Ruling Gives Disabled Community Care Rights
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
LSC-funded Legal Aid Society of Atlanta (Ga.) represents Elaine Wilson and Lois Curtis, mentally disabled plaintiffs who challenged Georgia’s decision to place them in a state hospital setting rather than in community-based care despite doctors findings that either treatment setting would be appropriate. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court held Olmstead v. L.C. that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires states to consider placing mentally disabled individuals in the community if they are able to fare just as well there as in state hospitals. Last week, a U.S. District Judge approved a settlement between the two plaintiffs and the state of Georgia, and Wilson and Curtis both now receive community-based care. Since Olmstead, federal officials have directed state Medicaid directors to ensure that state plans provide community-based care to mentally disabled clients who are capable of handling community-based settings. Author unavailable, Ruling Gives Disabled Community Care Rights, Fl. Times-Union, July 13, 2000, at B6. See also Olmstead v. L.C., 119 S.Ct. 2176 (June 22, 1999).