Below, I have pasted in an Associated Press article about how Geogia Governor Sonny Perdue has appointed a new czar to oversee the implementation of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision. The article doesn’t mention ADAPT’s non-violent direct action that drew Perdue’s attention to this issue (recall we took over the state capitol on Columbus Day) and “suggested” this exact solution (it was in our list of demands). But ADAPT is not in it for the credit. We are in it to FREE OUR PEOPLE and some work was done toward that aim in Georgia! In our best chanting voice, everyone together now, “Sonny PerdUE! We thank YOU!” (repeat 109x).
“Janes to head Ga. plan to better care for disabled”
ATLANTA (AP) Gov. Sonny Perdue has announced he is appointing William Janes to oversee a plan to improve services for those with mental and developmental disabilities.
Perdue said Friday that Janes will be a key asset as the state’s Olmstead Coordinator and knows the best way to serve that community.
A 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case found that the Americans With Disabilities Act requires states to care for elderly and disabled people within their communities, not institutions, whenever possible.
Tommy Olmstead was commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources at the time and had been sued by two institutionalized women who sought community-based care.
Janes most recently directed Florida’s Office of Drug Control and was assistant secretary of substance abuse and mental health in Florida’s Department of Children and Families.
