The METO Settlement

Shamus O'Meara: The name Olmstead comes from a US Supreme Court case in 1999 entitled Olmstead. And the Supreme Court, back in 1999 and in cases across the spectrum of federal and state law since, have said that people with developmental disabilities have a right to live in their own community, have a right and entitlement to community-based supports so that they no longer… it no longer is the only option to institutionalize them.

It is no longer appropriate to place people in a most restrictive setting. We want these loved ones with their families. We want them supported with their families. If they can't be with their families, we want them in an environment that is consistent with their own goals, with their own dreams, with their own aspirations and that of their family members. And the Supreme Court did a nice job in the Olmstead case of articulating the rights of people with developmental disabilities to have that type of treatment.