Resource: Long-Overdue Reform of D.C.'s Antediluvian Developmental Disabilities Law: From Forest Haven to the 21st Century

By: Robert L. Jr. Burgdorf

January 1, 2010

UDC/DCSL L. Rev

The purposes of this article are to examine the origins and nature of developmental disabilities laws and programs and their significance for people with such disabilities, to discuss the Forest Haven facility and the Evans litigation it spawned, to examine the Mentally Retarded Citizens Constitutional Rights and Dignity Act of 1978, to trace legal and programmatic developments in disability policy since 1978, and to compare the 1978 statute with the proposed Developmental Disabilities Reform Act. Part II of the article traces the history of federal developmental disabilities legislation, discusses the emergence of the terminology of "developmental disabilities" and its evolution, and describes the types and significance of developmental disabilities programs and services. Part III focuses on the Forest Haven facility and the treatment accorded those confined there, and looks at the ongoing proceedings in the court suit currently titled Evans v. Fenty and the judicial opinions it has produced in regard to those who resided in the institution. Part IV describes the 1978 statute, its origins, and some of its shortcomings; and then describes important developments, in philosophical and administrative approaches to developmental disabilities programs and services, and in the law, that have occurred since 1978. And Part V explores the presently pending DDRA bill, highlights some of the ways in which it expands and improves upon existing law on developmental disabilities supports and services in the District of Columbia, and offers a general critique of the bill.

https://digitalcommons.law.udc.edu/udclr/vol13/iss2/4/