YAKIMA, Wash. -- The state of Washington is behind the national curve in its reliance on residential facilities for the developmentally disabled, a consulting firm wrote in a report delivered this month to Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The report recommended the downsizing of the Yakima Valley School in Selah and phasing out two of the other five facilities around the state. The Selah school was spared a phased-out closing recommended by the governor to the 2009 Legislature but its fate is far from certain as the state faces another budget crisis.

In Oregon, they are ahead of the curve. Bruce Goldberg, director of the Oregon Department of Human Services, recently announced the state has closed its last institution — the Eastern Oregon Training Center (EOTC) in Pendleton.

“Last week in Oregon we reached an important milestone  — more than 100 years of institutionalizing people with disabilities came to an end,” Goldberg wrote in a message to employees.

“Oregon is one of only a handful of states with no institutions — public or private — for people with developmental disabilities. We are the only state that does not place any of its clients in an out-of-state institution,” he said.

— Leah Beth Ward