Formed Families Forward wants to provide the tools you need to stay informed about important decisions being made by the US Department of Justice. We are committed to supporting foster, adoptive, and kinship families raising children and youth with disabilities and other specialized needs in these challenging times.

On June 18, 2026, the US Department of Justice issued a legal opinion, Application of the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act to State Institutionalization of Patients with Severe Mental Illness or Disabilities, found HERE.

“The U.S. Department of Justice issued a legal opinion that threatens one of the most important civil rights protections for people with disabilities: the right to live and receive services in the community, not be unnecessarily confined to institutions.

The opinion targets Olmstead v L.C., the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision that recognized institutional isolation of people with disabilities as discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For more than 25 years, Olmstead has helped people with disabilities fight for the support they need to live at home and in their communities.

This opinion isn’t a court decision. It doesn’t erase Olmstead or change Supreme Court precedent. It also doesn’t take away the ADA, Section 504, or the regulations that protect community living” (Dilworth, The Arc, 2026).

Here we link to statements from other organizations and summaries of the issue found in popular press:

Joint statement from The Virginia Board for Persons with Disabilities, The Arc of Virginia, The Partnership for Persons with Disabilities, The disAbility Law Center of Virginia, and others HERE.

Press release from The Arc national HERE.

A June 20, 2026 story from NPR summarizes some of the concerns from individuals with disabilities, HERE.

A June 22, 2026 PBS Newshour story overviews the potential impact of the memo HERE.