NDRN Releases "A Decade of Little Progress Implementing Olmstead"
Curtis L. Decker, Executive Director of the
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN),
recently released the report, "A Decade of
Little Progress Implementing Olmstead".
NDRN reviewed the ten-year efforts of the
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), two agencies charged
with enforcing the Supreme Court's
mandate.
Here, in Decker's words, is a little taste:
"With every year that passed in the last Administration, it appeared that federal efforts to spur Olmstead enforcement waned. This report highlights problematic
trends like this and recommends a more
effective, aggressive federal approach to
bring about community integration. The
research for the report was largely
completed in September 2009. Since that
time new leadership has been appointed to
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and
we've seen a renewed focus on Olmstead enforcement. Some welcome signs include:
DOJ has been more proactive to reach out to members of the disability community to
identify potential Olmstead cases where
their participation might advance the law
and help to clarify questions that remain
unsettled after the Supreme Court's decision. Questions which, if resolved, may remove
barriers to individuals transitioning to the community.
Recent DOJ investigations and filings under
the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons
Act (CRIPA) have made clear that Olmstead
issues are deeply intertwined with problems
of inadequate conditions, and solving these problems must look at whether the people
in the facility belong there and whether the
institution is complying with laws governing discharge planning and transition.
"Hopefully, we will see a similar sense
of urgency at the new HHS, Office of
Civil Rights; and this aggressive
commitment to enforcement of the
Olmstead mandatewill continue throughout
the full Obama Administration and beyond.
The ebbs and flows of budgets may
pressure DOJ and the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) to slow
their commitment. However, America can't afford to slow down community integration.
We have a generation of baby boomers facing
disabilities as a result of aging, and thousands of recently wounded Iraq and Afghanistan
veterans who deserve afuture outside of institutions."
