RSA-509 for FY-2016: Submission #105

State name New Jersey

Report through date 9/30/2016

General Information

Designated Agency Identification

Name Disability Rights New Jersey

Address 210 S. Broad Street 3rd Floor

Address 2 {Empty}

City Trenton

State {Empty}

Zip Code 8608

E-mail Address advocate@drnj.org

Website Address http://www.drnj.org

Phone (609) 292-9742

TTY Phone (609) 633-7106

Toll-free Phone (800) 922-7233

Toll-free TTY Phone {Empty}

Fax (609) 777-0187

Name of P&A Executive Director Joseph B. Young

Name of PAIR Director/Coordinator Mary A. Ciccone

Person to contact regarding report Mary A. Ciccone

Contact Person phone (609) 292-9742

Contact Person phone ext {Empty}

Part I. Non-Case Services

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

1. Individuals receiving I&R within PAIR priority areas 849

2. Individuals receiving I&R outside PAIR priority areas 1232

3. Total individuals receiving I&R (lines A1 + A2) 2081

B. Training Activities

1. Number of trainings presented by PAIR staff 26

2. Number of individuals who attended training (approximate) 1100

Training TrainingsDRNJ staff conducted 26 education and training programs attended by approximately 1,100 individuals. These programs included issues such as special education, including transition services, employment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, housing, voting, and health care.Underserved PopulationsDRNJ staff conducted 13 outreach, public awareness, and training events targeted to the elderly, deaf and hard of hearing, blind, urban minority, women with disabilities, African American, Latino and rural Latino, and the military. DRNJ presented information to approximately 160 consumers and family members at three different conferences serving the needs of the elderly. In addition, DRNJ staff presented information about assistive technology, voting, special education. and transition services as well as DRNJ's services at two different events that targeted urban minorities. Approximately 80 consumers and family members attended these events. DRNJ presented to three different Spanish-speaking groups on topics regarding special education and DRNJs services. Approximately 265 consumers and family members attended these events. DRNJ attended a consumer fair for individuals with blindness and provided information regarding assistive technology and DRNJs services. Approximately 75 consumers and family members attended this event. DRNJ also attended a deaf community fair and provided information regarding special education to approximately 100 consumers and family members. Finally, DRNJ continued its efforts to outreach to the military. During the year, DRNJ provided information about special education and health care in addition to its services at three events that focused on military consumers and their families. Approximately 560 family members and consumers attended.

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C. Information Disseminated to the Public

1. Radio and TV appearances by PAIR staff 0

2. Newspaper/magazine/journal articles 3

3. PSAs/videos aired 0

4. Hits on the PAIR/P&A website 1509637

5. Publications/booklets/brochures disseminated 20178

6. Other (specify separately) 4

Narrative A DRNJ attorney was interviewed for an article in the New Jersey Law Journal about the Pledge for Change. The Pledge for Change is a tool created by the American Bar Association's Commission on Disability Rights to promote diversity and inclusion of persons with disabilities in the legal profession. The DRNJ attorney explained it importance for individuals with disabilities and encouraged professionals in the New Jersey legal community to sign the pledge.A DRNJ attorney was interviewed in the New Jersey Law Journal and The Daily Princetonian regarding the status of W.P. v. Princeton University.DRNJ disseminated 20,178 publications/brochures during 2016 through outreaches, trainings, and DRNJ's website.DRNJ sent out two eblasts regarding voting, specifically advising of the deadlines for voter registration and vote-by-mail ballots. DRNJ also sent out an eblast of The Bar Report reprint of the Pledge for Change interview in the New Jersey Law Journal.

