Quarterly Newsletter
July 2007
In this issue:
ACDL secures important legal victory in
home and community based services class action lawsuit.
ACDL editorial on the death of Dr. Frank
Ruiz in Tucson.
Fiscal year 2008 priorities released for
public comment.
ACDL secures important legal victory in home and community
based services class action lawsuit.
Just a few days ago, our
staff secured another ground breaking legal victory for Medicaid
beneficiaries. The decision in Ball
v. Rodgers, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit, confirmed the right of low income elderly and people with disabilities
to sue to enforce their rights to receive reliable home and community based
services in their home, rather than be forced to go to nursing homes in order
to get the care they need.
The original class action
lawsuit, filed jointly by the ACDL and the AARP Foundation Litigation seven
years ago, alleged that the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
(AHCCCS),
A trial was held in
2004. U.S. District Court Judge Earl H.
Carroll found the state’s failure to provide health care workers caused our
clients to be “trapped in bed unable to change position or care for personal
hygiene, abandoned for hours in a bathroom, left without food or water.” AHCCCS appealed. Oral argument was heard in the Ninth Circuit
just this past fall.
The decision by the Ninth
Circuit gave Medicaid beneficiaries the right to sue under a provision in the
Medicaid statutes known as “Freedom of Choice” but not the “Equal Access”
provisions. The Ninth Circuit remanded
the case to the District Court in
Our fight to ensure that
every Arizonan has a meaningful choice to live in the community is far from
over. Our victory this week is just one
step in the process. The case now
returns to the U.S. District Court in
The Board of Directors and
our staff remain committed to pursuing systemic change for individuals with
disabilities in
ACDL editorial on the death of Dr. Frank Ruiz in
For those of you living in
southern
Michelle was specifically
addressing a tragedy that occurred earlier this month in
The point made by Michelle
was that the deputy was accompanied by the SWAT team, not SAMHC. This is not an isolated incident. Every 911 call about a person who is suicidal
or in a mental-health crisis should be immediately connected to SAMHC. SAMHC provides Mobile Acute Crisis services –
often without but sometimes with law enforcement.
The good news is that many
of Pima County Sheriff’s deputies who responded to Dr. Ruiz’s final threat had
completed the County’s Crisis Intervention Training (CIT). CIT training gives officers tools to help
them safely diffuse mental health crises.
Michelle pointed out how the
case of Dr. Ruiz demonstrates that CIT does not eliminate the need for
coordination with mental-health professionals and that increasing the use of
SAMHC and CIT-trained officers in connection with mental-health crises would go
a long way in preventing tragedies – like the death of Dr. Ruiz.
Meet our summer law clerk Asim Varma.
Every summer, the ACDL
sponsors at least one law clerk from
Asim finished his first year
of law school at
Most of his work has focused
on mental health law. Asim has assisted
ACDL lawyers with an important abuse and neglect investigation into a
residential treatment facility in the
In addition, Asim updated
our self-advocacy guide on the “Appeal Rights of Title 19 Children's Mental
Health Services.” Asim researched
statutory changes and updated the guide to reflect changes in the law.
Asim told me that in
addition to the areas of mental health and housing, he hopes to one day
practice disability law in the area of health care and access. “I have experienced some difficulties
acquiring healthcare services as a person with a disability and I hope to help
others with their health care issues,” said Asim. “Overall, I have gained valuable experience
working at the Center as an intern. My
internship will continue until August 9.
I will have worked 180 hours and earned three credits. I would recommend any law student to intern
at the
We appreciate the
contribution Asim has made to our legal team and we wish him the best of luck
when he returns to ASU for his second year of law school.
Fiscal
year 2008 priorities released for public comment.
The ACDL is seeking public
input for our annual priorities. These
priorities are used to guide agency attention, resources and advocacy services
to the important issues identified by and confronting individuals with disabilities
and their families.
Please visit our website for
the full list of 2008
priorities and the public
comment form.
I would also like to invite
you to attend one of our public forums to comment on our proposed
priorities. Accommodations are available
upon request. Here is our schedule of
forums:
Thursday, August 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. This meeting
will be a teleconference. Call
800-922-1447, ext. 13 or email lfreyer@azdisabilitylaw.org
to register. Registration deadline is
Monday, July 30. Registration is limited
to the first 10 callers.
Friday, August 10 from 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. This forum
will be held in
Wednesday, August 15 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. This forum
will be held in
Monday, August 20 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This forum
will be held in
Monday, August 27 from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. This meeting
will be a teleconference. Call
800-922-1447, ext. 13 or email lfreyer@azdisabilitylaw.org
to register. Registration deadline is
Wednesday, August 22. Registration is
limited to the first 10 callers.
As you may know, the ACDL
operates federally funded grant programs to protect and advocate for the rights
of persons with disabilities. Demand for
our services far exceeds available resources; therefore, we must plan
activities in a strategic manner to most effectively utilize our limited
resources.
The ACDL proposes to work on
the following issues next year:
Priority
1: People
with mental illness and developmental disabilities are free from abuse and
neglect.
Priority
2: People
with disabilities have access to comprehensive and appropriate mental health
and health care services.
Priority
3: Children
and youth with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education in
the least restrictive environment.
Priority
4: People
with disabilities have equal access to employment and employment-related
services, including vocational rehabilitation and the removal of barriers to
work for individuals with disabilities on social security.
Priority
5: People
with disabilities have equal opportunity to fair housing.
Priority
6: People
with disabilities have access to services, programs and facilities open to the
public.
Priority
7: People with disabilities who require
assistive technology have access to it.
Priority
8: People
with disabilities are able to exercise their right to vote.
The
priorities listed above are a summary of the proposed areas of concentration
under numerous federal grant programs.
To view the entire proposal, visit www.azdisabilitylaw.org. Copies will be mailed upon request by calling
800-927-2260 or in
As always, I appreciate the
support you have provided to the Center.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns
about the Center or our program activities.
You can reach me at (520) 327-9547, ext. 23 or by email at pradecic@azdisabilitylaw.org.
Thank you and I look forward
to bringing you more news and information on the Center in the near future.
Peri Jude Radecic
Executive Director