People with Disabilities & SD Awareness

June 22 marks the 10th anniversary of a landmark ruling for people with disabilities. The case, which reinforced the Americans with Disabilities Act, was called Olmstead v. LC and EW.

LC was Lois Curtis and EW was Elaine Wilson. These two women had spent most of their lives in state mental institutions. <snip>

In 1995, lawyers sued the state on their behalf under the ADA, which requires states to provide services for people with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate. The case worked its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that such needless, unending institutionalization did indeed violate the very core of the ADA. <snip>





Read More: http://www.progressive.org/mpervin062109.html

Resources:
http://jfactivist.typepad.com/jfactivist/2009/06/olmstead-anniversary-stirs-up-interest-in-long-term-services-and-supports.html

For media coverage, see the articles posted below:
From The Progressive
“10th anniversary of freedom for people with disabilities” By Mike Ervin, June 21, 2009

http://www.progressive.org/mpervin062109.html

From ProRepublica
“Nursing Homes Get Old for Many With Disabilities” by Jennifer LaFleur

http://www.propublica.org/feature/nursing-homes-get-old-for-many-with-disabilities-621

From the Hartford Courant
"Olmstead Supreme Court Anniversary"
Photo coverage by Richard Messina

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-march-2-capitol-pictures,0,6352804.photogallery

The Briefing Room
The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 22, 2009


President Obama Commemorates Anniversary of Olmstead and Announces New Initiatives to Assist Americans with Disabilities

On the 10th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in the case of Olmstead v. L.C., President Barack Obama today celebrated that anniversary and launched "The Year of Community Living," a new effort to assist Americans with disabilities.

Specifically, the President has directed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to work together to identify ways to improve access to housing, community supports, and independent living arrangements. As part of this effort, later today, Secretaries Sebelius and Donovan will announce several new initiatives including details about increased numbers of Section 8 vouchers and enhanced interagency coordination to address this critical civil rights issue. The initiative also will include listening sessions conducted by HHS across the country to hear the voices and stories of Americans and to keep the President's pledge to be as open and transparent as possible.

"The Olmstead ruling was a critical step forward for our nation, articulating one of the most fundamental rights of Americans with disabilities: Having the choice to live independently," said President Obama. "I am proud to launch this initiative to reaffirm my Administration's commitment to vigorous enforcement of civil rights for Americans with disabilities and to ensuring the fullest inclusion of all people in the life of our nation."

In the Olmstead case, the Court held that the unjustified institutional isolation of people with disabilities is a form of unlawful discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since that time, progress has been made. Many individuals have successfully transitioned to community settings, but waiting lists for community services have grown considerably and many individuals who would like to receive community services are not able to obtain them.

To help remedy that problem, the Obama Administration provided over $140 million in the Recovery Act funding for independent living centers across the country. The Administration acknowledges that strides have been made, and knows and accepts that there is much work to do in order to maximize the choices and opportunities for individuals to receive long-term services and supports in institutional and community settings.

The President noted that his Administration looks forward to continued engagement with the disability community to achieve these goals.

Resource: Message from the White House

HUD No. 09-095
Donna White
(202) 708-0685
http://www.hud.gov/news/

For Release
Monday
June 22, 2009

HUD to offer Housing Assistance to TO 4,000 Americans with Disabilities

Agency seeking comment on how to allocate vouchers to support independent living

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today joined President Obama's commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision by announcing that it will offer rental assistance to 4,000 non-elderly families with disabilities, including 1,000 vouchers specifically targeted to those transitioning out of nursing homes and other care facilities. Through its funding notice, HUD is seeking comment from public housing authorities and others to ensure this critically needed assistance is distributed and administered in the most effective manner possible.

Today's announcement coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in Olmstead v. L.C. & E.W. which affirmed the rights of individuals with disabilities to live independently. To commemorate this landmark decision, President Obama declared 2009 the Year of Community Living.

"As individuals with disabilities leave institutional care, it is essential that they have housing options that will allow them to live independently," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "As we prepare to launch this initiative, we also want to make certain that we get input from local housing experts, disability rights advocates and others who can help us target this assistance to those who need it most. We also recognize how important it is for HUD and HHS to coordinate our resources to enable community-living for those individuals that live with disabilities."

HUD's Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) will make $30 million in voucher assistance available to support approximately 4,000 Housing Choice Vouchers for non-elderly disabled families. HUD is making a 1,000 of those vouchers available specifically for individuals transitioning out of nursing homes and other institutions. These vouchers directly support a $1.75 billion initiative of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to help persons who reside in health care settings move to community-based living. While HHS' Money Follows the Person (MFP) program offers health care, case management and other services to qualified families, it does not include funding for housing. HUD's funding initiative is designed to fill that gap.

The remaining 3,000 Housing Choice Vouchers are available to assist any non-elderly disabled family. The Department is encouraging local housing authorities to give strong consideration to using some or all of these vouchers to provide housing for those non-elderly persons that are living in the community, but are at-risk for institutionalization.

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HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to sustaining homeownership; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at http://www.hud.gov and [url]espanol.hud.gov[/url].