Challenging Segregation of Children With Disabilities in Foster Care
In May 2025, The Arc and other disability rights organizations filed an amicus brief in support of the Plaintiffs-Appellants in the case Jonathan R. v. Morrisey. The case is about children with disabilities challenging disability discrimination in a state foster care system, and the ability of the district court to grant them relief.
What Are the Facts About Jonathan R. v. Morrisey?
The plaintiffs are children with disabilities in West Virginia’s foster care system. The plaintiffs filed this class action lawsuit claiming that state officials discriminated against them by failing to provide foster care services in integrated settings.
By law, people with disabilities should receive services in the setting that allows them to interact with non-disabled people to the fullest extent possible. This is required by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and reinforced by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Olmstead v. L.C. ex rel. Ziming.
The plaintiffs alleged that West Virginia is placing children with disabilities in segregated settings, in violation of the ADA and Section 504. The plaintiffs asked that the court declare the actions of the West Virginia Department of Human Services (DHS) to be unconstitutional and that the court grant relief that will reform DHS and ensure that it follows federal disability law. Specifically, the plaintiffs seek what is called systemic injunctive relief, which aims to change the child welfare system as a whole. Systemic injunctive relief focuses on remedying larger issues with a service system, instead of narrow/individual violations of the law.
The district court dismissed the case on the grounds that it did not have the power to grant relief because doing so would put the court in the position of policy maker. The court also held that the West Virginia foster children did not have standing to pursue their claims. The plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Why Does This Case Matter for People With Disabilities?
Children with disabilities in the child welfare system are entitled to be served in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, but this is often not the reality. Federal courts have the power to protect the rights of people with disabilities through systemic relief. If the appeals court upholds the district court’s decision, it will make it significantly more difficult for people with disabilities to seek systemic injunctive relief for violations of the ADA and Section 504.
What Is The Arc’s Position?
In our amicus brief, The Arc its and partners explain that children with disabilities in West Virginia’s foster care system are being unlawfully segregated in residential institutions and other types of facilities, instead of receiving services in community-based settings. The plaintiffs have the right to sue under those laws to challenge that segregation in federal court. Because discrimination against people with disabilities often occurs across a system of government services, courts regularly offer systemic relief to end a systemic violation of federal disability rights.
The Arc joined this amicus brief because of our position statement on early childhood services, which states that “substantial research and successful experience have established that early childhood services should be delivered in natural settings and, to the maximum extent possible, with same-aged peers who do not have disabilities.” Additionally, The Arc’s position statement on Human and Civil Rights states that “all people with IDD have the right to accommodations, assistance, and supports they need to exercise and ensure their human and civil rights.” Human and civil rights include the right to justice, equality, well-being, and equality of opportunity.
Courts have the power to grant appropriate systemic injunctive relief when it is necessary to remedy discrimination against people with disabilities.
