People with developmental disabilities want what everyone wants: to live in our own homes, to attend school, make friends and develop relationships, to work at satisfying jobs and contribute to life in our local communities.
Until the last quarter of the twentieth century, these were nearly impossible dreams for individuals with a wide range of developmental disabilities and acquired brain disorders.
Learning from our history
Early in the twentieth century, New Hampshire had one large institution that housed persons with mental retardation and related disabilities. The Laconia State School was built to accommodate 900, but quickly became overcrowded and understaffed.
In 1977, families with relatives living at the State School filed a class action lawsuit against the state (Garrity vs. Gallen). The suit described 'barbaric' living conditions that violated 'every canon of human decency and dignity', including the constitutional right to be prepared for life in a typical community setting.
In 1981, the United States First Circuit Court agreed, and ordered the state to establish a system of community-based services for people with developmental disabilities. Ten years later, the doors of the Laconia State School closed.
New Hampshire became the first state in the nation with no institution for people with mental retardation intellectual disabilities and related disorders. Instead, the state pioneered a unique system of regional public-private agencies that contract with the state to serve individuals with developmental disabilities and their families within local cities and towns.
One Sky Community Services serves Region VIII, one of ten regions in New Hampshire's nationally acclaimed support system for individuals with developmental disabilities. This system enables individuals who were once placed in an institution to live more independently and pursue satisfying lives in their local communities.
Area agencies contract with the NH Bureau of Developmental Services (BDS) and are subject to contract agreements and regulations. The agencies are funded primarily by state and federal Medicaid dollars, each one maintaining regional autonomy and local control. At the same time, area agencies share a common vision with the BDS and work closely with it to sustain the community-based system of services.
