Naughton v. Goodman

The Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals (M.H.R.H.), through ■its Director, is before us on its appeal from a 1974 decision 1 of the Family Court directing it to assume the ex penses of treating the petitioners’ 18-year-old autistic -child, Timothy, at the Behavioral Research Institute (B.R.I.), a day care center which specializes in the treatment of persons having serious behavioral disorders. The cost of treatment at B.R.I. is $16,000 a year.

Before we proceed to the merits of the appeal, a brief Chronological sketch of Timothy’s parents’ search for a proper…