Georgia Agreement Serves as Notice to Rest of U.S.

ATLANTA – A sweeping agreement this week between the Justice Department and the state of Georgia highlights an aggressive new campaign by the Obama administration to ensure that people with mental illness and developmental disabilities can get services in their communities — and not be forced to live in institutions.
As part of the accord, Georgia agreed to specific targets for creating housing aid and community treatment for people with disabilities. Those with disabilities have often cycled in and out of the state's long-troubled psychiatric hospitals in the past. The state said it will set aside $15 million in the current fiscal year and $62 million next year to make the improvements.
The settlement, announced Tuesday, will be used "as a template for our enforcement efforts across the country," said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at Justice, in a statement announcing the accord.