MN Disability Law Center delivers in-person message to Olmstead Subcabinet

FROM:  Jennifer E. Giesen
DATE:  September 15, 2026
RE:       Public comment to the Olmstead Subcabinet on the Olmstead Plan Draft

Good morning.  Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Olmstead Plan Draft.

I am a staff attorney with the Minnesota Disability Law Center.

First, we want to recognize the significant work that went into this plan. The Disability Law Center and Olmstead Subcabinet share a commitment to the dignity, self-determination, and true inclusion for Minnesotans with disabilities.  Integration alone is not enough. We need communities where people with disabilities can fully participate and thrive.

To that effect, MDLC urges the state to strengthen this draft, especially in three critical areas.

First, too many of the most important issues are deferred to future councils, studies, and data collection efforts. While MDLC supports efforts to collect information from the community and the plan correctly identifies systemic barriers such as fragmented services, the benefits cliff, and gaps in housing and employment, many solutions are postponed to a future Disability Systems Change Council that will not begin reporting until 2028. People with disabilities have already waited decades for full implementation of Olmstead. We need stronger commitments, clearer timelines, and measurable outcomes.  And, we need them now.

Second, the housing section must focus more explicitly on choice. Increasing accessible housing and supportive housing is important, but Olmstead is ultimately about whether people can live where they choose, with whom they choose, and with the supports they need. The draft acknowledges that Minnesota does not yet adequately measure housing choice, housing satisfaction, or whether people are successfully moving from segregated settings into homes of their own choosing. Those outcomes should be at the center of the plan.

Third, employment goals must go beyond job placement. The draft recognizes that many people with disabilities fear losing health care, housing assistance, or other essential supports if they work. As long as people are forced to choose between employment and survival, true economic inclusion remains out of reach. Job placement should not be the only goal.  The state needs to commit to jobs for people with disabilities that pay a livable wage, provide adequate benefits, and accommodate the varying needs of people with disabilities.  The state should commit to concrete strategies that reduce work disincentives and support economic self-sufficiency.

The Olmstead decision was never just about services. It was about civil rights, freedom, and the ability to live a self-directed life in the community. We encourage the state to strengthen this plan so that it delivers not only a vision of inclusion, but measurable accountability for achieving it.

Thank you for your consideration.