This year, as Fello celebrates 65 years of supporting people with disabilities and building inclusive communities, we’re reflecting on the history of the disability rights movement and the milestones that helped shape the work we do today.
For decades, advocates worked toward a powerful goal: the right for people with disabilities to live, work, and participate fully in their communities. By the 2000s, many of those hard-fought victories began to transform the everyday experiences of people with disabilities in community life.
The decade marked a turning point. Institutions continued to close, self-directed services expanded, and new opportunities emerged for people with disabilities to pursue employment, housing, and greater independence. Just as importantly, public perceptions continued to evolve, reinforcing the growing understanding that people with disabilities belong in every part of community life.
The End of Rosewood
By the early 2000s, the shift away from institutionalization was well underway. States had been closing facilities since the 1980s, and changing public attitudes, legal challenges, and growing evidence of the benefits of community living accelerated the trend. By 2004, the number of Americans living in institutions had declined 79% from its 1967 peak.
Maryland was part of that transformation. Over time, the state closed major facilities, including Henryton State Hospital in 1985, Great Oaks Center in 1996, and Crownsville State Hospital in 2004. But few closures carried greater symbolic significance than the closing of Rosewood Center.
For over a century, Rosewood stood as Maryland’s largest institution for people with disabilities. By the late 2000s, incidents, investigations, and a critical report from the Maryland Disability Law Center made one thing clear: an inclusive Maryland wouldn’t be possible while Rosewood remained open. Years of sustained advocacy intensified calls for change.
On January 15, 2008, Governor Martin O’Malley issued an executive order to close Rosewood. Less than eighteen months later, on June 30, 2009, Rosewood permanently closed—bringing an end to a painful chapter in Maryland’s history and marking the beginning of a new era of community participation and belonging.
Self-Direction Comes to Maryland
As more people with disabilities moved into communities, demand for services continued to grow. Families and advocates increasingly pushed for approaches that offered greater flexibility and personal choice. One model began to stand out: self-direction.
Early pilot programs across the country demonstrated promising results. Between 1997 and 2001, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation supported self-direction pilots in more than 18 states. In Maryland, a grant enabled 15 people with disabilities across four counties to manage their own services—and participants reported stronger social connections, greater satisfaction with services, and increased independence.
Maryland embraced the model. In 2005, the Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) launched New Directions, a statewide program that allowed up to 100 Marylanders to direct their own services. That program became the foundation for the self-direction model that thousands across the state rely on today.
Fello has been part of that work from the beginning. Since 2006, we have served as Maryland’s largest Financial Management Services (FMS) provider, supporting thousands of people in navigating Self-Directed Services and exercising greater choice in their daily lives.
New Opportunities for Housing & Employment
As barriers to community participation began to fall, attention increasingly turned toward two essential building blocks of independence: housing and employment.
Across the country, new housing models emerged to support people with disabilities who wanted alternatives to institutional settings.
By 2002, the number of group homes nationwide had tripled over the previous decade, and advocates pushed for greater access to affordable housing that allowed people to live where and with whom they chose.
In Maryland, Fello helped advance that vision through our A Home of Your Own Project, launched in 1999. By the early 2000s, hundreds of Marylanders had benefited from the program, pursuing homeownership and securing housing that offered greater independence and stability.
Today, Fello Communities carries that work forward, creating quality, affordable homes that help people live the lives they choose.
Unemployment was also a barrier. At the start of the decade, only 23% of people with a disability in the U.S. worked an integrated job in the community. Closing that gap meant creating jobs that matched people’s strengths.
Customized employment emerged as an innovative approach that focuses on each person’s unique talents and goals. Programs built around this model demonstrated that people with significant disabilities could succeed in competitive employment when provided the right supports. In 2003, a Maryland initiative achieved an 89% employment rate for participating people with significant developmental disabilities over four years.
Fello launched its own customized employment program in 2004, opening new avenues to meaningful work and economic independence. More than 20 years later, our workforce development program continues to provide comprehensive support, helping people with disabilities not just find jobs, but thrive in them.
The Power of Words
The disability rights movement has always been about more than laws and services. It has also been about dignity, respect, and how society talks about disability.
During the 2000s, a growing movement challenged the continued use of the “R-word.” Once a clinical term, it had long since evolved into a widely used insult and a source of exclusion for people with disabilities and their families. Advocates argued that language shapes perceptions—and that changing language was an important step toward creating more inclusive communities.
The Spread the Word to End the Word campaign, launched in 2009, brought the conversation to millions. It inspired widespread pledges of support for respectful language. News media use of the word dropped sharply between 2006 and 2010, and the momentum eventually reached the federal level.
In 2010, Rosa’s Law removed the term from federal statutes and replaced it with more respectful language. The legislation was inspired by Rosa Marcellino, a young Marylander whose advocacy helped drive change nationwide.
The campaign demonstrated a lesson that has guided advocates for generations: when people challenge assumptions and speak up for inclusion, culture can change.
The Decade That Opened Doors
The 2000s were a decade of expanding possibilities.
Institutions continued to close. Self-direction gave people greater control over their services. New pathways for employment and housing became more accessible. The language around disability evolved, too—moving toward greater accuracy and respect.
By the end of the decade, more people with disabilities were living, working, and participating in their communities than ever before.
The progress achieved during the 2000s reflected a belief that has guided Fello since 1961: every person deserves to build the life they choose, and communities are stronger when everyone has the chance to belong.
Next in the series: The 2010s—healthcare reform, employment-first policies, and Fello’s continued expansion of person-centered services across Maryland.
