RSA-509 for FY-2016: Submission #110

State name Rhode Island

Report through date 9/30/2016

General Information

Designated Agency Identification

Name RHODE ISLAND DISABILITY LAW CENTER INC.

Address 275 WESTMINSTER STREET

Address 2 SUITE 401

City PROVIDENCE

State {Empty}

Zip Code 2903

E-mail Address rbandusky@ridlc.org

Website Address http://www.ridlc.org

Phone (401) 831-3150

TTY Phone (401) 831-5335

Toll-free Phone (800) 733-5332

Toll-free TTY Phone {Empty}

Fax (401) 274-5568

Name of P&A Executive Director RAYMOND L. BANDUSKY

Name of PAIR Director/Coordinator ANNE M. MULREADY

Person to contact regarding report ANNE M. MULREADY

Contact Person phone (401) 831-3150

Contact Person phone ext 205

Part I. Non-Case Services

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

1. Individuals receiving I&R within PAIR priority areas 2

2. Individuals receiving I&R outside PAIR priority areas 153

3. Total individuals receiving I&R (lines A1 + A2) 155

B. Training Activities

1. Number of trainings presented by PAIR staff 9

2. Number of individuals who attended training (approximate) 168

Training Because the training activities that RIDLC undertakes serve multiple audiences and overlapping constituencies, RIDLC often uses more than one funding source for a particular training. The following are examples of training activities that were conducted using PAIR funds as well as other agency funds.On October 1, 2015, we presented an overview of RIDLC services to transition age youth to the Transition Advisory Council of the Northern Rhode Island Regional Educational Collaborative. Approximately 30 parents and education staff attended.On November 12th and 23rd, we provided a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) workshop on Special Education advocacy for attorneys at a private law office recruited by the Pro Bono Project of Roger Williams Law School to provide representation to low-income children. Six attorneys attended and received CLE credit, and agreed to provide some pro bono representation on special education matters.On November 13, 2015, we co-presented a workshop with the RI Developmental Disabilities Council on Alternatives to Guardianship at the 6th Annual Transition 101 Conference for parents, students and providers, sponsored by the Rhode Island Parent Information Network. Approximately 50 parents and providers attended the workshop.On January 21, 2016, we presented an overview of RIDLC services to transition age youth, including alternatives to guardianship, to about 25 parents and students who attend the Options program at Bishop Hendricken High School, an inclusion program within a private school.On January 22, 2016, RIDLC staff met with 10 students and a transition educator from the Northern Rhode Island Educational Collaborative to review legal rights and potential help students could obtain from RIDLC.On January 19th and June 16th we presented to trainings to families and individuals with disabilities on Alternatives to Guardianship. This training was provided pursuant to a contract with Seven Hills Rhode Island. That agency has a federal grant to work with individuals with developmental disabilities and elders with Alzheimers to promote and provide community-based services. Approximately 27 individuals attended.During the month of July (July 25th to July 29th 2016), we participated as panel members in an annual series of state-wide public forums to Identify the Concerns ofPeople with Disabilities and Their Families coordinated by of the Rhode Island Governors Commission on Disabilities. RIDLC also distributed a flyer we drafted targeted towards Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) beneficiaries describing the federal HCBS requirements and telling beneficiaries of upcoming opportunities to comment on whether the services they received were integrated and person-centered as required by the federal rule. At these seven forums, representatives of various disability-affiliated government and private agencies sit as a panel to take comments from the public on the unmet needs of individuals

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C. Information Disseminated to the Public

