Disability studies has involved many different legal and reform movements throughout the state's history. Resources about a particular reform or legislative initiative may be contained in multiple collections, including official legislative records, records for individuals or advocacy organizations involved, and secondary sources, such as newspaper reports or opinion pieces. The Best Bets sources listed below are meant to be a starting point for research, and are not an inclusive list of everything held by this library. The library collection is particularly strong regarding reforms of the mental health system and institutional care.
Many laws addressing access, accessibility, medical care, education, and other aspects of disability studies were passed by the United States Congress. Federal laws should be researched through the United States Library of Congress, though researchers may also check for records in this library from individual Congresspersons or Senators, as well as advocacy groups. Additional context may be provided by researching public opinion and news coverage of the law's passage through the Minnesota newspaper collection at this library.
Similarly, availability of court records for disputes involving disability matters will depend upon the level of court hearing the case. U.S. Federal District Court records for Minnesota are held by the National Archives branches in Kansas City and Chicago. Use the National Archives website to determine the exact holdings and options for access.
Several key reforms in disability law have been highlighted below with suggested "Best Bets". These are not the only reform movements covered by library resources. For bills or reforms supported by advocacy groups, see the relevant Advocacy Groups tab in this guide. For accessibility reform, see the Universal Design tab in this guide. For further sources on state institutions and reforms, see the State Institution Records tab in this guide.
Major Reform Milestones:
To research a particular law or bill, first locate the year that it was proposed and use the Senate and House Journals to find the bill number. It will usually be listed as HF (House File) or SF (Senate File) and the number.
The House Journals (1973 onward) and Senate Journals (1973 onward) are searchable online. The Journals include an index of all bills proposed that session for each house of the legislature. This can be useful for researchers attempting to find proposed, but not passed, legislation for a particular session. For earlier sessions, use the Subject Index section of the printed index volumes to find bill titles and numbers.
For current laws on a particular subject, search or browse in the online Minnesota Statutes Topics Index. For a detailed step by step for state legislative research, see the Legislative History Research Guide.
To research a particular court case involving a person with a disability, researchers should start by determining which court the case may have been heard in using newspapers and other secondary sources. The following information may be helpful in finding a particular case:
Guardianships and institutional commitments were usually handled by the Probate Court, and are generally in a separate file under "Probate Court" for the respective county, not in the District Court's Civil Case Files. For more information on finding these types of case files, see the Court Records: Probate Courts Research Guide.
For Civil and Criminal Case Files, see the Court Records: District Courts Research Guide.
For cases involving discrimination based upon mental or physical disabilities, there may be additional records in the Attorney General's Human Rights Division Litigation Files, 1964-1985. For milestone cases, see the specific boxes below.
On March 20, 1948, Minnesota Governor Luther Youngdahl launched his reform agenda for the state's mental health hospitals after receiving numerous letters of concern from patients' families, and reviewing a report (A Summary of conditions in Minnesota state hospitals for the mentally ill) by the Unitarian Conference Committee on Institutions for the Mentally Ill. Youngdahl described the hospitals as one of the "greatest moral problems" facing the state.
A summary of conditions in Minnesota state hospitals for the mentally ill : a report to Governor Luther W. Youngdahl / by the Minnesota Unitarian Conference Committee on Institutions for the Mentally Ill ; Arthur Foote, chairman, 1948. MNHS call number: RC445.M62 M683 1948
Governor Luther Youngdahl Records, 1943-1951. See the files on: Governor's Commission on Mental Health, Proclamations, General Correspondence. The files cover all aspects of the operation of the governor’s office. Major topics include education, state budgets, legislation, health, transportation, judgeships, labor, law enforcement, the Legislative Advisory Committee, public institutions, Republican Party politics, veterans affairs, liquor control, pardons, finance, flood control, the Railroad and Warehouse Commission, extraditions, and paroles, and relations with various state agencies. They also include proclamations, speeches and statements, and press releases. Digital Finding Aid
Genevieve Steefel Papers, 1899-1971. Correspondence, notes, clippings, printed materials, reports, speeches, minutes, and other papers of Genevieve (Mrs. Lawrence D.) Steefel, a leader in numerous Minnesota and Minneapolis religious, cultural, social welfare, and human rights organizations. Genevieve Steefel was a member of Governor Youngdahl's Mental Health Commission and the Minnesota Mental Hygiene Society. MNHS call number: P317
Minnesota Bedlam. Geri Hoffner and photographer Art Hager, 1948. Article series that ran in the Minneapolis Tribune, May 13-25, 1948. Also available digitally through the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities website here.
