Arizona Training Program was a program of

state schools A state school, public school, or government school is a primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-funded schools a ...

for people with

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

and

developmental disabilities Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

in the state of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. There were three programs, two of which closed and only Arizona Training Program at Coolidge remains open today.

History

In 1927, H.B. 50 authorizes the creation of the Arizona Children's Colony "for the care and education of mentally deficient children." In 1952, the Arizona Children's Colony was opened. Before 1952, Arizona State Hospital accepted people with I/DD as well as people with mental illness. Fay Arrington, a mother whose twin boys were two of the first patients accepted at the Children's Colony, relates that there were many families trying to get a spot. On the first day, 12 children were accepted. She relates that the floors were cement and the beds were in rows. Ann Mills, a former resident of the Arizona Children's Colony, said on visit to celebrate 50 years since leaving the institution, "There used to be 14 people to a room and the beds were arranged side-by-side." She said the punishments were harsh and that, "If you were locked up, you would sleep on a room with nothing but a cement bed." Ann was sent to Arizona State Hospital at the age of 13 when her family could not afford to pay for her medication, three years later she was moved to the Children's Colony where she would stay until she was 30. At age 30, she left to Lara Turner Homes in Phoenix, a halfway house for adults with disabilities. She reports that, In 1962, the Arizona Children's Colony changed its policies to have adult residents. Prior to this, many residents were sent to the Arizona State Hospital when they became adults. From 1970 to 1973, the Arizona Training Programs at Tucson and Phoenix were built. In 1977, a class action lawsuit alleged horrible living conditions for residents of Arizona Training Program in Coolidge. At one time there were about 1,200 people crammed into a facility built for around 300. The Arizona Republic described it at the time, saying, Part of the settlement of the case involved Independent Oversight Committees, where teams of volunteers would oversee the conditions at the training programs. The settlement also required the state reduce overcrowding, either moving patients to the community or to the other two training program locations. In 1979, a legislative mandate forbids new residents of the Arizona Training Program at Tucson. In 1988, the Arizona Training Program in Phoenix was closed and in 1997, the Arizona Training Program in Tucson was closed.

References

{{reflist Disability organizations based in the United States Schools in Arizona