On June 18, 2026, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel released a 39-page legal memo declaring that neither the Americans with Disabilities Act nor Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act requires states to serve people with disabilities in community settings rather than institutions. The memo directly contradicts 27 years of federal enforcement policy based on Olmstead v. L.C., the 1999 Supreme Court case that established the integration mandate.

The timing matters. States are facing $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts under the Omnibus Budget Balancing and Balanced Budget Act. Multiple states have already cut home care rates, reduced caregiver hours, and frozen waiver slots. The DOJ memo arrives as those decisions are accelerating.

Here's what families receiving home and community-based services need to know, what legal protections remain, and what you can do right now.

What the Memo Says

The OLC memo argues that the ADA's prohibition on discrimination does not require states to provide services in the most integrated setting. It claims Olmstead was wrongly decided and that the integration mandate exceeds the statute's text.

This is the official legal position of the United States government. DOJ will no longer file enforcement actions against states that fail to serve people with disabilities in community settings. States that cut HCBS programs now face no federal backstop.

The memo does not change the law. Olmstead v. L.C. remains binding Supreme Court precedent. Federal courts are still required to follow it. But DOJ is the entity that typically enforces it, and DOJ has now said it won't.

What This Changes

Before this memo, families and advocacy groups could file complaints with DOJ's Civil Rights Division when a state failed to provide community-based services. DOJ could investigate, negotiate consent decrees, or file suit to force compliance.

That enforcement mechanism is now off the table. DOJ will not pursue new Olmstead claims. States know this.

The practical effect: states can cut HCBS funding, freeze waiver slots, or fail to transition people out of institutions, and families must find private counsel willing to bring an Olmstead claim in federal court. That's a higher bar. Most families don't have access to disability rights attorneys with the resources to litigate complex federal civil rights cases.

The memo also arrives alongside ongoing state lawsuits. Seven states are currently challenging the Section 504 integration rule in Texas v. Kennedy. That case asks the courts to strike down the regulatory requirement that states serve people in the most integrated setting. The DOJ memo is separate from that litigation, but it sends a signal: the federal government is no longer defending the integration mandate.

What Legal Protections Remain

Olmstead is still the law. The Supreme Court's 1999 decision has not been overturned. Lower courts are bound by it. If you can bring a claim and find counsel, the legal standard still applies.

Existing consent decrees remain in force. States operating under court-ordered Olmstead agreements (Georgia, Florida, New Hampshire, and others) are still bound by those orders. DOJ's refusal to enforce new claims doesn't void existing court judgments.

State disability rights laws remain. Some states have statutes or constitutional provisions that provide stronger protections than federal law. Check with your state's Protection & Advocacy organization to find out what applies in your jurisdiction.

Section 504 regulations are still on the books. The integration rule HHS issued under Section 504 has not been rescinded. It's under legal challenge, and HHS has delayed enforcement, but the rule exists. Whether it will survive the current litigation is an open question.

What Families Receiving HCBS Should Do

1. Contact Your State's Protection & Advocacy Organization

Every state has a federally funded P&A organization that provides free legal services to people with disabilities. Contact them now, before you see service cuts, not after.

Ask:

• Does our state have existing Olmstead consent decrees or court orders?
• What state-level disability rights laws apply to my family's situation?
• If my child's HCBS waiver services are cut, what legal recourse do we have?

Find your state P&A at the National Disability Rights Network directory.

2. Document Your Current Services

Write down every service your family receives through Medicaid HCBS waivers: personal care hours, respite hours, day program services, supported employment, therapy sessions, equipment authorizations. Include the provider name, weekly hours, and the waiver program name.

If services are cut or reduced in the next six months, this documentation establishes what you had before the cuts. Courts evaluating Olmstead claims look at whether the state is moving backward on community integration. Your records are the evidence.

3. Confirm Your Waiver Slot Status

Contact your state Medicaid agency and confirm that your family's waiver slot is active and funded. Ask when your next redetermination is scheduled. If you're on a waiting list, confirm your position and ask whether the state has frozen new slot allocations.

