On January 14, 2000, five adults with developmental disabilities filed a lawsuit under the Medicaid Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act against various Oregon state officials in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon. Plaintiffs, represented by legal services, asked the court for declaratory and injunctive relief to compel Defendants to provide Medicaid services in the most integrated setting appropriate. Specifically, Plaintiffs claimed that they had been on waiting lists for years to obtain necessary residential or in-home services.

On October 30, 2000, the Court (Magistrate Judge Janice M. Stewart) granted Plaintiffs' motion for an order certifying a settlement class and for preliminary approval of a class action settlement.

The Court approved a settlement agreement on December 14, 2000. The agreement made Medicaid developmental disability services more available to adults.

The Court issued notice of proposed modification of the class action settlement on November 7, 2003. Because of a state fiscal crisis, the modification would slow the pace at which additional eligible individuals would be enrolled under the Settlement Agreement while still expanding the number of additional individuals enrolled every two years. The State brought in much less revenue than expected and had cut many social services. Plaintiffs agreed to modify the Settlement Agreement to be certain that services would continue to expand and to extend the length of the settlement agreement an additional four years (until June 30, 2011). The Court granted final approval of the settlement modification agreement on January 14, 2004.

There has been no further action in the case, and it has been closed.

Haley Waller - 04/11/2011


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