WELCOME
DRCT INTAKE ANNOUNCEMENT
In August, Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) embarked upon an internal reorganization and notified our community that it would have a direct effect upon how DRCT responds to requests for information, referral, investigations and representation. We announced that DRCT would be providing less individual representation in order to focus its limited resources on issues affecting large numbers of adults and youth with disabilities.
DRCT has now completed our internal reorganization and set Focus Areas and Objectives for 2021. Going forward, DRCT will be available to respond to complaints and concerns that fall within the following areas, with particular emphasis on abuse/neglect emergencies that require immediate action to address the life or safety of an individual with disabilities, access to education by 21-year-old students, involuntary medication, denial of medical care and access to voting.
DRCT’s 2021 FOCUS AREAS AND OBJECTIVES
DRCT will decrease exposure to abuse and neglect, seclusion and/or restraint (including chemical restraint) and improve compliance with protected rights of people with disabilities.
Objective 1: Review reports of Serious Injury or Death due to restraint and seclusion in facilities, conduct further investigation as necessary and issue a report, if appropriate.
Objective 2: Conduct periodic monitoring to expose unidentified instances of abuse/neglect by a service provider of people with disabilities.
Objective 3: Respond to abuse and neglect allegations and patient’s rights violations of people with disabilities living in facilities or in the community in order to identify systemic issues to effect change in practice, policy, rule or law.
Objective 4: Monitor, investigate, advocate and bring legal action when appropriate when a person is denied services in Emergency Rooms by filing complaints with the Department of Public Health or another appropriate agency.
Objective 5: Follow up on recommendations of Whiting Investigation Report.
Objective 6: Strengthen oversight of representative payees by performing onsite reviews of payee performance, on behalf of the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Objective 7: Represent individuals in involuntary medication proceedings in Connecticut and develop a report and recommendations based on the outcomes of the proceedings.
Objective 8: Conduct periodic facility monitoring to promote voter registration and participation for people with disabilities.
Objective 9: Participate in opportunities to improve institutional conditions.
DRCT will ensure that students with disabilities are afforded educational services necessary for success in post-secondary or work environments
Objective 1: Consistent with the A.R. Ruling, DRCT will ensure that students with disabilities remain eligible for special education services under IDEA until the age of 22.
Objective 2: Provide information and referral, and self-advocacy assistance where necessary to assist students who are eligible for or denied accommodations in post-secondary education settings.
DRCT will promote independent living, competitive integrated employment, and access to the state Vocational Rehabilitation programs.
Objective 1: Provide advocacy and legal representation where appropriate to individuals determined ineligible for state vocational rehabilitation programs.
Objective 2: Provide advocacy and legal representation for clients of the state vocational rehabilitation system where necessary to advance a client’s desired employment outcome.
Objective 3: Provide limited advocacy regarding requesting reasonable accommodations in the era of COVID-19 to obtain/maintain employment.
DRCT will address barriers to full participation and independent living for people with disabilities by ensuring access to services and programs from government and public accommodations.
Objective 1: Educate policymakers, probate judges and the public and provide advocacy and legal representation when needed to create Supported Decision-Making plans for people with disabilities.
Objective 2: Increase voter registration and participation through REVUP and other targeted activities.
Objective 3: Provide limited advocacy and legal representation to individuals being denied effective communication by healthcare providers.
Objective 4: Provide advocacy and legal representation to individuals denied reasonable accommodations/modifications in housing.
Objective 5: Challenge discrimination to eliminate barriers to physical accessibility in public and private entities for people with disabilities.
Thank you for your interest and support. If you have any questions or concerns about this announcement, please contact Bob Joondeph, Interim Executive Director at Bob.Joondeph@disrightsct.org.
COVID-19 Response
DRCT: Community is at the heart of everything we do at Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT). With growing concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, we want you to know that the health and safety of the DRCT community, including our team, is our top priority. Therefore, our offices are closed to the public until further notice. Staff will be working remotely. You can contact us by phone: 860-297-4300; 800-842-7303 (toll-free in CT); 860-509-4992 (videophone); Email: info@disrightsct.org. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding during these difficult times.
SCHOOLS: Despite the unprecedented challenge facing schools, districts and states, students with disabilities will be best served when diverse stakeholders come together and share resources, innovative ideas and promising practices. The National Disability Rights Network has more information here.
SOCIAL SECURITY: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is not starting or completing any medical continuing disability reviews (CDRs), and has suspended processing and collecting most new overpayments. Learn more here.
DEAF COMMUNITY: Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) and its Connect Direct division has launched a new coronavirus hotline for the deaf community made available through its ASL Now platform. Visit the site here.
HOUSING: The CT Fair Housing Center is working to address any fair housing impacts of the current public health emergency. The fair housing laws can protect people who are infected with COVID-19 and those who are perceived as being infected. More information is available here.
Advocates Propose Less Restrictive Standards for Visitation in Nursing Homes and Chronic Disease Hospitals
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT), along with a coalition of Connecticut advocates, has written to Department of Public Health Commissioner Deidre Gifford and Governor Lamont to urge them to amend restrictive visitation policies with family members and caregivers for older adults and people with disabilities who reside in nursing homes and chronic disease hospitals. Visits from close family members and caregivers are a critical and irreplaceable component to providing physical, mental and psychosocial support for overall health, something to which residents of these facilities are entitled to under federal law.
Read a copy of the letter to DPH here.
