• A 1980s lawsuit alleging abuse and neglect at a state-run institution pressured Oklahoma to offer Medicaid waivers for disability services.
• The court shut down the Hissom Memorial Center in Sand Springs and ordered the state to serve people with disabilities in their communities.
• The state started a list of Oklahomans seeking services funded with money formerly allocated to the defunct institution. About 600 former Hissom Center residents were at the top of the list.
• A federal mandate forced the state to offer services to residents with intellectual disabilities living in nursing homes. The cost of waivers and court-ordered support for the Hissom residents exceeded the program’s budget. The wait for help began.
• Audits of those receiving services in the late 1990s and 2000s found unused funds that supported more waivers reducing the waitlist.
