West Virginia Child Mental Health System Reliance On Institutional Beds Violates ADA

On June 1, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said its 2014 investigation of West Virginia’s child mental health system found that the system was too reliant on segregated institutional settings, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Olmstead v. L.C. The DOJ advised DHHR how to bring the system into compliance with federal law, and warned that failure to do so could result in legal action to enforce compliance with the ADA.

In its investigation report, the DOJ noted that the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) had never . . .