Bazelon Successfully Advocates for Federal Medicaid Dollars to Go to Community Integration, Not Segregated Settings

On December 16, 2024, the Judge David L. Bazelon Center applauded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for prioritizing community integration, quality healthcare, and oversight in considering California’s recent proposal to use federal dollars provided through Medicaid to build and operate segregated, residential settings that do not meet the state’s legal requirement to provide services to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting.

On August 30, 2024, Bazelon had filed comments with CMS expressing deep concerns about California’s proposal to use Medicaid dollars to build congregate settings, referred to as “enriched residential settings” (ERS), that would be populated exclusively or primarily by people with disabilities whose activities would be regulated and other restrictions imposed. The ADA and Olmstead v. L.C. (Lois Curtis) require that individuals with disabilities be served in the most integrated setting appropriate and not unnecessarily provided institutional care. 

Bazelon's comments argued that California has not made and is not making mainstream housing, subsidized and with appropriate supports, available to those it proposes to serve in ERS. In Bazelon's experience, these individuals could be served in such settings, like “supported housing,” with better results. Evidence and research also was cited that showed that a step-down model or “linear continuum of care” - where people with mental health disabilities are moved through temporary congregate settings before they are transitioned to independent housing - is not necessary nor effective. At a minimum, CMS was urged to impose guardrails limiting the use and size of these segregated, residential settings.

There was immediate progress. This month, in responding to the state’s application for funding, CMS denied California’s request for federal funding of ERS and instructed California to first develop, seek public comment on, and submit additional details on critical related issues such as how the proposed pilot will ensure people are placed in the least restrictive setting and how it will confirm service settings are committed to being truly integrated, with independent choice. Bazelon has praised CMS for its active and crucial oversight to ensure that people with disabilities are not unjustly segregated and instead can live and receive services in their own homes and communities.

Read the Bazelon Center’s comments (submission ID 2367).

Read the December 16 CMS response to California’s proposal.

HUD Charges Florida Property Owner, Management Company, and Property Manager with Disability Discrimination

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Tallahassee, Florida, housing providers Greenbriar Partners, LLC, Jackson Properties and Financial Services, LLC, and Erwin D. Jackson (the “Respondents”) with violating the Fair Housing Act by failing to grant a tenant with a disability a reasonable accommodation to allow the tenant to live with an emotional support animal. Read the Charge here. The Fair Housing Act (“the Act”) prohibits discrimination because of disability, including the denial of reasonable accommodations. Individuals with disabilities have the right to reasonable accommodations when such accommodations are necessary to afford them equal access to their home, including the use of assistance animals. “The Fair Housing Act requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodations necessary to afford persons with disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling,” said Damon Smith, HUD General Counsel. “The Department will take action to ensure housing providers comply with their obligations to provide necessary reasonable accommodations.” HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that the Respondents failed to grant the Complainant’s requested reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal. That denial led to economic loss, lost housing opportunity, and emotional distress. The Charge of Discrimination also alleges that the Respondents violated the Act when they threatened the Complainant with an eviction because of her reasonable accommodation request. HUD's Charge will be heard by a U.S. Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) unless any party to the Charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an ALJ finds after a hearing that a violation of the Act has occurred, they may award damages to the Complainant for harm caused by discrimination. The ALJ may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief, fines to vindicate the public interest, and punitive damages. Read the September 23, 2024 HUD release.

Disability Rights Maryland's Breaking Barriers Awards Gala is September 26th

 

BREAKING BARRIERS AWARDS GALA September 26 at 6:00 PM American Visionary Art Museum Baltimore, MD Purchase Tickets SALES END FRIDAY 9/20   HERE'S HOW WE'RE CELEBRATING: Honoring Extraordinary Leaders Meet and congratulate individuals who have broken down barriers through legislation, pro bono service, litigation, self-advocacy, and more.  Enjoying Delicious Food and Drinks From crab dip to donuts and signature drinks, come enjoy food and drinks from the leading caterer, Zeffert & Gold.  Listening to Live Music Flute performance by DRM's very own attorney, Leslie Seid Margolis and her duet partner, Gayle Eline. Capturing Moments in the Photo Booth Leave with a keepsake of a fun time spent with new and old friends celebrating our collective work to create a more inclusive society.  Raising our Spirits Purchase a mystery bottle at the Spirit Sweep and you might go home with a bottle of fine wine or an everyday selection that's still delicious.  All in an Accessible, Premier Location Enjoy a night out at the American Visionary Art Musuem, a place representative of uplifting social justice and people that are marginalized.  COME CELEBRATE WITH US! DRM's annual fundraising event is all about celebrating people who are working to create a more inclusive and just society.  Purchase Tickets Sales end Friday 9/20 If the ticket price is a barrier to your attendance, please email ShannonM@DisabilityRightsMD.org or call 443-692-2491. We have a limited number of discounted or complimentary tickets available.

