People with Disabilities Fought for Their Freedom: Threats to Olmstead

For Immediate Release:

Date: July 1, 2026

Subject: People with Disabilities Fought for Their Freedom: Threats to Olmstead

Contact Emmanuel Jenkins Community Relations Officer 302-739-7192 [email protected]

For more than 27 years, Olmstead v. L.C. has protected the right of people with disabilities to live in their communities rather than being unnecessarily isolated in institutions. The Supreme Court recognized that unjustified segregation is discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

Daniese McMullen Powell, self-advocate and Vice Chair of the Delaware Developmental Disabilities Council, was in the courtroom when the Olmstead v. L.C. was heard. Daniese stated:

"People with disabilities fought for their own Freedom for many years and have been able to move back to their own homes and communities. Many more have avoided institutionalization to live more productive and longer lives in freedom. We cannot move back into institutions. Our Freedom is too precious."

Despite longstanding civil rights protections established through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Olmstead decision, and decades of legal precedent and case law, the United States Department of Justice is actively disregarding and attempting to undermine the integration mandate established through Olmstead. This has created widespread alarm among people with disabilities, families, advocates, service providers, and communities across the country.

Weakening Olmstead contradicts decades of federal disability law and policy, including:

• The ADA
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Federal Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) policies
• Longstanding civil rights protections supporting inclusion and equal opportunity

Community living is what many people with disabilities and families want and fight for. People with disabilities are not separate from society they are parents, spouses, siblings, caregivers, coworkers, friends, neighbors, students, and community members. Many people with disabilities are raising children, supporting aging parents, maintaining relationships, working jobs, and building lives in their communities.

People with disabilities have the right to have the same opportunities as everyone else:

• To live in their own homes and communities
• To work and attend school
• To raise families and maintain relationships
• To build friendships and participate in community life
• To make decisions about their own lives and futures

Rolling back these protections could place people with disabilities at risk of:

• Institutionalization and segregation
• Separation from families and loved ones
• Isolation from communities and support systems
• Abuse, neglect, and exploitation
• Loss of independence and autonomy
• Poorer physical and mental health outcomes

Maitri Campbell, Self-Advocate and Chair of the DDC Policy and Law Committee, lived in an institution and fought for three and a half years for her right to live in the community. Maitri stated:

"When I was living in an institution, I had no control over my own life. They told me when to wake up, when to go to bed, what to eat, what I could do, and I was only allowed to shower once a week. If I wanted to leave the facility, I had to sign in and out, explain where I was going, who I was with, and when I would return. Living independently is completely different. Now I make those decisions for myself. I do not need permission to live my life. I choose what I want to do, where I want to go, and how I want to live. I have freedom. If I were forced to go back to an institution and lose the ability to make decisions for myself, I would become depressed and feel like my life and choices did not matter. Please think about how deeply policies and decisions like these affect the lives of people with disabilities."

(To learn more about Maitri story visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7OQL_7Qeko )

The impact on the family unit would be devastating. Parents with disabilities would face barriers to raising their children in the community. Spouses and family members would be separated from loved ones placed in institutions far from home. Families will experience emotional trauma, financial hardship, housing instability, and increased caregiving burdens if community-based supports are reduced or unavailable.

The impact would not stop with people with disabilities and their families. Weakening community-based services would create widespread economic and workforce consequences across many industries and local communities.

When people with disabilities live in the community, they rely on and support countless jobs and businesses beyond healthcare, including:

• Grocery and food delivery workers
• Pharmacy staff and medication delivery services
• Warehouse and distribution workers
• Retail employees
• Transportation and paratransit workers
• Home maintenance and cleaning services
• Technology and internet providers
• Restaurants and local businesses
• Direct support professionals and healthcare workers

Community living helps drive local economies. If more people are pushed into institutional settings, it could reduce community participation, impact on jobs connected to community-based living, increase costs to states, and force more family members to leave the workforce to provide unpaid care.

Protecting Olmstead means protecting civil rights, family unity, community inclusion, economic stability, and the ability of people with disabilities to live, work, raise families, and participate fully in society.

To learn more about your civil rights visit: https://shorturl.at/vrXCN

Sincerely,

Dielle DeNoon, DDC Chair

Daniese McMullin-Powell, DDC Vice Chair

Maitri Campbell, DDC Policy and Law Committee Chair