On November 5, 2024, Chief Judge Pratt of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted the ACLU of Indiana’s request for a preliminary injunction against the Indiana Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on behalf of Next Step Recovery Homes (Next Step). In a suit filed earlier this year, the ACLU of Indiana argued that DHS was discriminating against Next Step on the basis of the disability of their residents.
Next Step is a non-profit therapeutic recovery housing provider in Dubois County. In collaboration with Behind the Wire, a faith-based non-profit that provides evidence-based recovery services in Indiana, Next Step operates a group home for men recovering from substance abuse and addiction disorders. In 2023, DHS determined that the home—a typical single-family residence—was required to meet the heightened, and more expensive, standards that apply to “Class 1” structures. The home would be classified as a Class 2 structure if a “typical” family lived there, and the Class 1 designation is being applied solely because the home houses individuals with disabilities.
Finding that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed in the lawsuit, Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt’s preliminary injunction requires DHS to treat Next Step’s home as a Class 2 structure.
This outcome mirrors an ACLU of Indiana victory in 2019 on behalf of New Horizons Rehabilitation, who provide services to Hoosiers with disabilities. The ACLU of Indiana is currently representing four other group home providers in identical lawsuits against DHS.
Statement from ACLU of Indiana Legal Director, Ken Falk
"Federal law guarantees that persons with disabilities may not be discriminated against. And yet the State of Indiana is imposing heightened burdens on the Next Step Recovery Home and its clients solely because they are persons with disabilities," said Ken Falk, Legal Director of the ACLU of Indiana. "This is unlawful."
