From the New York Times:

A federal judge has ordered the state of New York to move some 4,300 people with mental illness out of warehouse-like institutions that keep them segregated from society.

The order by Judge Nicholas Garaufis follows his decision last fall that the state was illegally discriminating against people with mental illness by holding them in privately-run “adult homes” that were just as restrictive as the state-run institutions they were intended to replace.

Judge Garaufis ordered the state to develop at least 1,500 units of supportive housing a year for the next three years. The state had argued that supportive housing would be unacceptably expensive. Commenting on the proposal submitted by the state, the judge wrote, “The court is disappointed and, frankly, incredulous that defendants sincerely believed this proposal would suffice.”

Earlier posts here and here and here.

See also: The 2002 series of articles by Clifford J. Levy of the New York Times that described scenes of misery, squalor and exploitation in the adult homes.

‘Our leaders fail the neediest’

Columnist Rick Green, writing in the Hartford Courant, says Connecticut’s leaders have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a legal fight to keep the Southbury Training School open, even though they know the facility violates federal discrimination law. “We will pay dearly for this,” he writes. A legal challenge to the sprawling institution for people with intellectual disabilities is being heard in federal court.

Green describes Southbury as a “1950s-era model for segregated care of the disabled,” and a “world that I thought existed only in film documentaries.” He says former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland caved to pressure from fearful families and staff fifteen years ago in a “transparent political move” that effectively halted efforts to move institutional residents back into the community and would “infect state policies for years to come.”

Experts say there is no reason why people with complex disabilities can’t live satisfying lives in the community with appropriate support, but families and guardians need to be educated about the possibilities to allay fears. Further, they say, community-based care comes at a lesser cost: approximately $122,000 per person per year, as compared with Southbury’s pricetag of $350,000 each for some 450 residents. An excerpt:

After more than a decade of waiting, we await a solution from a federal judge.

That’s what you get when nobody leads.

See also: School for intellectually disabled under pressure to change — Hartford Courant

San Diego Chargers owner will retrofit thousands of rental properties

From the San Diego Union-Tribune, AP/ABC, Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

In what is being called the largest disabled-access settlement in the housing industry, [San Diego] Chargers owner Alex Spanos’ development company will spend more than $12 million to retrofit thousands of apartment units found to be out of compliance with fair housing laws governing accessibility.

The settlement covers 15,500 units in 123 apartment properties in 11 states, and stems from a lawsuit filed by the National Fair Housing Alliance against the A.G. Spanos Cos., which is run by Spanos’ sons Michael and Dean Spanos.

In announcing the settlement, the National Fair Housing Alliance praised the developer for crafting a settlement that went beyond the letter of the law.

“It’s unusual for me to praise defendants in a case,” said Shanna Smith, president of the alliance … “This is a landmark, unique, comprehensive settlement.”

Oakland University violated federal law by excluding him, judge rules

From the Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Oakland [MI] Press:

A federal judge has ruled that Michigan’s Oakland University has violated the federal Rehabilitation Act by failing to allow a student with a cognitive impairment to live in a campus dorm. An Oakland spokesman said the university will appeal the ruling, but will allow the young man to live on campus during the process.

U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Duggan ordered Oakland to make a room available to 25-year-old Micah Fialka-Feldman, who has been taking classes in the school’s OPTIONS program. Fialka-Feldman pays a fee equal to full tuition but doesn’t earn grades in the program, which is designed for students with cognitive disabilities who would not otherwise be able to meet the university’s admissions requirements.

The university has maintained that Fialka-Feldman, who takes buses two hours a day to get to class from his parents’ home, is not eligible for a dorm room because he’s not enrolled in a degree-granting program.

Duggan said the university’s assumption that the young man would be unable to follow housing rules “appears to be grounded on prejudice, stereotypes and/or unfounded fear.”

Earlier posts here.

(Detroit News photo)

An editorial in the New York Times hails the Obama Justice Department for enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act. Justice Department lawyers are seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit involving people with mental illness who are being held in “adult homes” that are “more like jails than houses.” An excerpt:

… in the letter announcing its intent to intervene, the Justice Department said this matter was “a great concern” to the federal government. It said it wanted a role in the process because the remedy designed in New York might serve as a national model for dealing with this problem. The onus is now on the state to come up with that remedy.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

A handful of protesters were arrested in the courtyard of the Sam Nunn Federal Center in Atlanta Tuesday during a demonstration calling for better long-term care options for people with disabilities.

Representatives of the Office of Homeland Security refused to disclose how many had been arrested and whether they were being temporarily held.

The protest was part of a five-day campaign by members of ADAPT, a national coalition of disability advocates, to seek state compliance with the Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead decision. The ruling has been interpreted as directing states to provide community-based supports for people with disabilities rather than continue unwarranted segregation in institutions.

See also: ADAPT Action Report

Foes of a planned group home for people with developmental disabilities in Virginia are acting out of ignorance, prejudice and fear, Colleen Miller writes in the [Harrisonburg, VA], News-Record , adding that their actions are illegal under the federal Fair Housing Act. She says people with developmental disabilities deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. An excerpt:

The arguments made by the opponents of this home are old and patently false. Homes for people with disabilities have existed in communities just like Pleasant View, for many decades, with no negative effect on property values, no increase in crime, and no increase in traffic. These false fears arise from the fact that people with intellectual disabilities have been segregated from society for too long. Simply put, it is a fear borne of the unfamiliar.

The law is unambiguous that individuals with disabilities have the right to live in the community, but awareness of the law alone will not resolve the protests of those who have preconceived notions of individuals with disabilities. Only time, experience and knowledge will overcome those notions. Individuals with intellectual disabilities have been denied their rights for too long. We must continue to break down the barriers between them and their right to freedom and inclusion.

Colleen Miller is director of the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy in Richmond.

See also:

A chance to live the good life, By Jeremy Hunt — Harrisonburg [VA] News-Record

Deed restrictions vs. fair housing, By Jeremy Hunt — Harrisonburg [VA] News-Record