OLRS 2008 Annual Report
Martin v. Strickland
The Martin litigation has been a significant priority for OLRS and its clients. While many changes in Ohio's mental retardation and developmental disabilities system have occurred since the original filing, the overarching goal of the litigation, allowing people with disabilities to choose services in a home-like setting rather than an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded (ICF/MR) or nursing facility (NF), has remained vital. The thrust of the case has been related to the community integration mandate of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and later the interpretation of that mandate by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Olmstead v. L.C.
In the last biennium, the state provided funding for 1,500 additional individuals who are currently in an institution and who choose to move, or those who will be at risk of being institutionalized but who would choose to be served in a community setting to receive home and community based services through an Individual Options (IO) waiver. The settlement also required surveys of those residing in ICFs/MR and NFs to assist in evaluating the need for additional community based services.
OLRS successfully advocated for an individual with a traumatic brain injury (TBI) who wished to live in the community to receive a Martin IO waiver. The IO waiver will enable him to move out of the nursing home and into a home in the community. The plan is for him to return to the county where he lived prior to his injury.
OLRS also represented an individual living in a state developmental center who wanted to move to the community. At an administrative appeal, OLRS attorney Jane Perry successfully argued that he met the level of care necessary to get the IO waiver that would make it possible for him to live in the community. The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (ODMRDD) previously determined that he did not meet the eligibility requirements for an IO waiver. The individual received a Martin IO waiver from his county board of MRDD and moved into an apartment in his community.
OLRS continues to monitor the enrollment of individuals on Martin waivers and policy issues that impact the implementation of the Martin Consent Order.
