Established in 2023 with enactment of Chapter 126 of the Acts of 2022
The Special Commission on State Institutions was responsible for studying and reporting on the history of state institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions in the Commonwealth.
Led by people with disabilities, this historic commission was tasked with reviewing existing records in possession of the Commonwealth related to the network of current and former state institutions for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities or mental health conditions; examining the current availability of and barriers to accessing records by former residents of such institutions, their descendants and relatives and the general public; assessing and compiling records of burial locations for people who died while in the care of such institutions; determining the likelihood and possible locations of unmarked graves at the sites of former institutions; and designing a framework for public recognition of the Commonwealth's guardianship of people with these disabilities throughout history.
The Commission's work was supported in large part by the Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research (CDDER), a center within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMass Chan Medical School.
The Commission concluded its work at the end of May 2025 with the submission of its overall findings, recommendations, and research report to the Legislature.