1. Radio and TV appearances by PAIR staff 4

2. Newspaper/magazine/journal articles 3

3. PSAs/videos aired 0

4. Hits on the PAIR/P&A website 172025

5. Publications/booklets/brochures disseminated 1467

6. Other (specify separately) 9

Narrative One radio appearance, two TV appearances, and two newspaper articles concerned the suit filed against the City of Woonsocket by RIDLC and the RI ACLU in April 2016 on behalf of a deaf client arrested in violation of his free speech and ADA rights.One TV appearance in September 2016 involved the interview of a RIDLC attorney regarding the vulnerability of people with disabilities to abuse in response to an incident of a woman in a wheelchair being assaulted at a bus stop.One newspaper article covered the attendance of RIDLC and other disability organizations at the Family Resource Fair outreach event referenced below.As with training, RIDLC often conducts outreach using more than one funding source for a particular event. The following are descriptions of nine (9) outreach activities that were conducted using PAIR funds as well as other agency funds.On October 28, 2015, we provided resource materials at an educational event on dyslexia, sponsored by Decoding Dyslexia, RI. Approximately 50 individuals were in attendance.On November 4, 2016, we provided special education, vocational rehabilitation and employment rights information to Temple Emanu-El in Providence RI, for their event regarding planning for healthy futures for students with disabilities.On November 4, 2015, we staffed an information table at the Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing's 14th Annual Coffee Hour at the State House. Approximately 50 individuals attended.On March 18, 2016, we staffed an information table at the annual conference of the Brain Injury Association of RI Anchoring Hope After Brain Injury. Approximately 150 individuals were in attendance.On May 4, 2016, we provided information to about 20 parents and students at a transition event at Barrington High School.On May 12, 2016, we provided information about RIDLC services to transition age students to about 50 participants at a Johnston Special Education Advisory Committee meeting.On July 15, 2015, we staffed an information table at an Annual Resource Fair for Families and Children with Special Health Care Needs sponsored by the RI Parent Information Network, the RI Department of Health, and the Sherlock Center. Over 100 individuals attended.On September 15, 2016, we staffed an information table at the annual State-Wide Independent Living Conference. About 190 people attended.On September 17, 2016, we provided agency information and publications at a State Wide Rally for Recovery, promoting the wellness of individuals recovering from behavioral health conditions. Approximately 7600 individuals attended the rally.

Part II. Individuals Served

A. Individuals Served

1. Individuals still served as of October 1 (carryover from prior FY) 135

2. Additional individuals served during the year 16

3. Total individuals served (lines A1 + A2) 151

4. Individuals w. more than 1 case opened/closed during the FY. (Do not add this number to total on line A3 above.) 6

B. Individuals served as of September 30

Carryover to next FY may not exceed total on line II. A.3 above 124

C. Problem Areas/Complaints of Individuals Served

1. Architectural accessibility 3

2. Employment 13

3. Program access 3

4. Housing 36

5. Government benefits/services 11

6. Transportation 1

7. Education 22

8. Assistive technology 4

9. Voting 0

10. Health care 19

11. Insurance 0

12. Non-government services 1

13. Privacy rights 0

14. Access to records 0

15. Abuse 12

16. Neglect 12

17. Other 17

D. Reasons for Closing Individual Case Files

1. Issues resolved partially or completely in individual favor 14

2. Other representation found 0

3. Individual withdrew complaint 5

4. Appeals unsuccessful 0

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

6. PAIR withdrew from case 2

7. PAIR unable to take case because of lack of resources 1

8. Individual case lacks legal merit 4

9. Other 0

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E. Intervention Strategies Used in Serving Individuals

