About The Fort Wayne State Developmental Center

The Fort Wayne State Developmental Center is operated by FSSA - The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services.

A brief history - from our archives
The seed from which the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center has grown was planted more than a century ago (in 1879) when the Indiana General Assembly provided "for the organization and support of an Asylum for Feeble-Minded Children."

The beginning
The facility first sprouted in a wing of the Indiana Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home near Knightstown. It was destroyed by fire a few years later.

1887 - school established
In 1887, state legislators enacted a law providing for a new facility to be built in Fort Wayne. The "Indiana School for Feeble-Minded Youth" opened its doors on East State Boulevard three years later and admitted 300 children.

The young people enrolled at the new school took classes in art, music and gym. As they grew older, girls were taught laundry and domestic skills while boys were taught farming, carpentry, brick-making, and cobblery.

By 1918, the facility's population swelled to well over 1,000 and included adults as well as children.

Constructing a new facility
Overcrowding and old facilities led to the 1954 decision to transplant the school to Parker Place Farm, one of four farms it owned and the site of the present campus. The state constructed 18 buildings on the 142-acre site to meet the needs of the residents. The move began in 1960 and, in fewer than 10 years, the school's population exploded to more than 2,500.


Ground breaking in 1959 for present site

For many years, the agency has been a leader in the mental health field in Indiana. In 1977, it became the first agency in the state to be certified as an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded.

1985 - Renamed as Fort Wayne State Developmental Center
The facility was renamed the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center eight years later, and, in 1986, it made history once more when it became the first facility for the developmentally disabled (public or private, large or small) in Indiana to be accredited by the Accreditation Council on Services for People with Developmental Disabilities (ACCD).


Facility Accreditation 1986

Closure announcement
On October 24, 2005, Mitch Roob, Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA), announced that the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center will close on June 30, 2007.

Focus on community-based care
Secretary Roob cited the need to focus on the community-based care model for the residents of Fort Wayne Developmental Center (FWSDC), a state institution for people with developmental disabilities.

Secretary Roob noted, "Across the nation, a consumer-driven trend of community-based client care, as opposed to institutional-based care, has accelerated. Consumers, parents, guardians, advocates, and providers have promoted community-based services and support. Services in the community facilitate flexibility, individualization, and the inclusion of consumers in society."

Preparing for the future
With Secretary Roob's announcement that the Fort Wayne State Developmental Center is targeted for closure on June 30, 2007, our mission has changed. Our emphasis has always been in providing care. Now, in addition to providing our best care, our focus will be in providing teaching services and preparing our individuals with developmental disabilities for their move to the community.