Two organizations fight to bring more opportunities, inclusivity for disabled citizens under “Olmstead Plan”

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — Two organizations are fighting to provide better opportunities and more inclusivity for South Carolinians with disabilities.

Pam Loudon, whose daughter PJ Sloat, has spastic quadriplegia and is vision and hearing impaired, believes South Carolina can offer more assistance and opportunity for PJ and for all people with disabilities.

“We have the opportunity to do so much better, and I would like to know why — why is it such a struggle here?” asks Loudon.

Disability Rights South Carolina and the South Carolina Institute of Medicine and Public Health have come up with the beginning stages of what’s known as an Olmstead Plan– a plan that Executive Director of Disability Rights South Carolina, Beth Franco, says will drastically improve the lives of citizens with disabilities.

“Olmstead is not going to just happen by turning on a switch, it is going to take a lot of work. It is going to take people working together,” says Franco.

There are currently 35 states with Olmstead Plans in place. South Carolina is not one of them — yet.

Named for a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and became law in Georgia, Olmstead Plans ensure that people with disabilities have the same opportunities and free choice as everyone else.

“The beauty of that, is it is trying to give individuals with disabilities, any disability, access and affording them their right to be a part of the community, in whatever capacity is meaningful for them,” says Loudon.

According to Franco, the report being released by the two organizations is a movement towards more community based services including better housing, transportation, and home healthcare options.

Senior Attorney with Disability Rights South Carolina, Anna Maria Conner, says most importantly an Olmstead Plan would give guidance to state agencies on how to more effectively work together.

“So what we want to do is have somebody whose job it is to look at the federal law, look at the state law, and look at the needs of the state overall, and provide a plan and a system where they can bring all those people to the table and we can negotiate it going forward,” says Conner.

The organizations say its next goal is to get support on this movement from Governor McMaster and other legislators and bring an Olmstead Plan into law.