ATLANTA -- Lloyd Mills was tired of being stuck in a small, drab hospital room. On a rainy mid-September morning, a small TV attached to a mostly blank white wall played silently. There was nothing in the space to cheer it up -- no cards, no flowers.

In February, the 32-year-old with autism, cerebral palsy, and kidney disease was brought to Grady Memorial Hospital from the group home where he had been living because he was having auditory hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, he said.

"Being here is not helping me, mentally, physically, emotionally," Mills said.

He wanted to return to a group home or some other community setting where he could receive the care he needs without being confined. It's his legal right. But it took the state agency overseeing his care more than eight months to get that done -- and that placement would be short-lived.

Nearly 15 years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Georgia for unnecessarily segregating people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. The state settled the case and agreed to a massive overhaul of the services it offers to that population. Despite hundreds of millions of dollars in investments and some notable improvements, the state's system of caring for people with developmental disabilities and mental illness still has holes. The gaps o ...