On June 22, 1999, the United States Supreme Court held in Olmstead v. L.C. that unjustified isolation of individuals with disabilities is properly regarded as discrimination based on disability. The Court found that unjustified institutional segregation amounts to discrimination because it perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that people with disabilities are incapable or unworthy or participating in community life. Moreover, the Court found that confinement in an institution also severely curtails everyday life activities, such as family relations, social contacts, work, educational advancement and cultural enrichment.
All states have begun moving in the direction of providing more services in community-based settings. Georgia, however, lags begind other states in its efforts in this area. More than 5,500 Georgians with significant disabilities currently need help to either stay out of institutions or get out of institutions; some of these individuals have been waiting for more than 10 years for appropriate services. Georgia is currently 45th in national rankings in the proportion of state dollars that are allocated to funding disability services.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today introduced a Resolution commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s historic Olmstead decision, which requires states to provide individuals with disabilities the choice to receive their services in a home or community based setting, rather than in an institution. Cosponsoring the Resolution is Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA). A copy of the Resolution is attached.
“The Olmstead decision sent a clear message that under our civil rights laws, individuals with disabilities should have the right to choose where to receive their care,” Harkin said today. “We have made some progress in the past ten years, but our work is not nearly done; there are many individuals with significant disabilities who want to live or remain in the community but are not able to do so, or who struggle to do so, due to the lack of necessary services and support.”
The Olmstead decision is based on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA); Senator Harkin was the chief sponsor of the ADA in the Senate and was instrumental in its passage. The ADA provides guarantees of equality of opportunity, full participation, economic self-sufficiency and independent living for people with disabilities. In Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581, the Supreme Court held that States must offer qualified individuals with disabilities the choice to receive their long term services and support in a community based setting. In reaching this decision, the Supreme Court found that “unjustified institutional isolation of persons with disabilities is a form of discrimination,” and that “confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.”
Senator Harkin continues to work to ensure equality for Americans with disabilities. Harkin’s Community Choice Act, which was introduced in March, focuses on ensuring that individuals with significant disabilities have a real choice to receive their necessary services and support in home and community based settings, as Olmstead requires. For more information, please click here: http://harkin.senate.gov/pr/issue.cfm?issue=disability.
June 23, 2009CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE S6947
SENATE RESOLUTION 201—RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISION IN OLMSTEAD V. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999)
Mr. HARKIN (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:
S. RES. 201
Whereas in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) (referred to in this preamble as the ‘‘ADA’’), Congress found that the isolation and segregation of individuals with disabilities is a serious and pervasive form of discrimination;
Whereas the ADA provides the guarantees of equality of opportunity, economic self-sufficiency, full participation, and independent living for individuals with disabilities;
Whereas on June 22, 1999, the United States Supreme Court in Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), held that under the ADA, States must offer qualified individuals with disabilities the choice to receive their long-term services and support in a community-based setting;
Whereas the Supreme Court further recognized in Olmstead v. L.C. that ‘‘institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life’’ and that ‘‘confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.’’;
Whereas June 22, 2009, marks the tenth anniversary of the Olmstead v. L.C. decision;
Whereas, as a result of the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., many individuals with disabilities have been able to live in home and community-based settings, rather than institutional settings, and to become productive members of the community;
Whereas despite this success, community-based services and supports remain unavailable for many individuals with significant disabilities;
Whereas eligible families of children with disabilities, working-age adults with disabilities, and older individuals with disabilities should be able to make a choice between entering an institution or receiving long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to the individual’s needs; and
Whereas families of children with disabilities, working-age adults with disabilities, and older individuals with disabilities should retain the greatest possible control over the services received and, therefore, their own lives and futures, including quality services that maximize independence in the home and community:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) recognizes and honors the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C.;
(2) salutes all people whose efforts have contributed to the expansion of home and community-based long-term services and supports for individuals with disabilities; and
(3) encourages all people of the United States to recognize the importance of ensuring that home and community-based services are equally available to all qualified individuals with significant disabilities who choose to remain in their home and community.