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91_SR0348
LRB9113824OBkb
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court in Olmstead v.
3 L.C. Ex Rel. Zimring, 119 S. Ct. 2176 (1999), affirmed that
4 the unjustifiable institutionalization of a person with a
5 disability who could live in the community with proper
6 support, and wishes to do so, is unlawful discrimination in
7 violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and
8 WHEREAS, Pursuant to the Supreme Court's ruling, the U.S.
9 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued
10 guidelines to the states on how to make state programs
11 responsive to persons with disabilities who wish to live in
12 the most integrated setting appropriate; and
13 WHEREAS, In providing for its citizens with disabilities,
14 a state must provide community-based services for persons
15 with disabilities otherwise entitled to institutional
16 services when the state's treatment professionals determine
17 that community placement is appropriate, provided that the
18 person with a disability chooses community-based services;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, In Olmstead, the Supreme Court ruled that a
21 state's obligations under the ADA are met if the state has a
22 comprehensive effective working plan for placing qualified
23 persons with disabilities in less restrictive settings with
24 appropriate support services; and
25 WHEREAS, It is critical to the success of Illinois'
26 comprehensive effective working plan that all appropriate
27 State departments and agencies and stakeholders, including,
28 but not limited to persons with disabilities and their family
29 members, organizations representing persons with disabilities
30 and providers of services to persons with disabilities,
31 collaborate in the development, monitoring, and subsequent
32 modification of the comprehensive effective working plan;
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1 therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
3 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Illinois
4 Department of Human Services is directed to do the following
5 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Olmstead
6 v. L.C. Ex Rel. Zimring:
7 1. Analyze current policies and service delivery
8 systems for persons with disabilities including, but not
9 necessarily limited to intake, admission, assessment,
10 eligibility criteria, resource allocation,
11 community-based supports, and demonstration programs:
12 2. Serve as the lead agency in developing a
13 comprehensive effective working plan that includes (i)
14 procedures to avoid unnecessary institutionalization of
15 persons with disabilities, (ii) procedures for placing
16 qualified persons with disabilities in the most
17 integrated setting appropriate for each individual with
18 appropriate supports, (iii) provisions for services and
19 supports along a full continuum from the most integrated
20 to the most restrictive, and (iv) a waiting list to move
21 persons with disabilities into the most integrated
22 setting appropriate at a reasonable pace that is not
23 driven by the need to keep the State's institutions fully
24 populated; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall
26 involve all appropriate stakeholders as integral participants
27 in the process of developing, implementing, modifying, and
28 reviewing a comprehensive effective working plan, including
29 the Department of Public Aid, the Department on Aging, the
30 Illinois State Board of Education, and other State
31 departments and agencies, persons with disabilities and their
32 family members, organizations and individuals who represent
33 persons with disabilities, and providers of services to
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1 persons with disabilities; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That the Department of Public Aid, the
3 Department on Aging, the State Board of Education, and other
4 State agencies shall cooperate fully with the Department of
5 Human Services in fulfilling the requirements of this
6 resolution; and be it further
7 RESOLVED, That the Department of Human Services shall
8 file a report of its activities as required by this
9 resolution and the comprehensive effective working plan with
10 the House of Representatives by January 9, 2001; and be it
11 further
12 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to the
13 Secretary of Human Services.