Amanda DeSimone-Shabrack depends on a home healthcare aide to support her 12-year-old autistic son, Mason, enabling her to work and care for him at home through Virginia's Medicaid program. However, in June 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a legal opinion stating that federal disability rights laws do not require states to provide services that allow people with disabilities to remain in their homes rather than institutions.

This opinion marks a sharp reversal from a 1999 landmark Supreme Court ruling that deemed unjustified institutionalization as discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Advocacy groups warn that this new interpretation could undermine protections for approximately 40 million adults and 5 million children with disabilities, potentially leading to a resurgence of forced institutionalization.

DeSimone-Shabrack expressed concern about the impact of these changes, saying, "Am I going to have to put him in an institution, and what's that going to be like for him?" Her personal home care hours were recently cut from 30 to 18 per week by the state. She also questioned, "As he gets older, am I going to be able to care for him without this support?"

Shira Wakschlag, senior executive officer of legal advocacy and general counsel at The Arc, criticized the administration's stance, stating, "The administration's attempt to dismantle decades of progress in community integration is alarming and inconsistent with federal disability rights laws and Supreme Court precedent as well as the critical enforcement work of prior administrations."

Data from the University of Minnesota's Residential Information Systems Project shows that fewer than 1% of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities lived in state-run facilities in 2021, a significant decline from nearly 30% in 1967. Meanwhile, a September 2024 review in the peer-reviewed journal Psychiatry, Psychology and Law found that people with psychiatric illness who were involuntarily admitted experienced greater improvements in symptoms and function compared to those admitted voluntarily.

People like DeSimone-Shabrack are particularly worried as this DOJ opinion follows a series of White House and Republican-led initiatives that have already begun eroding established protections for people with disabilities.

The DOJ has stated, "Our commitment to ensuring that individuals with disabilities are treated with dignity, afforded equal opportunity, and are able to meaningfully access community services remains unchanged."

Sources