Baylor & Associates LLC

Trump's $1 trillion Medicaid cuts "will force families to make an impossible choice between going bankrupt and institutionalizing their loved ones in facilities that often face higher rates of abuse and neglect."

THE BIG UGLY BILL IS HURTING AMERICA'S FAMILIES.

(Link in comments)

A lot of headlines are saying the DOJ just announced that states don’t have to follow Olmstead v. L.C

Olmstead is still the law.

The Supreme Court’s 1999 decision recognized that unnecessarily segregating people with disabilities can be discrimination under the ADA. For more than 25 years, it has been one of the strongest legal protections supporting community living, home-based services, and inclusion.

What changed this week is that the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a memorandum arguing that the ADA and Section 504 do not require states to provide services in the most integrated setting and do not prohibit unnecessary institutionalization.

That memo does not change the Supreme Court’s decision.

It does not erase disability rights laws.

It does not automatically eliminate services.

But it does signal a potential shift in how federal agencies may choose to interpret and enforce those protections moving forward.

As an advocate, this is a reminder that rights on paper only matter when people are willing to defend them.

Many of the protections students and adults with disabilities rely on today exist because families, advocates, attorneys, and self-advocates refused to accept segregation as the norm.

Pay attention.

Stay informed.

Document everything.

And never assume that a protection will remain in place simply because it has existed for decades.

The disability rights community has fought too hard for inclusion, access, and community living to stop now.

In May, the Social Security Administration announced it was making a switch in the company that administers its Direct Express cards. 🔗 in comments