| LEGISLATIVE NEWS
By Peggy Hathaway, Vice- President for Public Policy
In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the civil rights of people with disabilities were violated if they had to be in an institution in order to receive needed services and supports. Commonly known as the Olmstead decision, the ruling requires states to provide community-based services to people with disabilities in most instances.
According to a new report by the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), the Olmstead ruling has had virtually no oversight or enforcement by the federal government until quite recently. While some states have changed their practices, the report shows that collectively, states are still spending 58 percent of their Medicaid long-term support dollars on institutional care rather than care in the home and community.
Since the report was released in September 2009, NDRN notes renewed enforcement by new leadership at the U.S. Department of Justice. The full report can be found at www.napas.org.
To illustrate what a big difference it can make for people with disabilities to receive services and supports in their homes and community rather than in an institution, the report cites the case of a 12-year old child with autism and bi-polar disorder who sometimes became emotionally distraught in school. The school district refused the parent’s request for an aide and advised the parent to make the child a ward of the state. Thanks to help from Protection and Advocacy services, the parent fought this and found a day treatment program for the child that allowed him to live at home with his family.
