Fed’s Will Continue Oversight of State Programs for Disabled People

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A federal judge has expanded court oversight of Minnesota initiatives intended to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

The Star Tribune reports U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank said Wednesday the state Department of Human Services hasn't complied with a 2011 court agreement. The settlement aimed to move disabled people out of institutional homes and to limit the use of physical restraints on patients.

Frank extended federal oversight of Minnesota's disability services for two more years, until the end of 2016. He instructed a federally appointed court monitor to create ways to measure timely outcomes for disability initiatives.

Deputy Human Services Commissioner Anne Barry told the court in August more than 6,000 state employees have received related training and a troubled state facility for disabled residents was closed in Cambridge.