Stop Re-Institutionalizing Disabled People: Take Action

Take Action: Stop the Push to Re-Institutionalize Disabled People

You asked what you can actually do. Here it is, ready to use. You don’t need to be a policy expert. You need to be a constituent who’s paying attention, and you already are.

A quick word on what works: a phone call gets logged by a live person and carries more weight than an email. If you only do one thing, call. If you’ve got five minutes, call and send the email too. The strongest version of any of these is the one where you add your own story in the brackets.

How to use this

· Find your people. Your two U.S. Senators and your one U.S. Representative are at congress.gov/members (search your address). Or call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected.

· For the state versions, search “your state find my legislator” and look up your governor’s contact page.

· Fill in the brackets. Anything in [BRACKETS] is yours to complete. Lines marked optional are there if you want them, and fine to cut.

· Keep it short and human. Staffers tally what constituents reach out about. You don’t need to win an argument. You need to be counted.

Good to know (so you can speak with confidence)

· It’s not law yet. The June 18 opinion is a legal argument, not a court ruling and not a finished regulation. Nothing changes today, and that’s exactly why now is the time to be heard, before any rule change.

· The rule at stake is the integration mandate. It comes from the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead decision, which held that needlessly isolating disabled people in institutions is discrimination.

· It’s the floor under group homes, Medicaid waivers, and community living. You can read the opinion yourself at justice.gov/olc/media/1446701/dl.

FEDERAL: your 2 Senators and your Representative

Call script (about 30 seconds)

Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I’m a constituent from [YOUR TOWN, ZIP].

I’m calling about the Justice Department’s June 18 legal opinion that claims states aren’t required to serve disabled people in their communities instead of institutions.

I’m asking [SENATOR / REPRESENTATIVE LAST NAME] to publicly oppose this opinion and any move to rescind or weaken the integration mandate, the rule that keeps disabled people living in their own communities.

Optional, and this line matters more than anything else here: [My son is autistic and relies on Medicaid and community based services. This is about whether he gets to keep a life outside an institution.]

Can you tell me where [SENATOR / REPRESENTATIVE LAST NAME] stands on protecting community living for disabled people? Thank you for your time.

Email

Subject: Please oppose the June 18 DOJ opinion and protect community living for disabled people

Dear [SENATOR / REPRESENTATIVE LAST NAME],

I’m a constituent from [YOUR TOWN, ZIP], and I’m writing about something that affects disabled people and the families who love them all across our state.

On June 18, 2026, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion claiming that federal law never required states to serve disabled people in their communities rather than in institutions, and that the rule requiring it can be canceled. That rule is the integration mandate. It’s backed by the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision, and it’s the floor under group homes, Medicaid waivers, and community living.

Here’s what worries me. If this opinion becomes action, a state could place a disabled person in an institution and just say it ran out of community funding. Almost every state already has years-long waiting lists. That turns the most common problem our families face into a legal excuse to institutionalize.

Optional, and worth adding: [My son is disabled and relies on exactly the kind of community based support this rule protects.]

I’m asking you to publicly oppose this opinion, to oppose any move to rescind the integration mandate, and to use your oversight role to protect the right of disabled people to live in their own communities.

Please tell me where you stand. I’d appreciate a written response.

Thank you, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR TOWN, ZIP]

STATE: your state legislators and governor

State leaders control how Medicaid waivers and home and community based services get funded and run. Even if the federal floor weakens, your state can refuse to use it as an excuse. That’s the ask here.

Call script (about 30 seconds)

Hi, my name is [YOUR NAME] and I’m a constituent from [YOUR TOWN, ZIP].

I’m calling about a new federal legal opinion that could let states institutionalize disabled people by claiming they ran out of community funding.

I want [STATE LEGISLATOR / GOVERNOR LAST NAME] to commit publicly that our state will protect and fund home and community based services, and that we’ll never use this opinion as a reason to put disabled people in institutions.

Optional: [My daughter is disabled and depends on a Medicaid waiver and community services to live here at home with us.]

Where does [STATE LEGISLATOR / GOVERNOR LAST NAME] stand on keeping disabled people in their communities? Thank you.

Email

Subject: Protect home and community based services for disabled residents of our state

Dear [TITLE AND LAST NAME],

I’m a constituent from [YOUR TOWN, ZIP], writing about the future of disability services in our state.

On June 18, 2026, the U.S. Justice Department issued a legal opinion claiming states aren’t required to serve disabled people in the community instead of in institutions, and federal officials may move to cancel the rule that protects community living. If that happens, the decision lands right here, with our state.

Home and community based services, including Medicaid waivers, are what let disabled people live in their own homes instead of institutions. Our state already has waiting lists for these services. I don’t want our state to ever treat a funding shortfall as a reason to institutionalize someone who could live in the community.

Optional, and worth adding: [My daughter is disabled and relies on a Medicaid waiver and community based support to live at home with us.]

I’m asking you to publicly commit to protecting and fully funding home and community based services, to reject institutionalization as a response to budget pressure, and to defend community living for disabled residents no matter what changes at the federal level.

Please tell me where you stand. I’d appreciate a written response.

Thank you, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR TOWN, ZIP]

Paste and share (text or DM)

Copy this and send it to one other person who would want to know.

Heads up. On June 18 the Justice Department issued a legal opinion that could let states put disabled people back in institutions by claiming they ran out of community funding. It’s not law yet, but it’s step one. Please call your senators and representative at the U.S. Capitol switchboard, 202-224-3121, and ask them to oppose any rollback of the integration mandate, the rule that protects community living. Two minutes, and it really matters.

One last thing. The people who built community living for disabled Americans did it one phone call, one letter, one hearing at a time. We can defend it the same way. Thank you for showing up, for our kids and for each other.