From the Nations Capital to wherever you are, the opinions that matter most, your own. This is what democracy looks like. Cspan powered by cable. Good afternoon everyone. Please take your seats so we can get started. Thank you. My name is Kristin Clarke attorney general at the department of justice and i am pleased to be here to celebrate the anniversary of the americans with disabilities act. [applause] [cheering] i want to acknowledge all of our distinguished guests, congressman hoyer, the chair of the eeoc, thehe department leads and we are pleased to host all of you today. Thirtythree years ago, congress sought to safeguard the rights of people with disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of society and to assure equality of opportunity. Independent living and economic selfsufficiency. This landmark law has supported countless numbers of people with disabilities the opportunity to vote without architectural barriers to work. To live in their own Home Communities instead of shuttered away and institutional settings. Today we celebrate on the Real Progress that has been achieved and reflect on the hard work that remains to be done. One area that demands greater attention and focus however because the interaction between people with disabilities and the criminal Justice System. Its what brings us all here together. Millions of disabled people have undesired and unnecessary interactions with Law Enforcement in our country. Those associated with Behavioral Health issues, he died in a jail for days after being arrested for trespassing and failure tosp appear in court on previous charges. Im talking about a white man in minneapolis who was in his own front yard shirtless, shoeless in pajama pants and experiencing. Im talking about a young black man with psychosis that caused him to believe that his father owned a store where he sold 5,000 with of snacks. He was arrested and placed in solitary confinement for 100 days while awaiting an evaluation on his competency to stand trial. He was subverted to a solitary confinement in a virginia prison when he entered a Police Officer stopped and restrained him following a suspicious person report. Im talking about abraham, a deaf black man arrested on charges of stealing an ipad. He was jailed for 40 days without access to a sign language interpreter. People with speech disabilities also. We cant provide them with effectivee communication. For many people with Mental Health disabilities, Substance Use disorders and developmental disabilities, we are at a split screen moment in history. Many are thriving in the community and are truly integrated in all aspects the public likes. Work, school, recreation, transportation, and has no negative interaction with of the criminal Justice System. But unfortunately, many others are entangled in that. Congress tried to cure 33 years ago with passage of the ada. This is discrimination. Isolation, segregation and relegation for the services with their programs and ultimately their opportunities. Racism, poverty, intergenerational trauma have come into play causing further harm to the experiences of people with disabilities. And i want to be clear when we talk about thek criminalization of people with disabilities in the country, we are talking about the Racial Justice issue. In the United States, 50 of People Killed by Law Enforcement are disabled. And more than half the disabled africanamericans that have been arrested by the time they turned 28. Not just people who experience police introductions but also those that experience incarceration. The blood to the statistics speak for themselves about a quarter of people in jail and 14 in prison have a Mental Illness compared to about 6 of all adults. Based on the 2021 incarcerated population, that means that over 330,000 people with serious Mental Illness are behind bars today. Once incarcerated, people are also 1. 7 times more likely to spend extended time in solitary confinement and 7. 4 times more likely to die by suicide. We see the same patterns when you become involved or entangled with police. While police with serious, they are involved in as many as 10 of all police calls and make up 17 of all uses of force and 20 of people injured in police interactions. Even more disturbing, about one fourth of all people have been people experiencing Mental Health issues, people with disabilities are often to the criminal Justice System revolving door of the repeated gail omissions and continued oversight with few offcampus services that have been proven to stop the cycle or prevent it from occurring in the first place. The critical and Effective Services also in short supply including mobile crisis teams that respond quickly to people in crisis and can help to deescalate the situation. It provides a housing subsidy and supportive services. Piers support Services Provided by people who through their own lens experienced through Mental Health or Substance Use disorder provides. They have the right to live in their own home and communities without the threat of arrest or incarceration. Segregation or institutionalization. Inua the last two years. Weve mounted litigation. Weve secured consent decrees while issuing guidance with federal partners to address the criminalization for example, we found that in louisville land minneapolis, we saw. Having a Specialized Health response rather than the law response. And certainly in emergencies where someone is experiencing a heart attack or a stroke or other trauma, just the same. A specialized response to Behavioral Health needs is similarlyar needed in the count. Mobile crisis teams have long recognized, have long been recognized as effective in resolving immediate crisis. We will seek appropriate alternative responses for people with Behavioral Health issues. We also had pending investigations in Oklahoma City and phoenix, where we are examining the same issues. But i want to say a brief word about the role of these. States are critical to ensure they can succeed in the community and to help prevent Law Enforcement encounters altogether. When a state Mental Health systems rely on institutionalization and local Law Enforcement responses rather than providing longterm services, they may run afoul of the integration mandate. In 2021, we found that they failed to provide a Safe Services leading to less hospitalization investigation and incarceration. Louisville ad oklahoma kentucky provide communitybased services in this for incarceration for people with mental disabilities. This build groundbreaking work for we Security Council that will list Police Involved lines possible new service away for these Crisis Services where appropriate. This division has been busy filing private litigation over the past year to ensure courts are appropriately interpreting and applying the law in this area. We waiting on a case for young black man in a Mental Health crisis of mcdonalds and was shot 23 times and weighed in on a case against the School District on behalf of kids with disabilities who were removed after experiencing Behavioral Health challenges and a 16yearold with autism and louisiana who died while first defendants were responding to the childs disability related episode or outburst. And all three of these, the facts alleged scenarios where modification such as deescalation or alternative response may have invented tragic outcomes. We recently secured in ohio for police discriminated against the driver with a mobility disability removed him from his car even though he didnt have his wheelchair with him with reasonable notifications available that would allow him