The Disability Law Center (DLC), Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL), and the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) are working together on Bill S. 2567 a bill to improve warranty protections for wheelchairs. We are looking for people who are currently experiencing challenges to repairing their wheelchairs, to highlight the issue and the need for this legislation. We are especially interested in stories about delays caused by the wheelchair provider or manufacturer. If you have experienced delays or other problems in getting wheelchair repairs, please contact Kay S. at BCIL, by email at kschoucair@bostoncil.org or by calling (617) 821 – 4394. Thank you.
Submit your comments now! Video Day of Action for Remote Access!
The Disability Law Center, Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) and the American Civil Liberties Union, among others, are leading an effort to allow permanent remote access to public meetings.
The pandemic has taught us that remote access is equal access!
Please send a video—no more than 60 seconds in length— to DLC at rglassman@dlc-ma.org by April 9 at the latest. We will post them, along with our allies, on April 11.
We are calling on the legislature to do two things related to open meetings:
- Allocate money in the state budget for grants to municipalities that need IT improvements to facilitate remote participation beyond the pandemic.
- Update the open meeting law so members of the public can choose to participate remotely in public meetings on a permanent basis, even after the pandemic emergency ends
Key messages you might share in your video:
- How you were able to attend public meetings because of remote access.
- How transparent and accessible government means a stronger democracy for all.
- How remote access removes longstanding barriers to participation in civic life for residents with disabilities, seniors, people with limited access to transportation, and people with work and family obligations that otherwise prevent them from spending hours at municipal buildings.
How to record your video (60 seconds or less):
- Hold your cell phone horizontally while recording the video.
- Ensure that the light source is in front of you, rather than behind you.
- Choose a quiet location to avoid background noises, and make sure the mouthpiece/microphone area on your cell phone is unobstructed.
For more information contact Rick Glassman at rglassman@dlc-ma.org
Disability Law Center Releases Investigation Report Concerning the Experience of Prisoners with Disabilities in Two Department of Correction Facilities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2022
Contact: Tatum A. Pritchard, Interim Executive Director and Director of Litigation
617-723-8455
Disability Law Center Releases Investigation Report Concerning the Experience of Prisoners with Disabilities in Two Department of Correction Facilities
Boston, MA – Today, the Disability Law Center (DLC) issued a public report summarizing its findings and recommendations for corrective action arising out of our investigation of COVID-19-related lockdown conditions, infection control measures, and access to health care at two Department of Correction (DOC) facilities – MCI-Norfolk and MCI-Shirley. DLC initiated the investigation in April 2020.
While recognizing that the challenges DOC faced during the pandemic were unprecedented as well as DOC’s extensive efforts to adapt, DLC ultimately found that DOC’s actions and omissions with respect to two issues constituted neglect of prisoners with disabilities. First, DLC found that DOC failed to institute appropriately intensive infection control measures to protect residents in the MCI-Norfolk Clinical Stabilization Unit from COVID-19 in late 2020, resulting in every one of the 16 elderly and/or medically vulnerable individuals living in the dormitory contracting the virus in December 2020. This failure constituted neglect. Second, DLC found that DOC sanctioned the policy and practice of its contractor, Wellpath, that delayed and strictly limited access to vital health care services for much of 2020 and 2021 and resulted in widespread neglect of DOC prisoners with disabilities.
DLC’s recommendations for corrective action are aimed at ensuring that the failures in meeting the needs of vulnerable incarcerated persons – including those with disabilities, with serious or chronic medical conditions, and of advanced age – identified during the investigation are not replicated during future periods of COVID-19 resurgence, outbreaks of other infectious disease, or institutional events that may lead to restrictions on movement and access to DOC programs and services.
Loading...
