1855:

• Fort Stanton opened
  • Near Dexter, New Mexico
• New Mexico School for the Deaf opened
  • Residential facility founded by Lars Larson near Santa Fe, New Mexico
• New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NMSBVI) opened
  • Residential program still operating as residential program in Alamogordo, New Mexico

1861:

• Fort Stanton occupied by Confederates

1887

• New Mexico School for the Deaf was established the state’s first public school my NM legislators.

1889:

• Territorial Insane Asylum opened
  • Located in Las Cruces, New Mexico
  • Later called New Mexico Hospital for the Insane
  • Now called the State Hospital

1912:

• New Mexico became a state

1929:

• Los Lunas Hospital and Training School opened

1932:

• Veterans Administration Hospital opened in Albuquerque (http://www.albuquerque.va.gov/about/history.asp)

1935:

• Social Security Act “Crippled Children Act”
• Carrie Tingley Hospital opened
  • Located in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico

1953:

• Fort Stanton begins receiving overflow patients from Los Lunas Hospital and Training School

1955:

• New Mexico Legislature expands responsibility of Los Lunas Hospital and Training School
  • The Legislature required Los Lunas to receive “trainable mental defectives” and individuals with physical needs that required 24 hour care

1963:

•  Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act (federal) http://www.acl.gov/Programs/AIDD/DD_History/index.aspx#ftn6

1967:

• University of New Mexico Mental Health Center opened
• Governor Cargo signed Model White Cane Law as written by Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, the first President of the National Federation of the Blind
  • This law made it possible for people with disabilities to sue if they are injured as a pedestrian
  • A true civil rights law to replace laws that were previously only traffic laws      https://nfb.org/white-cane-safety-day1970:

• Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Amendments of 1970 introduced “developmentally disabled” (federal)   http://www.acl.gov/Programs/AIDD/DD_History/index.aspx#ftn6

1971:

• “Open Hands” opens
  • Adult day program. Closed in 2012.
• “New Vistas” begins to provide education to children with developmental disabilities in Santa fe, NM

1972:

• Social Security Supplemental Income implemented (Federal)
• Special Olympics of New Mexico began                                                http://www.sonm.org/information.php?info_id=21

1973:

• Villa Solano opened
  • Located in Roswell, NM on a military air strip. Villa Solano was a missile storage facility prior to receiving residence with Developmental Disabilities

1975:

• Pl 94-142 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) signed (Federal)
• Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act)  (Federal) http://www.acl.gov/Programs/AIDD/DD_History/index.aspx#ftn6
• New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) began http://www.nmddpc.com/about_nmddpc1976:

• Villa Solano closed amidst allegations of neglect and abuse of patients

Also in 1970’s:

• PKU genetic screening
  • 1006 expanded to 26 different genetic screens

1981:

• Carrie Tingley Hosptial moved to Albuquerque
• Tammy West brought together a group of parents with Medically Fragile children

1983:

• Grassroots “board” of families began advocating for Medically Fragile children

1984:

• Families presented “Cry for Help” video to the New Mexico Legislature
• New Mexico Brain Injury Alliance  (NMBIA) started
• First supported employment services started
• New Mexico becomes last state in the United States to enact the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
  • New Mexico opted to forgo federal funds in order to avoid having to adopt the special education mandates of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA) now known as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

1985:

• First child in New Mexico with a ventilator allowed to go home
• Medically Fragile Waiver started
  • First Medicaid Part C Waiver in New Mexico

1986:

• October 28, 1986-first judicial ruling against Los Lunas Hospital and Training School
  • Following the rape of a 19 year old women, her death as a result of the rape, and the choking death of another resident, the same day, in one cottage this suit was brought. Judge Tibo Chavez heard 3 days of testimony, all which he ordered to have no public record. He ruled that security at the hospital had to be increased, independent medical examiners would have to conduct check ups on all residents for abuse, and staff had to notify the patient’s attorney of any abuse reports.
• Developmental Disabilities Waiver (DD Waiver) started in 4 counties
  • Bernalillo, Otero, Rio Arriba, ?

1987:

• Jackson Lawsuit filed
  • 1985 Walter Stephen Jackson was forced to drink from a cup of oven cleaner when a staff member held it up to him with a straw. He survived, though he continues to need procedures to help him breathe due to scarring. http://www.sfreporter.com/santafe/article-5232-jacksons-legacy.html, Timeline Comment
  • In July 1987, the parents and guardians of twenty-one people with developmental disabilities filed a federal class action lawsuit against the Department of Health, the Human Services Department, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and several state officials.http://www.jacksoncommunityreview.org
  • Jackson Class members get what is considered “cadillac” of DD waiver benefits
  • Litigation is still in progress today.

1990:

• Jackson Lawsuit decision (December).
  • Lawsuit is still active because State has failed to accomplish all requirements of the settlement.
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) signed and Education for All Handicapped Children (EHA) expanded and renamed Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)-(federal)
• 1st “Freedom Day” celebrating signing of ADA

1991:

• Family Infant Toddler (FIT) Program began

1992:

• Family Voices started
• New Mexico conducts first adjudication in the nation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • Federation for the Blind brought suit against the NM Human Services Division for proposed medicaid cuts claiming HSD violated section 35.160 of Title II of the Americans with Disabilites Act by not effectively communicating proposed cuts

1993:

• First Autism Clinic at the University of New Mexico is held

1995:

• Fort Stanton closed

1997:

• Los Lunas Hospital and Training School closed
• Cerebral Palsy Parent Association (CPPA) began at Carrie Tingley Hospital

1999:

• New Mexico hosts 1st Southwest Conference on Disabilities

2001:

• New Mexico Legislation requiring newborn hearing screening passed

2004:

• Reauthorization of IDEA with emphasis on post school transition

2006:

• Genetic screenings for newborns expanded

2007:

• Foley Lawsuit (JM V. New Mexico Department of Health)
  • Approximately 999 residents were released with absolutely no community services
  • Foley Lawsuit required the state find and support each person
  • Settled in 2010
  • Some were being exploited for their disability checks and were medically neglected and physically abused.
  • 70 former patients were deceased shortly after discharge.http://www.news-bulletin.com/files/archives/36942-01-14-04.html
  • Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) required to report through 2015
• Mi Via Waiver (My Way) self directed waiver started

2008:

• Carrie Tingley inpatient unit moved from Carrie Tingley Hospital into University of New Mexico Hospital
  • 5th Floor, Bill and Barbara Richardson Pavilion

2010:

• New Mexico Legislature changes State Constitution
  • The New Mexico Legislature voted to remove the language preventing “idiots” and those who are “insane” from the state constitution http://ballotpedia.org/New_Mexico_Modern_Election_Language_Amendment,_A mendment_3_(2010)

2013:

• New Mexico Legislature passes Memorial to make October “Disability Awareness Month”
• Senate Memorial 20 passed by New Mexico Legislature
  • This memorial required the Human Services Department to develop a plan to have the Developmental Disabilities Waiver (DD Waiver) waitlist down to a 3 year wait by 2018.

2014:

• New Mexico Legislature approves screening for congenital heart defects and SCIDS