to safely get out. Behavioral healthcare jails and prisons use restricted help and denial opportunity for programming they violate the constitution and the ada. We are enforcing nine settlements regarding the correctional facilities and an additional five ongoing investigations. Solomons call for connections to Community Services so people have critical Behavioral Healthcare they need upon release. Finally, while not directly related to criminal justice issues appropriate today, i want to bring to your attention to key piece of work on this anniversary. Last friday the Justice Department had a proposed rule of accessibility, long overdue. [applause] [applause] is important rule with technical standards for mobile app accessibility and services, programs and activities of state and local government and believe this proposed rule is finalized will have a Transformative Impact making Public Services and programs equally available across our country. Through vigorous enforcement of aca, partnerships with the criminal Justice Community and Racial Justice advocates and greater awareness, low true inclusion equality for people with disabilities. Attorney general Merrick Garland could not be here today but we will hear recorded remarks from the home is important anniversary. [applause] often. Im sorry i cannot be with you in person today but i did not want to miss this opportunity to welcome you to the department of justice. Thirty tomorrow with disabilities act was signed into law. The landmark civil rights law should in a new era for greater participation in the inclusion, independent living and opportunity for people with disabilities. The ada has been transformative, Opening Doors and removing barriers in nearly all aspects of life including recruiting, housing, education, employment, healthcare, transportation, rental and family rights and voting to name just a few and it has given the Justice Department some of our most important tools but the promise of equal opportunity and justice for people with disabilities. The anniversary of the ada gives us opportunity to recognize and celebrate enormous impact of people with disabilities and on our entire country. It also gives us an important opportunity to recognize the barriers that remain and recommit ourselves breaking them down. Far too often Law Enforcement officers are forced to respond to individuals facing challenges that do not have a Law Enforcement solution. This can contribute to significant harm to people experiencing Mental Health crises as well as need this incarceration or institutionalization of people. At the same time, it puts a great strain on Law Enforcement officers forced to fill in gaps Community Services. The Justice Department is working to address these challenges of the ada. Last month we traveled to midaugust to announce our investigation and minneapolis and the Police Department. During that investigation, many Behavioral Health related calls to not require response in the city failed to provide a meaningful opportunity and found examples of officers escalating situations and using avoidable force against people with Behavior Health disabilities. The city and mbd discriminate against people of Behavioral Health disabilities providing Emergency Response services. In violation of the ada. We are working closely with the city and pd and the community to develop a plan for addressing problems identified in the report. Earlier this year we announced similar findings violations involving Metro Police Department and jefferson county. We are working with local officials and Community Members measures. In addition to enforcement action we are working with partners across government to provide communities of Law Enforcement agencies to support Technical Assistance and resources they need to more effectively care for people in crisis. May of this year the Justice Department gathered with department of health and Human Services issued guidance for Emergency Responses to people with Behavior Health and other disabilities. This guidance provides state and local officials best practices responding to crises experienced by people with disability. Slightly different closely related subject, i want to let you know the Justice Department will soon issue a notice of rulemaking going website accessibility for people with disability. Depending on the day and time someone pushes play on recorded remarks, you may already know about that. The 33 years with the ada, our country has made important progress for filling the promise of equal justice and equal opportunity for people with disabilities but todays program is clear we have much more work to do. The Justice Department will never stop working to make real adas promise for all people with disabilities. We are grateful to everyone who has joined us today for your partnership in this work. [applause] i am delighted and honored to introduce our keynote speaker for todays event. Brian stevenson is the founder and executive director of equal Justice Initiative and lifelong advocate for Racial Justice for disability rights and criminal Justice System he began his legal career at the center for human rights helping represent death row inmates in the deep south. Eightynine he formed the equal Justice Initiative in montgomery, alabama to guarantee legal representation to any alabama inmates on death row made one of his first cases, i was the walter mcmillan, a black man sentenced to death for crime he did not commit. He represented him for several years and was able to exonerate him in 1993. Since then mr. Stevenson and ultimately able to exonerate him from prison in 1993. Since then, they have successfully represented hundreds of death row inmates. Much of his work revolves around the intersection between disability rights, Racial Justice and criminal justice. Uncompromising advocate for disabled people in over his career hes represented dozens of People Development of disabilities are incarcerated in prison or jail. In 2019, mr. Vincent successfully stopped the execution of a man with dementia by appealing the case to the United StatesSupreme Court. That was one of several Supreme Court cases hes argued and. He advocates for reform of terminal Justice System that disproportionally harms disabled people and published including his memoir which went on to become a major motion picture. And earned him countless awards and the American Bar Association ada metal aclu national and likely award and today mr. Stevenson continues to serve as director where opened a museum and memorial. Incredibly grateful for the work he does to owner americans with disabilities act and his decades of work and service. [applause] thank you so much. I am incredibly honored to be here. I am so wakeful for the kind introduction and excited to hear about the work of the department and Amazing Things taking place in this institution to advance people with disabilities talk about that to start by talking about the incredible work needed to advance and protect the rule of law because when a democracy starts to tolerate all of these are marginalized, we cannot protect any group of people in society we dont make fundamental commitments to enforce the rule of law. The standing up for rule of law and i cant be in this great hall without reflecting why it matters, why law matters. I started education and black children were not allowed to attend public school. When my dad was most of these in the community i grew up in a half has full degrees, not because they were not smart or want hardworking but because there were no high schools for black children in our country. The S