Agency Priorities: Programmatic Priorities for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2008
October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008

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Agency Priorities: Programmatic Priorities for Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2008
October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008

Preamble

The following priorities will guide the Ohio Legal Rights Service (OLRS) as it provides legal advocacy for eligible clients in federal fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008). Development of priorities and annual public comment on the agency's work is required by law in the Protection and Advocacy (P&A) programs administered by OLRS under the Developmental Disabilities Act (PADD); the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act (PAIMI); and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (PAIR).

To the extent possible, this document will also guide the agency's work in other programs, as each theme identifies a broad area of concern identified by OLRS clients, staff, governing authority, and advisory council. This includes our work with the P&A programs for assistive technology (PAAT), brain injury (PATBI), and for beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS); the Client Assistance Program (CAP); the Ombudsman Section; and the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance program (WIPA). As an example, work under CAP, PABSS, WIPA, PAIR, and to some degree PATBI and PAAT, will be coordinated to help clients who want to maintain or return to employment.

Additionally, OLRS will work with voters with disabilities to ensure voting rights under the Protection & Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA) program. This work will include direct representation of voters who are discriminated against in registration or voting, and systemic activity intended to improve accessibility to polling places.

As required by federal law, OLRS will implement these priorities through individual and systemic activity, including the pursuit of administrative, legal, and other appropriate remedies. OLRS will also monitor, evaluate, and comment on the development and implementation of federal, state, and local laws and regulations that affect people with disabilities. In appropriate cases, OLRS staff will inform and educate lawmakers on the impact of proposed legislation on its clients.

In addition to the activities set out in the priorities, OLRS will provide information and referral and other short term assistance in all areas of disability law. This includes counsel and advice. It is OLRS' policy to provide such assistance, even when limited resources preclude direct representation.

Finally, OLRS will continue to expand its communication with clients and their families through the OLRS web site and publications, including its collaboration with the Ohio Developmental Disabilities Council in publication of the DDQuarterly.

A PDF version of the proposed priorities is also available to download: OLRS Programmatic Priorities for Federal Fiscal Year 2008 (PDF file)

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Theme: Access to Courts/Criminal Justice

Activities

• Represent clients who claim discrimination or denial of needed accommodations in prison or jails.
• Represent clients who have been denied psychiatric treatment or services in prisons or jails.
• Evaluate legal issues related to mental health courts, including fairness of plea bargain structure; continue involvement in Supreme Court advisory committee.
• Monitor and where appropriate take steps to ensure Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) rights in Department of Youth Services facilities.
• Continue involvement in Supreme Court advisory committees.
• Continue collaboration with juvenile court officials and the Ohio Judicial Conference to provide information and education to court personnel on the IDEA rights of children.
• Work with other advocacy organizations to evaluate cases for representation when a client alleges inadequate representation by attorney; develop materials to help clients understand legal proceedings and role of attorney; and referrals to and opportunities for pro bono attorneys.
• Work with legal services, the state bar association, and other advocacy organizations to ensure right to adequate counsel in proceedings affecting fundamental rights, such as child custody and guardianship.

Theme: Children

Activities

• Prosecute the case of G.D. v Riley to successful settlement or judgment to ensure the rights of Ohio's children with disabilities to necessary medical services under the Medicaid Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) program.
• Investigate issues affecting children in foster care, including the denial of a free, appropriate public education (FAPE) and the lack of surrogate parents under IDEA, and represent clients in appropriate cases to ensure these rights.
• Investigate placements of children receiving mental health services in facilities that are not licensed as mental health providers, and represent in appropriate cases where the child has been denied needed mental health or other services, including under IDEA.
• Transition issues (see employment theme)
• Prosecute through mediation, settlement, or trial to judgment, the case of Doe v State of Ohio to ensure proper monitoring and enforcement of the IDEA by the Ohio Department of Education, and the appropriate and adequate funding of special education services in Ohio schools.
• Under IDEA, represent within available resources children who have been denied a FAPE, particularly where:
• denial of FAPE due to expulsion or suspension where the child's behavior is a manifestation of the child's disability
• a parent has requested or the child has been referred for evaluation and the evaluation has not occurred in a timely fashion
• a school district, without appropriate evaluation or notice, determines a child is no longer eligible for IDEA services.

Theme: Abuse and Neglect

Activities

• Investigate and resolve client complaints and other reports of abuse in facilities or by community providers, especially
• abuse or neglect that results from restraint, including chemical restraint, or seclusion
• use of TASERs or other force by law enforcement in clinical settings
• facilities serving children where data indicates increased use of restraint.
• Investigate and resolve client complaints related to lack of medical care or specialized services in long-term care or residential treatment facilities.
• Represent clients where facility policies, patterns, or practices create a threat of loss of life or significant risks to client health and safety.

Theme: Community Integration

Activities

• Investigate and represent in select cases where the client is placed in a nursing facility against the client's will where services are being provided to the client in a setting that is not the most integrated appropriate to the client's needs.
• Represent clients in select cases where they have been denied access to needed housing or accommodations because of discrimination.
• Represent clients who are improperly denied access to a Home and Community-Based (HCBS) waiver; threatened with changes in funding / reimbursement or level of care; improperly denied county board services or eligibility; or where other issues place the client at risk of institutionalization.
• Represent clients who are discriminated against in receipt of public accommodations (Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] Title III), or provision of services by state or local government (ADA Title II, § 504).

Theme: Employment

Activities

• Represent clients who have been denied appropriate planning and services for transition to higher education or work by local schools or state education and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) officials, including denial of tuition assistance for individuals in the VR system.
• Investigate systemic pattern and practices by VR authorities that discriminate against clients based on the type or severity of disability, particularly where people with psychiatric disabilities are denied services, and represent in select cases.
• Represent clients who are discriminated against in seeking employment when the client is seeking to return to work and, where resources allow, other clients who allege discrimination in maintaining employment.
• Represent clients who seek to manage Medicaid or Social Security benefits to allow them to return to work.
• Participate in the Medicaid Buy In Advisory Committee, as required by statute, and work with other advocacy groups to ensure that return to work initiatives are fully implemented in Ohio.

Theme: Self Advocates / Peer Support

Activities

• In conjunction with the PAIMI Advisory Council, develop materials for and work to develop and train networks of peer support services in the community mental health system.
• Investigate the role of self - advocacy in developmental disabilities and mental health systems, including institutions, community boards, and veterans' services.
• Develop protocols for referrals from and technical support to self-advocacy programs, including education and outreach opportunities.

Final version, October 1, 2007