In short
The episode examines how disability-rights protections for community living may be weakened, focusing on the “integration mandate” from the Olmstead Supreme Court ruling and current legal and Medicaid threats.
Guests/backgrounds
Jennifer Mathis, of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, discusses the harms of institutionalization. Cody Brendel (27, blind and autistic) and his sister Kaylee Brendel (23, runs a disability rights organization; studies disability law) describe their lives and fears.
Key claims
The Trump administration is challenging enforcement of community integration; DOJ signaled states don’t have to provide community-based care. Laws matter only if systems and funding do.
Notable examples
Cody’s community program, Next Steps (Medicaid-funded), provides morning meetings, outings, job training at Jersey Mike’s, and friendships; Kaylee fears future institutionalization if services or Medicaid funding are cut.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOHistorical Context of Disability Rights
0:45 to 1:40
Exploring the history of disability rights and the significance of the Olmstead ruling.
“Then in 1999, in a case known as Olmstead, the Supreme Court ruled all states must serve adults with disabilities in their communities when possible.”
Current Challenges to Disability Rights
1:40 to 2:15
Discussion on the Trump administration's impact on disability rights and community services.
“Support for this podcast and the following message come from Made in Cookware.”
Cody and Kaylee's Journey
2:52 to 4:21
Narrative on Cody and Kaylee Brendle's experiences growing up and their current challenges.
“Siblings Cody and Kaylee Brendel, who were both in their 20s, grew up with the right to integration in their communities.”
Importance of Community-Based Programs
4:21 to 6:01
Explaining the benefits of community-based programs for individuals with disabilities.
“and that boils down to just disabled people deserve to receive our services in the community with our loved ones, not isolated in institutions.”
Concerns About Future Services
6:01 to 9:33
Kaylee expresses her fears regarding potential institutionalization and service cuts.
“He would text me and he would just be very sad.”
Cody's Experience at Next Steps
9:33 to 10:34
Cody shares his positive experiences with the Next Steps program and its impact.
“when that time comes when my parents aren't here.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Jonaki Mehta:It's Consider This where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, fighting to keep disability rights. Cody and Kaleigh Brendle grew up just inland of the Jersey Shore. The siblings who both have disabilities came of age knowing it is their right to live, learn, and work in their community. Not long ago, millions of people like them could have been segregated in institutions. Who you can see, when you can go out, who you talk to.
0:28Cody Brendle:For so many people who are institutionalized, their life is literally a hallway.
0:35Jonaki Mehta:That's Jennifer Mathis of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. She spoke to NPR in June.
0:40Cody Brendle:I have been on those hallways with people. It is deadening.
0:45Jonaki Mehta:Then in 1999, in a case known as Olmstead, the Supreme Court ruled all states must serve adults with disabilities in their communities when possible.
0:54Kaleigh Brendle:Unnecessary segregation of persons with mental disabilities perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that such persons are unfit for or unworthy of participating in community life.
1:07Jonaki Mehta:That's the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reading the decision. Now, 27 years later, that could change again. Consider this. The Trump administration is trying to reverse course and challenge the rights of Americans with disabilities to be integrated into their communities, and an entire system of community-based disability services that more than 8 million Americans rely on.
1:40Jonaki Mehta:From NPR, I'm Juana Summers. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Made in Cookware. President and co-founder Jake Kalick shares the key ingredients that go into Maiden products. We try to design products that are going to last you an incredibly long time. And to know that we're making this in places that take the raw materials seriously, take the manufacturing processes seriously, that's ultimately what's going to allow us to sleep better at night selling this product to you.
2:09Cody Brendle:Learn more about Maiden Cookware at m-a-d-e-i-n-cookware.com.
2:14Jonaki Mehta:This message comes from Thumbtack. Recommendations can be great. Maybe someone recommended this podcast and here you are. But home projects are different. If a podcast isn't your thing, you lose a few minutes. If you hire your cousin's neighbor to mount your TV, you might end up with a lopsided screen and wall damage. That's why Thumbtack works. It matches people with top-rated local pros with photos, reviews, and credentials all in one place. For your next home project, try Thumbtack. Hire the right pro today.
2:51Jonaki Mehta:It's Consider This from NPR. Siblings Cody and Kaylee Brendel, who were both in their 20s, grew up with the right to integration in their communities. Now, they worry those protections for people with disabilities like them are being eroded. NPR's Janaki Meta spent time with the siblings and has this story.