Part II. Individuals Served

A. Individuals Served

1. Individuals still served as of October 1 (carryover from prior FY) 188

2. Additional individuals served during the year 387

3. Total individuals served (lines A1 + A2) 575

4. Individuals w. more than 1 case opened/closed during the FY. (Do not add this number to total on line A3 above.) 11

B. Individuals served as of September 30

Carryover to next FY may not exceed total on line II. A.3 above 236

C. Problem Areas/Complaints of Individuals Served

1. Architectural accessibility 9

2. Employment 33

3. Program access 2

4. Housing 35

5. Government benefits/services 4

6. Transportation 6

7. Education 327

8. Assistive technology 8

9. Voting 0

10. Health care 96

11. Insurance 0

12. Non-government services 0

13. Privacy rights 0

14. Access to records 0

15. Abuse 3

16. Neglect 3

17. Other 47

D. Reasons for Closing Individual Case Files

1. Issues resolved partially or completely in individual favor 243

2. Other representation found 15

3. Individual withdrew complaint 67

4. Appeals unsuccessful 1

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 20

9. Other 0

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E. Intervention Strategies Used in Serving Individuals

1. Technical assistance in self-advocacy 148

2. Short-term assistance 38

3. Investigation/monitoring 77

4. Negotiation 19

5. Mediation/alternative dispute resolution 7

6. Administrative hearings 6

7. Litigation 27

8. Systemic/policy activities 1

Part III. Statistical Information on Individuals Served

A. Age of Individuals Served as of October 1

1. 0 - 4 21

2. 5 - 22 322

3. 23 - 59 139

4. 60 - 64 33

5. 65 and over 60

B. Gender of Individuals Served

1. Females 229

2. Males 346

C. Race/Ethnicity of Individuals Served

1. Hispanic/Latino of any race 114

2. American Indian or Alaskan Native 0

3. Asian 8

4. Black or African American 118

5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0

6. White 310

7. Two or more races 6

8. Race/ethnicity unknown 19

D. Living Arrangements of Individuals Served

1. Independent 166

2. Parental or other family home 388

3. Community residential home 1

4. Foster care 1

5. Nursing home 12

6. Public institutional living arrangement 0

7. Private institutional living arrangement 1

8. Jail/prison/detention center 2

9. Homeless 2

10. Other living arrangements 2

11. Living arrangements not known 0

E. Primary Disability of Individuals Served

2. Deaf/hard of hearing 24

4. Orthopedic impairment 80

5. Mental illness 13

6. Substance abuse 2

7. Mental retardation 0

8. Learning disability 111

9. Neurological impairment 164

10. Respiratory impairment 10

11. Heart/other circulatory impairment 21

12. Muscular/skeletal impairment 17

13. Speech impairment 18

14. AIDS/HIV 2

15. Traumatic brain injury 28

16. Other disability 61

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 250000

Describe your systemic activities. VotingDRNJ continued its efforts to conduct systemic activities in the area of voting. DRNJ collaborated with the Division of Elections, the New Jersey League of Women Voters, and the American Civil Liberties Union New Jersey chapter to ensure that disabled voters had access to voting. DRNJ also collaborated with other disability groups to raise awareness of voting and encourage voter registration. DRNJ expanded its outreach and conducted five outreaches to disability groups to raise awareness of their right to vote. In addition, DRNJ continued its collaboration with the Boggs Center and the Council on Developmental Disabilities to continue its distribution of Voting: Its Your Right, a voters guide for persons with disabilities. Finally, DRNJ conducted a voting hotline during the general election and the primary to assist individuals with disabilities on election day.Special EducationDRNJ participated in several stakeholders meetings sponsored by the NJ Department of Education to provide comments on the Office of Special Educations State Performance Plan. DRNJ also collaborated with a task force convened by the New Jersey Education Association to address issues regarding special education reform.DRNJ continues its membership in the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Reform Coalition (NJJJRC). The NJJJRC is a collaborative organization that is led by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. Other member agencies include the NJ ACLU, the Rutgers Law School Justice Clinic, the NJ Public Defenders Office, the pro bono division of Lowenstein Sandler, the NJ Parents Caucus, and numerous others. The NJJJRCs goal is to raise awareness in communities about issues in the juvenile justice system such as the school-to-prison pipeline, conditions of confinement, and alternatives to incarceration, and engage in dialogue with policymakers to enact change. DRNJ participates in the school-to-prison pipeline working group and the conditions of confinement working group. These groups are currently in the process of identifying current problems and developing plans to address through legislative advocacy or litigation.TransportationDRNJ staff continues to monitor New Jersey Transits compliance with the Americans with Disability Act through participation on New Jersey Transits ADA advisory committee, the North Jersey Transit Planning Authority, and the New Jersey Transit ADA Task Force. In addition, DRNJ staff attended meetings of the NJ Transit Local Programs Support Citizens Advisory Committee and the New Jersey Council on Special Transportation during the past year. DRNJ continues to distribute its Consumers Transportation Handbook.

