Pineland’s history reflects changes felt nationwide

In 1907, the Maine Legislature voted to establish a school for the “idiotic and feeble-minded.” It was established in New Gloucester the next year.

Over the ensuing 70 years, the Pineland campus expanded to include a hospital, dormitories and vocational buildings.

By 1970, the way the world looked at retardation was changing. Across the country, retardation was acknowledged as a condition found everywhere. It was a cause that began attracting attention and resources. Creation of Special Olympics continued to broaden the perspective of mainstreaming the disabled.

In 1970, Congress amended the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act, and in 1975 it passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Within 10 years, mainstreaming was the norm, and getting people out of institutions was under way. Places such as Pineland became politically incorrect and publicly unacceptable.

Sentiment began to grow that Maine was not providing adequate funding or resources for Pineland to be operated in a humane, proper way.

In July 1975, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, a nonprofit group of lawyers, filed a class-action lawsuit that claimed Pineland was not meeting the needs of its residents. The suit never went to trial. Instead, a settlement was crafted.

The result was the landmark Pineland Decree, a 1978 consent agreement that sent $1 million in new money to Pineland and built a therapeutic swimming pool, which Pineland had requested for 25 years.

More important, though, the agreement directed Pineland to continue placing residents into the community. The resident population was 500 when the suit was filed and 450 when it was settled. It dropped to 350 within two years. The Pineland Decree presented standards that covered everything from walls to diet, from schooling to grooming, and those standards applied to both Pineland residents and clients placed in the community.

For the first time, residents who had done little more than stare at walls for decades were participating in activities aimed at helping them achieve a normal lifestyle.

Even though the changes and outcomes were dramatic, debate raged over whether the court decree was being adequately followed.

The campus itself also began to deteriorate. In 1986, then-Gov. Joseph Brennan appointed a task force to consider uses for the campus. The Maine State Police canine training program moved onto the property the next year.

This didn’t make up for the continuing departure of residents and persistent public cries that abuses at the facility had not ceased.

Parents of residents weighed in; some backed Pineland and others cursed at it.

In January 1989, the Consumer Advisory Board concluded that Maine was not in compliance with the 11-year-old consent decree and was in danger of losing $10 million a year in Medicaid funds.

All was rectified by July, but abuse complaints continued and public sentiment against Pineland grew. Closure was imminent by 1992, when state funding for Pineland was slashed and diverted into community services.

The economics were clear: It cost $90,000 a year to house each resident at Pineland while similar community services could be found for $60,000 per person. Although there was heated controversy about releasing some of Pineland’s clients, the facility officially closed on June 1, 1996.

At a ceremony on the grounds, former residents received copies of Pineland’s master key, numbered 709, that opened all the doors and symbolized power and freedom. Twelve homing pigeons were released, again to signify freedom.

Source: “Pineland’s Past” by Richard Kimball