The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo stating states are not legally required to provide community-based services for people with disabilities.
This legal shift threatens to dismantle decades of civil-rights protections and could lead to the increased institutionalization of vulnerable populations. By questioning existing mandates, the administration seeks to reduce federal enforcement of integration requirements and grant states more discretion over how they deliver care.
The memo, released on June 19, 2026 [1], asserts that the legal obligations for home-based and community-based services have been interpreted too expansively. The administration argues that states should have more flexibility in managing these services rather than adhering to strict federal integration mandates.
Advocates say the move directly targets the 1999 [2] Olmstead decision. That landmark Supreme Court ruling established that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities in institutions constitutes discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, requiring states to provide services in the most integrated setting appropriate.
"The administration’s memo seeks to upend the landmark Olmstead decision that requires states to provide services in the most integrated setting," Rose Broderick said.
Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, joined other advocates in responding to the guidance. The legal opinion suggests that the Justice Department no longer views community-based care as a mandatory legal right for those with developmental disabilities.
"The Justice Department says states have no legal obligation to serve people with developmental disabilities in the community," the Disability Scoop editorial team said.
Critics argue that this interpretation creates a loophole for states to move individuals back into large-scale institutions. NPR staff said the memo "threatens a return to institutionalization for people with disabilities."
“The administration’s memo seeks to upend the landmark Olmstead decision”
This memo represents a significant pivot in federal disability policy, shifting the burden of care from a federally protected right to a state-level discretion. If the Olmstead precedent is effectively bypassed through this administrative guidance, it may trigger a wave of litigation and a systemic shift back toward institutional care models, reversing the trend toward community integration that has defined U.S. disability rights since the late 20th century.
