Curtis-Wilson Plan for Montana
The State of Montana asked the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities to help create the Curtis-Wilson Plan. We were calling this the Olmstead Plan, but we want to change that. Olmstead was the person trying to keep people with disabilities living in institutions. Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson were the brave women who said “no!” They took Olmstead to the US Supreme Court and won. We celebrate them by calling it the Curtis-Wilson Plan.
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The Curtis-Wilson planning process will be from Spring 2024 to Winter 2025.
We will update this webpage as we go through the process. Be sure to check back regularly for current information.
What is the Curtis-Wilson Plan?
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The Curtis-Wilson Plan is the state’s plan to keep people with disabilities living where they want.
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Disability Rights Mississippi created a video explaining the Olmstead Decision. .
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The plan makes sure that people can get services from the State in their communities. People don’t need to live in institutions if they don’t want to.
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It is an opportunity to provide modern answers to living independently.
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The State of Montana is working with partners like us to make the plan. They are also working with the (MTSILC).
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We will provide opportunities for people to speak about the plan. We will be traveling around the state to learn what people think about the plan. We want to be sure people get the services they need in their communities. We want the Curtis-Wilson Plan to work for everyone!
Our Curtis-Wilson workplan has six goals:
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Show data on services provided by the State of Montana.
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Ensure plain language is available at all steps of the process.
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Talk with consumers, stakeholders, and partners statewide. Listen to people and gather feedback on the plan.
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Produce a draft Curtis-Wilson Plan.
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Create a plan to review the Curtis-Wilson Plan in 2026.
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Share the Curtis-Wilson Plan across Montana.
Timeline:
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Spring 2024:
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Look at data and plan for feedback meetings.
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Kick-off Meeting was held 4/11/24.
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Summer/Fall 2024:
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Held regional focus groups held around the state with people with disabilities, family members, and caregivers. We used a combination of in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings.
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Winter 2024/2025:
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Look at data from feedback meetings.
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Conduct interviews to better understand what we learned from the focus groups.
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Interviews of people who are living in congregate care settings or recently transitioned. Congregate care settings are places like group homes or residential treatment centers where people live and receive care together.
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Spring 2025:
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Meet with DPHHS to set goals and objectives for the plan.
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Summer/Fall 2025:
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Draft plan and collect additional feedback.
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Winter 2025:
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Share the final plan statewide.
What We Are Learning
Thank you to everyone who participated in our focus groups and provided input. We appreciate hearing from you and value your thoughts.
In total, we hosted 20 focus groups in 10 Montana counties. We spoke with 81 people: 31 people with disabilities, 19 family members/caregivers, and 31 advocates. The advocates came from 28 disability organizations.
We asked participants about their experiences with barriers and challenges. We also asked participants about their ideas for improving community living supports. We will use their input to address the priority areas in the next Olmstead Plan.
We asked about the challenges facing people with disabilities who want to live independently in their communities.
We heard about five themes:
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People with disabilities can’t live independently without affordable, accessible housing and transportation. We need more low-income housing and more housing vouchers. Adaptive and accessible vehicles are expensive, and there are few transportation options in rural areas. Lack of transportation makes it hard for people with disabilities to be part of their communities. It makes it difficult for people to do what they want, when they want. We need more flexible transportation options that work for people’s schedules.
What would help? Here are some ideas participants shared:
- Universal design standards in housing. For example, if all units on the first floor of a building were accessible.
- Provide incentives like tax credits for building accessible housing.
- Increase the amount of low-income housing and housing vouchers.
- Expand bus and paratransit hours beyond 8-5.
- Increase the number of routes.
- Provide incentives for on-demand transit like Lyft and Uber.
What participants said:
“To improve choice, for me, it boils down to transportation and housing. Where are you going to live, and how are you going to get to where you need to go? Those are the two things that just bring so much... The autonomy, real autonomy, and actually being treated not like a child.”
“Paratransit runs from 8:00 to 5:00, so it’s great for medical appointments, but I’d like to go do things like listen to music or just get out. But I can’t do so with my power chair.”
"If you’re a low-income person, you can find a cheap car. But if you’re disabled, you’re not. The cost is so prohibitive."
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People in rural areas may have access to only one provider, who might not take Medicaid. They may have to travel out of the state for higher levels of care. There are not enough caregivers for home-based care. Caregivers are not paid well and are hard to keep. Medicaid rules are confusing. Waivers have long waitlists. We need a healthcare system that works together to provide people with the care they need in their communities.
What would help? Here are some ideas participants shared:
- Increase the number of providers that accept Medicaid waivers. More providers give people more healthcare choices.
- Increase Medicaid waiver slots and reduce waiver waitlists.
- Improve the process for home modifications and medical equipment.
- Maintain or expand telehealth options, including mental health support.
- Provide health and prevention services in local communities.
- Support home-based caregivers in community settings.
- Increase wages and benefits for home-based caregivers and Personal Care Attendants (PCAs).
- Strengthen local mental health and crisis services.
What participants said:
“Well, I think [the state] could provide more options… We don't really have a lot of choices. We're very limited. It's either you have it or you don't and you take what's there.”
“Caregiver wages are a big part of this issue because even I am having trouble finding caregivers… They don't pay caregivers a living wage. So you can't hire people that are good workers because you can make more money flipping a burger at McDonald's.”
"I'd like to just talk about being proactive in addressing the payment structure for care in the home, whether that's paraprofessional, whether that's a family member or a paid licensed healthcare professional to provide that care so that people can age in place. Because right now, it's really inconsistent. Some people can get paid to care for their loved one, others can't, and the pay rates are all over the place. If we really want people to stay in their homes and not be forced into institutions, we need a sustainable system that actually supports the caregivers too. Otherwise, we're just going to keep losing them, and the whole system falls apart."
