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PITTSBURGH, Oct. 31, 2001 --In a strange twist, parents of former institution
residents have filed suit against Pennsylvania saying the state violated the
Americans with Disabilities Act by closing Western Center 18 months ago.
Attorneys for the 20 former residents and their guardians say they are
basing the suit on the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead decision which they
interpret as requiring states to keep institutions open for people with
disabilities who are considered "inappropriate" for community living.
"The suit seeks to require the state to reopen Western Center or maintain
some facility in Western Pennsylvania that maintains that level of care,"
Pittsburgh lawyer Michael C. Pribanic told the Post-Gazette.
Western Center, which at one time housed over 750 people with developmental
disabilities, was closed on May 18, 2000.
The last residents were either moved to homes in the community or to other
institutions to wait for community homes to become available. A handful were
simply transferred to other institutions.
Members of the Western Center Parents Association fought the closure of the
institution from the time it was announced in January 1998. The members said
they were afraid that their family members would not be safe in the
community.
"These people must be held accountable for their actions in violating our
rights as parents and guardians," said Daniel Torisky, a leader of the
parents group. Torisky is the head plaintiff in the suit as guardian of his
son Edward who was one of the last people moved out of Western Center last
year.
The suit claims that state officials not only violated the Americans with
Disabilities Act, but also the federal Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act and other federal Medicaid statues and regulations. The
plaintiffs want the court to order evaluations of each former Western Center
resident listed in order to determine if proper placements were made.
The suit also seeks monetary relief for "physical and psychological damage"
to the plaintiffs, including the parents and guardians.
The decision to down-size and close Western Center came following complaints
of abuse and neglect within the institution in the late 1980s, some of which
were filed by parents and guardians of institution residents.
Inclusion Daily Express has been following the closure of Western Center and
its aftermath. Past stories can be found on this web page:
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/institutions/pa/western.htm
Click here for the text of the Olmstead decision:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/98-536.ZS.html
The federal appeals court in San Francisco sided with Echazabal as well, saying that "disabled persons should be afforded the opportunity to decide for themselves what risks to undertake." Chevron appealed to the Supreme Court. The Bush administration is siding with Chevron in the case. Chevron insists that hiring Echazabal is tanatmount to making employers "be complicit in injury to their employees"; they say they're worried about legal liability for those injuries if they have to hire people whose disabilities might be made worse by their employment. Congress rejected "paternalistic rules that have often excluded disabled individuals from the workplace" when it passed the ADA, said the Ninth Circuit Court in its ruling. The Court will hear oral arguments and a decision is expected by July. The case is Chevron v. Echazabal, No. 00-1406 Church Discriminated Against Student, Commission Says by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. PORTLAND, MAINE, Oct. 30, 2001 -- Nine-year-old Matthew Denger wanted to attend Saint James School in Biddeford. But the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, which oversees the school, told Matthew he could not be taught there because the school could not accommodate him. That's what the family of the boy, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair, claimed during a hearing Monday before the Maine Human Rights Commission. The family has filed a complaint against the diocese alleging that they discriminated against Matthew because of his disability. The family's attorney told the commission that the church refused to install a wheelchair lift at the school, even though friends of the family raised more than $30,000 toward the lift. The diocese lawyer said the family underestimated the cost of buying and installing an elevator and made other errors in their statements. In a 3-0 vote, with one abstention, the commission ruled that the diocese did illegally discriminate against Matthew. The decision opens the door for the church and the family to work toward a settlement. If a settlement is not reached, Matthew's family can take the church to court, according to a brief item from the Associated Press. Nursing Facilities Rarely Penalized by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. RALEIGH, NC, Oct. 22, 2001 --Last year, the state of North Carolina increased the number of nursing home inspectors from 15 to 107 so they could do more frequent checks. Even though inspections are happening more often and revealing more problems within the facilities, it can take years before actual penalties are imposed. And few facilities are ever shut down, mostly because the state considers it too disruptive to residents, says a story from the Oct. 20 Raleigh News-Record. Now, nursing home administrators are pushing the federal government to quit focusing on imposing fines and cutting off funds, but instead to concentrate on offering incentives to nursing homes that meet standards of care. SLC Crips sue Sizzler Restaurants by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 19, 2001 --Two Utah residents filed suits in U.S. District Court Thursday against two companies claiming they discriminate against people with disabilities in violation of the 1991 Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Tammy Ann Miller of Salt Lake City sued Sizzling Platter, Inc. which operates 33 Sizzler Restaurant franchises in several states including Utah. She alleges that a Sizzler in the city failed to provide adequate parking spaces, remove obstructions to tables and make sure bathrooms were accessible for her wheelchair. Miller claims the that the conditions at the restaurant are similar to those at other Sizzlers. A representative of Sizzling Platter responded by saying that all of the restaurants are fully accessible, except those built in the early 1960s. Lester Bryan Morgan of Sandy filed suit against the Boyer Company, a commercial real estate development firm. Morgan alleges that Boyer and related businesses failed to make the swimming pool, free weights and locker rooms at the Life Center Athletic Club accessible to wheelchair users. A Boyer representative said: "That's new to me. In over 10 years, we have never had a complaint." The suits, also filed by the Disabled Rights Action Committee, want the buildings to be modified so they will be accessible. DC Crips Sue Murry's Steaks stores October 19, 2001 -- The Disability Rights Council of Greater Washington (DRC) and two individuals who use wheelchairs filed suit earlier this month Murry's Steaks, Inc. -- a chain of small groceries -- over what they called "barriers that prevent people with disabilities from entering Murry's stores in the Washington metropolitan area." More. Advocates Tell San Francisco: "Just Say 'NO!' to Laguna Honda" by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 16, 2001 -Hundreds of disability rights activists are
expected to descend on San Francisco at the end of this week to deliver a
message to Californians and especially Mayor Willie Brown.
