DOJ Retreats From Enforcing Olmstead Disability Integration Rights

The Trump administration's Department of Justice has moved to stop enforcing Olmstead v. L.C., the 1999 Supreme Court ruling requiring states to serve people with disabilities in the most integrated setting rather than institutions. A June DOJ memo stated the federal government has no obligation to enforce Olmstead, and in August the department began withdrawing from cases defending disabled people seeking home- and community-based care. Last month DOJ settled Texas v. Kennedy, invalidating federal regulations that defined what it means to live in a community. Disability advocates warn the shift threatens decades of progress moving people out of institutions and into home and community-based Medicaid-funded care.

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