HUD Announces New Voucher Flexibility to Support Community Living for People with Disabilities

 

In recognition of the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court's Olmstead v. L.C. decision, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced new policy actions aimed at enhancing community living options for people with disabilities. These changes provide public housing agencies (PHAs) with new flexibilities to better utilize Mainstream Vouchers, a critical federal program offering rental assistance to non-elderly persons with disabilities.

Key updates include extended housing search times, the removal of residency preferences for voucher recipients, and new options for PHAs to prioritize direct referrals from healthcare and disability agencies. These changes aim to address barriers in the housing search process and strengthen partnerships that support independent living for people with disabilities.

The Mainstream Voucher waivers and alternative requirements announced today help address some of the barriers to housing search among non-elderly people with disabilities identified in a study published by HUD on June 27, 2024. The study, “Housing Search Assistance for Non-Elderly People with Disabilities,” found that people with disabilities face various challenges in searching for housing. They have difficulty securing services and supports before their voucher expires, navigating the housing search process and overcoming screening requirements, accessing reasonable accommodations or necessary modifications that are more than what a landlord is required to provide, and covering moving and initial living expenses.

HUD has expanded the Mainstream Voucher program by over 20,000 vouchers under the Biden-Harris Administration, furthering efforts to make accessible and affordable housing a reality for all.

Read the August 27, 2024 HUD press release.

June 2024 is the 25th Anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead v. L.C. Decision that the Institutionalization of People with Disabilities is Discrimination

On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court found in Olmstead v. L.C. (Lois Curtis) that the segregation and unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities is discrimination in violation of federal law prohibited by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Court recognized the right of people with disabilities to be treated as equal members of the society, to live and work in their communities, and receive services in the most integrated setting, which is almost always outside of an institution. The Olmstead decision resulted from the bravery and steadfast advocacy of Lois Curtis and her co-plaintiff Elaine Wilson. Curtis and Wilson, who had mental and intellectual disabilities, were approved to get services in the community and wanted to live in the community but were forced to remain in a state-run Georgia psychiatric unit because of a lack of community-based services. The Court held that unjustified segregation, which “perpetuates unwarranted assumptions that persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life,” is a form of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court recognized that “confinement in an institution severely diminishes the everyday life activities of individuals, including family relations, social contacts, work options, economic independence, educational advancement, and cultural enrichment.”

There still remains much to be done. Currently over 268,980 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live in congregate, institutional settings or are on waitlists for services and residential programs, and thousands of people with mental health disabilities are involuntarily detained annually. People with disabilities who live in other types of institutions - e.g., prisons, long-term care hospitals, residential treatment facilities, and the 1.2 million adults living in nursing homes - are often under-counted and not included in these numbers. Many marginalized communities, including Black, Brown, and LGBTQI+ disabled people, are disparately impacted by the harms of institutionalization. 

To commemorate this touchstone for the disability community, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law joined partners in the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) in a June 20, 2024 letter to urge policymakers to consider the needs of the disability community in key areas including health, housing, home- and community-based services, and civil rights. 

The Bazelon Center also hosted an anniversary event that brought together leaders from the federal government, the disability rights and disability justice movements, grassroots advocates and youth with lived expertise to reflect on accomplishments, lessons learned and the future of legal advocacy to achieve full community integration for youth with disabilities. The event celebrated the lives and legacies of plaintiffs Lois Curtis and Elaine Wilson and all who fight to live outside of institutions and to live full lives in their communities. We appreciate all those who joined us for our virtual panel to mark a quarter century of fighting to achieve the promise of Olmstead – dignity, autonomy and full inclusion for people with disabilities in all aspects of life.

As part of our efforts to achieve the promise of Olmstead, we continued our advocacy to end the practice of sending police to mental health emergencies, when medical professionals would be sent to other health emergencies, like a heart attack. A police response is the wrong response and too often leads to arrest, incarceration and even death, especially for Black people experiencing a mental health crisis. This week, we filed an amicus brief in federal court arguing that the District of Columbia must send a health response, not police, to people experiencing a mental health crisis. Failure to do so is discrimination in violation of federal law. 

Much work remains. We appreciate your help to continue our legal, policy and public advocacy.

Read the June 20, 2024 Bazelon Center - CCD letter.

HUD Charges Grapevine, Texas Housing Authority with Disability Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged the Grapevine Housing Authority (“GHA”); Jane Everett, Executive Director of GHA; and Bonnie McHugh, Vice-Chair of the GHA Housing Commission, with discriminating against, and failure to provide a reasonable accommodation for a tenant with a disability. Read the charge.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on disability. This includes prohibiting housing providers from making housing unavailable to persons based on disability. The Act also requires housing providers to make reasonable accommodation when necessary for persons with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their homes.

Grapevine is located in northeast Tarrant County in the Mid-Cities suburban region between Dallas and Fort Worth and includes a larger portion of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport than other cities. The population was 50,631 (2020).

