Twenty years ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court found in Olmstead v. L.C. that unjustified institutionalization is discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. For many in the disability community, the Olmstead decision is the Brown v. Board of Education for people with disabilities in that separate can never be equal.

The Olmstead decision has had a monumental impact on the lives of people with disabilities, including over 12,000 people receiving community services in Illinois under the three Olmstead consent decrees negotiated by Equip for Equality and our partners.

Despite these successes, much still needs to be done before people with disabilities are fully integrated into the fabric of American society.

Join us this month as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Olmstead decision and look to the future.