Arizona Center for Disability Law
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	Legal and Policy News Select from one of these groups or scroll down to see more  information on policy and legal news. Health Care and DD Services Mental Health Rights and Services Help America Vote Act Employment Education Community Access and Housing The documents on this page are made available in PDF format. You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print these documents. A link is available to download Adobe. If you would like a copy of the documents listed on this page mailed to you, please contact us at center@acdl.com. Get Acrobat Reader Health Care and DD Services (Click on article underlined link for more information) Pursuant to the Court Order entered on October 17, 2007 in the case of Access Now, Inc., et al. v. AMH CGH, Inc., et al., in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, below is the Notice of Partial Settlement for the following: 1. Desert Regional Medical Center (CA) 2. Doctors Hospital of Manteca (CA) 3. Doctors Medical Center of Modesto (CA) 4. Twin Cities Community Hospital (CA) Do you receive or provide long term care or home health services in Pima County? If so, the Pima County Board of Health wants to hear from you (for more information, please click here) The Pima County Board of Health will be holding 5 public hearings over the next month to gather stories about people’s needs and experiences as home health/long term care consumers and workers.  The Board of Health will then make recommendations to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, which in part oversees Pima Health System, the ALTCS long term care provider in Pima County.  Click HERE for the flyer listing the days and times of the Board of Health Hearings. If you are unable to attend the hearings in person and want to submit written testimony and/or if you want your testimony to be confidential, please contact Carolyn Trowbridge at 628-4625. ----------------------------------------------------------- Ekloff v. Rodgers: On June 22, 2005, the Arizona Center for Disability Law (Center) filed a class action lawsuit against the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid system in federal court.  Plaintiffs in this case are children with disabilities who are recipients of state Medicaid services and need incontinence briefs because of their disabilities.  Currently, AHCCCS will not cover incontinence briefs for children with disabilities unless the child has experienced skin breakdown, sores or infections. Our research indicates that Medicaid programs in at least three quarters of the states cover incontinent supplies when needed to prevent adverse medical conditions. In March 2006, the U.S. District Court entered judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs in this case and ordered AHCCCS to do the following: (1)     provide incontinence briefs to AHCCCS members under age 21 who are incontinence due to a disability. (2)     reimburse parents of these children for their out-of-pocket expenses for privately purchasing needed briefs Although the State of Arizona appealed this decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the parties reached a tentative settlement of the case in June, 2006.  A “fairness hearing” to determine whether the proposed settlement is fair to the class was held in U.S. District Court in Tucson, Arizona on Friday, November 17, 2006 at 1:30pm in the courtroom of Judge Raner Collins.  At that time, Judge Collins approved the settlement (Consent Decree).  This means that children will disabilities will now have access to medically necessary incontinence briefs from AHCCCS and the appeal in the 9^th Circuit will be dismissed.  The Plaintiffs motion for attorneys fees is currently pending in the United States District Court. Click below to download a  copy of the Class Notice, the Consent Decree and Proposed Settlement Agreement: Class Notice Proposed Settlement Agreement Consent Decree Ball v. Biedess - Lawsuit challenging deficiencies in AHCCCS’s provision of home and community base services to individuals who need personal care. 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.  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 Phoenix.  Read the press release on this recent development in Ball v. Rodgers. Padilla v. Biedess & Thompson - Lawsuit challenging AHCCCS denial of kidney dialysis to certain aliens living in Arizona. Shultz v. Rodgers and Bates v. Rodgers - Administrative appeals to Superior Court, challenging the AHCCCS policy of refusing to cover diapers as “medically necessary” for children who are incontinent as the result of disability unless there are open sores. TOP Mental Health Rights and Services (Click on article title for more information) Vista Care Investigative Report Released The Center has been investigating and monitoring allegations of abuse and neglect at Vista Care, a residential treatment facility for adolescents in Hereford, Arizona since 2003.  At that time, the Center received a call from a parent of a child receiving in-patient care at Vista Care alleging that her son was physically abused by Vista Care.  The Center exercised our federal investigative authority to conduct an on-site review and push state regulators to take appropriate action to correct serious deficiencies.  A corrective action plan was put in place and additional oversight of the facility was undertaken by the state and by the regional behavioral health provider, Community Partnership for Southern Arizona (CPSA).  In February 2005, the Center conducted a follow-up site visit and found substantial improvements. Unfortunately, there has been a tremendous amount of turnover at Vista Care since the February 2005 review.  In addition, we have recently received a series of complaints alleging improper use of physical restraints by untrained staff, staff abuse of clients, and lack of appropriate mental health treatment.  Based on those reports, and additional information uncovered by Center staff, we undertook another investigation into the facility.  In a report issued on October 9, 2006, the Center found serious safety concerns involving peer-on-peer assaults, the mis-use of emergency safety responses and continued treatment problems.  