ANCOR Issues Statement on Department of Justice Integration Mandate Memo

On June 18, the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a memo on the integration mandate in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v.  Lois Curtis and in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. This interpretation by DOJ, when considered with the Trump administration’s ongoing statements devaluing the home- and community-based services that enable people with disabilities to live in their homes and communities — the hallmark of the integration mandate — compounds community providers’ concerns for the future of community-based disability services and the people with disabilities relying on their support.  

In condemning the memo, ANCOR CEO Barbara Merrill issued the following statement:

“Today marks the 27^th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. Lois Curtis, a landmark case which held that the Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees individuals with disabilities the right to be supported in their communities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. But instead of using this time to reaffirm the administration’s commitment to community-based services for people with disabilities, the Department of Justice issued a memo that seeks to undercut this foundational community integration principle and contradicts decades of settled civil rights law.

“While such a memo does not have the force and effect of law, it represents the latest in a long line of actions subverting dignity, choice and community for people with disabilities — principles that are integral to the fabric of our society. We are deeply concerned that this erroneous legal interpretation could be used to justify future harmful federal policies and turn back decades of progress. This is especially concerning when considered in the context of cuts to Medicaid made in the budget reconciliation law last year, the administration’s recent proposals for deep cuts to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget and the elimination of key disability programs, actions destabilizing states’ home- and community-based services programs through overly broad program integrity enforcement measures, and ongoing dangerous rhetoric devaluing home- and community-based services.

“ANCOR knows that our communities are at their best when all people, including people with disabilities, have the opportunity to develop skills, achieve greater independence, and be successful. We call on the administration to abandon this flawed and harmful interpretation of the ADA, honor our nation’s commitment to civil rights as enshrined in Olmstead v. Lois Curtis, and reinforce the long-upheld guarantees of the integration mandate.”

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