The Rights Network claims the average annual cost of providing services in a state-operated institution is nearly $228,000 per person, more than double the average per capita cost of providing community services to such an individual.

That estimate is higher than the one provided by Selinsgrove Center last year, whose officials estimated the yearly average cost per client to be about $185,300, according to 2006 figures. The center's yearly budget is about $70 million.

Nearly 900 employees provide medical and mental health care, physical and speech therapy, nutritional care and pastoral services at Selinsgrove Center, making it the largest employer in Snyder County, according to the state Department of Labor and Industry.

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