Change in Special Education Law in Effect
On July 10, 2020, judgment was entered in the case of A.R. v. Connecticut State Board of Education. This means the new law in effect in Connecticut is special education eligibility continues until a student turns 22. Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) represented the plaintiff in the class action lawsuit A.R. v. Connecticut State Board of Education and provides the fact sheet below to share information about the Court's decision with the public. The state of Connecticut has decided to appeal this decision. If you are looking for legal advice on how this decision affects you or your child, please contact DRCT at (860) 297-4300.
Read the fact sheet here in English and Español
Read guidance issued on July 24th by the State Department of Education here.
UPDATE: August 27, 2020 - The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued an order denying the Connecticut State Board of Education's motion to stay the district court's orders in the A.R. ruling. This means that the district court’s ruling stands and Connecticut students remain eligible for special education services until they turn 22 years old, or until they graduate with a “regular high school diploma.”
Read the order here.
Updated guidance from the Connecticut State Department of Education released on September 4, 2020, reminds school districts that they have a responsibility to contact students who may remain eligible for services until their 22nd birthday. Read the updated guidance document here.
Federal Court Decision Upholds Right of Connecticut Students with Disabilities to Public Education Until Age 22
A federal court in Connecticut has ruled that special education students have a right to a free, appropriate public education until they reach the age of 22. The ruling, by the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, came in a lawsuit challenging Connecticut’s law as being in conflict with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that protects the rights of students with disabilities.
The Court’s ruling said Connecticut’s existing system “constitutes a gross violation of the IDEA.” It means that students with disabilities will not be excluded from pursuing their diploma once they’ve reached their 21st birthday, and would be eligible, consistent with federal law, for potentially as much as an additional year of special education services.
Read the news release issued by DRCT here and a copy of the decision here.
Connecticut Agrees to Assure Equal Access to Medical Care for Individuals with Disabilities Hospitalized During Covid-19
In a significant victory for people with disabilities to ensure equal access to medical care and proper treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, a formal discrimination complaint filed by Disability Rights Connecticut and a coalition of state and national advocacy organizations, has resulted in the State of Connecticut agreeing to end discriminatory practices that jeopardized equal care and treatment for individuals with disabilities.
The resolution of the complaint sets a national precedent that hospital visitor policies must comply with federal laws which prohibit discrimination against patients with disabilities.
Under the agreement reached between the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the State of Connecticut, the state’s Department of Public Health is issuing a new statewide policy. A complaint filed with OCR against Hartford Hospital has also been resolved, consistent with the new state policy. Read more here. DPH’s order may also be viewed here, along with OCR’s press release here.
An Open Letter to Hartford Healthcare CEO
The family of one of the individuals described in a complaint filed by DRCT with the Office for Civil Rights of the US Department of Health and Human Services has issued an Open Letter to Hartford Healthcare President and CEO Jeffrey Flaks, expressing alarm that the flagship hospital “is denying patients with disabilities equity in treatment.” See a copy of the Open Letter here.
DRCT Files Formal Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) filed a formal complaint on May 4, 2020 with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, urging the federal agency to “immediately investigate and take swift action” to uphold the equal rights of individuals with disabilities and advise Connecticut to “eliminate its discriminatory guidance and instead develop revised, mandatory, uniform, standards.” Read the news release issued by DRCT here and the complaint here.
DRCT Statement on Hospitalization of Individuals with Disabilities
DRCT demands that the Connecticut Commissioner of Public Health protect the rights of people with disabilities in hospitals. People with disabilities in Connecticut want the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health to issue a directive to hospitals in our state to respect our health, safety and rights. Representatives and community groups have directly requested the Commissioner take action. As of today, we have been met with silence and half-measures. People with disabilities are at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 and receiving less care than others. Only the Department of Public Health (DPH) can set licensing requirements to protect us. DPH must do just that. To read the DRCT statement in its entirety, click here.
DRCT Urges Action to Protect Rights of Residents with Disabilities
In an urgent letter to Governor Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong, DRCT has requested the issuance and dissemination of “mandatory principles, consistent with the Connecticut Constitution, state and federal law,” to ensure that “life-saving care is not illegally withheld” from disabled residents “due to discriminatory resource allocation or altered standards of care during the coronavirus pandemic.” Read the news release issued by DRCT here, and the letter sent to Gov. Lamont and AG Tong here. AG Tong’s response can be read here.
DPH Should Allow Necessary Support if Individuals with Disabilities Are Hospitalized
DRCT has written to the Commissioner of the Department of Public Health urging that the Department immediately issue a directive stating that hospital visitation policies restricting visitors must include an accommodation for patients with disabilities who need assistance due to the specifics of their disability, permitting one designated support person to be with them, with proper precautions taken to contain the spread of infection. Read a copy of the letter to DPH here.
Census 2020
Count Everyone, Include Everyone: The 2020 Census is now underway. Households across Connecticut and the nation are receiving census forms, and self-response can be accomplished online, by phone or by mail. The Census is required by the U.S. Constitution, and 2020 is the nation’s 24th decennial census. It is important to include everyone in the census outreach process, including people with disabilities. Responses from the 2020 Census will also help us understand who we are as a nation and shape America’s future for the next 10 years. Learn more here.
NOTE: As a result of COVID-19 the deadline for self-response online, by phone or by returning the paper questionnaire has been extended to October 31 (from July 31).
