Florence FINKEL

Florence Finkel has been an advocate for the developmentally disabled for many years. Currently (2000) she serves on the Massachusetts’ Department of Mental Retardation’s Human Rights Advisory Council as well as being a member of the Governor’s Commission on Mental Retardation. She has served on a large number of state councils, commissions and committees as well as participating in public forums, seminars and conferences. As a parent and citizen activist she played a major role in the class action lawsuits that resulted in the Massachusetts Consent Decrees. Mrs. Finkel has also been an active member of MARC (now called Arc Massachusetts), including serving as President.

The papers in this collection consist of materials collected from four of the major areas of her active life: The Massachusetts Association for Retarded Citizens, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation, the Paul A. Dever State School, and the Consent Decrees.