The Trump administration has taken further steps to reverse its longstanding support for the integration mandate, the principle from the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision that people with disabilities have the right to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. On September 23, a federal judge in Texas v. Kennedy approved an agreement between the Justice Department and five states that removes community-integration language from HHS’s Section 504 regulations nationwide.
Disability rights organizations stress that the ADA, Section 504 and the Olmstead ruling itself remain in effect, but warn that weaker federal enforcement could put home and community-based services (HCBS) at risk. Advocates are backing a bipartisan congressional resolution affirming Olmstead, and Delaware has already written the former federal protections into state law. Readers who rely on HCBS may want to contact their state legislators about similar state-level protections.
Read More: NPR
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