In its report to the Governor and the 1980 Session of the General Assembly, the Commission on Mental Health and Mental Retardation requested "...that the Governor establish a timetable for closing, demolishing, or transferring obsolete or substandard buildings throughout the State's mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse system."

One factor underlying this request was the census decrease in the institutional system during the past ten years and the logical conclusion that this decrease should effect a reduced need for space. Other changes that might contribute to this reduction are the natural aging of the State's buildings, the reduction in staff on-grounds housing, and the cessation of the Department's farming operations at the State hospitals.

An accurate assessment of the genuinely extraneous buildings requires a thorough analysis of the quality and quantity of available space. To this end, the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation constructed a study to recommend the requested timetable by creating a data base for ongoing management of the Department's capital holdings.