MODDC Statement on  Olmstead and DOJ Memo  (released 6.18.2026)

What’s MODDC Concerned About?

This memo does not change the law or cancel the Olmstead Decision, but it  does change how the rules are carried out. MODDC is concerned that if the  integration mandate is no longer enforced it could lead to:

• Tax dollars wasted on institutional care. Living in institutions is more  expensive than community living. It would move public money from  freedom to institutions. 
• More Medicaid cuts. Funding for home and community-based services (HCBS) could be at greater risk when states make budget  decisions. Because of very large cuts to federal Medicaid funding  (HR 1), states like Missouri will already have to make hard choices  about funding for HCBS. This memo tries to let states and the  federal government avoid paying for HCBS, and it connects  directly to the cuts made in HR 1. 
• Longer waitlists and making it harder to improve services.
• State HCBS services could become less stable, and ongoing harmful  talk that devalues these services. 
• Federal policies in the future undoing many years of progress for  disability rights. 
• Impacting all services, programs, and activities covered by Title II of  the ADA and Section 504, including programs and services in the  most inclusive setting like education.  
• States, state agencies, and private lawsuits will now have to do more  to protect the goals of Olmstead. 
• This creates a group of people whose choices and freedom are  controlled by the government. 

What MODDC Believes: 

The federal government may be stepping back, but Missouri cannot.  MODDC must continue to protect the independence of Missourians with  disabilities. MODDC believes: 

• Forcing people with disabilities to live in institutions against their will  is discrimination.
• People with disabilities should not be separated from others to get  services. It should be a priority for support services to be provided in  a person’s home in their community, not an institution (i.e. habilitation center, nursing home, hospital, etc.). 
• People with disabilities have the right to get support in their  communities, in the most inclusive setting that fits their needs best. • The government should not support rules that make it easier to send  people with disabilities to hospitals, nursing homes, or institutions, or  to treat them without their permission. 
• The government should: 
  • Honor our country’s civil rights promise in the Olmstead  Decision and the ADA. Keep protecting the rules that people  with disabilities should be included in their communities. 
  • Uphold the entire Final Rule of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation  Act, to include the integration mandate. 
• Missouri should be a leader by not being included in the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit. Participating in this  lawsuit also puts the integration mandate at risk. 

The DOJ’s new opinion on the integration mandate rolls back many years  of progress toward independence and inclusion for people with disabilities.  People with disabilities have spent over 50 years fighting for equal rights,  and the progress they have made is worth protecting. We ask leaders to stop using this wrong and harmful view of the integration  mandate.