1. Technical assistance in self-advocacy 8

2. Short-term assistance 11

3. Investigation/monitoring 4

4. Negotiation 3

5. Mediation/alternative dispute resolution 1

6. Administrative hearings 0

7. Litigation 1

8. Systemic/policy activities 0

Part III. Statistical Information on Individuals Served

A. Age of Individuals Served as of October 1

1. 0 - 4 0

2. 5 - 22 13

3. 23 - 59 76

4. 60 - 64 15

5. 65 and over 47

B. Gender of Individuals Served

1. Females 75

2. Males 76

C. Race/Ethnicity of Individuals Served

1. Hispanic/Latino of any race 12

2. American Indian or Alaskan Native 0

3. Asian 3

4. Black or African American 5

5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0

6. White 128

7. Two or more races 0

8. Race/ethnicity unknown 0

D. Living Arrangements of Individuals Served

1. Independent 91

2. Parental or other family home 34

3. Community residential home 0

4. Foster care 0

5. Nursing home 7

6. Public institutional living arrangement 4

7. Private institutional living arrangement 1

8. Jail/prison/detention center 6

9. Homeless 0

10. Other living arrangements 5

11. Living arrangements not known 3

E. Primary Disability of Individuals Served

2. Deaf/hard of hearing 14

4. Orthopedic impairment 40

5. Mental illness 7

6. Substance abuse 0

7. Mental retardation 0

8. Learning disability 17

9. Neurological impairment 23

10. Respiratory impairment 10

11. Heart/other circulatory impairment 12

12. Muscular/skeletal impairment 5

13. Speech impairment 3

14. AIDS/HIV 0

15. Traumatic brain injury 3

16. Other disability 9

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 1970

Describe your systemic activities. High-Stakes Testing1.Number of policies, practices changed 12. Number of individuals potentially impacted by this change(83% of special education students in the Class of 2014 (approximately 1420 students),For several years, we have been advocating against the state education agency's rule requiring the use of a high school state-wide assessment as a high stakes test for graduation. The high-stakes use of the state-wide assessment had a significantly disparate impact on the ability of students with disabilities to graduate high school. State legislation in 2014 created a three-year moratorium (ending with the graduating class of 2017) on the use of the state-wide assessment as a high stakes test for graduation. However, subsequent state education agency regulations allowed individual districts to use the state-wide assessments results as a component of individual student grades before 2017. With eleven other community organizations, we sought to continue the moratorium until 2020, and to prevent the use of individual state-wide assessment results as a component of grades. Our efforts in 2015 were not successful. In 2016, in conjunction with other community organizations, we continued to advocate for the elimination of the state high-stakes graduation requirement. We commented on a new set of state regulations proposed in 2016, which eliminated high-stakes testing as a statewide requirement, but left local school districts the discretion to impose this requirement if they so chose. We are pleased with the state education agency reversal of its high-stakes testing requirement, and will continue to monitor the impact of local district high-stakes testing policies on students with disabilities. We hope the use of high-stakes testing for high school graduation has been effectively eliminated.Rhode Island Bar Application1.Number of policies, practices changed: 12. Number of individuals potentially impacted by this change550(Based on a 2011 American Bar Association Disability Statistics Report indicating that 6.87% of ABA members identified as having a disability. 6.87% of the approximately 8000 lawyers in Rhode Island =550).We reported last year on an ADA complaint we filed with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding discriminatory questions on the application for admission to the Rhode Island bar.In conjunction with the Rhode Island Affiliate of the ACLU, we filed the complaint with the DOJ on behalf of a law student seeking admission to practice in Rhode Island against the Rhode Island Supreme Court and its Committee on Character and Fitness. Our complaint alleged that the current application asked questions about disability that were prohibited by the ADA, and that subjected applicants with disabilities to a more burdensome process requiring them to disclose detailed information about their current and past treatment history. In 1996, Rhode Island had issued a precedent-setting decision eliminating discrimina

