Missouri violates ADA by putting people in nursing homes | State News [Video]

After an 18-month investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice has determined the state of Missouri is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by unnecessarily institutionalizing adults with mental health disabilities in nursing homes.

The department said in its Tuesday report that Missouri is failing to provide community-based services for these people. 

Supportive community-based services include assertive community treatment, case management, supported employment, mobile crisis response, crisis stabilization services, permanent supportive housing, peer support and supported decision-making, according to the report.

The Justice Department alleges Missouri is violating Title II of the ADA.

“People with mental health disabilities should not have to be confined to a nursing facility because they cannot access the community-based services they need,” Kristin Clarke, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a news release. 

Nearly half of these people unnecessarily placed in nursing facilities are under the age of 65, the investigation found.

“Most require …