Minnesota agrees to improve access to housing for people with disabilities

Minnesota's human services agency will do more to help thousands of people with disabilities move out of group homes and into independent housing, ending a class action lawsuit that accused the state of practices that cut people off from mainstream society, according to a legal settlement announced Friday.

In a lawsuit filed six years ago, attorneys with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid alleged that people with disabilities did not get the help they needed from the state to move into apartments and homes of their own, and instead were steered into four-bedroom group homes. There, everyday decisions that many people take for granted — such as when to eat or the choice of pets — are often determined by others, including paid support staff whom residents had no choice in hiring.

Attorneys for a class of people with disabilities argued that Minnesota's practice of consigning people to group homes violated a 1999 Supreme Court ruling, known as the Olmstead decision, that requires states to ensure that people live and work in the most integrated settings possible.

Now, under the 38-page settlement, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) must take new steps to expand access to independent housing for the approximately 13,000 Minnesotans in group homes. The agency has agreed to identify all people with disabilities living in these homes who have expressed interest in more individualized housing options, and provide each with information about a new Medicaid benefit that would help them live on their own. DHS also will track those identified to make sure they get housing support from their county case managers, according to the settlement, which received preliminary approval by a federal judge this week.

Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid estimates that the settlement will affect more than 1,000 Minnesotans with disabilities, including individuals with developmental, physical, and mental health disabilities, as well as brain injuries.

"This settlement will ensure a greater opportunity for all class members to live in homes they can call their own, no longer stuck in settings with utter strangers, and provide a more innovative choice to live in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs," said Justin Perl, litigation director for Legal Aid and the lead attorney on the case.

In a statement, DHS said it recognized that finding housing is challenging for people with disabilities and it continues to work to improve access. In 2020, for instance, DHS launched the new Medicaid benefit, known as Housing Stabilization Services, that helps older adults and people with disabilities find and keep housing. "Every person with a disability should have the opportunity to live where they choose," the agency said.

Minnesota has long stood out among states for its reliance on private group homes for adults with disabilities. After the state began closing large public mental hospitals in the 1970s, four-bedroom group homes were seen as a more humane and cost-effective alternative. According to a 2018 analysis, Minnesota has the highest number of people with disabilities living in group homes per capita in the nation.

A 2015 Star Tribune investigation found that many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were being sent to group homes against their will, even when they are capable of taking care of themselves. The homes are indirectly subsidized through Medicaid, the state and federal health insurance program, which covers the cost of their services.

The settlement is a major victory for disability rights advocates, who have long argued that too many people who could be living on their own were instead suffering the social isolation that's common in group homes.

An expansive state survey released in April 2021 concluded that both quality of life and decision-making power for Minnesotans with disabilities were essentially unchanged since 2017. The survey of more than 560 Minnesotans with disabilities found they are spending more time at home, and have fewer meaningful relationships than they did five years ago. They are also interacting less with people who are outside of the disability support system and are not paid staff, according to the annual survey.

"People in Minnesota continue to wait — for the freedom to make and keep friends; for the power to decide where they live and how they enjoy life; and for the ability to simply go to a park, a community event, or a movie when and how they want to," according to the report.

Marrie Bottelson, an artist with cerebral palsy, was so ecstatic about the settlement that she charged out of her bedroom in her wheelchair and yelled, "We won!"

Bottelson, 47, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, spent 17 years living in two group homes, where arbitrary rules constrained her social life and made it difficult for her to pursue her passion for painting. Staff at one of the homes declined to take her to events where she could sell her work, and instead stored her paintings in the home's garage, she said. Bottelson had to get permission from staff on when to eat, bathe and leave to visit friends, she said.

"My room was no bigger than a bathroom and they didn't want to take me anywhere," Bottelson said. "It was really bad."

Four years ago, with the help of family and county social workers, Bottelson finally moved into a place of her own — a warm and bustling home in Brooklyn Park that she shares with a caregiver and three children. The bright portraits of animals and landscapes that were once hidden away are now being sold at Twin Cities' art shows and festivals. She said her art has become more vivid — reflecting her improved mood since moving into the new home.

Yet every now and then, Bottelson said she feels sad knowing that her former housemates are still living in the group homes she left. "I hope this [settlement] will help them get out one day," she said.

A hearing on the case is scheduled for Jan. 4, at which time U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank is expected to grant final approval of the settlement.