Disability rights group sues state over discharge policy

Note: This story is by Claire Hughes.

A disability rights group is suing the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities for its failure to discharge 97 adults who are 21 and older from residential schools.

OPWDD’s failure to make timely plans and to carry out the discharges of these adults violates two federal laws, the American with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by Disability Rights New York in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

In a news release, DRNY said that in addition to keeping the adults in an inappropriate setting and depriving them of services like employment skills training, the lack of timely discharge blocks parents of younger disabled children from being placed in the special residential schools, sending them out of state for appropriate placements.

“The state’s history of neglect of these individuals is unconscionable,” said Tim Clune, DRNY’s executive director. “OPWDD’s failure to timely discharge unnecessarily delays community integration and deprives eligible students of in-state educational placements.”

A spokeswoman for OPWDD said the agency has not yet been served with the lawsuit and cannot respond to pending litigation. About 200 people who have completed their education requirements receive adult opportunities, both residential and day services, in the OPWDD service system, she said.

In New York, a child with disabilities is placed in residential schools when a panel, termed a “Committee on Special Education,” determines the student cannot be properly educated in other settings. Students are eligible to receive their education at these schools until they are 21.

According to DRNY’s lawsuit, OPWDD is required to develop a plan and secure an appropriate placement for these students in the adult care setting once they reach 21.

At least 97 individuals in residential schools have reached that age and qualify for continued OPWDD services, DRNY claims.

One problem with OPWDD’s discharge planning is that it does not begin until a student is 19, according to the lawsuit. That does not provide sufficient time to develop an adequate discharge plan and place someone in a suitable environment, DRNY claims.

The disability rights group is asking the court to require OPWDD to take immediate steps to move the adults awaiting discharge out of the schools and into more appropriate environments, and to begin discharge planning for students at age 16.