Legal Rights of Persons With Disabilities - Ossh.com

CHAPTER 10
CIVIL RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH
MENTAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
I. CIVIL RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
A. Federal and State Rights
In 1975, Congress enacted the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, which
provides funding for programs and expresses the federal goal of legal and human rights for people with
developmental disabilities. (42 U.S.C. ' 15001 et seq.)
The Act defines developmental disability as a severe, chronic disability of an individual which:
$ is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical impairments;
$ manifests itself before age 22;
$ is likely to continue indefinitely;
$ results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of activity: selfcare,
receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent
living, and economic self-sufficiency; and
$ reflects the person's need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic
services, individualized supports, or other forms of assistance that are of lifelong or extended duration
and are individually planned and coordinated; or
$ an individual from birth to age 9, inclusive, who has a substantial developmental delay or specific
congenital or acquired condition, may be considered to have a developmental disability without
meeting three or more of the criteria described above if the individual, without services and supports,
has a high probability of meeting those criteria later in life.
(42 U.S.C. ' 15002(8))
It is the government's policy to encourage states to provide appropriate treatment, services and
habilitation to people with developmental disabilities. ("Habilitation" means the education, treatment and care
required by developmentally disabled people to achieve their maximum development.) Treatment should
maximize the developmental potential of an individual and should be provided in the least restrictive setting
possible. (42 U.S.C. ' 15009.)
California law similarly protects the constitutional rights of people with developmental disabilities,
including the right to treatment, habilitation, dignity, privacy and humane care and the right to be free from
hazardous procedures, unnecessary physical restraint, isolation, excessive medication, abuse or neglect. (Welf.
& Inst. Code, ' 4500 et seq.)
B. Institutionalization of Persons With Developmental Disabilities
In California, the presence of a developmental disability alone cannot justify commitment to an
68