In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act became federal law which was meant to be an immediate game-changer for people with disabilities.

It was in many instances, but it is still evolving, and the state of Montana has asked the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities to help update the Olmstead Plan, which is the state’s plan to keep people with disabilities living where they want to. 

“We are hosting a series of focus groups. These focus groups will bring together individuals with disabilities to provide feedback and share their perspectives,” explained Marci Olsen, Research Associate with the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities at the University of Montana. “The plan makes sure that people can get services from the state in their communities, and the State of Montana is working with the Montana Statewide Independent Living Council (MTSILC) and partners like us to make the plan.” 

The Montana Olmstead workplan has six goals:

- Show data on services provided by the State of Montana.

- Ensure that plan language is available at all steps of the process.

- Talk with consumers, stakeholders and partners statewide. Listen to people and gather feedback on the plan.

- Produce a draft Olmstead Plan.

- Create a plan to review the Montana Olmstead Plan in 2026.

- Share the plan across Montana.

 Director, Molly Kimmel, tightened down the criteria. 

“We will be focusing our efforts on people who use state-funded services in relation to their disability since an Olmstead Plan is designed to help states provide services in the most integrated settings in the home or community. Our focus groups do have broad inclusion criteria (over 18, person with a disability, ability to communicate) and then we collect demographic data upon registration about type of disability,” she said. “We are looking specifically for people who use state-funded waiver services, are on a waitlist for waiver or other services, or have spent time in an institution in the past.”  

This plan is for DPHHS, Kimble shared and will include goals and objectives so they can measure their progress against the plan recommendations on a yearly basis. The bill requires them to do a full review in 2029. 

Asked if this portion of the program has accountability, Kimmell said, “Manuals that sit on shelves with no one looking at them for years are my nemesis. We are lucky to have good partners in the form of the Statewide Independent Living Council who are strong Olmstead advocates and worked really hard to get this bill passed and hold the state accountable for future years.”

For Mineral County, the zoom focus group will be held Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. Participation is capped so registration is required at bit.ly/Olmstead-NWMT. For questions or further information, please do not hesitate to contact Marci Olsen at (406) 243-4510 or marci.olsen@umt.edu.