April 8, 2019: Albany, NY:
DRNY filed a
lawsuit
in Monroe County State Supreme Court against two New York State agencies for unlawfully using agency guidelines to deny an eight (8) year old disability related services.
Deborah Rice, on behalf of her grandson who has fetal alcohol
spectrum
disorder, is challenging the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities’ (OPWDD) “Advisory Guidelines.”
These guidelines limit who may be eligible for OPWDD services beyond what is prescribed in State law. The Office for Temporary & Disability Assistance (OTDA) relied heavily on these guidelines when denying Ms. Rice’s grandson eligibility for services.
Ms. Rice asserts by creating more restrictive rules than those contemplated by the legislature, OPWDD has exceeded its authority. OPWDD also created these guidelines without following the State’s public rule making process.
Since these guidelines have been used since 2001, many others have been denied eligibility for the same services.
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DRNY is the designated independent non-profit Protection & Advocacy System empowered by Congress to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect and provide legal and non-legal advocacy services to people with disabilities in New York State. The Protection & Advocacy System was created by Congress as a direct result of the horrific conditions that were uncovered in the 1970's at New York’s Willowbrook State School.
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