Leaders of 18 states are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to abandon efforts to weaken the rights of people with disabilities to access services in the community.
In a letter to Attorney General Todd W. Blanche, the governors took issue with a June memo from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel questioning long-held interpretations of Olmstead v. L.C., a landmark 1999 Supreme Court decision on the rights of people with disabilities.
The ruling found that “states are required to provide community-based treatment for persons with mental disabilities” if certain conditions are met. The court decision prompted widespread efforts across the nation to close institutions and move people with disabilities into community-based settings.
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“For more than 25 years, the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Olmstead v. L.C. has built on the commitment of the (Americans with Disabilities Act) and reinforced the principle that people with disabilities should have the opportunity to live, work, receive services, and participate in their communities rather than being unnecessarily segregated in institutional settings,” the governors wrote. “We simply cannot risk reversing the progress this country has made in ensuring Americans with disabilities have meaningful choices about where and how they live their lives.”
The letter organized by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is signed by governors from Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
The state leaders acted at the urging of disability advocates alarmed by the June memo and subsequent Justice Department actions to change its position in a number of disability rights cases.
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and other disability advocacy groups have been asking states to sign a commitment to uphold Olmstead.
“This effort is critically important because the disability community needs assurance from states that they will not attack the rights of disabled people to live in their own homes and communities, as the federal government has done,” said Jennifer Mathis, who served as deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division under the Biden administration and is now deputy director at the Bazelon Center.
Advocates note that despite the Justice Department’s actions, the law itself has not changed.
“The DOJ Olmstead memo is not the law, and we are asking states to keep it that way by committing not to engage in these types of attacks themselves,” Mathis said.
In their letter, the governors emphasized that “this is not a partisan issue.” The ADA was signed by President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, and progress has been made toward greater access to community-based services under both Democratic and Republican administrations, they said.
“We strongly oppose any federal actions that would weaken protections against unnecessary segregation or diminish the right of people with disabilities to receive services in the most integrated settings appropriate to meet their needs, consistent with established Olmstead precedent,” the governors wrote. “Community integration is not an abstract legal concept. It means having a home, being able to work, attend school, shop, worship, build relationships, and participate in an ordinary civic life.”
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
