Agenda - Council - 06/28/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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In addition to prohibitions on discrimination in selling or renting, Section 504 contemplates a broader set of programs, services, and activities when federal assistance is used. For example, people with disabilities cannot be denied the opportunity to participate in housing services and prograrna, required to accept a different kind or "lesser" program or service, or required to participate in separate services orprograms even where they exist. In addi1ion, housing providers cannot require people with disabilities to live only on certain floors or for all households in a property to be grouped together; nor can they refuse repairs, limit access to recreational and public use facilities, deny participation on planning or advisory boards, or refuse toprovide any other services made available toother residents. In 1999,the U.S. Supreme Court ruled inthe Olmstead Decision that people with disabilities are best served alongside everyone else and must be integrated into the community as rnuchaopoaoib|e.|nreoponoetoboth0rnoteadandthe^JenoenSett|ernent.^W1inneaota published Putting the Promise 0fOlmstead into Practice: Minnesota's 20/3Olmstead Plan in November 2013. Governor Mark Dayton also established the Olmstead Subcabinet, consisting of the Commissioners or their designees of the following state agencies: departments of Corrections, Education, Employment and Economic Development, Health, Human Rights, Human Services, Minnesota Housing, and Transportation. (The state's Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Executive Director of the Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities are ex officio members.) The Olmstead Subcabinet established the following vision statement to guide its work: The Olmstead Subcabinet embraces the Olmstead decision as8key component of achieving a£etter Minnesota for all Minnesotans, and strives &rensure that Minnesotans with disabilities will have the opportunity, both now and in the future, to live close totheir families and friends, &rlive more independently, &rengage /n productive employment and &rparticipate /n community life. Extensive stakeholder input was solicited during the development of the Olmstead Plan. Among the key themes articulated by people with disabilities and families were that people with disabilities: * Should beleading, with the government listening. p Know what they want, what will pr0rn0t8 inclusion, and what systems are in need of change. p Want control over their lives and don't want to wait for the system to determine their needs. * Are individuals and want to be treated as such, which excludes one -size -fits -all approaches. * Want efforts to emphasize a "Housing Firsd^ approach, where the state should presume people with disabilities want t0live independently. The resulting plan proposes strategies for improvements in areas such as emp|oyment, transportation, housing, lifelong learning and education, health care, and healthy living. In housing, the plan identifies the following recommendations to be undertaken by Minnesota Housing and the Minnesota Department ofHuman Services: FOUR: Opportunities for Collaboration