WHY WE ARE GOING TO COURT:
Thousands of people with disabilities languish on never ending
waiting lists. Many individuals have been waiting for more
than seven years. It is a Texas Tragedy.
Going without community services for so long has a profound
impact on these consumers and their families. Some parents
live in fear of dying before services can be secured for their
adult child with disabilities. Families are facing tremendous
pressure to support their loved one without outside help. Some
families are even facing the possibility of placing their son or
daughter in an institution far away from home.
The Legislature’s lack of response to our advocacy over the
last six years forces us to take the only other avenue of
advocacy that we have left…the courts. Accordingly, to
protect the rights and interests of the people on Waiting Lists,
we must seek action from the courts.
Interested in joining the ADA Expertiselistserv? Contact mdubin@pobox.com.
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Friday, January 9, 2009
New Jersey lawsuit re Waiting List
DRNJ Sues State Over Division of Developmental Disabilities Residential Waiting List
Disability Rights New Jersey and Lowenstien Sandler, a prominent New Jersey law firm, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court against the Department of Human Services, saying 8,000 people with developmental disabilities have had their rights violated because they have been waiting too long -- some for a decade -- to move into Division-sponsored community housing.
The lawsuit alleges the state is failing to meet its legal responsibility to provide housing for people who want or need to live outside of their family homes. The Department has established a waiting list, but few ever leave it unless a parent or other caretaker becomes ill or dies, the lawsuit said.
"These individuals have been for years diverted to a so-called 'wait-list' for such services, with no guarantee, and little hope, of accessing the services they need," said R. Scott Thompson of Lowenstein Sandler.
"The failure of the state to provide community services for thousands of individuals has had a devastating effect," said Emmett Dwyer, DRNJ's Director of Litigation. "Thousands of people are stuck at home going nowhere, and many of them have been unnecessarily placed in institutions when their elder parents could no longer care for them."
Disability Rights New Jersey and Lowenstien Sandler, a prominent New Jersey law firm, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court against the Department of Human Services, saying 8,000 people with developmental disabilities have had their rights violated because they have been waiting too long -- some for a decade -- to move into Division-sponsored community housing.
The lawsuit alleges the state is failing to meet its legal responsibility to provide housing for people who want or need to live outside of their family homes. The Department has established a waiting list, but few ever leave it unless a parent or other caretaker becomes ill or dies, the lawsuit said.
"These individuals have been for years diverted to a so-called 'wait-list' for such services, with no guarantee, and little hope, of accessing the services they need," said R. Scott Thompson of Lowenstein Sandler.
"The failure of the state to provide community services for thousands of individuals has had a devastating effect," said Emmett Dwyer, DRNJ's Director of Litigation. "Thousands of people are stuck at home going nowhere, and many of them have been unnecessarily placed in institutions when their elder parents could no longer care for them."
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