81-6,121. Persons with disabilities; legislative findings and declarations.

The Legislature finds and declares that:

(1) In 1999 the United States Supreme Court held in the case of Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581, that unjustified segregation of persons with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of Title II of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The court held that public entities must provide community-based services to persons with disabilities when (a) such services are appropriate, (b) the affected persons do not oppose community-based services, and (c) community-based services can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account the resources available to the public entity and the needs of others who are receiving disability services from the entity. The court stated that institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community-based services perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life and that confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment;

(2) Many Nebraskans with disabilities live in institutional placements and settings where they are segregated and isolated with diminished opportunities to participate in community life; and

(3) The United States Supreme Court further stated in the Olmstead decision that development of (a) a comprehensive, effective working plan for providing services to qualified persons with disabilities in the most integrated community-based settings and (b) a waiting list that moves at a reasonable pace could be important ways for a state to demonstrate its commitment to achieving compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

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