The management company that runs a troubled center for people with developmental disabilities in Enid said Monday it would end management services in the coming months. 

Liberty of Oklahoma, an offshoot of the national, for-profit healthcare company Liberty Healthcare, said in a statement it had informed Oklahoma Human Services that it would leave the Robert M. Greer Center in Enid and the Laura Dester Center, which serves children with developmental disabilities in Tulsa, “due to external challenges.” 

The company gave no timeline for when it would leave the facilities. 

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“Liberty is fully committed to ensuring a seamless transition that prioritizes the well-being of residents and staff at both centers,” the statement said. Liberty has managed the Greer Center for roughly 25 years.

Oklahoma Human Services said in its own statement that it is close to finding new managers for both facilities and is focused on the safety of residents and communication with their loved ones.

“It is critical that we get these transitions right, and the agency will share more information about the transition plans for both facilities as it becomes available,” said Jeffrey Cartmell, the agency’s new director, in the statement.

In late 2023, multiple former staffers were arrested on allegations of abusing residents at the Greer Center, including beatings and chokings. Most of those charges were later dropped because the local district attorney’s office couldn’t find a key witness. 

Multiple state agencies have investigated the Greer Center, which has been repeatedly cited for failing to report abuse and neglect allegations and for conditions that threatened the life and safety of residents with developmental disabilities and mental health needs. State officials planned to fine the center for more than $500,000 earlier this year but ultimately decided to hire a consulting company to suggest changes at the facility instead. 

The abuse allegations are also the subject of multiple ongoing lawsuits against the management company. Liberty of Oklahoma and its parent company have denied the allegations. 

Oklahoma Human Services has said over the past year that it planned to keep Liberty as the manager for the Greer Center. 

“While Oklahoma Human Services does have the ability to end contracts with providers, the Greer Center is the only facility of its type in Oklahoma and the only program that could meet the needs of its residents,” the agency said in a statement to The Frontier in December 2023, pointing to the complex needs of residents.