DOJ sues Maine for allegedly violating rights of children with behavioral disabilities

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday filed a lawsuit against the state of Maine for allegedly violating the civil rights of children with behavioral health disabilities.

The complaint alleged that Maine had failed to provide appropriate community-based services to the families of children with such disabilities, providing them “no meaningful choice” other than to place their children in institutions. The DOJ claimed that this constitutes discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) since many of the families “want [their children] home” and the state could prevent such “segregation” by modifying its health service system.

The DOJ emphasized that Maine violated the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Olmstead v. LC which states that the ADA “requires state and local governments to ensure the services they provide for children with disabilities are available in the most integrated setting appropriate to each child’s needs.”

The department asked the court to compel the state of Maine to provide integrated and community-based services to children with disabilities instead of “unnecessarily segregating” them in institutions. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ Civil Rights Division stated, “The Civil Rights Division is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities can get the services they need to remain at home with their families and loved ones, in their communities.”

The DOJ published its findings of the alleged civil rights violations in a 2022 letter addressed to Maine Governor Janet Mills. The department found that Maine has long waitlists for its community-based services, does not invest in community-based providers and fails to ensure that its crisis services remain available. The letter thus concluded the state has failed to provide appropriate integrated services and “unnecessarily relies on segregated settings such as hospitals and residential treatment facilities.”

In 1999, the Supreme Court found in Olmstead that the ADA required people with mental disabilities to be placed in “integrated” or community settings rather than institutions when the state’s professionals determine such placement is appropriate, when the individual does not oppose the placement and when the resources are available. 

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) responded to the lawsuit on Monday, stating the department had been working with the DOJ to address the allegations. The DHHS added, “We are deeply disappointed that the U.S. has decided to sue the state rather than continue our collaborative, good-faith effort to strengthen the delivery of children’s behavioral health services.”