The Center issued 12 recommendations to Vista Care and are awaiting their response.  Arnold v. Sarn - In a groundbreaking decision in 1989, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in Arnold v. Sarn that “Arizona has failed to meet its moral and legal obligations to our state’s chronically mentally ill population.” Unanimously, the Court held that individuals with serious mental illness have a legal right to mental health treatment in the community and that the State of Arizona and Maricopa County had failed to provide that treatment. Since that time, the Center as counsel for the plaintiffs, along with its co-counsel, has been working to make the promise of the Arnold case a reality in Arizona. Although some improvements to the system and its funding have been made, the Center is continuing to work toward ensuring that the defendants fully implement the court’s orders. This would ultimately result in individuals with serious mental illness receiving the appropriate services that will support their recovery. J.K. v. Eden - Settlement of lawsuit promoting development of appropriate services for children with behavioral health needs. TOP Employment (Click on article title for more information) EEOC & Garcia, et al. v. Aztec Inn Properties, dba Clarion Hotel-Randolph Park: Consent Decree outlining the terms of a supervised court settlement in an ADA employment discrimination and retaliation case on behalf of five individuals with developmental disabilities represented by Center attorneys. Shelley Savage v. Glendale Union High School District No. 205 of Maricopa County: Brief to the U.S. Supreme Court written by Center attorneys to oppose review of the Ninth Circuit's opinion that Arizona school districts are not immune from liability under the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. EEOC and Fass/Darnell v. Wal-Mart - Settlement requiring Wal-Mart to change policies and practices to prevent discrimination against employees and applicants who are deaf. Arizona Center for Disability Law and Tucson Medical Center Announce ADA Training Program and Model Policy - The Arizona Center for Disability Law and Tucson Medical Center announced they are launching a training program at TMC to further educate staff about the Americans With Disabilities Act and a newly developed policy on medical examinations of new hires. TOP Education (Click on article title for more information) IDEA 2004 BECOMES LAW Dunajski v. Keegan - Court ordered settlement providing for an improved complaint mechanism to the State when special education and related services are not provided. TOP Community Access and Housing Class Action Settlement in Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. E*Trade Access, Inc. National Federation of the Blind, persons similarly situated, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts have settled a class action settlement with Cardtronics, Inc., concerning the accessibility of that's company's Automated Teller Machines (ATM). Copy of the settlement agreement can be found at the following link. If you would like a Braille copy of either the notice or of the settlement agreement please contact Legal Assistant Ashley Boothby of Fox & Robertson P.C. (plaintiffs' lawfirm) at 1-888-461-9191 or aboothby@foxrob.com. Center Assists Client in Obtaining Home Modifications - The Center represented an individual with partial quadriplegia who required a modification to his driveway in order to provide safe ingress and egress to his accessible van.  He lives in a home which is subject to Conditions Covenants and Restrictions (CC&Rs) with strict exterior aesthetic architectural guidelines.  The CC&Rs require that modifications of this nature must be reviewed and approved by the Homeowners’ Association’s Architectural Review Committee.  Citing, its CC&Rs, the client’s first proposal for the driveway modification was denied purportedly because the proposal would compromise the setback lines, landscaping schemes, and drainage.  The Center intervened and requested a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) on the individual’s behalf and attended Architectural Committee meetings to negotiate lawful terms for approval and criteria for Committee approval, which were sensitive to the legitimate interests of the homeowners’ association, yet faithful to the clients rights under the FHA. Based on this, the client was able to re-present his driveway modification proposal and was granted approval for the needed modification. TOP Help America Vote Act ACDL Newsletter - 2008 Presidential Preference Primary - Special Election Edition Arizona Presidential Preference Primary Set for February 5, 2008 The 2008 federal election seems so far away, yet the debates have begun and more candidates are announcing they will seek their party’s nomination for President of the United States.  In addition to President, all Arizona U.S. House of Representatives will be up for re-election as well as all members of the Arizona state legislature. Governor Janet Napolitano has, by proclamation, moved the date of Arizona’s presidential preference primary election to Tuesday, February 5, 2008, up from Tuesday, February 26.  Arizona will join about 20 other states in what is being called “super duper Tuesday.”  The field of presidential candidates in both parties will likely narrow after February 5. Why is an earlier date important to Arizona?  A lot of candidate, campaign and media attention is focused on early primary states.  Often times, candidates run out of money and support after the first or second primary election.  The earlier the primary, the more choices we will have as voters.  Even though our presidential primary election is still 6 months away, the Arizona Center for Disability Law is working hard to ensure that people with disabilities are registered to vote and have the opportunity to participate fully in the 2008 federal election.  2007 Cities of Phoenix and Tucson Elections In 2007, the Cities of Phoenix and Tucson will elect a Mayor.  Phoenix voters in Districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 will elect City Council members.  Tucson voters in Wards 1, 2 and 4 will elect City Council members. The primary election is Tuesday, September 11^th. The general election is Tuesday, November 6^th. Early voting has begun in both Phoenix and Tucson.  