CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING DETAILS
Thursday, July 19, 2018
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Eastern Time
Capitol Visitor Center (Room # SVC 209-08)
Washington, DC
In 1999, in the matter of Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W., the United States Supreme court ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act required that individuals with disabilities have the right to receive services in the “most integrated setting.” Since that time, state and federal policy regarding services and supports has shifted greatly away from institutional and segregated services and supports to those that offer opportunities to live and work in the community. For example, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services issued a Home and Community Based Settings Rule that applies to Medicaid funded long-term care services to promote greater community integration. Bi-cameral, bipartisan legislation passed by Congress such as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act recognized that barriers continued to exist for people with disabilities who seek jobs in competitive integrated settings. This briefing will explain why maintaining current federal laws and policies is important to the continued enforcement of the Olmstead decision.
AGENDA
CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGLocation: Capitol Visitor Center (Room # SVC 209-08)
Sponsor: U.S. Senator Bob Casey
Facilitator:
- Tia Nelis, Director of Policy & Advocacy, TASH
Speakers:
- Judy Gran, Partner, Reisman Carolla Gran LLP
- Jenny Lengyel, Parent & Executive Director, Total Living Concept
- Anil Lewis, Board Member, National Federation of the Blind
- Tony Records, President, Tony Records and Associates, Inc.
- Ross Ryan, Plaintiff, Lane v. Brown
SYMPOSIUM & AWARD DINNER DETAILS
Thursday, July 19, 2018
1:00 PM – 9:00 PM Eastern Time
George Washington University Marvin Center
Washington, DC
TASH is celebrating those who have made history in the disability field, and who have worked tirelessly in the legal field for equity, opportunity, and inclusion for people with disabilities. TASH is pleased to announce the second annual Outstanding Leadership in Disability Law Symposium and Award Dinner, to be held on Thursday, July 19 at the George Washington University Marvin Center in Washington, DC. A half-day symposium will explore the history and future of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the landmark Olmstead v. L.C. and E.W. decision, followed by a reception and dinner to honor Susan (Sue) C. Jamieson for her exceptional leadership in disability law including the Olmstead decision.
LEGAL SYMPOSIUMWelcome and Opening Remarks – Ruby Moore, President, TASH Board of Directors
History of Olmstead v. L.C. & E.W.
The Olmstead lawsuit was a milestone in the struggle for the civil rights of individuals with disabilities. In 1999, the United States Supreme Court ruled that under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) individuals with disabilities had the right to receive services in the community. Panelists will discuss the history of the case and how it has contributed to the transformation of home and community-based services and supports.
Speakers:
- Facilitator: Ruby Moore, President, TASH Board of Directors
- Sue Jamieson, Co-Director, Disability Law Project at the Institute on Human Development and Disability at the University of Georgia
- Frank Laski, Former Executive Director, Massachusetts Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
- Gina Kline, Partner, Brown, Goldstein & Levy
Garrett Shows: I’m in Charge – a short-film by Dan Habib
Break
What the Olmstead Decision Has Meant to Me and My Family
The Olmstead Decision shifted the nation’s approach to providing services to people with disabilities from institutions to services and supports in the community. Panelists will discuss how this significant change has impacted their lives and the lives of their children.
Speakers:
- Facilitator: Tia Nelis, Director of Policy & Advocacy, TASH
- Ross Ryan, Plaintiff, Lane v. Brown
- Ricardo Thornton, President, Project ACTION!
- Donna Thornton, Project ACTION!
- Jenny Lengyel, Parent & Executive Director, Total Living Concept
The Long-Term Implications of the Olmstead Decision
The impact of the Olmstead Decision on state and federal policies related to services and supports for people with disabilities continues to unfold. Deinstitutionalization and desegregation efforts have made it possible for hundreds of thousands of individuals with disabilities to gain access to fuller lives and employment in the community. Panelists will discuss the gains that have been made and advocacy that is still needed to ensure that these opportunities remain in place for future generations.
Speakers:
- Facilitator: Curt Decker, JD, Executive Director, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
- Lyn Rucker, Community Monitor, Jackson v. Ft. Stanton
- Steve Schwartz, Former Executive Director, Center for Public Representation
- Serena Lowe, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor, Administration for Community Living
Closing Reflections – Curt Decker, Executive Director, National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
5:00 pm:
Reception
Welcome – Ruby Moore, President, TASH Board of Directors
Introductions – Ruthie-Marie Beckwith, Executive Director, TASH
Keynote Presentation – Robert D. Dinerstein, JD, Professor & Associate Dean, Washington College of Law at American University
Presentation of the Award – Ruby Moore, President, TASH Board of Directors
Closing
SPONSORSHIP & ADVERTISEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
As a sponsor of TASH’s Outstanding Leadership in Disability Law Symposium & Award Dinner, your company/organization will be given a platform to share its story and build brand awareness. Attendees include thought leaders, professionals, policymakers, self-advocates and more! Your investment helps further TASH’s impact on the lives of people with disabilities and helps ensure that they’ll live a life of full inclusion. View our sponsorship and advertisement prospectus here.
ABOUT SUE JAMIESON
Susan (Sue) C. Jamieson has worked for three legal services programs during her 40-year career: Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Legal Services of North Carolina, and Atlanta Legal Aid Society.
Since 1980, she has focused on the rights of people in institutions. This interest began with her concern that this population was isolated, not only from society in general but from legal advocacy in particular. Regardless of the prior economic history of people in institutions, they are, for the most part, poor and without any independent access to advocates. Because this population is inadequately served by the legal community, fundamental rights to liberty and access to critical public benefits are at stake. Sue’s emphasis is on the basic legal rights of this population under state and federal law and finding ways to expand legal and advocacy resources to protect and enforce their rights.
Sue founded and directed the Mental Health and Disability Rights Project at Atlanta Legal Aid Society (now, Disability Integration Project) until her semi-retirement in 2009. Sue was lead council in the Olmstead litigation on behalf of two women in a Georgia state institution. In 1999, the United States Supreme Court ruled in that case that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires public entities to place persons with disabilities who are in institutions in more integrated, community-based settings, if their clinicians agree and this is their choice. Since then, the work of the ALAS rights projects has focused on ways to establish mechanisms at the individual representation level to apply and implement the ADA principle of integration. The project has also worked on applying this principle to people in nursing homes whose placement is through a public program (Medicaid), thus bringing them within the parameters of the Olmstead case. In this context, the project also advocates for individuals in nursing homes and state institutions seeking Medicaid-funded community-based services who have been denied access to these services or have applied and been denied.
Sue is currently co-director with Talley Wells of the Disability Law Project at the Institute on Human Development and Disability at the University of Georgia.
Sue has been recognized for many successes working for the rights of the disabled, including the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities’ 2006 Heart of Gold Award, the Emory Public Interest Council lifetime achievement award, and others. Sue completed her undergraduate degree at Brown University in 1968. She joined the Peace Corps in Brazil from 1968-1970 and completed her law degree at Rutgers School of Law in 1974.
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