UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MONITOR FOR THE WELSCH CONSENT DECREE:

The Welsch Case began in 1972 when six mentally retarded residents of Minnesota state hospitals charged the commissioner of the Public Welfare Department and the administrators of six state hospitals with violating the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (Patricia Welsch, by her father Richard Welsch, was one of the plaintiffs.) The plaintiffs claimed that their rights were abridged because they were not receiving a minimal level of habilitation and because they were committed to state institutions rather than being provided care and treatment in less restrictive community settings.

In September 1980, after lengthy litigation proceedings, the U.S. District Court issued the Welsch Consent Decree in favor of the plaintiffs. The consent decree applied to all eight Minnesota state hospitals and provided for a reduction in state hospital populations, for improved staffing ratios, for procedures governing the use of major tranquilizers and certain behavior management practices, and for discharge planning and evaluation. It also called for the appointment of a court monitor to review compliance with the consent decree, to report to the court with respect to compliance, and to resolve complaints about noncompliance. The court's jurisdiction was to end July 1, 1987, if the defendants substantially complied with the terms of the consent decree.

The consent decree was amended to extend the court's jurisdiction to September 30, 1987, at which time a negotiated settlement was signed. The negotiated settlement was based on pending legislation which was to provide for review of case management services provided for persons with mental retardation. The legislation called for in the negotiated settlement took effect in May 1987. The court monitor's position was terminated in July 1988, and the duties were turned over to the office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The Welsch case was formally dismissed in August 1989.

Return to top

The records include reports to the court (1982-1986); correspondence (1980-1988); clippings (1974-1988); records of an advisory group made up of representatives of state hospital parent groups (1981-1987); Medicaid waiver records (1982-1984); subject files (1981-1988); compliance issues records (1980-1987) and compliance records, both statewide and for individual state hospitals and regional treatment centers (1980-1989); and district court records (1978-1985). The latter include court orders, findings, motions, hearing transcripts, depositions, and testimony.

Return to top

A Welsch fact sheet that accompanies the printed version of this inventory in the library provides a more detailed chronology of the case.

Return to top

Access Restrictions:

Some of these records include private information about individuals. Records with private information are closed for 75 years from date of last entry in the record. The restricted records are noted in the finding aid. Researchers must apply for permission to use these records. Please consult library staff for more information.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. United States. District Court (Minnesota : 4th Division). Office of the Monitor for the Welsch Consent Decree. Welsch Consent Decree Files. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 991-147; 2026-28

Processing Information:

Processed by: Mary Klauda, 1991

Catalog ID number: 990017151300104294

Return to top

Additional records of the Welsch case can be found in the records of the Public Welfare Department, the Attorney General Public Welfare Division, Brainerd State Hospital, and the Human Services Department.

Return to top

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Compliance.

Intellectual disability facilities patients -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Minnesota.

Medicaid -- Law and legislation -- Minnesota.

Mentally ill -- Minnesota.

People with mental disabilities -- Institutional care -- Minnesota.

Psychiatric hospital patients -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- Minnesota.

Public welfare -- Minnesota.

Welsch Consent Decree.

Document Types:

Judicial records -- Minnesota.

Transcripts.

Functions:

Monitoring.

Return to top