The DOJ Settlement

Robert Bernstein, PhDCourt MonitorRobert.del@verizon.net

Its Implications for Housing

Some context.

2

3

Institutionalized Segregation

4

5

The "Cottage for Colored Women" (Maryland Hospital for the Insane c. 1906)

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The Back WardThe Back Ward.

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0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

1950

1960

1975

1985

1995

2005

Deinstitutionalization

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Levels of Care

The Nursing Home.9

10The Group Home.

Over-Representation ofPeople with Serious Mental Illness

11General Population Homeless Population

0%

10%

20%

30%

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The ADA

“…individuals with disabilities are a discrete and insular minority …

subjected to a history of purposeful unequal treatment, and relegated to a position of political

powerlessness in our society… resulting from stereotypic

assumptions not truly indicative of the individual ability of such

individuals to participate in, and contribute to, society; … the

Nation’s proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to

assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living,

and economic self-sufficiency …”

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The Olmstead Decision

“Institutional placement of persons who can handle

and benefit from community settings

perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons

so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in

community life.”

“Unjustified isolation, we hold, is properly regarded as discrimination based on disability..”

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Understanding de-segregation• Separate is Unequal• More than Proximity to the Mainstream• Contact with the Broader Community• Meaningful Opportunity

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The housing services will ensure that people with SPMI can live like the rest of Delawareans, in their own homes, including leased apartments, or living with their family.

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An Ordinary Life:

Stable housing. Owning something.

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The Assessment Process

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Move Services, Not People.

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Reasonable Accommodations: Leveling the Playing Field

QuantifyingIntegration:

The “20-2” Rule?

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Retooling for Integrated Housing