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Table of Contents

1. Introduction.

2. What is Olmstead?.

3. Why is Olmstead important?.

4. State Olmstead plans and alternative strategies.

5. Olmstead and Olmstead-related lawsuits.

6. Key trends.

7. References.

8. Download PDF or Word document of entire report.

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Home and Community-Based PAS > Reports > Introduction to Olmstead Lawsuits and Olmstead Plans

References

  1. The full Supreme Court judgment is available at http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-536.ZS.html
  2. More detailed background about the plaintiffs in the case, LC and EW are available from the Atlanta Legal Aid Society website at http://www.atlantalegalaid.org
  3. For further details about the attempts to discharge L.C. and E.W. go to the Atlanta Legal Aid Society website at http://www.law.emory.edu/PI/ALAS/
  4. Rosenbaum, S (May 2000) Working paper: Olmstead v. LC: Analysis and implications for Medicaid policy, Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
  5. Summary of the Federal guidance available from Rosenbaum, S (October 2001): Behavioral Health Issue Brief 17 Federal Implementation Guidelines, and Analysis of Recent Cases regarding Medicaid Coverage of Long Term care services for persons with disabilities. Center for Health Services Research and Policy, George Washington University, Washington DC.
  6. For information on all Federal laws which give rights to people with disabilities, see USDOJ publication (May 2002) ‘A Guide to Disability Rights Laws’, available at: http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm.
  7. For an analysis of the complaints filed with the Office for Civil Rights, see Rosenbaum, S et al (2001) An analysis of Olmstead complaints: implications for policy and long-term planning, Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
  8. The US Department of Justice also has responsibility for ensuring the enforcement of all 5 titles of the ADA, not just Title II. It enforces the ADA through mediation and negotiation, bringing lawsuits and technical assistance to states and organizations. It publishes a quarterly status report covering its activities regarding the enforcement of the ADA. ‘Enforcing the ADA: A Status Report from the Department of justice’ is available at: http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/statrpt.htm. The DOJ collates useful information on the ADA at: http://www.adaportal.org.
  9. Fox-Grage, W; Folkemer, D; Lewis; J (February 2004) The States' Response to the Olmstead Decision: how are states complying? A 2003 update Forum for state Health Policy Leadership, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Washington DC.
  10. For example, the Community Living Exchange Collaborative (http://www.hcbs.org/).
  11. Gran, J (Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, August 2003) Olmstead: reclaiming institutionalized lives for the National Council on Disability, Washington DC.
    See also
    Stewart A, Teitelbaum J, Rosenbaum S (2002) Working paper: implementing community integration: a review of state Olmstead plans. Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
  12. In the table, Olmstead Plans are those that have been specifically developed in response to the Olmstead decision and subsequent guidance. The results have been validated with the NCSL report7. Where states are shown to have Olmstead plans, no further investigation was made into "alternative" strategies (denoted by X in the table). However, this does not necessarily mean the state does not have alternative strategies.
  13. For further discussion of the case and an analysis of subsequent lawsuits, see
    Desonia, R (March 2003) Is community Care a Civil Right? The unfolding saga of the Olmstead decision. A National Health Policy Forum background paper, The George Washington University, Washington DC.
  14. "Olmstead" refers to cases started, decided or closed after the 1999 Olmstead decision and primarily about community placement of institutionalized people and/or people at risk of institutionalization. Such cases are most likely to cite a violation of the ADA as the primary complaint. "Related" cases involve issues related to Olmstead but do not satisfy the criteria of an Olmstead case or there is insufficient data in the sources to classify the case. The primary complaint is likely to be a violation of Medicaid law.
  15. Examples of cases brought in the 1980s are: Weston v. Wyoming; USA v. Oregon; Homeward Bound v. The Hissom Memorial Center (Oklahoma); Alexander v. Choate (Oklahoma); and Garrity v. Gallen (New Hampshire). Examples of cases brought in the 1970s are; New York Association for retarded children v. Carey and Halderman v. Pennhurst (Pennsylvania).
  16. Smith, G (2004) Status Report: litigation concerning Home and Community Services for People with Disabilities. HSRI, Oregon. Regular updates are available from http://www.hsri.org .
  17. Priaulx, E (2002) Docket of cases related to access to community-based services for people with disabilities. National Association of Protection and Advocacy Services, Washington DC.
  18. Rosenbaum, Sara; Stewart, Alexandra; and Teitelbaum, Joel (2002) Defining "reasonable pace" in the Post-Olmstead environment, Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. Washington, DC.
    And;
    Rosenbaum, Sara; Burke, Taylor; and Teitelbaum, Joel (2002) The Americans with Disabilities Act and Community integration: an update on "fundamental alteration" litigation, Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. Washington, DC
  19. Batavia, A (2001) A Right to Personal Assistance Services: "most integrated setting appropriate" requirements and the Independent Living Model of long-term care in American Journal of Law and Medicine, Boston University School of Law, vol. 27, no.1, 17-43
    Petrila, J (April 1999) The Americans with Disabilities Act and community-based Treatment law in Psychiatric Services, vol. 50, no.4, pp.473-480

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