Some states are quietly freezing waiver expansions without formal announcements. A phone call now tells you whether you're at risk.

4. Know That Existing Court Orders Still Apply

If your state operates under an Olmstead consent decree (Georgia's settlement with the Justice Department, New Hampshire's recent federal court ruling, Florida's statewide agreement), those orders remain in effect. The state can't unilaterally walk away from a court judgment.

If you're in a state with an active Olmstead decree and you see service cuts, contact your P&A immediately. The state may be in violation of the existing court order.

5. Track State Budget Proposals

Watch your state legislature's Medicaid budget proposals for the next fiscal year. States cut HCBS funding in budget bills, often buried in line items that don't announce themselves as disability cuts.

Your state disability advocacy coalition (The Arc chapter, ADAPT, state IDD council) will be tracking these proposals. Get on their email list. When comment periods open, submit testimony. Legislators respond to constituent pressure, especially when families show up with specifics about what a budget cut would do to their child's daily life.

The Difference Between This and the State Lawsuits

The DOJ memo and the Texas v. Kennedy lawsuit are separate but related.

Texas v. Kennedy is seven states asking a federal court to strike down HHS's Section 504 integration rule. If they win, the regulatory requirement that Medicaid programs serve people in the most integrated setting would be invalidated.

The DOJ memo is the federal government saying it will no longer enforce Olmstead claims. It doesn't ask a court to do anything. It's a policy position that DOJ can reverse at any time, but while it's in effect, families lose federal enforcement.

Both undermine the integration mandate. The state lawsuit targets the regulation. The DOJ memo abandons enforcement of the underlying Supreme Court case. Families face both at once.

What Advocacy Groups Are Doing

The ACLU, The Arc, NAMI, and the American Association of People with Disabilities have all issued statements condemning the memo. Several are preparing litigation.

The Arc has announced it will fund test cases in states that cut HCBS services in response to the DOJ memo. Families whose services are cut may be candidates for those cases. Contact your local Arc chapter if you're facing cuts and want to know whether your situation could support a legal challenge.

ADAPT is organizing direct action campaigns targeting state legislatures that propose HCBS cuts. If you're in a state considering Medicaid reductions, ADAPT's local chapter can connect you with advocacy efforts.

The National Council on Independent Living is tracking which states are most likely to cut HCBS in the wake of the memo. Their analysis, updated weekly, is available at ncil.org.

The 27th Anniversary Context

The memo was released on June 18, 2026, four days before the 27th anniversary of Olmstead v. L.C., decided June 22, 1999. Whether the timing was intentional or coincidental, the symbolism is clear. The case that established the integration mandate is now old enough that the federal government feels comfortable saying it was wrongly decided.

8.4 million Americans receive HCBS through Medicaid. For most of them, those services are the only thing standing between living in their own home and institutional placement. The DOJ memo doesn't eliminate those services, but it eliminates the federal enforcement pressure that kept states from cutting them.

Families who want to preserve community-based services now have to do the enforcement work themselves.

What to Watch Next

The Section 504 integration rule litigation (Texas v. Kennedy) is scheduled for oral argument in the Fifth Circuit in August 2026. A ruling against the federal government would strike down the regulatory mandate for community integration. Combined with DOJ's refusal to enforce Olmstead, that would leave the integration mandate as a Supreme Court precedent with no regulatory backing and no federal enforcement.

Watch your state's Medicaid budget proposals for FY 2027. States know DOJ won't file suit over HCBS cuts. The question is which states act on that knowledge first.

Track whether advocacy groups succeed in bringing private Olmstead claims without DOJ backing. The legal standard still exists, but litigation is expensive and slow. If families can't enforce it, the standard doesn't matter.

This memo doesn't end the integration mandate, but it ends the enforcement structure that made it real. What families do in the next six months will determine whether community-based services survive the next budget cycle.