Reload document 
Open in new tab Disability Law Center Finds Serious Health and Safety Concerns at Bridgewater State Hospital, Confirming Widespread Mold and Improper Use of Restraint
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2022
Contact:
Tatum A. Pritchard
Interim Executive Director and Director of Litigation
Disability Law Center
617-723-8455
tpritchard@dlc-ma.org
Disability Law Center Finds Serious Health and Safety Concerns at Bridgewater State Hospital, Confirming Widespread Mold and Improper Use of Restraint
Boston, MA – Today, the Disability Law Center (“DLC”) issued a public report summarizing its findings from its monitoring efforts at Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH) from July 2021 through December 2021. On January 31, 2022, DLC released a private, unredacted version of the report to select government officials, pursuant to its legislative authority to monitor the efficacy of service delivery reforms, physical plant, and continuity of care at BSH.
In the report, DLC highlights concerns regarding harmful levels of mold growth – confirmed once again by DLC’s expert – throughout BSH; illegal chemical and physical restraint and seclusion practices; the pervasive culture of punishment and intimidation; limitations on access to medical care for BSH Persons Served (“PS”); and the lack of programming for PS who are in quarantine, are undergoing initial evaluation, and have intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. In addition, DLC discusses deficiencies in discharge planning and continuity of care, including psychiatric medications, for PS transferred to county correctional facilities.
DLC’s sweeping recommendations include the following:
- DOC must immediately remediate mold and assess for other environmental toxins existing in the BSH physical plant per expert recommendations and industry standards.
- The Commonwealth must commit to closing and constructing a modern facility designed to provide psychiatric evaluations and treatment in a safe, therapeutic environment.
- The Commonwealth must immediately place BSH, as well as the planning, construction, and oversight of the new facility, under the authority of DMH.
- DOC and Wellpath BSH must provide regular health screenings for symptoms of mold and environmental toxin exposure to all PS and staff, provided by a contracted health professional with expertise in the area.
- Wellpath and DOC must immediately cease imposition of chemical restraint, including so-called Emergency Treatment Orders, physical restraint, and seclusion in circumstances that do not meet the narrowly tailored requirements of G.L. c. 123, § 21.
- The Commonwealth must demand that DOC and Wellpath accurately document and report all uses of chemical restraint, physical restraint, and seclusion in keeping with applicable law and engage DMH or another external party to conduct an investigation into BSH practices.
- DOC and Wellpath must adopt process that allows PS to submit written requests for evaluation and treatment of medical issues that a member of medical staff will review and respond to promptly.
- Wellpath must permanently close the former Intensive Treatment Unit and never allow another PS to experience the trauma of isolation in that space, whether for quarantine, seclusion, or any other justification.
- The Commonwealth, through the State Office of Pharmacy Services or otherwise, should implement standardized formularies for BSH and county correctional facilities or, at the least, require that special consideration be given to nonformulary mental health medication requests from individuals who have transitioned from the BSH to a correctional facility.
- DMH resources should be committed to further DMH engagement with all county correctional facilities regarding mental health treatment, including promoting best practices, and to ensure that PS transitioned to county correctional facilities can access appropriate mental health services and supports while incarcerated and promptly upon their release.
“DLC continues to sound the alarm about significant issues at Bridgewater State Hospital that negatively impact the physical and mental health of individuals held there involuntarily. Incarcerating people in the name of providing mental health care in an unsafe and untherapeutic facility while subjecting them to punitive and illegal restraint and seclusion practices can only be viewed as a failure of our Commonwealth.” Tatum A. Pritchard, Interim Executive Director and Director of Litigation, DLC.
Since its investigation into the use of restraint and seclusion at BSH that began eight years ago, DLC has implored the Commonwealth to put DMH in charge of the facility. DLC has also urged the Commonwealth to construct a modern facility that can effectively provide humane and appropriate treatment, as well as safe working conditions, at BSH.
DLC, as the designated Protection and Advocacy System for Massachusetts, is authorized under federal law to investigate incidents of abuse, neglect, and death of individuals with disabilities throughout the Commonwealth.
Loading...
Watchdog Group Implores State to Address the Repercussions of Workforce Crisis on People with Disabilities
BOSTON – The Disability Law Center (DLC) released a report today finding that the direct support professional (DSP) workforce crisis in Massachusetts is placing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at risk of harm. The report concludes that low wages and benefits, high vacancies, and staff turnover are leading to understaffed programs and reliance on inexperienced temporary workers or fatigued overtime staff, all of which negatively impacts people with disabilities, their families, and DSP workers.
