Wyoming+State+Training+School

The Wyoming State Training School was established in 1907 by an act of the Ninth Legislature which reads as follows: "There shall be established in this state, an institution for the custody, care, education, proper treatment and discipline of feeble-minded and epileptic persons, under the name and style as the "Wyoming Home for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic.'" The site chosen was the State Poor Farm consisting of about 168 acres of land near the town of Lander. This site was not suitable. The 1909 Legislature authorized the State Board of Charities and Reform to sell such site and purchase a more suitable site near the town of Lander.

On July 10, 1909, a deed was drawn up, selling to the State of Wyoming the present site then consisting of 60 acres. This land was purchased for $4,000. On July 31, 1909, additional acreage consisting of 34.5 acres was purchased for $2,000. The school is now located on these original purchases plus additional land acquired through the years.

The school was opened officially June 20, 1912, with Dr. Thomas G. Maghee, as superintendent in charge, and on this date the first children were admitted. According to the first biennial report submitted to the Governor in the fall of 1912, there were ten children in the school.

It was during the tenure of Dr. C.T. Jones, superintendent, that the name of "Wyoming State Training School" was enacted by the 16th Legislature and approved February 21, 1921.

The Wyoming State Training School is under the control of the State Board of Charities and Reform. It is basically tax supported except for maintenance payments from the parents and guardians of the residents.

The institution has now expanded to cover 1,191 acres. Of these, 459 are deeded. The campus encompasses approximately 70 acres including the site for administrative offices, residential facilities, educational and vocational training, medical and therapeutic facilities plus other supportive services, including buildings necessary for maintenance and for the farm and ranch operation. The total population on April 1, 1974, was 633 men, women, and children of all ages and levels of physical and intellectual abilities. Services range from providing basic care and training to developing vocational skills which may lead to return to the community and possibly eventual discharge from the institution.

The Training School Act of 1971 eliminated the need for court commitment and thus encouraged parents and guardians of the retarded to consider voluntary commitment on a short-term as well as a long-term basis. This act also set up a fee schedule based upon ability to pay with periodic reviews of the family's financial situation. Families of those residents who have moved from Wyoming are now expected to pursue transfer to the state in which they reside, or to pay full maintenance fee at the Training School. As a result, the waiting list has been eliminated, thus providing immediate services for the qualifying residents of the state.

Programs emphasize the development of each individual to the maximum potential, physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. Also underway is the process of normalizing the lives of institutionalized residents with improved programs and living conditions. This includes a departure from the large dormitory-type facilities to smaller, family-type living units. Community programs and opportunities have been developed enabling many of the institutionalized to live and work outside the training school. The primary goal is to provide those services necessary to permit retarded citizens to live useful and meaningful lives with dignity and pride.