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Education and employment opportunities help people with disabilities succeed in life. Completing school and securing a job are common goals for disabled people. To help them reach these goals, we need increased funding and support. Schools and businesses need more training on how to provide accommodations. Schools need more money for special education services and inclusive classrooms. The government can hire more people with disabilities, or reward businesses that do. Schools and employers should work together to help people transition from school to employment.
What would help? Here are some ideas participants shared:
- Strengthen education and school-based supports.
- Expand school-based therapy services.
- Increase teacher training on accommodations and inclusive practices.
- Improve transition services to support Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ into adulthood.
- Increase hiring of people with disabilities in state agencies.
- Increase pay for people with disabilities.
- Provide incentives for business to hire people with disabilities.
What participants said:
“The more we normalize seeing people of all different abilities out in the community, they're just integrated right into the community… The more that they are employed by the state, and other public organizations, that starts breaking down barriers that, yes, they can do those things.”
“We need more inclusion, not just in classrooms but in planning transitions to adulthood. That gap is where so many kids fall through.”
“I'd like to say that the state could really work to incentivize businesses to hire people with disabilities, and also to educate them that, yes, this person is perfectly capable.”
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People with disabilities should have control over their own lives. They should be able to make their own decisions. Disabled people should be able to easily access the services they need. Everyone should be able to understand government paperwork. Everyone should be allowed to choose for themselves.
What would help? Here are some ideas participants shared:
- Reduce unnecessary guardianship.
- Expand supported decision-making teams.
- Provide education on ABLE accounts and other financial tools.
- Assume people on government assistance are honest. Don’t focus on finding fraud.
- Reduce paperwork and reporting.
- Strengthen laws that protect the individual rights of people with disabilities.
- Expand Medicaid eligibility for adaptive equipment and PCA services.
What participants said:
"There are some cases where folks need more supports than others, but generally speaking, enough good planning with a good care team and a good support team can save forcing people into things that are very hard to undo."
“[It’s about] actively trying to put plans together where we're creating support teams that can help people make those decisions, or feel supported to make decisions about themselves, and not be forced into restrictions like that, I think is an important part of that inclusion.”
“Something that needs to be considered here is strengthening legislation for individual rights... Some of the struggles that we find oftentimes with the individuals that we support are the barriers that are created between individual choice and guardian choice."
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People with disabilities need to be included in decisions about disability policies. Involving disabled people raises awareness and improves attitudes about disability. We should educate people on disability rights. We must ensure disabled people can access all public spaces. We need to make sure all people can access state services. We can work together to reduce disability stigma and live in our communities.
What would help? Here are some ideas participants shared:
- Improve physical accessibility in public spaces.
- Increase funding for universal design.
- Increase disability representation in government.
- Hire more people with disabilities in state government.
- Require disability representation in all state planning processes.
- Fund paid advisory groups for people with disabilities.
- Strengthen public awareness and training. Start with state employees and law enforcement. Expand disability education in schools. Use public outreach.
- Improve voting accessibility.
- Make government resources more user-friendly.
What participants said:
“Nothing about us without us should be the policy across the board.”
“Yes, it meets disability standards, but it’s not disability friendly.”
“I also think it would be great if the state started to think about providing training for all of their employees, and to offer that same training to private employers, and city and county governments training them on how to work with and communicate with, interact with people with disabilities, and how not to.”
How We Can Make Life Better for Montanans with Disabilities
We heard about many things that can help! Things like cutting red tape, improving state services, and increasing funding where it matters. These actions will help keep people out of institutions and in their communities.
We created a flyer with recommendations from our focus groups. Click here to view the flyer.
Attachments:
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Olmstead Decision in PL
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HB922
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Rural Transit Request for Funds
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Focus Group Flyer
Timeline:
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Look at data and plan for feedback meetings.
Kick-off Meeting held 4/11/24. -
Held regional focus groups held around the state with people with disabilities, family members, and caregivers. We used a combination of in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings.
- 9/24/24 – Havre (hybrid)
- 9/26/24 – Polson (in-person)
- 9/27/24 – Billings (in-person, 2 meetings)
- 10/2/24 – Miles City (hybrid)
- 10/4/24 – Helena (in-person)
- 10/8/24 – Helena (virtual)
- 10/9/24 – Miles City (hybrid)
- 10/15/24 – Missoula (hybrid)
- 10/15/24 – Missoula (virtual)
- 10/17/24 – Great Falls (hybrid, 2 meetings)
- 10/18/24 – Bozeman (in-person)
- 10/22/24 – Butte (in-person)
- 10/26/24 – Billings (virtual)
- 10/29/24 – Kalispell (virtual, 2 meetings)
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Look at data from feedback meetings.
Conduct interviews to better understand what we learned from the focus groups. (More information below in “How to get involved”)
We will interview people who are living in congregate care settings or recently transitioned. Congregate care settings are places like group homes or residential treatment centers where people live and receive care together. -
Begin drafting review plan.
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Collect feedback on draft plan, finalize review plan.
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Share the final plan statewide.
How to get involved:
We have completed our focus groups for 2024. A huge “thank you!” to everyone who participated and provided input.
We still need your help! We would like to interview people about their transition from a congregate care setting (places like group homes or residential treatment centers). We are looking for people who:
- Receive the Severe Disabling Mental Illness (SDMI) waiver,
- Have transitioned or are in transition from a congregate care setting, and
- Are willing to be interviewed about their experience.
If you are an SDMI waiver client and would like to be interviewed, please email Molly Kimmel at molly.kimmel@mso.umt.edu or leave her a voicemail at 406-243-4779.