Early voting through vote-by-mail began on Monday, August 13^th.  Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by August 31.  Early voting at selected locations began on Monday, August 13^th and will last until September 7.  The last day to vote early at early voting centers is Friday, September 7. State and federal laws do not require Tucson or Phoenix to offer an accessible voting machine in every precinct.  The right to vote privately and independently is a right guaranteed in federal elections under the Help America Vote Act of 2002.  The Arizona Center for Disability Law is interested in your experience as a voter in the Tucson and Phoenix City Elections.  We have developed a survey that you can download and mail back to us.  Voter survey form. For more information about City of Tucson Elections, contact the City Clerk, Kathleen Detrick at (520) 791-4213 or (520) 791-2639 (TTY).  The City’s website can be found at www.tucsonaz.gov/clerks/elections.php. For more information about City of Phoenix Elections, contact the City Clerk, Mario Paniagua at (602) 262-6558 or (602) 534-2737 (TTY).  The City’s website can be found at www.phoenix.gov/ELECTION/elect.html. Arizona Center for Disability Law Fiscal Year 2008 (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008) Help America Vote Act Priorities 1.         Voter Registration The Arizona Center for Disability Law (ACDL) will work in collaboration with the Arizona Disability Vote Project to register voters with disabilities in Arizona.  The Arizona Disability Vote Project is a growing coalition of over 20 disability advocacy organizations in Arizona with the goal to increase voter registration and voter participation among Arizonans with disabilities.  The ACDL is an active member of the Executive Committee of this coalition.  This collaboration with the Arizona Disability Vote Project may include direct financial and staff support for tabling at disability fairs and expos. The ACDL will continue to distribute voter registration forms to unregistered individuals with disabilities who access our office through our Short Term Assistance Team (intake). The ACDL will train the Short Term Assistance Team and advocate staff on voter registration requirements in Arizona to increase our ability to serve individuals with voter registration problems. The ACDL will maintain a “register to vote in Arizona” tab on our website and will continue to educate the public about the importance of voter registration.  2.         Voter Participation The ACDL will staff a hotline on federal election days to assist individuals with disabilities in their right to participate in elections.  The hotline will be open from 7:00 am – 7:00 pm on the following days in 2008: Arizona Presidential Preference Primary - Tuesday, February 26, 2008 (Date subject to change to Tuesday, February 5, 2008 by Proclamation of the Governor of Arizona.); Primary Election - Tuesday, August 11, 2008; and General Election - Tuesday, November 4, 2008.  Otherwise, the ACDL is open for intake on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm. Provide individual assistance to people with disabilities who request help in filing a complaint using the State=s HAVA grievance procedure process. The ACDL will write and publish a self-advocacy guide that will be used by the ACDL and the Arizona Disability Vote Project to educate people with disabilities about their right to vote.  The guide will be translated into Spanish, low-literacy and in other alternative formats by request. The ACDL will educate election officials and poll workers on disability issues through review and input on training curriculum as well as appearances at training events. The ACDL will work in collaboration with the Arizona Disability Vote Project to educate voters with disabilities about their rights.  The ACDL will conduct outreach and education to voters with disabilities in at least 2 rural counties.  3.         Accessing Polling Places The ACDL will continue to monitor and survey polling locations.  In fiscal year 2008, the ACDL will sample polling locations in at least 2 rural counties. The ACDL will continue to advocate for full compliance with federal accessibility requirements with the Arizona Secretary of State=s Office and County Recorders to ensure that polling places are accessible to individuals with disabilities. 4.         HAVA State Legislation The ACDL will monitor state legislation that impacts Arizona’s implementation of the Help America Vote Act.  The ACDL will educate state legislators about the impact proposed HAVA legislation may have on people with disabilities. _____________________________________ Vote Every Election 2008 is an important state and federal election year. In 2008, you will have the opportunity to vote for: - President of the United States - Arizona Congressional Representatives - Arizona State Legislators - Arizona Ballot Initiatives The Center has just published a new fact sheet about the Help America Vote Act. The fact sheet summarizes the important accessibility features of the new federal law. HAVA Flyer – English HAVA Flyer – Spanish Important 2008 Election Dates to Remember Presidential Preference Primary: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 Primary Election: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 General Election: Tuesday, November 4, 2008 The Arizona Center for Disability Law has just released a new report that examines the disenfranchisement of individuals under limited guardianship.  Henry G. Watkins, the Center’s former Executive Director conducted extensive research into the origins of guardianship in Arizona, changes in Arizona law and the requirements of the United States Constitution.  Judge Watkins concludes that the right to vote for individuals under limited guardianship should be presumed absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. New Voter Registration Requirements - Proposition 200, passed by the voters of Arizona at the 2004 General Election, became effective on January 24, 2005. Proposition 200 requires that proof of citizenship must be submitted with all NEW voter registration forms. TOP [ History ] [ Priorities ] [ Newsletter ] [ Training ] [ Guides ] [ Getting Help ] [ How To Help ] [ Links ] [ Contact Us ] [ Home ]