New Olmstead Guidance to Prevent Harm to People with Disabilities and Seniors

Take Action: Use the New Olmstead Guidance to Prevent Harm to People with Disabilities and Seniors As States Implement the New Home Care Rule

December 18, 2014 – The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have just issued a “Dear Colleague” letter describing public entities’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision as they are implementing the Department of Labor’s new home care rule.  The full letter is available here: http://www.dol.gov/whd/homecare/hhs-doj.htm. 

Disability and aging advocates, together with worker advocates, have been working to ensure that states implement the Department of Labor’s new Home Care Rule in a way that helps consumers and the important workers who provide services to them and does not cause unintended harms, such as cuts to services, dismantling of programs that allow consumers to control their own care, or further limiting this critical workforce.  The new rule becomes effective January 1, 2015.

“This new Olmstead guidance gives consumers and advocates an important tool to prevent harm to people with disabilities and seniors as states are developing policies to implement the home care rule,” said Alison Barkoff, Director of Advocacy for the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.  “They should advocate for state policies that fund worker overtime and have the least impact on consumers and their workers. If their state is considering any policies that limit, cap, or restrict worker hours, advocates should ensure that the state is putting in place a process for people who could be placed at serious risk of institutionalization to be exempted from these policies.”

The Bazelon Center – together with the National Senior Citizens Law Center, National Centers for Independent Living, American Association of People with Disabilities, and National Disability Rights Network – has issued Advocacy Steps for Consumers and Advocates Regarding the Home Care Rule: Update on Requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Olmsteadto assist people with disabilities, seniors and advocates take action using this new guidance.  For more information on advocacy strategies around the Home Care Rule, see  Action Steps for Consumers and Advocates Regarding the New Home Care Rule: How to Prevent Service Cuts and Protect Consumer-Directed Programs.  Also see a summary of the guide, Home Care Rule Advocacy Fact Sheet. 

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John Head

Communications Director

johnh@bazelon.org

202-467-5730, Ext. 311 

For more information, please contact: communications @ bazelon.org