July 25, 2025
Impact on People with Disabilities
Executive Order: “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets”
On July 24, 2025, the Administration issued the “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” Executive Order. The Order requires, among other things, that the Attorney General review court settlements that limit civil commitment and that allegedly “create unnecessary barriers to long-term commitment for individuals with serious mental illness.”
As a protection and advocacy organization, DRCT is deeply concerned about the potential implications of this Executive Order for people with disabilities.
If implemented, the Executive Order could undo decades of established Supreme Court law that protects the right of people with disabilities to enjoy the same liberties all Americans enjoy. It could remove basic protections that prevent the arbitrary confinement of people based on their disability. It could remove the safeguards that allow people with disabilities to live in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, free from unnecessary institutionalization.
Before Supreme Court cases clarified these legal protections, people were too often confined for long periods of time in psychiatric hospitals and institutions with little or no reason — and in some cases, for wholly inappropriate reasons. Many people spent years or decades of their lives in overcrowded state psychiatric hospitals housing thousands of people. Instead of receiving treatment, they were neglected, abused, or had their rights violated for years.
This is a shared disability rights issue. Up to 40% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), such as Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, and others, have co-occurring mental health conditions. And yet, currently, only 1 in 10 children and adolescents with IDD and mental health disorders receive specialized services.
The Executive Order also:
1. Expands the use of police and institutionalization to respond to homelessness.
2. Prioritizes funding for states that treat homelessness as a crime and end housing-based solutions.
3. Cuts funding for lifesaving harm-reduction programs.
Alternatively, when funds are used to respond to homelessness and provide housing it addresses the concerns contained in the Executive Order. When Milwaukee, WI, used funds to address housing and homelessness in its “Housing First” initiative, municipal violations decreased by 82 percent, and the number of people experiencing homelessness decreased from 1,521 to 900. “Results showed a decrease in the use of jail beds and a decrease in homelessness, housing instability, and overall costs to the system.” Click here to read more: Can Housing Interventions Reduce Incarceration and Recidivism? | Housing Matters
Click here for a PDF copy of the statement.
If you have questions, comments, or would like more information, please contact our free and confidential Intake and Self-Advocacy Assistance phone line at 860-422-4220, available Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
