ADA and Olmstead Resources
Background of Olmstead
Since June 1999, the landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C. has increased community participation and independence of people with disabilities and older Americans who are moving out of nursing homes and other institutions and back into the community.
Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson, two women with disabilities living in Georgia nursing homes, asked state officials to allow them to move into their own homes in the community. After the State refused, Atlanta Legal Aid attorney Susan Jamieson filed a lawsuit on their behalf. After appeals, the case was heard by the U. S. Supreme Court. On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits the unnecessary institutionalization of persons with disabilities.
In the words of the Supreme Court, services to persons with disabilities must be provided “in the most integrated setting possible.” The Court ruled that there should be community options for Curtis and Wilson.
Resources
The following resources provide a historical context and an update on implementation and activities that are underway to expand home and community options and make community living more accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Index of Resources
- Anniversary of Olmstead
- Olmstead Decision Legal Analysis
- Enforcement and Implementation - Olmstead
- Olmstead Cases
- Olmstead Resources from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Anniversary of Olmstead
- Faces of Olmstead
Personal stories from the thousands of people whose lives have been improved by the Olmstead decision and the DOJ enforcement.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ)
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_about.htm#faces - Recollections on Olmstead
Source: Declaration for Independence [2018]
Web: declarationforindependence.org/recollections-olmstead-2018/ - History and Future of the Olmstead Decision
Source: Independence First [2018]
Web: independencefirst.org/independent-thoughts/june-2018/the-history-and-future-of-the-olmstead-decision - Olmstead, and Emily, Turn 18 Today
Source: Administration for Community Living (ACL) [2017]
Web: acl.gov/news-and-events/acl-blog/emilys-18th-birthday) - The Promise of Olmstead: 15 Years Later – Video
This video for the 15th Anniversary of Olmstead is a tribute to the dedicated and brave individuals who have brought to life the Olmstead decision's promise of community integration for people with disabilities. Available with captions and audio description.
Source: DOJ/HHS [2016]
Web: ada.gov/videogallery.htm#olm) - Olmstead’s Role in Community Integration for People with Disabilities under Medicaid: 15 Years after the Supreme Court’s Olmstead Decision [PDF, 16 pages]
This legal brief revisits the historic case and examines legal developments and policy trends that have emerged in recent years.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation [2014]
Web: files.kff.org/attachment/issue-brief-olmsteads-role-in-community-integration-for-people-with-disabilities-under-medicaid-15-years-after-the-supreme-courts-olmstead-decision - Ten Years After Olmstead: Problems, Progress, and Opportunities for America's Older Adults [PDF, 36 pages]
This report calls on states to use the implementation of the Affordable Care Act to end Medicaid’s long-standing bias toward funding long-term care in institutional settings such as nursing homes.
Source: National Senior Citizens Law Center with support from The SCAN Foundation [2010]
Web: thescanfoundation.org/sites/thescanfoundation.org/files/nsclc_olmstead.pdf)
Olmstead Decision Legal Analysis
- Olmstead Decision: 5 Things You Need to Know [archived webinar, 30 min.]
Source: TransCen, Inc. and Mid-Atlantic ADA Center [2017]
Web: adainfo.org/training/Olmstead-webinar-session - Olmstead v. LC and EW: Landmark Case Summary and Impact
Source: Atlanta Legal Aid Society
Web: atlantalegalaid.org/?s=olmstead - Supreme Court Decision: Olmstead v. L.C.
Source: Legal Information Institute (LII) - Cornell University Law School
Web: law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-536.ZS.html
Olmstead Enforcement and Implementation
- Olmstead: Community Integration for Everyone
Source: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/index.htm- Statement of the DOJ on Enforcement of the Integration Mandate of ADA Title II and Olmstead v. L.C. (June 22, 2011)
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/q&a_olmstead.htm
- Statement of the DOJ on Enforcement of the Integration Mandate of ADA Title II and Olmstead v. L.C. (June 22, 2011)
- Olmstead Success Stories
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Web: hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/compliance-enforcement/examples/olmstead/index.html - Olmstead Rights - I Am Olmstead
Website about the Olmstead decision, includes self-help and legal advocacy tools, and shares how the decision has positively impacted people’s lives in their own words through stories, photos, and videos.
Source: Disability Integration Project at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc.
Web: olmsteadrights.org - The Case for Inclusion
Annual report ranks all 50 States and the District of Columbia on how well they are providing community-based supports to Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities being served by Medicaid.
