Arlington, VA — Late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued an opinion that is contrary to the decades-long position held by the federal government that has sought to help people with disabilities, including people with mental illness, receive necessary health care services while living in their community. The opinion, released on June 18, reinterprets the 1999 Supreme Court case, Olmstead v. L.C., and has the potential to threaten the availability of community-based care and instead promote a shift toward institutionalization.
The Olmstead decision has informed nearly 30 years of public policy and legal precedent around the right of individuals with disabilities to be integrated into their community. In their decision, the Court found that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities, including mental illness, is discrimination and is in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Since that time, the decision has been the basis for additional court cases that have required states to improve the availability of community-based services, including, more recently, appropriate mental health crisis response services for people with mental illness. The new DOJ opinion argues that courts have misinterpreted the rights of individuals with disabilities to be integrated into their communities.
“All people — including people with mental illness — deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Hannah Wesolowski, NAMI’s chief advocacy officer. “This opinion threatens the progress we have made to ensure that people with mental illness are treated like people with any other health condition, with the same rights and same level of care. The rights of people with mental illness should be protected because we cannot return to a time when institutionalization was all but inevitable.”
NAMI filed an amici curae (“friend of the court”) brief in the original Olmstead case in 1999, stating, in part, “Living in a community setting is for most people essential to pursuit of a full range of life opportunities.”
While the DOJ’s opinion is not legally binding, NAMI is concerned that the Administration is seemingly reversing course on decades of progress and potentially undermining this critical legal precedent that prioritizes community-based care. Without Olmstead requirements that states provide community-based services for individuals that can and want to live in the community, NAMI is concerned that states will not prioritize such services for people with mental illness. This could mean a default reliance on institutional-based care, a situation that could become more acute as states grapple with upcoming Medicaid cuts.
“NAMI will continue to fight for people with mental illness to get the care they need and deserve — in the setting that is best for them,” said Wesolowski. “NAMI envisions a world where all people affected by mental illness live healthy, fulfilling lives supported by a community that cares. Olmstead is central to continuing our progress toward achieving that vision. We strongly encourage DOJ to reverse course and rescind this opinion immediately.”
For a breakdown of what this opinion means — and what it doesn’t — visit this resource from The Arc.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness.
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