And more than 5,000 are on another waiting list for people with mental disabilities. State officials claim they are making progress, serving about 500 more people this year than last. Advocacy groups nationwide are using a recent presidential directive and a 1999 Supreme Court decision to bolster similar lawsuits. Two Georgia women sued because they had been confined to a state institution for years, even though doctors said they could be treated in other residential settings. The Clinton administration followed up with a directive ordering states to evaluate hundreds of thousands of people in nursing homes and mental hospitals to see if they can receive care in their own homes or elsewhere in the community.
States have to have a reasonable plan to serve people in a timely way.
Dickerson, who heads The Arc of Indiana, said the lawsuit could persuade state officials to develop more services. Federal officials concluded that state oversight of community care programs has been poorly coordinated and largely ineffective.