For immediate release
June 21, 2010

Contacts: Chris Hilderbrant (585) 267-0343, Diane Coleman (708) 420-0539

Busload of Rochester Disability Activists Leaving tonight for Washington, D.C.

Rochester, NY – Forty-four disability rights advocates from Rochester will be leaving on a bus tonight at 9:00 p.m. from the Center for Disability Rights for Washington, D.C. to participate in a public hearing and other events pertaining to the eleventh anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Olmstead case. That landmark decision gives seniors and people with disabilities the right to live and receive long term care service in the “most integrated setting,” rather than being forced into nursing facilities.

Olmstead v. L.C., a June 22, 1999 Supreme Court ruling, states that “unnecessary institutionalization is discrimination” under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Each state must devise an Olmstead plan to enable seniors and people with disabilities living in institutional settings to choose to move back into the community.

The decision was the culmination of the case of two women living in a Georgia psychiatric hospital who wanted to move back into their communities. Though they had the support of their doctors, the state of Georgia would not allow them to leave the hospital. They sued, and their case ultimately went before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in their favor.

Eleven years later, many states have not implemented an Olmstead plan, including New York. “According to CMS data, over 22,000 New Yorkers are in institutions who do not want to be there,” said Bruce Darling, CEO of the Center for Disability Rights (CDR). “With the right services and supports, they don’t need to be in facilities, and New York’s failure to honor their right to liberty demonstrates the urgent need for federal enforcement.” CDR recently assisted eight Rochester area nursing facility residents to file formal Olmstead complaints with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.

Tomorrow’s public hearing, “The ADA and Olmstead Enforcement: Ensuring Community Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities,” is being held before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions at 2:30 p.m. in Room 430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Witnesses include: Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Cindy Mann, Director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Robert Bernstein, Executive Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Nancy Thaler, Executive Director, National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services; and Kelly Buckland, Executive Director, National Council on Independent Living (NCIL). CDR is a member of NCIL, and Bruce Darling is on NCIL’s Board of Directors.