Source: United Cerebral Palsy (UCP)
Web: caseforinclusion.org
Olmstead Cases
- DOJ Findings Letter to South Dakota
May 2, 2016 - The U.S. sent its findings to the state notifying it of violations of the ADA and Olmstead v. L.C. due to its failure to deliver services to people with disabilities in the most integrated settings appropriate.
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_cases_list2.htm#south-dakota - United States v. Florida – 1:12-cv-60460 – (S.D. Fla.)
April 7, 2016 - The U.S. filed an Opposition to the State of Florida’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. In the Motion, the State had asked the Court to rule, on a variety of grounds, that the United States could not recover damages for unnecessarily institutionalized children to whom the State had been deliberately indifferent.
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_cases_list2.htm#fla - Lane v. Brown (formerly Lane v. Kitzhaber) – 12-CV-00138 – (D. Or. 2012)
September 8, 2015 - The U.S. entered into a settlement agreement with the State of Oregon to vindicate the civil rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who are unnecessarily segregated in sheltered workshops, or at risk of such unnecessary segregation.
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_cases_list2.htm#lane - Justice Department Reaches Proposed ADA Settlement Agreement On Oregon's Developmental Disabilities System]
September 8, 2015 - The U.S. Justice Department, along with private plaintiffs, announced that it has entered into a proposed settlement agreement with the state of Oregon that will resolve violations of the ADA and will impact approximately 7,000 Oregonians with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who can and want to work in typical employment settings in the community.
Web: justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-proposed-ada-settlement-agreement-oregons-developmental - Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support [Word, 21 pages] [ PDF, 21 pages]
July 15, 2015 - The U.S. sent its findings to the State of Georgia stating that the State’s administration of the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS) program violates Title II of the ADA by unnecessarily segregating students with disabilities from their peers in school. The State fails to ensure that students with behavior-related disabilities receive services and supports that could enable them to remain in, or return to, the most integrated educational placements appropriate to their needs.
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/documents/gnets_lof.doc; ada.gov/olmstead/documents/gnets_lof.pdf - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources [Word, 30 pages] [ PDF, 30 pages]
June 1, 2015 - The U.S. sent its findings to the state stating it violates the ADA and Olmstead v. L.C. by failing to deliver mental health services to children who rely on publicly funded care in the most integrated settings appropriate. Children in West Virginia experience high levels of institutionalization per capita and are unable to access mental health services in their homes and communities.
(ada.gov/olmstead/documents/west_va_findings_ltr.docx; ada.gov/olmstead/documents/west_va_findings_ltr.pdf - Maertz v. Minott - 1:13-cv-957-JMS-MJD (S.D. In. 2015) [Word, 19 pages] [ PDF, 19 pages]
March 27, 2015 - The U.S. filed a Statement of Interest in opposition to the State of Indiana’s argument that serious risk of institutionalization or segregation is not a viable claim under the ADA. In Maertz, Plaintiffs with developmental disabilities provided evidence that the State of Indiana harmed their health by drastically reducing their home and community-based Medicaid services, placing them at serious risk of institutionalization.
Web: ada.gov/olmstead/documents/maertz_soi.docx; ada.gov/olmstead/documents/maertz_soi.pdf
Olmstead Resources from the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
- Olmstead: Implementing the Integration Mandate
Web: bazelon.org/olmstead-integration-mandate/ - The Olmstead Case
Web: bazelon.org/the-olmstead-case/ - When Opportunity Knocks... How the Affordable Care Act Can Help States Develop Supported Housing for People with Mental Illnesses [PDF, 21 pages] (2014)
Web: bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/When-Opportunity-Knocks.pdf - A Place of My Own: How the ADA is Creating Integrated Housing Opportunities for People with Mental Illnesses [PDF, 27 pages] (2014)
Web: bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/A-Place-of-my-Own.pdf - Still Waiting . . . the Unfulfilled Promise of Olmstead [PDF, 25 pages] (2009)
Report on the vital role the Supreme Court’s landmark decision plays in enabling people with mental illnesses to benefit from community life; and that many people with mental illnesses remain segregated in board-and-care homes, nursing facilities and other institutions, even though supportive community living is cost-effective.
Web: bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Still-Waiting...The-Unfulfilled-Promise-of-Olmstead.pdf - U.S. Supreme Court to Review Crucial Decision for Inclusion of People with Disabilities [PDF, 2 pages] (1999)
Web: bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/4-21-99Olmstead.pdf