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For nearly a century, parents were routinely told to “do the right thing” by placing children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) into institutions. Families were told institutions were the best place for care, learning, and safety.

But that story has a tragic underside. Overcrowding, neglect, disease, and lifelong segregation defined life in many institutions. As one person recalled after decades in an institution, “we couldn’t go places when we were younger … there was a lot of work scrubbing floors on our hands and knees.”

Between 1880 and 1967, the number of people living in state run ID/DD institutions rose from just 2,429 to 194,650. By 1967, almost half of those institutionalized were children.

That dark history cannot and must not be erased or ignored. But what gives hope is how far we have come. Thanks to shifts in public policy, social awareness, and the dedicated work of advocates and families, a dramatic transformation has occurred. From 1967 to 2017, the number of people with ID/DD living in state run institutions dropped from 194,650 down to 18,807.

Today, many people with ID/DD live in communities with family, in their own homes, in small group homes, or with supportive services that respect their dignity, choices, and humanity.

One of the core messages of the report 30 Years of Community Living for Individuals with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities is this: “No one is too disabled to live and work in the community.”

We cannot forget the past. The overcrowded wards, the lost lives, the years of isolation. That memory reminds us why community inclusion matters. But just as important, we must continue moving forward. We must preserve and expand the freedoms of people with ID/DD to live where they choose, work at jobs they find meaningful, and participate fully in community life.

Progress is not optional. Reverting to institutionalization is not a neutral decision. It is a return to deprivation, isolation, and segregation. As history shows, institutions often stripped people of dignity, health, and opportunity. What we have today, including community living, inclusion, supports, and the chance to belong, must not be undone.

Let us honor the past by protecting the future. As we continue to move forward, not backward.

30 Years of Community Living | acl.gov/30years

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