The Massachusetts Olmstead Plan, first released in 2008 and updated in 2018, outlines the state's efforts and progress in supporting people with disabilities to live, work, and thrive in the communities of their choice.
Background
The Massachusetts’ Olmstead Plan is named after the groundbreaking 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), in which the Court held that the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the regulations promulgated thereunder, prohibit the unjustified isolation of individuals with disabilities.
Specifically, the Court concluded that public entities must make community-based services—as opposed to facility-based services—available to persons with disabilities when:
- Such services are appropriate
- The affected persons do not oppose the community-based services, and
- The community-based services can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account the resources available to the public entity and the needs of others with disabilities.
The Court also signaled that states should develop a “comprehensive, effective working plan” for expanding access to community-based services for qualified persons with disabilities in long-term care facilities or at risk of entering a long-term care facility. In the years since the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision 24 states have issued Olmstead plans. Massachusetts is one of these 24 states.
Massachusetts issued its initial Olmstead plan in 2008. This initial plan served as a guide for advancing community integration for persons with disabilities across all age groups—children, youth, adults, and seniors. In 2018, Massachusetts issued an update to its Olmstead Plan that established a strategic framework built around four goals, or pillars, necessary for persons with disabilities to live fully integrated in the community and identified actions to help achieve those goals. These four goals, or pillars, are:
- Expanding access to affordable, accessible housing with supports
- Enhancing community-based long-term services and supports
- Promoting community-integrated employment of people with disabilities
- Investing in accessible transportation for people with disabilities
2024 Olmstead Update Report
Progress on the Olmstead Plan since 2018.
In 2024, the Healey-Driscoll administration conducted a review of Massachusetts' 2018 Olmstead Plan to assess the state’s progress toward achieving its Olmstead goals. The effort was led by the Office of Health and Human Services in collaboration with the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. The resulting report highlights achievements since 2018 and identifies new initiatives and opportunities for further development.
In conducting this review and issuing this report, the Healey-Driscoll administration seeks to elevate and acknowledge Massachusetts’ Olmstead vision and in doing so re-affirm the state’s commitment to the principles of Olmstead.
What would you like to do?
We want your feedback!
If you have questions or comments about the 2018 Olmstead Plan or the 2024 update to the Olmstead Plan, please send an email to: olmsteadplancomments@mass.gov