Center for Personal Assistance Services University of California, San Francisco  
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Table of Contents

1. Introduction.

2. What is Olmstead?.

3. Why is Olmstead important?.

4. State Olmstead plans and alternative strategies.

5. Olmstead and Olmstead-related lawsuits.

6. Key trends.

7. References.

8. Download PDF or Word document of entire report.

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Home and Community-Based PAS > Reports > Introduction to Olmstead Lawsuits and Olmstead Plans

What is Olmstead?

Olmstead is used here to describe the 1999 Supreme Court judgment in the case Olmstead v. L.C1. The case was brought on behalf of two women in Georgia. The women (known as L.C. and E.W.) have developmental disabilities and were also diagnosed with mental illnesses (schizophrenia and personality disorder respectively). They were voluntarily admitted to Georgia Regional Hospital for treatment in a psychiatric unit2. After some time, they indicated their preference for discharge and the professionals working with them assessed that they were ready to move into a community setting with appropriate support. However, they were not successfully discharged from the hospital3 and in 1995, they brought this lawsuit which was eventually heard by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that, under Title II of the 1989 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the women had a right to receive care in the most integrated setting appropriate and that their unnecessary institutionalization violated the ADA.

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