The U.S. Justice Department has secured a settlement agreement with South Carolina to resolve findings that the state violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead v. L.C. decision by unnecessarily segregating adults with serious mental illnesses in institutional settings called Community Residential Care Facilities. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated, “The Department and South Carolina are working together to ensure that people with serious mental illnesses can be served in the community when they want to be.”
Settlement Commitments
As part of the agreement, South Carolina commits to providing community-based mental health services enabling people with serious mental illness to live in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The state will expand capacity in intensive mental health, housing, and peer support services; ensure mobile crisis response is available in all areas of the state; and identify people living in or referred to the Care Facilities, providing them with case management and connections with community-based mental health services consistent with their individual needs and informed choices.
On December 17, the parties filed a stipulation in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina to dismiss the Justice Department’s complaint while South Carolina implements the settlement agreement. The Justice Department recognized South Carolina for its commitment to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.golaurens.com/news/south-carolina-settlement-ada/article_1006f18d-d426-4888-b3cf-cd4cf2e7afd5.html