March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
#DDawareness2021
Disability Rights Connecticut is a statewide non-profit organization with a mission to advocate for the human, civil, and legal rights of people with disabilities in Connecticut.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Probate Court Budget Meeting
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
5:00 -6:00 p.m. via Phone
CVH Whiting Task Force
Friday, March 12 & 26, 2021
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. via Zoom
School Discipline Collaborative
Thursday, March 18, 2021
1-2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Virtual
Council on Developmental Services
Thursday, March 18, 2021
2:00 p.m. via Video
Board of Directors
Edwin Evarts (Board President)
Gina Teixeira (Board Secretary)
Beth McArthur (Board Treasurer)
Christina Calabro
Denise Drummond
Audrey Felsen
Sara Liss (PAC Chair)
John Mehm
Lisa Nee

We are currently looking for additional board members.
If interested, please contact [email protected].
WELCOME
Deborah Dorfman
DRCT Welcomes
New Executive Director
Deborah brings almost thirty years of disability rights legal advocacy to her new role as Executive Director at Disability Rights Connecticut. Immediately prior to coming to Connecticut, she served as a managing attorney at the Northwest Justice Project, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, where she and her colleagues established a statewide, free special education legal clinic for low-income families with students with disabilities.


“We are very excited that Debbie Dorfman is leading DRCT during this unusual and challenging time for people with disability. Her management and legal experience, knowledge of disability law, protection and advocacy work, and disability issues will enable DRCT to continue its work to improve the lives of people with disability in Connecticut,” said Win Evarts, Board President of DRCT. 
Press Releases
Connecticut’s New COVID Vaccine Policy is Unlawful and Discriminatory; Complaint Filed with U.S. Office for Civil Rights Seeks Immediate Federal Investigation, Policy Revisions

Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) has filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, calling on the agency to “immediately investigate and issue findings on an expedited basis” that Connecticut’s new age-based policy for vaccinating state residents “constitutes disability discrimination in violation of federal law.”

The action calls on OCR to “direct Connecticut to immediately revise its COVID-19 vaccine policy to include individuals with underlying medical conditions, regardless of their age, who are at increased risk of COVID-19 infection…as a priority in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.” DRCT is also urging OCR to “advise the State of Connecticut that it must have a process for people with disabilities to request and obtain reasonable modifications” to the state’s age-based vaccine eligibility policy.
Lawsuit Seeks to End Physical and Psychological Abuse of People with
Mental Illness Incarcerated in
Northern Correctional Institution

Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) sued the Connecticut Department of Correction (DOC) today for its continuing physical and psychological abuse of people with mental illness incarcerated at Northern Correctional Institution, the state’s only supermax prison, located in Somers, Connecticut. 
We Matter!
Connect with Connecticut's lawmakers that are developing protocols for responding to COVID-19, including treatment rationing that will determine who will and will not have access to life-saving treatment, people with disabilities have a message for them: we matter!

COVID-19 Vaccine in Connecticut
Long-Term Care Facility Residents and people 65+ years old are eligible to receive the vaccine now.

Find out if you're eligible and access support to help you get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Want Text Message Alerts on COVID-19 in CT?
Residents can also subscribe to text message alerts from the state by texting the keyword COVIDCT to 888-777.
UPDATES
CHECK OUT OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS
Join our Team

The Legal Director provides leadership to help DRCT achieve its overall vision of a society in which persons with disabilities have equality of opportunity, full participation, and the ability to exercise meaningful choice. The Legal Director is responsible for the quality and delivery of DRCT’s legal services.

Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) seeks an attorney with proven federal civil rights litigation experience to pursue justice and systemic change on behalf of individuals with disabilities in Connecticut. The position will work with DRCT attorneys, staff and community co-counsel to enforce the legal rights of DRCT’s client community. 

Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) seeks an enthusiastic, self-motivated attorney to join DRCT in protecting and promoting the civil rights of people with disabilities. Attorneys with more than four years civil and/or criminal litigation experience are encouraged to apply.
State Continues Refusal to Prevent Discriminatory Rationing of COVID-19 Care; State Legislature considers stepping in to Require Protections
Despite repeated requests from 38 advocacy organizations across Connecticut – some dating back nearly a year – DPH continues to refuse to act, potentially putting lives in danger in the absence of clear, consistent, uniform guidelines to prevent discrimination in the event that rationing of life-sustaining treatments becomes necessary during the continuing COVID-19 health crisis.

Attention Amtrak travelers!
Have you traveled, or wanted to travel, to or from the Amtrak stations in either Old Saybrook, Windsor, or Windsor Locks? If so, you might be eligible for monetary compensation.

Amtrak has begun accepting claims by people with mobility disabilities who encountered accessibility issues at 78 stations around the country – including 3 in Connecticut - after the U.S. Department of Justice found violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 
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Know Your Rights: Training & Outreach
DRCT provides education and training on a variety of topics related to disability rights. For more information about how we can help your organization or community group, or to request a training, please contact Jennifer Jenkins at (860) 297-4300 ext. 114 or [email protected]
Deborah Dorfman,
Executive Director

Disability Rights Connecticut
860-297-4300

RAINBOW PRIDE FLAG WITH A PERSON USING A WHEELCHAIR.
Open and Affirming Statement:
Disability Rights Connecticut 
is open and affirming and welcomes all people regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, nationality,
or any disability.

Disability Rights Connecticut
846 Wethersfield Ave.
Hartford, CT 06114
(800) 842-7303 (toll-free in CT)
(860) 297-4300 (voice)
(860) 509-4992 (videophone)
(860) 296-0055 (fax)
An Affiliate of the National
Disability Rights Network.