The report, “Direct Support Professionals: A Workforce Crisis Limiting Security, Human Rights, and Opportunity for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities” is available below.
DLC has investigated frequent instances of abuse and neglect against individuals with disabilities and human rights violations that stemmed from a workforce that is too often understaffed, unsupported, inadequately trained, and poorly supervised. In addition, DLC found that the workforce crisis has resulted in individuals served by Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDS) funded programs being isolated and unable to access the community as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The report, which also includes examples of abuse and neglect, highlights seven recommendations for future action, most for the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
Rick Glassman, Director of Advocacy at DLC, stated, “State agencies, the people served by them, their families, advocates, and provider agencies and front-line staff should all want the same thing: a well-supported staff who are well trained and fairly paid for demanding and sometimes difficult work. But wage rates for front line staff are no longer competitive. We are moving further and further away from having a stable and well supervised workforce providing quality services, and more and more people are vulnerable as a result.”
DLC Staff Attorney Jacqueline Hubbard noted: “I spend much of my time monitoring group homes and speaking with the people they serve, their families, and their providers, all of whom experience this staffing crisis. For individuals served and their families, levels of anxiety are escalating, as staffing issues and vacancies place more people at risk of continued and future harm.”
DLC’s Interim Executive Director Tatum Pritchard concluded, “DLC’s work is far from over. As the Protection and Advocacy system in Massachusetts, we will continue to monitor facilities and investigate abuse and neglect, human rights violations, and segregation of individuals with disabilities. However, it is not enough to rely on these interventions and implementation of corrective action after harm has already been done. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services must commit to and invest in making real change by expanding the training, pay, and size of the direct support workforce and enhancing supervision and oversight provided both by providers and the state.”
he report emphasizes that these systemic issues within the direct support workforce are longstanding, and the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated the existing problems. Against this backdrop, the report concludes that without action the current crisis will continue to negatively impact the dignity of people with disabilities in Massachusetts and the quality of services they receive, leading to more instances of abuse and neglect, human rights violations, and isolation and segregation.
Read the Report
Contact: Rick Glassman
Director of Advocacy
Disability Law Center
www.dlc-ma.org
Tel: (617) 315-4606
rglassman@dlc-ma.org
###
The Disability Law Center (DLC) is the designated Protection and Advocacy System for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is authorized under federal law to investigate incidents of abuse and neglect and engage with policymakers on the need for modification or adoption of laws or policies affecting the rights of individuals with developmental disabilities. See e.g., 45 C.F.R. sec. 1326, Subparts B & C.
This report is designed to be accessible to and usable by people with and without disabilities. Please contact us at mail@dlc-ma.org or at (617) 723 8455 if you encounter an accessibility or useability issue with this report.
October 27 Is The Last Day To Apply For Vote By Mail and Request Accommodations!
In many municipalities, October 27 is the last day local election officials will accept an application to vote by mail in a November 2, 2021 election. If you have not applied yet, but wish to participate in vote by mail, submit your 2021 Vote by Mail Application to your local election officials right away!
Requesting Accessible Electronic Vote by Mail as an Accommodation
Accessible electronic vote by mail systems are readily available in several municipalities for the upcoming election and local election official is obligated to accept and consider requests for accommodation from voters with disabilities.
Examples of Cities/Towns with Accessible Electronic Vote by Mail Options:
- Boston has implemented its Accessible Electronic Remote Voting System, per a settlement agreement that allows voters to mark electronic ballots and officially cast the through an online portal using their personal assistive technology. Boston voters with disabilities who wish to vote by mail or absentee, but cannot complete a standard print ballot privately and independently due to a vision, mobility/dexterity, or other disability (“print disabilities”), should follow the process detailed on here on Boston.gov.
- The following cities/towns now offer the same accessible online portal as Boston:
- Worcester – See instructions for accessing the system here on Worcesterma.gov.
- Cambridge – See instructions for applying to vote by mail here on CambridgeMA.gov and submit a request for accommodation (example below) to elections@cambridgema.gov.
