In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Olmstead v. L.C., holding that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities can violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. People should receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.
That principle is right. It should be enforced.
But moving people out of large institutions does not automatically create integration, dignity, or safety. Buildings can become smaller while the people inside remain hidden. The failure is not only institutional size. It is what happens when vulnerable people disappear into a system that no single agency fully explains…