That message reads: "Just Say No to Laguna Honda! Tear Down the Walls!" More.
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, Oct. 11, 2001 --The Community Alternatives Program (CAP), which
is funded by Medicaid, allows people with certain disabilities to receive
nursing services and other supports to stay in their own homes rather than
in nursing homes or institutions -- at a much lower cost to states.
Because of budget cuts, enrollment in North Carolina's CAP program has been
temporarily frozen statewide. For the time being, the freeze leaves little
hope for people who are on waiting lists to get the services.
This means that a number of people who qualify for CAP could be forced into
nursing homes before the freeze is lifted. But most of the nursing homes in
the state are full, which has got some people talking about pouring money
into expanding such facilities.
Read more in the Sept. 11 Greensboro News & Record .
A voter initiative in Washington state to establish a clearinghouse to
connect people needing in home services with a registry of providers -- and let them negotiate for higher wages -- has generated controversy.
Area ADAPT members, the Washington State Labor Council
and Service Employees International Union support it; the Washington
Protection and Advocacy System doesn't. More.
WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 5 --When the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was
enacted in 1975, the federal government made a commitment to pay 40 percent
of the bill for the education of children with disabilities. But that has
never happened, and the federal government now only pays a little over 11
percent.
In the meantime, the law has become the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), and millions of students with disabilities have had
educational and employment opportunities they would not have had were it not
for the law. This has happened in spite of a dwindling pool of special
education teachers, and complaints of burn-out from burdensome paperwork.
This week, President Bush announced the formation of a Commission on
Excellence in Special Education. The commission will be responsible for
looking at the current condition of special education and reporting back to
the president with specific recommendations for changes in IDEA by the end
of next April. Part of the commission's task will be to analyze the
cost-effectiveness of special education.
But educators, school administrators and boards say that the quality of
special education would improve substantially if the federal government paid
its part of the bill. Some are concerned that the new initiative might mean
the federal government will further delay funding of special education.
Read President's Executive Order.
EDMONTON, ALBERTA, Oct. 4 --Robert Latimer is nine months into a mandatory 10 year
minimum sentence for gassing to death his 12-year-old daughter Tracy in
1993.
Some people defend Tracy's murderer, saying he killed her to keep her from
having to "suffer" from cerebral palsy, mental retardation and other
disabilities. Those defenders say it is an "injustice" for Latimer to stay
behind bars, that he "suffered" by having a daughter with disabilities, and
that he would not harm another person if released.
Now, Professor Dick Sobsey, from the J. P. Das Developmental Disabilities
Centre at the University of Alberta, presents evidence that the public
support for Robert Latimer has resulted in a tremendous increase in the
number of murders of children by their parents.
This story was included in the Sept. 24 Report Magazine.
Past stories on Tracy Latimer's killer are available from Inclusion Daily
Express. RTD records analyzed by attorneys for the plaintiffs showed that "bus drivers would refuse service to riders who use wheelchairs on the grounds that the bus lifts were broken," said attorney Tim Fox. "By analyzing dispatch logs, driver defect reports and maintenance records, we were able to show that drivers often did not report these purportedly broken lifts to RTD. Thus either the lift was broken but the driver did not report it, or the lift was not broken and the driver falsely claimed it was to avoid having to board a person with a disability." The settlement will pay attorneys' fees as well as punitive and compensatory damages, according to an article in the Oct. 3 Rocky Mountain News. CT Advocates Sue Over Waiting Lists by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. HARTFORD, CT, Oct. 3 --Nearly 16,000 people with mental retardation are on this state's waiting list for community residential and other services. One of them, Kevin Ulsh, 41, has been on the list since 1989. He continues to live with his parents who are now in their late 60's and are his primary caregivers. On Tuesday, Arc/CT and the families of ten people on the waiting lists filed a class-action lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Peter H. O'Meara, state Commissioner of Mental Retardation, and Patricia A. Wilson-Coker, commissioner of Social Services. The suit claims the state has violated Medicaid laws and the Americans with Disabilities Act by not providing community supports on a more timely basis. According to the Associated Press, Arc has lobbied the state Legislature for more funding to expand services, and estimates the money allocated this year won't even be enough to cover the 200 emergency placements that happen each year. The suit is similar to those filed over waiting lists in several other states since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that services must be provided in integrated settings. By not providing needed community services and reducing the size of waiting lists, states put people at risk to be institutionalized. HHS Announces Community Living Grants by Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express This article is reproduced here under special arrangement with Inclusion Daily Express Email News Service. WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 1, 200 --Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced on Friday approximately $64 million in new grants to develop community living alternatives for people with disabilities. "These grants will allow states to make meaningful changes in the lives of persons with disabilities," Secretary Thompson said. "They will also allow children and adults with a disability to live more independent lives with the freedom to make choices about their services." The "Systems Changes for Community Living" grants are part of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative announced earlier this year, intended to reduce the barriers to full inclusion and meaningful participation of Americans with disabilities in their communities. The grants will be awarded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). To see which states are to receive which awards, take a look at this announcement from HHS: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010928a.html |
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