An Unfinished Journey:

An Unfinished Journey: Waiting for Rights

People with developmental disabilities have been waiting for their rights since Minnesota became a state in 1858:

Waiting …

• 116 years for the Right to Treatment
  1974 federal district court decision in Welsch v. Likins
• 117 years for the Right to Education
  1975 federal law enacted, and later renamed IDEA
• 123 years for the Right to live in a neighborhood
  1981 Minnesota Supreme Court decision in Costley v. Caromin House
• 132 years for Basic Civil Rights (ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act)
  1990 ADA enacted
• 141 years for the Right to Most Integrated Setting
  1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., ex rel. Zimring
• 153 years for the Right to Freedom from Restraint and Seclusion
  2011 the federal district court approves the Jensen Settlement Agreement
• 154 years for the Right to Vote
  2012 federal district court decision in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Ritchie

… and are still waiting to be treated as equal citizens in life and work.

"Self-determination means respecting our right to pursue our own goals and dreams. I don't think that's too much to ask, do you?"
—Irving Martin, Minnesota, 1997

Stock Photo: A photo of a bronze sculpture of Lady Justice wearing a blindfold and holding a set of scales.