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LRS Newsletter - February 2011
News from Legal Rights Service is LRS' monthly newsletter providing information and updates about case work and activities of LRS, and other disability-related news.
In this issue:
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LRS stresses services in the most integrated setting to State Directors
LRS called for immediate steps to shift Ohio's health care system away from institutions and to support community integration. In a letter to Greg Moody, Director of the Governor's Office of Health Transformation, LRS stated, "Not only does institutional care not provide what people with disabilities prefer, it also costs Ohio more money."
"Immediate steps should include removing the disincentives that local communities, such as local mental health and developmental disability boards, face when providing services to people with disabilities," said LRS Legal Director Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt. Counties are faced with choosing between paying the Medicaid match for services that allow an individual to live in the community or shifting the cost to the state by relying on institutional care for which the state pays the Medicaid match. Due to this, the choice made by the county may not be based on what is most appropriate for the person.
Fully funding community based services is a critical area to consider during the budget process. This can be achieved by adding structural incentives to encourage less costly community based options, taking advantage of Medicaid home and community based services with enhanced federal match established by the Affordable Care Act, and reducing the number of institutional settings that are no longer cost effective or preferred by individuals.
LRS also recommended establishing a single point of entry for people with disabilities seeking services across multiple systems and expanding existing models that promote community integration, such as the HOME Choice program.
Similar letters were sent to the directors of the Ohio departments of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities.
Doe Consent Order results in improved monitoring
A consent order from a partial settlement in the federal class action lawsuit filed by LRS, Doe v. State of Ohio, requires the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) to follow certain procedures when a local education agency (LEA) requests a waiver to exceed class size ratios or age-range per instruction period requirements. ODE must post waiver requests on its website, conduct a thorough inquiry into the LEA's application, require that the LEA provide notice to the affected parents of students with disabilities, and revoke the waiver and require corrective action if a student's rights are violated at any time during the implementation of the waiver. This process helps to ensure that students' rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Ohio law are not violated as a result of the waiver.
An LEA, which is a school district, county board of developmental disabilities or other educational agency, may be granted a waiver from the requirements of Ohio Administrative Code Sections 3301-51-09 (I) and 3301-51-09 (K) of the "Operating Standards for Ohio Educational Agencies Serving Children with Disabilities" in order to exceed individual service provider ratios (also known as class size or student-to-teacher ratio) or age-range per instruction period requirements. However, the provision of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment cannot be denied to a student due to a waiver. The LEAs that apply for and are granted a waiver are still required to ensure the progress of children affected by the waiver by monitoring their Individualized Education Program. The LEAs must also plan and set a timeline for bringing itself back into compliance. The plan must include any special provisions necessary to provide appropriate instruction during the period when the waiver is in effect.
The ODE provides the public with waiver applications and information regarding these requests in its Waiver Database found on its website in the Waivers Relating to School-Age Instruction of Students with Disabilities section. Currently, 38 waivers have been posted to the database since March 1, 2010.
LEAs should not be operating classrooms or providing services that do not comply with the requirements of the rules unless they have received approval from ODE. If you have information that an LEA is exceeding class sizes, student age ranges or service delivery professional to student ratios, but has not received a waiver from ODE, you can file a complaint with ODE. For more information about ODE's State Complaint System, refer to the Mediation, Complaints and Due Process section of ODE's website.
LRS answers questions about the right to effective communication in court
What right to communication does a person who is deaf or hard of hearing have in court proceedings? What laws apply to courts in Ohio that require effective communication? How do you ask for an auxiliary aid or service to effectively communicate in court?
These and other questions are answered in LRS' online publication, "Individuals Who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Can Receive Help to Communicate in Court." Learn what is required of courts in providing interpreters or other aids for effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Read the publication: Individuals Who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Can Receive Help to Communicate in Court
Action and results: Case summaries
LRS negotiates right to have a service animal
An LRS client, with her service animal at her side, operates a private business in a leased office. Having her service animal at work was not always an option because the landlord, citing a provision in the lease prohibiting pets, did not allow the service animal in the office building.
An LRS attorney, on behalf of the client, established that a service animal is not a pet and therefore not prohibited by the terms of the lease. The landlord agreed to allow the client's service animal to be in the office.
Couple reunited
After spending nearly eight months away from his wife of 27 years, an LRS client and his wife were finally reunited the day before Valentine's Day.
The client's guardian was concerned that a change in the client's health might have a negative effect on the couple's marriage and that separating them would be in their best interests. Although the couple opposed being separated, the guardian made arrangements for the client to live in another county. He never lived anywhere else and the move was extremely difficult for him.
An LRS attorney provided legal representation to the client in probate court. The probate judge supported reuniting the client and his wife and ordered the couple to attend counseling sessions to learn communication skills to help cope with his health changes. After completing the sessions, the counselor recommended that the couple live together again.
Spread the word to end the word
R-word.org is a website focused on a campaign to eliminate the use of the word "retarded." The website, created by The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, has information on how to "spread the word to end the word," including fact sheets, talking points and letter-writing templates. Pledge your support to eliminate the R-word by joining 150,000 others who have signed an online petition on the website.
For more information: R-word.org