B. Litigation/Class Actions

1. Number of individuals potentially impacted by changes as a result of PAIR litigation/class action efforts 220000

2. Number of individuals named in class actions 2

Describe your litigation/class action activities. DRNJ et al. v. New Jersey Department of Education et al.DRNJ, along with the Education Law Center, SPAN, and the ARC of New Jersey filed suit in federal court against the New Jersey Department of Education in 2007. The complaint alleged that DOE failed to address the systemic problem that New Jersey children with disabilities are not being educated in the least restrictive environment as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In February 2014, the parties settled the complaint. The settlement required the following activities:Completion of a Needs Assessment by 75+ school districts with the worst track record in inclusion;District site visits by the DOE, including classroom observations and staff interviews;Extensive training and technical assistance for district staff, and regular assessment of the trainings and technical assistance;Training of state complaint investigators;Specially designated state and local inclusion facilitators;Annual compliance monitoring;Parental input regarding district failures to appropriately include students with disabilities; andOversight by a stakeholder committee comprised of disability advocates.The settlement became effective upon the judges February 19, 2014 signing of the Order with implementation beginning immediately and continuing for three years. DRNJ staff was named to the stakeholder committee that oversees the needs assessment and training schedule. The committee met during the past year and reviewed the compliance reports and training evaluations. Approximately 70 of the 76 districts were found non-compliant in specific categories regarding least restrictive environment. As a result of these findings, each of these non-compliant districts must identify an inclusion facilitator in the district and must address the non-compliance in the next year as specified in the settlement agreement. In addition, the committee offered suggestions regarding future training sessions specifically regarding the common areas of non-compliance that were found in the districts. DRNJ will continue to monitor the settlement for the remainder of the time it is in effect.Complaint Investigation Against Jersey City School DistrictDRNJ intervened on behalf of a six-year-old resident of Hudson County who has a hearing impairment. The childs mother contacted DRNJ because she was seeking an independent occupational therapy evaluation from the school district. She had requested an independent evaluation, but the district only offered her only one evaluator from which to choose. DRNJ filed a complaint investigation with the New Jersey Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) seeking an independent evaluation. OSEP investigated the complaint and determined that the district violated N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.5(c)(1)(i) by failing to provide the mother with more than one evaluator or providing her with sufficient information about where an evaluation may be obtained. OSE