3:10Kaleigh Brendle:This is my older brother Cody. He is 27 years old. He is a thrill seeker, and I wish I could be half as cool as he is.
3:20Jonaki Mehta:I have a great sister, Kaylee, and she's so funny, so good. I love her.
3:25Cody Brendle:Kaylee, who's now 23, says she and Cody were always close growing up and helped each other navigate life as two blind kids. They plop down on their parents' back patio, which overlooks the Matitakonk River. It's one of their favorite places to hang out.
3:40Jonaki Mehta:We would play fun games together, like hang out, do everything.
3:43Kaleigh Brendle:I was the annoying little sister that was like, wait for me, wait for me.
3:47Cody Brendle:Moments like these are harder to come by because Kaylee's been really busy lately, running a disability rights organization. And when we met her, she was getting ready to move across the country for law school.
3:58Kaleigh Brendle:I aspire to practice disability rights law full time, whether that's at a protection and advocacy agency, if the government goes back to the way it needs to be, maybe a government job, you know.
4:09Cody Brendle:The government isn't where it needs to be, according to Kaylee, because she says the Trump administration is going after the kinds of programs that have made a fulfilling, independent life possible for her and Cody.
4:20Kaleigh Brendle:They're attacking the integration mandate, and that boils down to just disabled people deserve to receive our services in the community with our loved ones, not isolated in institutions.
4:31Cody Brendle:The integration mandate is a core promise that's built into civil rights laws, like the Americans with Disabilities Act. The government made that promise after people with disabilities fought against segregation in institutions, which have a long history of abuse and neglect. And the promise of integration has helped shape an entire generation of disabled people's lives. People like Kaylee and Cody.
4:55Kaleigh Brendle:In terms of Cody's life, he's getting community-based support that we've shown is critical for him. And for me, the integration mandate is why I get to go to law school. And when the time comes that I'm a mom, the integration mandate is going to make sure that my kid's not taken because I'm disabled.
5:13Cody Brendle:But now there are looming threats. Texas is leading a lawsuit that calls the integration mandate into question. Then this summer, the Department of Justice put out a legal opinion agreeing with the plaintiffs, saying that states do not have to provide community-based care to people with disabilities. It's a program that more than 8 million Americans rely on. NPR tried reaching the Trump administration for comment several times and did not hear back. And to be clear, the law itself hasn't changed. But Kaylee is concerned.
5:44Kaleigh Brendle:Because laws are great, but laws have to have systems in place that make sure they're enforced. Now the DOJ has essentially said we're not going to do that anymore. That affects everything. Integrated setting affects school. It affects where you can work. It affects the community-based programs like what my brother uses.
6:00Cody Brendle:After high school and before Cody got into the program he's in now, Kaylee says he just wasn't himself.
6:07Kaleigh Brendle:He was in a kind of limbo. He would text me and he would just be very sad. And I was like, it feels like I'm losing my brother.
6:14Cody Brendle:Then Cody's family finally found the right fit. A community-based program called Next Steps, a couple miles from home. It's the kind of Medicaid-funded program that disability rights advocates spent decades fighting for. Kaylee says it's helped Cody, who's blind and also has autism, to become more independent.
6:33Kaleigh Brendle:It's a night and day change, and it brings him structure and opportunities to socialize with other disabled adults.
6:41Jonaki Mehta:Hi, good morning. How's it going?
6:43Cody Brendle:We tagged along with Cody to his program.
6:46Jonaki Mehta:So if everybody could find a seat, that means phones away.
6:49Cody Brendle:Jen Dyer, the executive director of Next Steps, gathers a two or so dozen adults for a morning meeting. Everyone shares what they got up to over the weekend.
6:58Kaleigh Brendle:I had to go to my cousin's in New York for a birthday party. They have a pool now, so I got to spend the day there.
7:04Jonaki Mehta:Cody, I saw you had your hand up. What was your question for Warren? Did he go in your pool at your house or was someone else's?
7:10Cody Brendle:No, no, it was my cousin's pool. Jen Dyer tells me later that was the first time Cody ever chimed in with a question. It's a big moment for him. He's usually pretty shy. As the morning meeting ends, it's time to get out in the community, learning life skills like getting groceries.
7:27Jonaki Mehta:We're going on the way to the store right now.
7:29Cody Brendle:I hop into the Next Steps van with Cody, and his shy exterior starts to melt away.
