RSA-509 for FY-2016: Submission #100

State name Mississippi

Report through date 9/30/2016

General Information

Designated Agency Identification

Name Disability Rights MS

Address 210 E. Capitol St. Suite 600

Address 2 {Empty}

City Jackson

State {Empty}

Zip Code 39201

E-mail Address info@drms.ms

Website Address https://www.drms.ms

Phone (601) 968-0600

TTY Phone (601) 968-0600

Toll-free Phone (800) 772-4057

Toll-free TTY Phone (800) 772-4057

Fax (601) 968-0665

Name of P&A Executive Director Ann Maclaine

Name of PAIR Director/Coordinator Ann Maclaine

Person to contact regarding report Ann Maclaine

Contact Person phone (601) 968-0600

Contact Person phone ext 226

Part I. Non-Case Services

A. Individual Information and Referral Services (I&R)

1. Individuals receiving I&R within PAIR priority areas 226

2. Individuals receiving I&R outside PAIR priority areas 3

3. Total individuals receiving I&R (lines A1 + A2) 229

B. Training Activities

1. Number of trainings presented by PAIR staff 6

2. Number of individuals who attended training (approximate) 313

Training Examples of training:DRMS provided Disability Sensitivity Training to 97 Americorps Volunteers as part of a panel discussion.DRMS provided information about DRMS services to 15 parent members of The Arc of Northwest MS. This included a presentation, group discussion, and questions and answers.DRMS provided a one hour session on Individualized Education Program meetings as a part of the 5th MS disAbility Megaconference, reaching 45 participants.

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C. Information Disseminated to the Public

1. Radio and TV appearances by PAIR staff 1

2. Newspaper/magazine/journal articles 1

3. PSAs/videos aired 9

4. Hits on the PAIR/P&A website 13411

5. Publications/booklets/brochures disseminated 2600

6. Other (specify separately) 40531

Narrative Other includes Social media follower, friends, members, etc, including hits on posts from Take Your Legislator to Work Day

Part II. Individuals Served

A. Individuals Served

1. Individuals still served as of October 1 (carryover from prior FY) 19

2. Additional individuals served during the year 40

3. Total individuals served (lines A1 + A2) 59

4. Individuals w. more than 1 case opened/closed during the FY. (Do not add this number to total on line A3 above.) 3

B. Individuals served as of September 30

Carryover to next FY may not exceed total on line II. A.3 above 27

C. Problem Areas/Complaints of Individuals Served

1. Architectural accessibility 1

2. Employment 4

3. Program access 2

4. Housing 3

5. Government benefits/services 1

6. Transportation 8

7. Education 21

8. Assistive technology 0

9. Voting 0

10. Health care 3

11. Insurance 0

12. Non-government services 0

13. Privacy rights 0

14. Access to records 0

15. Abuse 1

16. Neglect 2

17. Other 0

D. Reasons for Closing Individual Case Files

1. Issues resolved partially or completely in individual favor 23

2. Other representation found 0

3. Individual withdrew complaint 3

4. Appeals unsuccessful 0

5. PAIR Services not needed due to individual's death, relocation etc 2

6. PAIR withdrew from case 0

7. PAIR unable to take case because of lack of resources 0

8. Individual case lacks legal merit 5

9. Other 1

Please explain Issue was the focus of a systems project so the individual service request was subsumed by that project.

