What is an Olmstead Plan?

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 established a mandate that public entities ensure people with disabilities are offered the opportunity to live in the most integrated settings possible. In the landmark Olmstead v. L.C. decision (1999), the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed this obligation and encouraged the development of ‘Olmstead plans’ to establish actionable strategies that would support community integration efforts. 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, a comprehensive, effectively working plan must: 
“…do more than provide vague assurances of future integrated options or describe the entity’s general history of increased funding for community services and decreased institutional populations. Instead, it must reflect an analysis of the extent to which the public entity is providing services in the most integrated setting and must contain concrete and reliable commitments to expand integrated opportunities. The plan must have specific and reasonable timeframes and measurable goals for which the public entity may be held accountable, and there must be funding to support the plan”

What are we Doing?

ADSD has contracted with Social Entrepreneurs Inc. (SEI) to establish a new ADSD Olmstead Plan for Community Integration.  The intent of this plan is to document the actionable steps ADSD can take to support Nevadans. To create the plan, SEI will work with a Steering Committee to use data and engage a variety of interested parties to include consumers, family members, system partners, and providers to identify how to best support an accessible person/family centered system that provides services where and when they are needed so that people are not forced to live in institutional settings.

Who is on the Steering Committee?

The Steering Committee is made up of the following individuals:

How to Stay Informed About the Process

ADSD is committed to making the process of developing a new Olmstead Plan as transparent as possible and as such is posting all Steering Committee meetings and materials available for the public to view.  Additionally, status reports have been developed to help the public understand the progress made to date.

Planning Process Timeline

The following timeline has been established to demonstrate major project milestones.  Additionally, the schedule of Steering Committee meetings is also available in the link below.

ADSD Olmstead Study Session

ADSD hosted a study session on January 4, 2023 to review the Olmstead decision.  During the study session, ADSD also presented information about its programs that support community inclusion as well as how the Division is approaching the development of an ADSD Specific planning process.  For those unable to participate, the study session recordings and the corresponding materials are provided below.

Public Comments

To provide comments on the plan or the process, please fill out the form below.

How are you connected to the disability or older adult community? (please choose the one that best represents how you spend the bulk of your time and energy within this community)
I have a lived experience as:
I am a professional with the following role:
Please indicate what your comment pertains to: (please choose one):