RALEIGH -- A federal judge on Monday prohibited the state and a local mental health management office from cutting services to two Wilson-area people with mental illness and developmental disabilities until a full hearing on their lawsuit seeking to continue independent living.
U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle said it's likely that two residents identified in the lawsuit as Marlo M., 39, and Durwood W., 49, would suffer irreparable harm if a local mental health office went through with a money-saving plan to move them from their apartments. Their lawyers contend that the two would end up in institutions, though a lawyer for the mental health office disagreed with that conclusion.
State programs and funding should conform to the Americans With Disabilities Act, Boyle said. The federal law requires that public entities provide their services in "the most integrated setting appropriate" to the needs of people with disabilities.
Relatives of the two residents said they were relieved that any moves are on hold.
"Durwood really needs his independence," said Willie Williams, his uncle and guardian. "I was surprised that they would even consider cutting his funding."
Forcing the two to move from their apartments to institutions because of budget cuts is contrary to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that gives disabled people the right to live in the least restrictive settings possible, said John Rittelmeyer, director of legal services for the advocacy group Disabilities Rights North Carolina.
Other local mental health offices may view a decision against the residents as a "green light" to make their own cuts to residential arrangements for 1,200 similarly disabled people in the state, he said.
To live in their own apartments, the two rely on round-the-clock care paid for by the state and federal governments. The Beacon Center, the mental health agency for Wilson, Edgecombe, Greene and Nash counties, planned to stop providing the state money. Such a cut, amounting to about half of the cost of their care, would probably force them to move to institutions after years of living in their own apartments, Rittelmeyer said.
The U.S. Department of Justice supported their argument for enforcing the Americans With Disabilities Act. The federal government has participated in cases in several other states where the civil rights law for the disabled was at issue, Justice Department trial attorney David W. Knight said. This is the first state case where the Justice Department was arguing for people living in a community who face imminent institutionalization, he said.
Beacon's argument
The Beacon Center's lawyer, Christopher P. Brewer, said the funding cut did not mean that the two would need to move to institutions. Marlo lived in a group home for six weeks and did fine, he said.
The Beacon Center, which is responsible for overseeing local mental health services, is committed to keeping the two residents in the community, Brewer said, but just because they've lived in apartments in the past does not guarantee they'll have them in the future.
Boyle stopped The Beacon Center's cut, at least until a ruling on the merits of the suit.
Vicki Smith, executive director for Disability Rights North Carolina, called Boyle's decision "a victory for people with disabilities in North Carolina."
