The Department of Justice has released the results of an investigation into Utah’s employment and day care services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, concluding that the state may be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The findings were released in a letter to Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
A spokesperson for the governor’s office referred the Deseret News to the Department of Health and Human Services.
A state health department spokesperson said the Department of Justice conducts these investigations to ensure the ADA is being properly implemented, and that the state is committed to helping people with disabilities thrive and will continue to work with the department.
“While no one likes to hear that their programs still create barriers to receiving services, Utah considers people with disabilities to be important citizens of our state and is committed to improving our service system so that people with intellectual disabilities can live as independently as possible with their family, friends and peers, just as many of us do,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to working with the Department of Justice to continue to strengthen our service system for the people we serve.”
In a statement, the Justice Department said Utah provides all the services people with intellectual and developmental disabilities need. There were three areas the department identified as “barriers to community integration.”
The Justice Department argued that thousands of Utahns with intellectual and developmental disabilities are isolated from the community, working in sheltered workshops doing mechanical tasks, and that Utah should create a more inclusive environment.
“First, Utah makes it difficult for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to learn about and access integration options. Second, Utah makes it difficult for providers to offer employment and day services in integrated settings,” the department alleges. “Third, Utah does not connect young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to integration options.”
The Justice Department said the state could be sued if it doesn’t make changes as recommended by the department.
“We hope to work with Utah to reach an agreement on the changes the state will make to remedy its violations,” the department said, “but we must advise you that if Utah is unwilling to negotiate, or if negotiations fail, the United States may take appropriate action, including filing a lawsuit, to remedy Utah’s violations of the ADA.”
The investigation began in March 2021 after the Department of Justice received a complaint that the state was “sending people with intellectual and developmental disabilities into segregated settings during the day rather than supporting them in the community.”
During the investigation, the State of Utah arranged more than 20 interviews with state officials and submitted more than 170,000 documents. The Department of Justice commended the State of Utah for its cooperation in the investigation.
“Utah relies on segregated settings to serve individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities who are suitable for and have not opposed employment or day services in integrated settings,” the department argues. “Utah has demonstrated some support for helping individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities gain employment.”
The Department of Justice said that to comply with the ADA, Utah must modify its services system to better connect people to integrated options and reduce wait times for integrated options.
“Full inclusion in society is the central promise of the ADA,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a press release. “People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are entitled to full inclusion and to dignity and purpose in deciding where they work and how they spend their days.”