- Watertown – See instructions for applying to vote by mail here on Watertown-MA.gov and submit a request for accommodation example below to townclerk@watertown-ma.gov.
- West Springfield has agreed to provide voters who apply to vote by mail (see see TownofWestSpringfield.org) and request accommodations (example below) access to an accessible PDF ballot and ballot affidavit that can be completed electronically (allowing for a typed name in lieu of a hand-drawn signature for those who require that accommodation) and returned via email to the Town Clerk at ofrizzell@tows.org.
For voters outside of the cities and towns discussed above who wish to vote by mail in upcoming elections and cannot effectively access standard print paper ballots, Disability Law Center (DLC) recommends that you submit your 2021 Vote by Mail Application AND request an accommodation for your local election official by phone or email. Contact information for local election officials is available here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleev/ev-find-my-election-office.htm. Below is an example of a request for accommodation; voters should substitute their personal information for the language in brackets:
I have submitted my 2021 Vote by Mail Application. I provide this request for reasonable accommodations to allow me to cast by vote by mail ballot effectively, privately, and independently. As indicated on my Application, I am a resident of [your CITY/TOWN]. As someone who [e.g., is blind, has low vision, is paraplegic, has limited use of my hands], I cannot vote using a standard print ballot without help from a third party. Accordingly, I request the following accommodations, which the City of Boston currently provides:
An accessible electronic vote by mail system that includes: (a) an electronic vote by mail ballot accessible with screen reading assistive technology that can be officially cast electronically; (b) an accessible electronic means of ballot certification that permits use of a typed name or other proof of identify as a substitute for a hand-drawn signature; and (c) the opportunity to complete my vote by mail application with a typed name in lieu of a hand-drawn signature.
DLC strongly encourages people whose requests for accommodation have been denied by their local election officials to contact our office right away so that DLC can track the denials and discuss follow up. Reach DLC via email at mail@dlc-ma.org or phone at 617-723-8455.
The Deadline To Apply To Vote By Mail Is Nearly Here!
In many municipalities, October 27 is the last day local election officials will accept an application to vote by mail in a November 2, 2021 election. If you have not applied yet, but wish to participate in vote by mail, submit your 2021 Vote by Mail Application to your local election officials right away!
Requesting Accessible Electronic Vote by Mail as an Accommodation
Accessible electronic vote by mail systems are readily available in several municipalities for the upcoming election and local election official is obligated to accept and consider requests for accommodation from voters with disabilities.
For example, as the result of a settlement agreement, the City of Boston has implemented its Accessible Electronic Remote Voting System that allows voters to mark electronic ballots officially cast through an online portal using their personal assistive technology. Boston voters with disabilities who wish to vote by mail or absentee, but cannot complete a standard print ballot privately and independently due to a vision, mobility/dexterity, or other disability, should follow the process detailed on here on Boston.gov right away.
Following adoption of the system in Boston, Worcester also started offering an accessible vote by mail system for voters with disabilities that allow electronic marking and return of an accessible electronic ballot. For more information, visit Worcesterma.gov.
For voters outside of Boston and Worcester who wish to vote by mail in upcoming elections and cannot effectively access standard print paper ballots, Disability Law Center (DLC) recommends that you submit your 2021 Vote by Mail Application AND request an accommodation for your local election official by phone or email. Contact information for local election officials is available here: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/eleev/ev-find-my-election-office.htm. Below is an example of a request for accommodation; voters should substitute their personal information for the language in brackets:
I have submitted my 2021 Vote by Mail Application. I provide this request for reasonable accommodations to allow me to cast by vote by mail ballot effectively, privately, and independently. As indicated on my Application, I am a resident of [your CITY/TOWN]. As someone who [e.g., is blind, has low vision, is paraplegic, has limited use of my hands], I cannot vote using a standard print ballot without help from a third party. Accordingly, I request the following accommodations, which the City of Boston currently provides:
An accessible electronic vote by mail system that includes: (a) an electronic vote by mail ballot accessible with screen reading assistive technology that can be officially cast electronically; (b) an accessible electronic means of ballot certification that permits use of a typed name or other proof of identify as a substitute for a hand-drawn signature; and (c) the opportunity to complete my vote by mail application with a typed name in lieu of a hand-drawn signature.