B. Litigation/Class Actions

1. Number of individuals potentially impacted by changes as a result of PAIR litigation/class action efforts 0

2. Number of individuals named in class actions 0

Describe your litigation/class action activities. {Empty}

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 In FY2016, the Rhode Island Disability Law Center (RIDLC) utilized agency-wide Objectives and Priorities. RIDLC administers seven other P&A grant programs, the Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PADD) program, the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) program, the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) program, the Protection and Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT) program, the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI) program, and the Protection and Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA) program, as well as the Client Assistance Program (CAP). Historically, as required by the respective funding sources, each program generated its own set of priority issues for individual and systemic advocacy. We became dissatisfied with this approach, as it meant the kinds of services we could offer an individual varied with the nature of the persons disability. These variations resulted in large part from the differing P&A program funding amounts. We now use one set of priority issues for individual advocacy, and strive to ensure that we are providing equitable services to the persons with disabilities within Rhode Island. (See e.g., Attachment A: Statement of Priorities: Federal Fiscal Year 2016").Our FY 2016 Statement of Priorities contained six (6) priorities. The first four (4) priorities described systemic issues that could potentially affect persons eligible for service under more than one of our P&A grants. PAIR funds were directly used in combination with other funds for Priority One and Two.A summary of our activities on those two priorities follows.Priority 1:Promote person-centered planning in state funded long term services and supportsWe have been monitoring implementation of major reforms impacting the provision of Medicaid long-term care services and supports (LTSS) in Rhode Island, which are provided pursuant to a global §1115 waiver. One of the reforms concerns compliance with the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rule on Home and Community-Based Services.On January 16, 2014, CMS published a final rule amending Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) regulations, to promote more access to community life for individuals using HCBS services, and to enable these individuals to have more control over how and where their services were delivered. These latter provisions are included in the requirements for person-centered planning. The new rule required state Medicaid agencies to submit a transition plan to demonstrate how the state would come into full compliance with the rule within five years (on or before March 2019). In FY 2016, we attended a monthly series of meetings with state Medicaid Leadership Team, advocates, and providers in order to provide input and feedback on needed changes to Rhode Islands Medicaid-funded HCBS services. Through this process, we sub"

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 A copy of our agency-wide priorities for FY 2017 is included in Attachment B. We have seven (7) priorities for FY 2017, of which five (5) are systemic priorities. Of these systemic priorities, Priority One and Two will use PAIR funds, which will be used in conjunction with other P&A funds. Priority Six lists the kinds of cases for which we will provide individual representation. Priority Seven concerns information and referrals, agency publication dissemination, as well as legal training. PAIR funds will also be used for Priorities Six and Seven.ATTACHMENT BSTATEMENT OF PRIORITIESFEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2017 (October 1, 2016 through September 30, 2017)Priorities are numbered only for the purpose of identification and the numerical value of a priority is no indication of its significance in relation to any other.SYSTEMIC PRIORITIESPriorities One through Five are the major systemic activities contemplated for Fiscal Year 2017; these priorities were developed in response to issues identified as broad concerns to the disability community and are not issues on which we have the capacity to provide individual representation for all who request it.PRIORITY ONE:Promote person-centered planning in state funded long term services and supports.PRIORITY TWO:Develop models of supported decision making for persons alleged to lack capacity to make decisions independently.PRIORITY THREE: Surveil segregated schools to determine whether they are the most integrated and inclusive placements for students.PRIORITY FOUR:Advance full participation in the electoral process for persons with disabilities.PRIORITY FIVE:Investigate use of solitary confinement for prisoners with mental illness.CASE SELECTION PRIORITIESPriorities Six (individual legal representation including litigation) and Seven (information/referrals and legal trainings) are activities contemplated for Fiscal Year 2017 undertaken in response to individual or organizational requests for assistance.PRIORITY SIX: Represent clients on the following issues subject to the followingFACTORS FOR DETERMINING ACCEPTANCE OF CASES:1.Availability of financial and staff resources.2.Strength of the evidence and legal grounds supporting theindividual's claim.3. Unavailability of effective alternative representation or resources.4.Inability of the individual, his/her parent(s), legal guardian, orinterested person to advocate.5.Immediacy, severity, and duration of effects of the threatenedharm to the individual.6.Increased vulnerability of the individual based on social, economic,or minority group status.7.Likelihood that a successful result in the individuals case will havea positive impact on other individuals.While not all factors need to be satisfied for a case to be accepted for representation, collectively they provide a means for allocating limited resources most effectively within Rhode Island's disability community by avoiding duplication of services, assisting thos

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 Raymond L. Bandusky

Title Executive Director

Signed date Thu, 12/22/2016 - 00:00

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