US Justice Dept Takes Legal Action against Forced Placement of Disabled in Nursing Homes

by Franke James

MAY 2016 — If my sister, Teresa Pocock, had been forced into a U.S. nursing home, the culprits could now be facing the fury and wrath of the US Justice Department.

Yes, remarkably, the US Justice Department is leading a campaign to stop the forced placement of disabled adults into nursing homes.

The wrongful practice of segregating the developmentally disabled in nursing homes is widespread in the USA, just as it is in Canada. But the difference is that the US Justice Department has been launching lawsuits against the State governments that are wrongly discriminating against the disabled through forced segregation in nursing homes. It is very positive to see that the US Justice Department is standing up for the Civil Rights of people with disabilities.

South Dakota Wrongly Puts Thousands in Nursing Homes, Government Says
“The Justice Department’s efforts are rooted in a 1999 Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C. The court ruled that, unless a nursing home is medically necessary, people have a right under the Americans With Disabilities Act to receive care without being segregated from society.”

So my burning question for the Ontario government is: Why are they not stepping forward to defend the civil rights of the disabled? Do we need the equivalent of the US Justice Department to sue them?

Please sign Teresa’s petition: Tell the Ontario Government, Human Rights Should Be For Everybody.

Teresa’s Petition on Change.org