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 ISSUE 1 ABUSE AND NEGLECTGOAL 15-1XABUSE AND NEGLECT To ensure that individuals with disabilities living in institutions and the community are free from abuse and neglect.OBJECTIVE 1X.1To address complaints of abuse and neglect living in institutions or community residential programs in at least one (1) matter.DRNJ intervened on behalf of a 60-year-old resident of Bergen County who has spina bifida. The individual contacted DRNJ because he was residing in a long-term care facility and no longer wanted to reside in this facility. He complained that he is too far from his preferred doctors. He also made multiple complaints about the care. DRNJ notified the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly of the client's complaints. DRNJ is also communicating with the social worker on the unit to monitor their efforts at securing a transfer to another facility. Client was urged to continue to work with the social worker on transfer. He is also aware of the procedure to contact the Department of Health and the Office of the Ombudsman for any future complaints regarding care.10 cases were handled under this priority.ISSUE 2 DISCRIMINATIONGOAL 15-2A HOUSING: To ensure that people with disabilities have greater access to accessible, affordable housing and experience decreased housing discrimination.OBJECTIVE 2A.1To participate in at least one (1) coalition, task force, advisory, or work group seeking to increase accessible, affordable housing.DRNJ is an active participant in the Supportive Housing Association, which is a statewide, nonprofit organization that promotes and maintains a strong supportive housing industry in New Jersey serving persons with special needs through information, training, and collaboration, promoting systems change to provide more flexible funding and increased mainstream housing opportunities, and educating policy makers, elected officials, and the public on the use and benefits of the supportive housing model.Mt. Laurel LitigationIn 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that municipalities in the state could not use exclusionary zoning practices to keep out low- and moderate-income citizens, and often racial and ethnic minorities, from their communities. According to the Court, New Jerseys constitution not only prohibits exclusionary zoning, it also imposes an affirmative obligation on the municipalities to ensure zoning that allows the municipality to meet its fair share of regional affordable housing obligations.New Jerseys implementation of the Courts decision stalled in 1999, and effectively came to a halt during the last three to four years. In 2015, the process was revived by the Supreme Court removing authority for implementation from the executive branch and returning it to the courts. As a result, there has been active litigation in many of New Jerseys 15 regional courts to determine each municipalitys fair housing obligation.In calculating the number of affordable housing units required

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 ISSUE 1 ABUSE AND NEGLECTGOAL 15-1XABUSE AND NEGLECT To ensure that individuals with disabilities living in institutions and the community are free from abuse and neglect.OBJECTIVE 1X.1To address complaints of abuse and neglect living in institutions or community residential programs in at least one (1) matter.ISSUE 2 DISCRIMINATIONGOAL 15-2A HOUSING: To ensure that people with disabilities have greater access to accessible, affordable housing and experience decreased housing discrimination.OBJECTIVE 2A.1To participate in at least one (1) coalition, task force, advisory, or work group seeking to increase accessible, affordable housing.OBJECTIVE 2A.2To pursue individual and/or systems advocacy in at least one (1) housing matter addressing discriminatory barriers to accessible, affordable housing.GOAL 15-2B EMPLOYMENT: To ensure that people with disabilities experience decreased discrimination and gain increased employment opportunities.OBJECTIVE 2B.1To address through individual and/or systems advocacy employment discrimination issues or complaints in at least fifteen (15) mattersGOAL 15-2C VOTING: To ensure that people with disabilities have the opportunity and can exercise the right to register and vote.OBJECTIVE 2C.1 To participate in at least three (3) activities promoting and protecting the right to vote of people with disabilities.GOAL 15-2D PUBLIC ACCOMMODATIONS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES: To ensure that people with disabilities have non-discriminatory access to public accommodations and public entities.OBJECTIVE 2D.1To undertake individual and/or systems advocacy in at least ten (10) matters addressing discrimination against people with disabilities in public accommodations and services.ISSUE 3 COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICESGOAL 15-3ACOMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES AND SUPPORTS To ensure that people with disabilities have access to appropriate community-based supports and services to promote integration and independence.OBJECTIVE 3A.1To provide individual and/or systems advocacy in at least three (3) matters promoting or addressing access to community supports and services.GOAL 09-3B - ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTATION: to improve the availability of accessible transportation for people with disabilities.OBJECTIVE 3B.1 -To participate in at least one (3) individual and systems matters addressing lack of accessible transportation services for people with disabilities.ISSUE 4 HEALTH CAREGOAL 15-4A HEALTH CARE: To ensure that people with disabilities have access to appropriate health care services.OBJECTIVE 4A.1To provide individual assistance and advocacy in at least ten (10) matters promoting access by people with disabilities to health care.GOAL 15-4BINFORMED DECISION MAKING To ensure that the rights of individuals with disabilities are protected through informed individual and /or surrogate decision making.OBJECTIVE 4B.1To promote individual rights and informed decision making through at least one (1) educ

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 Joseph B. Young

Title Executive Director

Signed date Wed, 12/21/2016 - 00:00

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