CBS NEWS: States aren't required to provide community-based care for people with disabilities, new DOJ opinion claims
On June 18, 2026, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) released a controversial legal opinion written by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lanora Pettit, stating that federal law does not require states to provide community- or home-based care to integrate people with mental, physical, and intellectual disabilities. This opinion reinterprets the landmark 1999 Supreme Court case Olmstead v. L.C., which disability rights advocates consider a cornerstone of disability civil rights equivalent to Brown v. Board of Education. While civil rights experts warn that this shift could lead to higher rates of institutionalization and signals a broader rollback of civil rights protections under the Trump administration, the OLC opinion serves as a warning shot regarding future enforcement rather than a formal change to existing legal precedent.