E. Intervention Strategies Used in Serving Individuals

1. Technical assistance in self-advocacy 2

2. Short-term assistance 12

3. Investigation/monitoring 2

4. Negotiation 11

5. Mediation/alternative dispute resolution 3

6. Administrative hearings 0

7. Litigation 3

8. Systemic/policy activities 1

Part III. Statistical Information on Individuals Served

A. Age of Individuals Served as of October 1

1. 0 - 4 0

2. 5 - 22 24

3. 23 - 59 18

4. 60 - 64 6

5. 65 and over 11

B. Gender of Individuals Served

1. Females 26

2. Males 33

C. Race/Ethnicity of Individuals Served

1. Hispanic/Latino of any race 1

2. American Indian or Alaskan Native 0

3. Asian 0

4. Black or African American 25

5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0

6. White 29

7. Two or more races 0

8. Race/ethnicity unknown 4

D. Living Arrangements of Individuals Served

1. Independent 22

2. Parental or other family home 31

3. Community residential home 2

4. Foster care 0

5. Nursing home 1

6. Public institutional living arrangement 0

7. Private institutional living arrangement 1

8. Jail/prison/detention center 0

9. Homeless 0

10. Other living arrangements 1

11. Living arrangements not known 1

E. Primary Disability of Individuals Served

2. Deaf/hard of hearing 3

4. Orthopedic impairment 8

5. Mental illness 1

6. Substance abuse 0

7. Mental retardation 1

8. Learning disability 11

9. Neurological impairment 14

10. Respiratory impairment 2

11. Heart/other circulatory impairment 1

12. Muscular/skeletal impairment 6

13. Speech impairment 1

14. AIDS/HIV 0

15. Traumatic brain injury 0

16. Other disability 1

Part IV. Systemic Activities and Litigation

A. Systemic Activities

1. Number of policies/practices changed as a result of non-litigation systemic activities 2

2. Number of individuals potentially impacted by policy changes 12000

Describe your systemic activities. . DRMS used PAIR funds, along with other funds, to support two systems change projects that resulted in changes to policies and practices.1.Monitoring and providing input into Mississippis development of Transition plans to comply with the Home and Community Based Services Waiver Settings rule promulgated by CMS. DRMS attended public meetings and submitted written comments about all the affected waivers, including the three the Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury waiver, the Elderly and Disable Waiver, and the Independent Living waiver which most often serve PAIR eligible individuals. The crux of DRMS concerns about these was that they failed to develop any plan at all, asserting that because they serve people in homes in the community rather than congregate settings, the rule did not apply to them. DRMS vigorously and repeatedly asserted that the settings rules require that service provided under those waivers must assist the recipients in being integrated into the community as much as possible. CMS twice rejected the proposed MS plans, and required submission of a joint plan for all waivers, which has been submitted and was awaiting approval at the end of the fiscal year. DRMS counts this as a policy change because our advocacy prevented adoption of a policy that would ignore requirements of the settings rule for PAIR eligible persons and required creation of a unified plan. This will benefit those receiving services in individual homes who are nevertheless isolated from the broader community because their waiver services fail to ensure integration. The implementation of these rules is expected to impact approximately 11,000 people who receive home and community based waiver services.2.Transition services in Yazoo City School System. DRMS successfully contested a policy in one school district of denying special education students to Vo-tech programs because of alleged safety issues, which unfairly discriminated against those students trying to fulfill the requirements of a Mississippi Occupational Diploma as part of Transition planning. The policy was changed as a result of DRMS advocacy and impacted many individual clients in this school system by enabling them to obtain more beneficial Transition planning and services while in school.

B. Litigation/Class Actions

1. Number of individuals potentially impacted by changes as a result of PAIR litigation/class action efforts 1000

2. Number of individuals named in class actions 9

Describe your litigation/class action activities. DRMS continues to serve as local counsel for the class affected by the Crawford v. JATRAN litigation. The term of the independent monitor was due to end during FY 2016 but was extended for two more years because of ongoing significant issues with maintenance on the fixed route buses. A new management company took over the fleet of aging buses in disrepair, and problems maintaining buses with functioning lifts on major routes intensified. This created a crisis situation. Counsel from the US Department of Justice and DRMS negotiated a continuation of the Consent Decree and Monitoring for two more years to insure that repairs are made and new vehicles obtained. This affects all riders with mobility impairments who prefer to use fixed route bus service.

Part V. PAIR'S Priorities and Objectives

A. Priorities and Objectives for the Fiscal Year Covered by this Report

For each of your PAIR program priorities for the fiscal year covered by this report, please:

Identify and describe priority.
Identify the need, issue or barrier addressed by this priority.
Identify and describe indicators PAIR used to determine successful outcome of activities pursued under this priority.
Explain whether pursuing this priority involved collaborative efforts by other entities. If so, describe this collaboration.
Provide the number of cases handled under the priority. Indicate how many of these, if any, were class actions.
Provide at least one case summary that demonstrates the impact of the priority.

Priorities and Objectives Priority 1. EducationStatement of priority: Children, ages 3-21, with disabilities who are receiving or are in need of special education services will receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.The need addressed by priority: School systems often fail to provide appropriate services to PAIR eligible students with disabilities.Indicators and Outcomes:Indicator: Provide individual representation in at least twenty-five (25) cases in the following areas: (a) Meaningful education benefit in the least restrictive environment (LRE) (b) Discipline (c) Testing/evaluation (d) Transition (d) childcare/early intervention (e) accessibility.Outcome: Represented PAIR eligible students in twenty-four (24) cases involving education issues.Indicator: Continue Systems advocacy related to the following issues: a) Dyslexia Project: research systemic denials of a FAPE to children with Dyslexia and determine the appropriate means for remedying this systemic issueOutcome: DRMS advocated for several individual children to receive dyslexia services at school. It also filed a complaint in one school district and obtained appropriate dyslexia therapy for the client via Skype with a certified dyslexia therapist. DRMS also began using, and plans to continue to use, a Dear Colleague letter from the OSERS confirming that dyslexia is a specific learning disability, as authority for requesting dyslexia services.Collaboration: DRMS collaborates on education issues with the Parent Training and Information Center, the MS Center for Justice, the Southern Policy Law Center, and various Youth Court administrators, prosecutors, judges and public defenders. It has also collaborated with media interested in education issues.Number of Cases Handled: 24 No class actions.Case examples: a) DRMS assisted a 15 year old student with dyslexia and autism to obtain service to appropriately address behaviors that were impeding academic progress. When DRMS was contacted, he was failing two subjects and not receiving supports needed. As a result of DRMS advocacy through attendance at IEP meetings and classroom observations, the district placed the student in a setting where he receives daily counseling, 1:3 student-teacher ratio, family counseling, intensive behavior therapy and social skills training.b) DRMS represented a 14 year old with ADHD who had been expelled from an alternative school for behavior related to his disability. DRMS met with the parent, reviewed records, attended eligibility, IEP and discipline hearings, and advocated for the child to have a comprehensive evaluation for special education services. As a result, he was found eligible for services, was not expelled, a Behavior Intervention Plan was developed, and he was returned to his home school. He is receiving psychological services at school and is in inclusion classes doing very well.c) DRMS represented an 11 y.o. student with behavioral issues who was facing pos

