The Future of Olmstead
What's next for Olmstead? That is a question I am often asked when I speak about the United States Supreme Court decision, which affirmed the right of people with disabilities to live in the community rather than in institutions. "What's next" is both an exciting and a daunting question. We have a long way to go to fulfill the promise of Olmstead, but it will be an extraordinary day when we fulfill the promise. The Olmstead settlement between the United States Department of Justice and Georgia is scheduled to end in 2015. Now is the time to plan for what comes next. Many in state government probably believe that the State will have met its obligations under Olmstead with the Justice Department Settlement. In fact, at one time, state officials called it the "Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Settlement." This gave the impression that this one settlement would meet all of the obligations of the State under the ADA.
This was not, and is not, the case. Despite the settlement, 7,000 Georgians are still on the waiting list for a developmental disability Medicaid waiver. This means we have thousands of people with intellectual disabilities who are receiving little, if any, of the supports they need to successfully live in the community.
This puts families under terrible strain. This becomes more pronounced when a person with a developmental disability ages out of the school system. Even though a school is supposed to develop a transition plan for the student, most transition plans state that "Mom" will get the student enrolled in a "program" after school. That is not a plan!
These caregivers are heroes. They are also tired. They are afraid. What will happen to their loved one when they die? As important, the person with a disability is not getting what he or she needs to live a meaningful independent life. In addition, thousands of Georgians live in nursing facilities, the community. Nursing homes were not a part of the Justice Department litigation and so they were not impacted by the settlement.
Georgia has a program called Money Follows the Person (MFP), which assists people to transition from nursing homes back into the community. Unfortunately, MFP has a waiting list and can take over a year for a transition. Additionally, each of the physical disability waiver programs has waiting lists, including one waiver that has a waiting list of over a year. This forces people with physical disabilities to go into nursing homes, which is the opposite of the state's Olmstead obligation. In mental health, the State has made significant strides. Still, the new services only assist adults in crisis. The new services do not help prevent a crisis from occurring and force people with mental illness to needlessly go into an institution, become homeless or enter the criminal justice system.
Also, there is a desperate need for a more robust system of mental health services for children. With all of these gloomy facts, is the situation really so dire after a five-year settlement in which Georgia has invested heavily in Olmstead? YES!
Georgia has taken big steps forward, but with thousands of people with disabilities still not getting the supports they need, progress must continue. Georgia disability advocates and state leaders spent years developing a strong meaningful plan to comply with Olmstead. The result was the best Olmstead plan in the country. The plan was adopted by the Olmstead Planning Committee in 2010 at the same time Georgia agreed to the Justice Department Settlement. Because of the settlement, the Olmstead plan was put on the shelf.
The Supreme Court made clear that states need an effective working plan to comply with Olmstead. It is time to dust off the 2010 Olmstead plan and put it into action. In 2015, Georgia will be at the center of national celebrations to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ADA. Many Georgia advocates have participated in developing a website and organization called The ADA Legacy Project as a way to celebrate and educate Americans about the ADA. In May, a national convention on the ADA will be held in Atlanta. The anniversary year is a perfect time for Georgia to take another step toward fulfilling the promise of Olmstead. It should do this not because courts say it has to (which they do) but because it is the right thing to do. As a State, we want to enable every citizen with a disability to live full lives in the community rather than in institutions and nursing facilities.
TALLEY WELLS is the director of the Disability Integration Project at Atlanta Legal Aid Society. Wells advocates for housing and supports in the community on behalf of clients with disabilities who are confined in Georgia institutions, nursing homes or at risk of institutionalization of the Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision and ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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