More on Housing

The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released a new report in March 2014, A Place of My Own with the sub-title, “How the ADA is Creating Inegrated Housing Opportunites for People with Mental Illnesses.”  The introduction to the report explains the following

For virtually all people with disabilities, the most integrated setting appropriate is their own apartment or home, with the supports that they need to live there. Thus, as the law has developed, it has become clear that states must develop more supported housing—an apartment or home with a flexible package of supportive services individually tailored to the person’s needs—to enable individuals with disabilities to avoid needless segregation.

Almost 24 years after passage of the ADA, hundreds of thousands of individuals with disabilities remain needlessly segregated across the country in psychiatric hospitals, institutions for individuals with intellectual and other developmental disabilities, nursing homes, board and care homes, and other similar facilities. The political power of the private industries that serve individuals with disabilities in segregated settings has blocked states from offering these individuals integrated alternatives. By offering individuals with disabilities only segregated settings, however, states place themselves at risk of liability under the ADA. In addition to private lawsuits, the United States Department of Justice has been actively pursuing litigation against states to enforce the rights of individuals with disabilities to live, work and receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.

The report provides a history of deinstitutionalization, explains the prinicples of integration, and discusses the components of supported housing.  The report examines the ADA’s “integration mandate” and the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead, as well as the guidance provided by HUD and DOJ.  The report discusses some of the Olmstead settlements and the implications of the Medicaid rules.