B. Priorities and Objectives for the Current Fiscal Year

Please include a statement of priorities and objectives for the current fiscal year (the fiscal year succeeding that covered by this report), which should contain the following information:

a statement of each prioirty;
the need addressed by each priority; and;
a description of the activities to be carried out under each priority.

B. Priorities and Objectives for the Current Fiscal Year Priority: Education Children, ages 3-21, with disabilities who are receiving or are in need of special education services will receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.Need: School systems often fail to provide appropriate services to PAIR eligible students with disabilities.Activities:Individual Representation: Provide individual representation in at least twenty (20) cases in the following areas: (a) Meaningful education benefit in the least restrictive environment (LRE) (b) Discipline (c) Testing/evaluation (d) Transition (e) accessibilityMaterials Development: DRMS will develop, print and distribute at least two brochures which include information about select issues involving educational rights of students with disabilities.Priority: Community Integration Individuals with disabilities will live in integrated and inclusive settings in the community with appropriate services and supports. The rights of individuals with disabilities who reside in facilities will be protected and advanced.Need: eligible individuals in Mississippi are often not aware of their right to live in the community, or are discriminated against or denied appropriate services when they choose to do so. Individuals residing in facilities in Mississippi often experience abuse, neglect and discrimination, and are not encouraged to transition to less restrictive settings.Activities:(1)Monitor conditions and/or provide rights trainings and outreach in a minimum of 2 different group homes and nursing homes where PAIR eligible people reside, and 2 different sheltered workshops, personal care homes, clubhouse programs, and other settings that provide services to PAIR eligible people with disabilities.(2)Conduct investigations of all reported and/or discovered allegations of abuse, neglect or inappropriate use of seclusions or restraints, serious injuries, and deaths of PAIR eligible individuals with disabilities in any setting where they received services and supports.(3) Coordinate all DRMS outreach and public relations activities, and maintain the agency website, facebook group and page.(4)Individual advocacy: Provide individual representation in at least twenty-five (25) cases in the following areas: (a) allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a person with a disability residing in a facility; (b) advocacy on behalf of a persons living in facilities, including nursing homes, who want to transition into the community, focusing on the need for proper discharge plans and community services; (c) issues related to proper medication for a person with a disability who is residing in a jail or prison; (d) allegations of violations of the rights of a person who is living in a community or residential facility setting; (e) housing discrimination based on disability; (f) physical access for individuals with disabilities in accordance with the ADA to buildings, sidewalks, and transportation (where the case will have b

Part VI. Narrative

Narrative

At a minimum, you must include all of the information requested. You may include any other information, not otherwise collected on this reporting form that would be helpful in describing the extent of PAIR activities during the prior fiscal year. Please limit the narrative portion of this report, including attachments, to 20 pages or less.

The narrative should contain the following information. The instructions for this form outline the information that should be contained in each section.

Sources of funds received and expended
Budget for the fiscal year covered by this report
Outline the budget for the fiscal year covered by the report (prior fiscal year), as well as a projection for the current fiscal year. Be sure to include a breakdown of dollars expended/allotted for: administrative costs (i.e., personnel salaries, equipment, etc.); services to individuals; and other expenses (i.e., staff training, travel, etc.)
Description of PAIR staff (duties and person-years)
Involvement with advisory boards (if any)
Grievances filed under the grievance procedure
Coordination with the Client Assistance Program (CAP) and the State long-term care program, if these programs are not part of the P&A agency

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Certification

Signed

Signed? Yes

Signed by Ann Maclaine

Title Executive Director

Signed date Fri, 12/23/2016 - 00:00

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