JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FINDS STATE OF CALIFORNIA CONTRIBUTES TO UNNECESSARY INSTITUTIONALIZATION AT LAGUNA HONDA NURSING HOME

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced the results of its investigation into the State of California’s role in the unnecessary institutionalization of residents at Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center (“Laguna Honda”), in San Francisco, California. The Department found evidence that the state is contributing to the unnecessary segregation of individuals with disabilities residing at the 1,200-bed nursing home. The Department’s findings were transmitted in a letter from R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“The Supreme Court has made clear that unnecessary isolation of individuals with disabilities in institutions, including nursing homes, is discrimination that diminishes individuals’ ability to lead full and independent lives,” said R. Alexander Acosta, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “The law requires, and we will ensure, that people with disabilities, like all Americans, have equal access and opportunity to participate in community life.”

The announcement is part of the Department’s long-standing investigation into whether residents of Laguna Honda are being served in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ ADA”). The Department initiated its investigation of the California following findings in May 1998 and April 2003 that San Francisco, which owns and operates Laguna Honda, unnecessarily isolates residents in violation of the ADA.

The Department found evidence that California has failed to ensure that residents eligible for community placement have meaningful access to community alternatives. Instead, the state routinely authorizes placements without requiring adequate assessments evaluating the appropriateness of home- and community-based care. As a result, individuals are not informed of community options available in California and remain at Laguna Honda long after they become eligible for community programs and services.

This investigation is part of the Department's efforts to enforce the Supreme Court's 1999 decision, Olmstead v. L.C., in which the Court held that, pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act, states must provide services to residents with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate. The Department's focus in this area targets unnecessary institutionalization of individuals with disabilities.

Protecting the rights of institutionalized persons is a priority of the Department of Justice. Since 2001, the Civil Rights Division has opened 44 investigations impacting 51 facilities into the terms and conditions of confinement at nursing homes, mental health facilities, residences for persons with developmental disabilities, juvenile justice facilities, and jails. These figures represent a 100% increase over the 20 such investigations initiated over the preceding three years.

More information about the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/split/index.html

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