Olmstead v. L.C.: 10 Years Later
On June 22, 1999 the Supreme Court decided the case Olmstead v. L.C. Tommy Olmstead was the director of the Georgia Department of Human Resources. The L.C. in this case had schizophrenia. L.C. believed it was the state’s responsibility to transition her from a publicly-run psychiatric hospital into the community. Tommy Olmstead said that the state didn’t have money for these services. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled Georgia must pay. A decade later, Georgia is still struggling to meet that constitutional mandate.
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Related Documents
- June 22, 1999 - Supreme Court decision - Olmstead v. L.C.
- May 3, 2008 - Department of Justice (DOJ) Letter to Gov. Sonny Perdue about the results of the DOJ's investigation into Georiga's psychiatric hospitals.
- January 15, 2009 - Settlement agreement between the DOJ and the State of Georgia. The state promises to improve conditions at psychiatric hospitals and provide better community health services.
- Advocates file a court brief objecting to the settlement agreement between Georgia and the DOJ. Advocates say the settlement represents little more than a promise by Georgia to do better.
- Re-negotiated Settlement Agreement between the state and the DOJ, this time with the advocates input.
Supporting Tables and Graphs
- In 2005, Georgia spent $241 million, or $26.67 per patient, on community-based mental health programs. Only Louisiana, Idaho and Kentucky spent less money per patient on community health services.
- This image shows the number of admissions to state psychiatric hospitals, while this image shows the number of residents in state psychiatric hospitals in 11 states in 2002 and 2005.
- Click here to see a chart showing the number of admissions and resident patients in state and county mental hospitals from 1831-2005.
Related News Articles and Links
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution Series - Hidden Shame
- Click here for more information and links about Olmstead v. L.C.
This series of investigative articles prompted the Department of Justice to pursue its own independent investigation into Georgia's mental health system. The DOJ’s findings can be found here. The DOJ and the state entered into a settlement agreement on January 15, 2009. However, advocates for the mentally ill said the settlement had no teeth and did not address the need for better community health services (see objection to settlement here). The advocates went to court with their objections. The DOJ, state and advocates hashed out a renegotiated settlement. Still, disagreements exist between the various parties about how Georgia will improve its community health programs. Advocates and the DOJ are pushing for more stringent measures and accountability than what the state wants (see pages 6 and 7 of the renegotiated settlement).