Document Type
Research Progress Report
Publisher
University of Montana Rural Institute
Publication Date
3-2008
Disciplines
Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Public Health
Abstract
In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court established a legal precedent, based on the Americans with Disabilities Act, to help adults with disabilities leave institutional settings and return to community living (Olmstead v. L.C.). This established the right of individuals to receive services in "…the most integrated setting," which is generally the community. Since then, centers for independent living (CILs) and other disability advocacy organizations have initiated a wide range of efforts to emancipate (i.e. transition) adults with disabilities from inappropriate nursing home placements to community living. Nursing home emancipation is high on the priority lists of several national organizations and it is even proposed that such efforts be legislated. Despite the efforts of many emancipation programs and services, little research has addressed institutionalized individuals’ return to community living. Historically, people who experienced disability were often institutionalized in large congregate facilities or in nursing homes (Braddock & Parish, 2001). In the late 1960s, deinstitutionalization began and still continues. Despite a substantial reduction in the number of disabled people living in nursing homes and other institutions, many who could live in the community still remain institutionalized.
Keywords
health and wellness, nursing home emancipation, deinstitutionalization, advocacy, independent living, rural, disability
Rights
© 2008 RTC:Rural.
Granting Agency
Agency for Health Research and Quality; National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Acknowledgement
Grant # 1 R21 HS016166 from the Agency for Health Research and Quality supports this research, with additional support from grant #H133B030501 from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education.
Project Number
AHRQ: R21 HS016166; NIDRR: H133B030501
Recommended Citation
Seekins, T., Katz, M.R., & Ravesloot, C. (2008, March). Nursing home emancipation: Accomplishments of urban and rural centers for independent living. Rural Disability and Rehabilitation Research Progress Report #39. Missoula: The University of Montana Rural Institute.