DC) divided into thirds by rates of decrease

Figure 1.

Changes between FY 1991 and FY 2000 in average daily state institution populations of states (including DC) divided into thirds by rates of decrease

Table 1

(continued)