The Department of Justice has discovered that South Carolina may have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by neglecting to prevent the unnecessary institutionalization of adults with serious mental illness.
In a report released on Thursday, the DOJ stated that the state failed to offer adequate services to prevent institutionalization, instead opting to subsidize stays in adult care homes.
The department characterized these adult care facilities as “congregate, segregated settings” where residents often have limited interaction with individuals who do not have disabilities.
Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the DOJ, emphasized, “People with disabilities should not be isolated in institutions for extended periods of time when they are capable of and desire to live in their own homes,” in a press release.
The Justice Department pointed out the lack of community-based mental health services in South Carolina, such as supported employment and permanent supportive housing, as contributing factors to the frequent placement of adults with serious mental illness in adult care homes.
Adair Ford Boroughs, U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina, expressed hope that the violations revealed by the Justice Department can be rectified so that affected residents can transition from institutional living to become active contributors in their communities, according to the press release.
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