DLC strongly encourages people whose requests for accommodation have been denied by their local election officials to contact our office right away so that DLC can track the denials and discuss follow up. Reach DLC via email at mail@dlc-ma.org or phone at 617-723-8455.
Settlement Agreement Establishing City of Boston’s Accessible Remote Voting System
The City of Boston and the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL), Bay State Council of the Blind (BSCB), and five Boston voters, represented by the Disability Law Center (DLC), entered into a Settlement Agreement on September 8, 2021 to establish an Accessible Remote Voting System that allows City of Boston voters with disabilities to participate in the absentee voting and vote by mail programs privately and independently.
Per the Agreement, the Accessible Remote Voting System must be available “for the 2021 Boston preliminary and regular municipal elections and for every election through December 31, 2025” as an accommodation for Boston voters who have disabilities, such as blindness, low vision, and mobility/dexterity disabilities, that make it difficult or impossible to effectively access standard print materials (“print disabilities”). Key components of this System provide, in lieu of a standard print paper ballot, an accessible electronic ballot that can be marked and officially cast electronically through a web-based platform or other accessible mechanism compliant with current World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1, Level AA). The complete agreement appears below.
The online Accessible Remote Voting System is now live and available as an accommodation for Boston voters with print disabilities. To request access to the System, voters with print disabilities should submit the following two items in writing to the Boston Elections Department (email: election@boston.gov; phone: 617-635-8683; website: https://www.boston.gov/departments/election):
- An application to vote by mail or to vote absentee. If accessible to them, voters may complete and email the forms currently available – 2021 Vote by Mail Application (https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/ elepdf/2021-Vote-by-Mail-Application.pdf); Absentee Ballot Application (https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elepdf/absentee/English-Absentee-Ballot-Application.pdf. Voters who cannot access the forms currently available should apply via email stating: (a) that they want access to a Vote by Mail Ballot or an Absentee Voting Ballot and are submitting their application via email because the current form is not accessible due to their disability; and (b) their full name, voter registration address, date of birth, telephone number, email address, and ballot mailing address.
- A written request for accommodation. The voter’s request for accommodation should explain that they need access to the Accessible Remote Voting System in order to vote privately and independently because they are unable to effectively access a standard print ballot due a disability. This written request can be sent via email.
Example of a Request for Accommodation: I am a registered Boston voter who is blind and cannot effectively access a standard print ballot. To vote privately and independently by mail, I request access to the Accessible Remote Voting System.
If you have any problems with the process of requesting access to the Accessible Remote Voting System, please contact DLC via email at mail@dlc-ma.org or by calling 617-723-8455.
Loading...
Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action Lawsuit
NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
ATTENTION ALL INDIVIDUALS WITH MOBILITY DISABILITIES: If you have used, or
attempted to use, the pedestrian right of way in the City of Boston and have encountered corners
on sidewalks or other pedestrian walkways that were missing curb ramps, or curb ramps that
were inaccessible because they were damaged, in need of repair, or otherwise in a condition not
suitable or sufficient for use, you may be a member of the proposed Settlement Class affected by
this lawsuit. This is a court-authorized notice.
Loading...
DLC Finds Abuse & Neglect in Death of Woman Discharged from Middleborough Hospital and Left on Boston Streets
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 8, 2021
DLC Finds Abuse & Neglect in Death of Woman Discharged from Middleborough Hospital and Left on Boston Streets
Watchdog Group Cites Failure of the Department of Mental Health
to Order Adequate Corrective Action.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, June 8, 2021 – The Disability Law Center (DLC) issues a major Death Investigation Report today announcing the results of its investigation into the tragic death of CaSonya King, a Northbridge area woman and former information and data professional. CaSonya King died at the age of 44, within 30 hours of being left on Boston streets by High Point Hospital (HPH), which discharged her from a Middleborough, Massachusetts inpatient mental health unit against her will. Today, June 8, 2021, is the third anniversary of her admission to High Point Hospital.
