Delaware agrees to follow federal disability rights laws after complaints
Delaware has agreed to better enforce federal disability rights laws after a recent complaint claimed the state failed to provide medical equipment and support services to a person with disabilities so they could live at home.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights announced the resolution agreement with Delaware, citing the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires services be provided in the most integrated setting appropriate to the person’s needs, including in their own home.
“Nursing home placement should never be the automatic option after a person with disabilities is discharged from a hospital. Alternatives, including returning the individual to their home, must first be considered,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainier.
“States must ensure they support community-based placement and independent living to the fullest extent of the law, so people with disabilities are not denied the right to live in their homes and communities,” Rainier added.
In the agreement, Delaware’s Department of Health and Social Services vowed to complete assessments to identify the individual’s needs while providing specialty equipment, home modifications and personal support.
The state also agreed to facilitate the patient’s discharge from the nursing home to their modified family home, which was completed in October.
Going forward, Delaware will have to report monthly to OCR over the next nine months about how it is monitoring the patient’s home care and any potential issues that arise.
“Twenty-five years after the Supreme Court made these legal protections clear in Olmstead,” Rainier added, “OCR’s unwavering commitment to enforce these legal protections for individuals with disabilities is equally clear.”
The Supreme Court’s 1999 decision found any unjustified segregation of people with disabilities is considered discrimination under the ADA.
This is OCR’s second Olmstead agreement this year to resolve a complaint about unnecessary institutional confinement.
