Filing Complaints to Leverage Olmstead Enforcement: The Kansas Experience (1.5 hours)

Training Source: 
ILRU
Presenter(s): 
Shari Coatney
Beginning Date: 
03/22/2012
Type of Training: 
On-demand

About the Training

Community living is a hallmark of Independent Living. But so many CIL consumers face waiting lists and other barriers that threaten to put them in nursing homes or prevent them getting out and going back to their own homes. When waiting lists were implemented in Kansas, advocates organized to overwhelm the US Department of Health & Human Services and the US Department of Justice with Olmstead complaints to draw attention to the issue and highlight the damage waiting lists can cause in people’s lives. The presenter details how this process worked and how you can implement it in your state.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will have knowledge and resources that will enable them to:

  • Explain the background of the Olmstead decision and the role that CILs and center staff have in educating, assisting, and supporting consumers to advocate for themselves.
  • Describe steps centers can take to advance Olmstead implementation and enforcement, especially by promoting consumer empowerment through assisting them with filing complaints.
  • Identify strategies to form a unified effort for achieving systems change through effective networking and organizing with other CILs, SILCs and relevant organizations.

View the Training (01:23:37)

Transcript and Resources

Other Resources on Disability Law & Olmstead Implementation