The report, “Out of Time: The Tragic Death of CaSonya King and the Practice of Patient Dumping” is available on the DLC website at https://www.dlc-ma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/CK-Final-Report.pdf It contains a detailed analysis of hospital medical records, DMH investigative records, and legal records, along with photographs, tables and additional graphic material, and information gathered from interviews and fact investigation. The report also describes CaSonya’s death against the backdrop of so-called “patient dumping” incidents across the country. Following its investigation, undertaken as the designated Protection and Advocacy (“P&A”) system for the Commonwealth, DLC finds that the actions of High Point Hospital, in discharging CaSonya King without a meaningful and effective discharge plan, constituted neglect and a dangerous practice that contributed to CaSonya King’s tragic death.
“This tragic outcome is exactly what we might expect when someone in a highly disoriented state is discharged from a hospital to urban streets against their will, far from where they live, without adequate supports or services,” says DLC Executive Director Marlene Sallo. “It was a callous act, reflecting a lack of both compassion and respect for the law.”
In its investigative report, totaling 47 pages and approximately 20 additional pages of endnotes, DLC attempts to confront the unanswered questions which have burdened the King family with confusion, sorrow and loss over the past three years:
- Why was CaSonya King discharged in a deeply disoriented state?
- Why was she discharged to the street and against her will without adequate supports?
- Why couldn’t the hospital wait until a placement with adequate supports could be arranged, especially since CaSonya King did not wish to be discharged to a shelter or to the street?
- Why was she brought from Middleborough to Boston, 39 miles away, a community where she had no meaningful supports?
- Where exactly was CaSonya King left and why did she never make it inside the homeless shelter?
The report also criticizes the failure of the Department of Mental Health (DMH) which licensed High Point Hospital, to require complete answers to these questions from the hospital. In discussing the oversight by DMH, the report states that the state agency “made no meaningful effort to answer, or more aptly, to require the hospital to investigate and to answer for itself, and for DMH, these critical questions.” It concludes:
This lack of rigorous oversight devalues the lost life of CaSonya King and undermines the Department’s core mission: to provide access to quality treatment and supports to meet the needs of individuals with mental health challenges, enabling them to live, work and participate in their communities.
The report does note that the DMH investigators did their work in a competent and timely manner. However, DLC Executive Director Marlene Sallo explains,
It’s not enough to gather facts. When hospitals act in the name of government, they have an obligation to answer all relevant questions about patient deaths. DMH administrators never required High Point to tell CaSonya’s family why she was discharged in this condition, why she could not be held longer, exactly where on the street she was left, and why she never made it into the shelter. And they required no meaningful corrective action of the hospital in the face of all of these unanswered questions. The general public, and CaSonya King’s family deserve better.
DLC also identifies remedial measures and corrective action for both High Point Hospital and the Department of Mental Health. For HPH, DLC states that HPH should not be granted a license for outpatient mental health services in the future, unless it demonstrates an ability to comply with fourteen (14) identified best practices. For DMH, DLC asks the agency to require the same measures of its licensees; that it reconsider changes to its regulations originally proposed by DLC in 2019; that it modify a critical incident reporting form for its licensees; that it adopt more a rigorous interpretation of its licensing authority; and that it engage in data collection with other service providers and stakeholders, to better assess the frequency of voluntary and involuntary discharges from its licensed facilities to homeless shelters and to the street.
DLC, as the designated Protection and Advocacy System for Massachusetts, is authorized under federal law to investigate incidents of abuse and neglect of individuals with disabilities. [See 42 U.S.C. sec. 10801 et. seq., (PAIMI Act) and other federal statutes.] The investigation was conducted and the report was written by DLC staff. All personal information about CaSonya King contained in the report was authorized to be released to the public by the personal representative of her estate.
Contact:
Rick Glassman
Director of Advocacy
Disability Law Center
11 Beacon Street , Suite 925
Boston, MA 02108
617-723-8455 x122