Source: United States Attorneys General 7
The Justice Department announced today its finding that Idaho unnecessarily segregates adults with physical disabilities in nursing facilities, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C. The department’s findings, detailed in a letter to Idaho Governor Brad Little, follow a thorough investigation into the state’s service system for people with physical disabilities.
“People with disabilities in Idaho have the right to choose services to remain independent in their own homes instead of being segregated in institutions,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities can access the services they need to live at home and be full participants in their communities.”
“Older Idahoans and Idahoans with disabilities have the right to remain in their homes as their support needs increase,” said U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit for the District of Idaho. “I trust that Idaho will work to remedy the violations identified by the Justice Department so that individuals with disabilities can remain in their communities and not isolated in institutions.”
The ADA and the Olmstead decision require state and local governments to ensure the services they provide to people with disabilities are available in the most integrated setting appropriate to individuals’ needs. Community-based services can include assistance with daily activities, like showering or transferring from bed to wheelchair. Without community-based services, Idahoans with physical disabilities have little choice but to enter nursing facilities. Many will remain in those nursing facilities for years or decades, when they would prefer to live in the community. And each year of nursing facility care costs Idaho, on average per person, much more than what Idaho spends serving adults with physical disabilities at home.
The department’s investigation found that most Idaho Medicaid-funded nursing facility residents could live successfully at home with services Idaho offers. But Idaho limits access to services to transition out of nursing facilities and to live in the community. As a result, very few Idahoans with physical disabilities can access Idaho’s services to leave nursing facilities and remain at home.
The Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section investigated this case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
For more information on the ADA, please call the department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov/topics/community-integration/.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit www.justice.gov/crt.