Texas 10 years after Olmstead
Texas is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision (June 22, 1999) which supported the "integration mandate" of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title II of the ADA requires public agencies to provide services "in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities." This ruling changed the lives of all people with disabilities by requiring states to provide community-based options and individual choice.
Texans tell their stories
Editor's Note: This website is about individual life stories that we want to share with you in celebrating this historic event. These stories demonstrate the power and the breadth of the Olmstead decision; each one illustrates a unique perspective and how that individual's life has changed because they were given a choice in where they want to live. Click here if you have a story to share.
Three Dannys: A new life for three good friends
Thanks to a Money Follows the Person (MFP) Demonstration award, three residents of Green Acres Development Center have started a new life in their community.
On Sept. 11, 2008, 38 residents of the center left, never to return. Two days later, Hurricane Ike stormed into Bridge City and destroyed the place that they had called home. But because Texas had received a MFP grant, residents were able to move back into the community.
Vanna: A family home once again
DADS' Money Follows the Person (MFP) program gives people a lot of things — freedom, independence, choices. But it gave Vanna something she had not had since she was a child — a family home.
In 1960, at age 14, Vanna went to Big Spring State Hospital, where she was diagnosed with profound mental retardation. Three years later, she was admitted to the Abilene State School (AbSS). Vanna had no known family because her parents and siblings had passed away many years ago.
Jackie: Moving closer to family
Jackie is a 22-year-old woman who has permanent disabilities — including physical and cognitive impairments — caused by a traumatic brain injury she suffered as a child. She spent 21 years — including six years in a nursing home – living in various facilities because her mother was unable to care for Jackie herself. Today, thanks to the Money Follows the person program, Jackie is a dynamic part of a loving, nurturing family.
When Jackie was living in the nursing home, she was a three-hour drive away from her mother, who didn't drive. In her new home, the two live much closer together.
John: Special needs, loving care
John is a 22-year-old man with profound cognitive impairments, multiple severe disabilities and complex heath care needs. He uses a ventilator for breathing and a g-tube for eating. He needs to be suctioned often and needs supervision and care throughout the night. Frequent position changes are necessary to prevent skin break down and to promote circulation. John also requires breathing treatments, and is on a variety of medications.
John was moved to a nursing home when he was 15, because his family could no longer manage his care on their own. At that time, they had little support and no other options.
Beatrice: Community living with increased independence
Beatrice is passionate about music, family and friends. Before a debilitating stroke left her with limited mobility and unable to talk, Beatrice spent hours playing with her grandchildren, visiting with neighbors and listening to her favorite albums.
After the stroke, Beatrice required significant direct care. She was admitted to a nursing facility because she was left with few other options. She remained in the facility for two years before deciding she wanted to live independently in the community once again.
Wilma: A second chance at a family life
Wilma is a 94-year-old woman in North Texas. She has no children, and her husband died more than 20 years ago. She was living with her niece, Barbara, and her husband when a heart attack briefly put her in a nursing home for rehabilitation. She had only been home a couple of weeks when a second heart attack — this one much more severe — sent her back to the nursing home and put her future in question.
Thanks to DADS Money Follows the Person program and the North Central Texas Area Agency on Aging, Wilma was able to relocate from the nursing home after more than four years and return to live with her niece and her family, and have a family life.
JaQuincy: Two families, one goal
JaQuincy is a cute 8-year-old with autism. Although he doesn't speak, and needs lots of assistance with daily living, he is very inquisitive and active. He lived at home until age 4 when his family felt they could no longer manage.
When his family sought help, all they could find was a facility that was an eight-hour drive away. This facility served 60 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who ranged in age from the very young to the very old. When JaQuincy's mother found out there might be community options that would allow him to move closer to his family, she decided to learn more.
Sandy: Taking life one day at a time
Mental illness and a history of substance abuse landed Sandy in a nursing home. But thanks to recovery — and a helping hand from DADS, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas Department of State Health Services — Sandy now lives by herself and is getting her life back on track.
Before being admitted to the nursing home, Sandy had been hospitalized as a result of a serious drug problem. She was anemic and had hepatitis C. In addition, she suffered from cirrhosis of the liver and alcohol-induced dementia. All of these factors made caring for herself difficult.
Lori: 'Never give up hope'
As a divorced, single mother, Lori worked hard to support her two young sons. But in 2002, massive blood and skin infections left her partially paralyzed and unable to work. Physical therapy helped her to walk a little, but the steroids she was taking made her weight balloon to nearly 600 pounds. When her doctor told her that she should just go home and die because there was nothing he could do for her, she decided to fight.
Lori returned to her hometown in the Panhandle, but the 12-hour ride in the back of a van was too much for her weakened condition. By the time she reached Lubbock, Lori was taken to the emergency room, instead of her sister's home, as planned.
This celebration is not about laws, policies or statistics. It is about the individuals touched by the Olmstead decision and how Texas' response to Olmstead has provided an enhanced quality of life by providing individual choice on where a person chooses to live.