Improvements to Oklahoma institution pose budget challenges

In a tough budget year, it will be hard to justify those expenses or find the money for improvements at the Southern Oklahoma Resource Center in Pauls Valley, said Sen. Brian Crain, chairman of the appropriations committee for health and human services.

"What's become clear to me, is that in order to improve SORC it requires a huge capital investment," said Crain, a Tulsa Republican. "Our current budget situation doesn't make that realistic."

Crain is leading an interim study to discuss a long-range plan for the center that cares for 135 patients. The center is one of two state-run institutions in Oklahoma for people with severe mental and physical disabilities.

If the center were to close, many residents would still receive federal aid for housing and medical services and could be housed in the community, said Sheree Powell, director of public information for Developmental Disabilities Services, a division of the Department of Human Services. Some 5,300 people already receive care in homes with one or two roommates who have similar disabilities, she said.