A letter from the Department of Justice sent to Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox in February found that the state of Utah has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. File Photo by Lee Vogel/UPI
June 19 (UPI) — The state of Utah violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, according to a ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice.
A report released by the department earlier this week said Utah is “unnecessarily isolating young people and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities during the day instead of helping them find employment and stay in the community.”
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It also found that young people with developmental disabilities are at “serious risk of unnecessary segregation” as they transition out of state-run child welfare services.
“Utah is not providing effective transition services for young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive services from their schools until they turn 22, at which point they leave school and the services they received through their schools end. School board staff have called this a ‘falling off a cliff’ of state services,” states the 15-page letter, signed by Deputy Attorney General Kristen Clarke and addressed to Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.
The Justice Department said it was open to working with Utah to address the issue, but did not rule out the possibility of taking legal action against the state.
“We look forward to working with you to resolve the department’s findings. We hope to work with the State of Utah to agree on changes the state will make to correct the violations,” the letter states.
“However, we must advise you that if Utah does not negotiate, or if negotiations are unsuccessful, the United States may take appropriate action, including filing a lawsuit, to remedy Utah’s violations of the ADA.”
The Justice Department argues that disabled people working in Utah’s sheltered workshops “often work in warehouses all day, doing menial tasks like shredding paper for less than minimum wage. Similarly, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities work in day care centers all day, with little to do other than make crafts or watch television.”
Cox has not publicly responded to the allegations.
State and local governments are required to provide services to people with disabilities in an integrated environment that best meets their needs.
These decisions are based on the ADA and the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., which held that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Full inclusion in society is the central promise of the ADA,” Clark said in a Justice Department statement.
“People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have a right to full inclusion and to dignity and purpose in deciding where they work and how they spend their days.”
Utah isn’t the only state being targeted by the Department of Justice.
The Department of Justice released findings Tuesday suggesting that the state of Alaska may have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide necessary access to Alaska voters with disabilities.
The federal government alleges that Alaska violated Title 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires state voting services, programs and activities to be accessible to Americans with disabilities.