The Sonoma Developmental Center has been the focus of a series of patient abuse scandals over the years. Credit: Monica Lam for CIR

Abuse, neglect and lack of supervision at California’s state-run homes for the developmentally disabled have directly caused the deaths of 13 people since 2002, newly released records from the state Department of Public Health show.

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Microsoft says it will hire people with autism for full-time positions in Redmond, Wash. through a new pilot program. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images) The launch of a new pilot program positions Microsoft as the latest corporate giant looking to tap the employment potential of those on the spectrum.

The company says plans are underway to hire individuals with autism for full-time positions at its Redmond, Wash. headquarters.

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Kaiser Permanente is about to begin what is believed to be the largest genetic research project ever conducted by a health organization into the causes of autism, gathering biological and other health information from 5,000 Northern California families who have a child with the developmental disorder.

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Manasa Iyer threw up her arms in the air just like she did when she won silver medals at the Special Olympics World Games in Boise, Idaho, five years ago.

But this time Manasa’s victorious cheer followed an inspirational speech she gave to a packed ballroom.

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The Sonoma Developmental Center, which is fighting to remain open amid criticism that care offered at the 124-year-old facility is substandard and too expensive to maintain, this week debuted a new crisis home where a modern design is meant to complement what officials touted as cutting-edge treatment protocols.

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California’s community of individuals with developmental disabilities is in crisis, but few outside that community are aware of it. That needs to change, and fast, before things get even worse.

Support for the state’s roughly 280,000 developmentally disabled individuals has declined to such a state that some are no longer receiving levels of service that are mandated federally, much less what a civilized society owes its most vulnerable members. The decline is wrenching not only for those individuals, but for their loved ones and those who help care for them and support them.

The problem is a lack of money — as it is in so many areas. But this is different in both quality and degree from, say, public employees wanting a raise.

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U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speaks at a press briefing at the White House. Duncan’s agency is requesting more funding to hire additional staff to address an increasing number of civil rights complaints. (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/TNS)Federal education officials are fielding an increasing number of complaints related to disability discrimination in the nation’s schools.

More than 3,900 complaints based on disability were filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights during the 2014 fiscal year, the most recent period for which statistics are available.

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