Minnesota Bedlam Revisited. Geri Hoffner Joseph and photographer Art Hager, 1950-1951. Article series that ran in the Minneapolis Tribune, December 26, 1950 - January 5, 1951. Also available digitally through the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities website here.
The Crusade for Forgotten Souls: Reforming Minnesota's Mental Institutions, 1946-1954. Susan Bartlett Foote, 2018. MNHS call number: RC445.M6 F66 2018
Finding Engla Schey : catalyst for mental hospital reform in Minnesota. Susan Bartlett Foote, Minnesota History, 64/6 (summer 2015). Digital Article
Beyond the Library:
With an Eye to the Past. Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities website. Includes multiple original documents and other sources about the history of state hospitals, reforms, and the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Decided by the United States District Court for Minnesota, this case was presented by six residents of Minnesota state hospitals alleging that conditions violated their right to treatment, community-based alternatives to segregated care, and programs of habilitation under the Fourteenth Amendment and that some conditions violated the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the Eighth Amendment. The court found for the plaintiffs in February of 1974, leading to the Welsch Consent Decree of 1980. This decree ordered significant changes in staffing and population size, certain medical and behavior management procedures, and state hospital environments. NOTE: Many of the files in the following collections contain private information about individuals. Those files are restricted for 75 years from the last date in the record.
Best Bets:
Litigation File: Welsch v Noot, 1967-1990. Minnesota Attorney General, Public Welfare Division. Welsch v. Noot is an alternative name for the case that became known as Welsch v Likins. The suit was filed against the Department of Public Welfare commissioners Arthur Noot, Edward Dirkswager, Vera Likins, Leonard Levine, and Sandra Gardebring. Digital finding aid
Welsch Consent Decree Compliance Files, 1967-1991. Minnesota Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health. Records relating to the Welsch Consent Decree, a landmark court case (1972-1989) which led to major changes in the treatment of Minnesota's institutionalized citizens with intellectual disabilities. The division's compliance officer worked with the U.S. District Court Monitor for the Welsch Consent Decree to ensure compliance with the provisions of the consent decree. Digital finding aid
CAIR, community alternatives and institutional reform : planning alternatives for the developmentally disabled individual. Minnesota State Planning Agency, Developmental Disabilities Program, 1975. MNHS call number: HV1555.M6 M67
Welsch v. Likins. Disability Justice website with links to original news coverage, case documents, and interviews with some participants.
This landmark United States Supreme Court case held that "institutional placement of persons who can handle and benefit from community settings perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable of or unworthy of participating in community life."
Additionally, the court judged that "confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment." These statements spurred renewed efforts at de-institutionalization, community living opportunities, and the closing of many state run hospital facilities that formerly isolated their residents.
For Minnesota, the further case of Jensen v. MN Department of Human Services (2009) led to the creation of a Minnesota Olmstead Plan to improve the care and treatment available for Minnesotans with developmental and other disabilities as part of the settlement agreement.
Best Bets:
Records of the Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, 1987-2008. Annual and biennial reports, correspondence, newsletters, news clippings, and reports of this health oversight agency. Contains the original Ombudsman report on the use of restraints at Cambridge State Hospital, "Just Plain Wrong", that the lawsuit was partially based on. Digital finding aid
Olmstead Plan Records, 2012 - 2020. Includes the Olmstead Planning Committee agendas, meeting minutes and meeting files, the Governor's Olmstead Subcabinet meeting agendas, meeting minutes and meeting files, executive orders, Olmstead Plan drafts and public comments, annual and quarterly reports, work plans, surveys, reports to the court, and related records. Arranged in chronological order. Digital finding aid
Beyond the Library:
Person-Centered Practices, Positive Supports and the Jensen Settlement Agreement. Minnesota Department of Human Services website with resources about the case, settlement, and implementation.
Jensen v. MN Dept. of Human Services. Disability Justice website with links to original news coverage and documents for the case.
METO Lawsuit and Jensen Settlement Agreement Documents. Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, State Institutions Documents Resource Page.
