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About the Minnesota Olmstead Plan

The Olmstead Plan aims to ensure that disabled Minnesotans live full, integrated lives in their chosen communities. The Plan helps state agencies set and meet goals that will improve the quality of life for Minnesotans with disabilities. The Plan covers a variety of topics including individual choice, person-centered planning, housing, education, employment, transportation, and more. 

Why is it called Olmstead?

The Minnesota Olmstead Plan was created in 2013 and was named after the 1999 Supreme Court decision Olmstead v. L.C. Learn more about the history of Minnesota’s Olmstead Plan.

What is integration?

Integration means that people with disabilities have the chance to live, work, learn, and receive services in the community alongside non-disabled people. People with disabilities should also be able to choose how they want to live, work, learn, and interact with the community.

Read the Plan

The Minnesota Olmstead Plan and the plain language version are available in four different languages. 

Plain Language 

Plan Goals

The Minnesota Olmstead Plan has more than 30 goals for the Olmstead Subcabinet Agencies to meet. The goals are grouped under 12 categories. Visualizations for the goals were updated in January 2024 and provide data through 2023. Check out Plan Goal Progress (PDF).

The Subcabinet and Leadership Forum 

The Olmstead Subcabinet is made up of 12 state agencies and entities, plus the Metropolitan Council. To learn more about these agencies and the Subcabinet’s upcoming meetings, visit the Subcabinet page.

The Leadership Forum is a working group of state agency staff members. They make recommendations to the Subcabinet about the Plan. To learn more or register for an upcoming meeting, visit the Leadership Forum page.

How is the Plan co-created? 

Many people come together to create and update the Olmstead Plan in Minnesota.

  • The Governor Office’s Executive Order lays the foundation for the work. Executive orders related to the Plan are available in the Executive Order library.
  • The Olmstead Subcabinet meets at least quarterly to direct the work. 
  • The Leadership Forum makes recommendations to the Subcabinet about the direction of the Plan. 
  • The Olmstead Compliance Office works with state agencies to ensure that data and reporting is accurate. The Compliance Office is housed within the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Find Compliance reports in the Plan Documents and Reports Library.
  • Members of the public, including disabled Minnesotans, provide feedback about the Plan. This includes surveys and events. As the Olmstead Plan is re-envisioned over the coming year, paid consultants with disabilities will work directly with agencies to draft the next Plan.
  • The Olmstead Implementation Office convenes the Subcabinet and Leadership Forum, creates public feedback opportunities, and reports data and recommendations to the Subcabinet and Leadership Forum. 

About the Office 

The Olmstead Implementation Office facilitates the co-creation of the Plan with the public and state agency leaders. Learn more about the Office.

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