7:34Jonaki Mehta:Because I'm a good at telling jokes, and I love comedy.
7:36Cody Brendle:To pass the time, he hits me with some of his favorite one-liners.
7:40Jonaki Mehta:Why do husbands forget their mistakes? Why? There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.
Read the full transcript
7:47Cody Brendle:Once we get to the store, Cody navigates the aisles with the help of an aide and his cane. And he practices counting money and checking out. Later, he heads to his favorite part of the program, job training.
8:04Jonaki Mehta:We're at Jersey Mike's and I'm going to be working here.
8:05Cody Brendle:He's wearing a blue dress shirt and a Jersey Mike's hat and heads to the back where the kitchen is to bop some lettuce.
8:12Jonaki Mehta:That's my favorite job, bobbing the lettuce. You have to take the whole head of lettuce and bang it down a couple of times to loosen the core.
8:22Cody Brendle:He cleans tables and stack shelves too, but Cody says working here has taught him much more than that.
8:28Jonaki Mehta:To do everything efficiently, work carefully and being able to communicate or talk with all my co-workers and my supervisor.
8:34Cody Brendle:Cody says he's going to use these skills to apply for a job at the local Papa John's or an appliance store. This is the point of these programs, to help adults gain the skills they need to be as independent as possible within their communities.
8:47Jonaki Mehta:Have a nice day, guys.
8:50Cody Brendle:Back at home on the patio, Cody tells me more than anything, it's the friendships he's building through Next Steps he loves most. He says it's the first time he's had that since high school.
9:01Jonaki Mehta:I'm doing that stuff that I used to do, going to fun places, meeting new friends, going boating, going swimming.
9:06Cody Brendle:Another big reason states have shifted to community-based programs is because they also cost far less than institutions. But on top of the legal threats to these community-based services, the Trump administration has also cut roughly a trillion dollars from Medicaid, which pays for programs like Cody's. And Kayleigh is afraid of what all this could mean in the long run.
9:28Kaleigh Brendle:I am fearful of the possibility that he could be put at risk of institutionalization when that time comes when my parents aren't here. And I will do everything that I can to make sure that he has what he needs. But if he were institutionalized, it's deeply scary for me to think about.
9:45Cody Brendle:She worries the dark past for disabled Americans could become the future. It's why she's been traveling the country, meeting with lawmakers through her organization, Judy's League, and why she's studying disability law at UC Berkeley. And for now, she takes comfort in knowing that Cody has supportive parents and access to a program that helps him do the things he loves. Like going out on a boat with his group at Next Steps.
10:12Jonaki Mehta:I'm driving the boat now. How do you make it go faster? I'm feeling great. I'm loving it right now.
10:17Cody Brendle:Like a true Jersey Shore guy, Cody says right here on the water, with the wind in his hair and friends by his side, he feels right at home. Janaki Mehta and Peer News, Brick, New Jersey.
10:29Jonaki Mehta:This episode was produced by Janet Ujung Lee, Erica Ryan, and Karen Zamora with audio engineering by Ted Meebane. It was edited by Steve Drummond, Nirvi Shaw, and Sarah Handel. Our director is Jonas Adams. And our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning. Thanks to our Consider This Plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors and unlock bonus episodes of Consider This. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
11:07Jonaki Mehta:It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Juana Summers. Want to hear this podcast without sponsor breaks? Amazon Prime members can listen to consider this sponsor free through Amazon Music. Or you can also support NPR's vital journalism and get NPR Plus at plus.npr.org. That's plus.npr.org. This week on the NPR Politics Podcast. The Trump administration is taking credit for a major drop in violent crime. Murder, robbery, assault, all down in big cities and small towns. We're going to dig into the numbers and unpack whether this is really as simple as the president claims it is on the NPR Politics Podcast.
11:48Jonaki Mehta:Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
From the publisher
Not long ago, millions of people like them could have been segregated in institutions. Then in 1999, in a case known as Olmstead, the Supreme Court ruled states must serve adults with disabilities in their communities when possible. Now, the Trump administration is trying to reverse course.
NPR’s Jonaki Mehta spent time with the Brendles, who share what it means to live as disabled people integrated in their community.
This episode was produced by Janet Woojeong Lee, Erika Ryan and Karen Zamora, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. Our director is Jonas Adams.
It was edited by Steve Drummond, Nirvi Shah and Sarah Handel.
Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorning.
Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
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