title: Law & Psychiatry: Has the ADA Been Reborn as a Tool of Broad Community Change for People With Mental Disabilities?
abstract: Twenty-five years after enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Justice Department has begun to aggressively use the law to compel states to reform community care of individuals with mental disabilities. In this month's Law & Psychiatry column, the author highlights settlement agreements between Justice and the states of New York and Rhode Island that will produce sweeping changes in housing and employment for thousands of individuals with mental disabilities. Is the ADA's original promise finally being realized? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted with the hope that it would result in the end of segregation based on disability. That promise has been only partially met. However, two recent settlement agreements between the U.S. Department of Justice and the states of New York and Rhode Island promise sweeping change in housing and employment for thousands of individuals with mental disabilities. This column describes the agreements, which adopt best practices as the foundation for community change and which suggest that the ADA may be reaching its full promise.
authors.affiliation: Mr. Petrila is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa (e-mail: jpetril1@health.usf.edu). Paul S. Appelbaum, M.D., is editor of this column.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petrila
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007878:Legislation as Topic; D028642:Persons with Psychiatric Disorders / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States