HUD’s Charge of Discrimination alleges that the Grapevine Housing Authority, Ms. Everett, and Ms. McHugh terminated the lease of a tenant with diabetes following a medical episode caused by his blood sugar levels. They subsequently denied his reasonable accommodation request and continued eviction proceedings against him even after his doctor had provided evidence that his symptoms were managed following a change in medication and purchase of a medical alert bracelet.

A US Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s charge unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If a judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, they may award damages to the complainant for his losses as a result of the discrimination. The judge may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief, to deter further discrimination, as well as payment of attorney fees. In addition, the judge may impose civil penalties to vindicate the public interest. If the federal court hears the case, the judge may also award punitive damages to the complainant.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY) or file a complaint here: www.hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint.

Housing providers and others can learn more about their responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications for individuals with disabilities here. More information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.

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Read the March 25, 2024 HUD release.

Free Forum on "Employment: Disability, Reasonable Accommodations and the Law"

MCCR Forum: Employment: Disability, Reasonable Accommodations and the Law

Maryland Commission on Civil Rights sent this bulletin at 10/17/2023 09:10 AM EDT

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. Join us at our virtual forum that covers a review of applicable disability-related laws and reasonable accommodations. The training also provides relevant statistics and discusses appropriate etiquette, behavior and language when interacting with persons with disabilities. To register, click on the picture above or click HERE. Victim of Discrimination? Training & Partnerships HOME      ABOUT MCCR      SERVICES      PUBLICATIONS      EVENTS      PRESS      CONTACT US

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HUD Charges New York Landlord with Disability Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Lakeview Avenue, LLC (“Lakeview”) in Rensselaer, New York, and its employees with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing a tenant’s request for a disability-related reasonable accommodation to keep an assistance animal and subjecting the tenant to retaliation for requesting a reasonable accommodation. Read the Charge.

The Fair Housing Act legally outlaws discrimination and retaliation based on disability, including the failing to grant reasonable accommodations and interfering with tenants' rights protected by the Act.

HUD’s charge alleges that Lakeview refused a tenant’s request to allow her disabled child to have an assistance animal in her unit. Though they provided medical documentation documenting the child’s need for the animal, Lakeview still denied the reasonable accommodation and impose onerous and discriminatory conditions. After another request for a reasonable accommodation, the tenant received a notice to vacate her unit and had to move to another, more expensive, apartment within her daughter’s school district

A U. S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s charge unless any party to the charge elects to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, they may award damages to the individuals for their losses as a result of the discrimination, injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination, payment of attorney fees, and civil penalties. If the federal court hears the case, the judge may also award punitive damages to the Complainants.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at 800-669-9777 (voice) or 800-927-9275 (TTY). Additional information is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing. Housing providers and others can learn more about their responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications to individuals with disabilities here. Materials and assistance are available for persons with limited English proficiency. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact the Department using the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

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Read the September 25, 2023 HUD release.

Project Begun to Increase Accessibility of Baltimore-Area Houses of Worship

To help religious leaders make their houses of worship more welcoming to people with disabilities and their families, the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities just started its Faith Community Learning Collaborative. The object is to provide training to faith leaders and foster conversation between them and people with disabilities and their advocates about how to lower the barriers to participation in religious spaces.

Accessibility and inclusion is about more than installing a ramp for wheelchair users, said Mirian Ofonedu, director of training for the Kennedy Krieger center and creator of the project, adding that negative attitudes about disabilities and biases around disability that may exist in a congregation and ensuring that people with disabilities and their families know they can come to worship. “We are all called to know God, but more importantly, to experience God,” Ofonedu said. “How people with disabilities go about experiencing God is often socially stigmatized. An inclusive community, where people with disabilities fully participate, is a sign of God’s presence and love in that community.”

In summer 2022, two years after the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities launched the project, a survey of over 255 faith leaders and people with disabilities and their families - in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Faith Based and Community Partnerships and the Faith Community Commission of the Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention - found that few people with disabilities or their family members held leadership positions in their faith communities and there was a need for training for faith leaders on how to connect with people who have disabilities in their congregations. People with disabilities and their families had experienced feeling isolated, rejected, and excluded by faith communities. When a child is diagnosed with a disability, their parents often turn to their faith leaders and communities for support and guidance, Ofonedu said. 

The Initiative's panel discussion covered several topics, including how to include people with developmental disabilities in services and the importance of asking whether accommodations are needed. It featured Rabbi Craig Axler of Temple Isaiah in Fulton and Matthew Plantz, a self-advocate and member of the Howard County Autism Society board of directors. To make the event more accessible to people who are hard of hearing, Baron hired an American Sign Language interpreter — something he hopes to do at future Chabad events, as well. The religious center has been offering shorter services that may be better for people who have challenges sitting through a three-hour service, such as those with ADHD or children with disabilities.

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Source: Read the September 11, 2023 Baltimore Sun article.