ALERTS & NEWS

From time to time CPR will post items of national and Massachusetts interest on this page.

August 2010: CPR joins with Texas advocates to seek DOJ review of Texas Youth Commission facilities.

February 2010: The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) has published its second report on the misuse of restraint and seclusion in our Nation's schools. View the reports at www.ndrn.org.

October 2009: CPR staff attorney Susan Stefan appears on PBS forum on mental illness. Follow this link to watch the show.

August 2009: SSA to Pay SSI and Social Security recipients and applicants $500 Million under Settlement in "Fleeing Felon" case

 A U.S. District Court Judge in California on August 11 tentatively approved a settlement that ends SSA’s policy of denying or suspending benefits based on an arrest warrant alone.  SSA will pay $500 million in back benefits withheld from 80,000 people since January 1, 2007.  Those whose benefits were denied or suspended between 2000 and 2006 and who are not receiving benefits will be notified so that they can re-establish eligibility.  Read the Notice to Class Members about the settlement and about the Fairness Hearing on September 24 by clicking here.

February 2009: Crisis Services Survey (Massachusetts) The Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership is about to choose agencies to provide psychiatric community crisis services and we are trying to provide input. As part of that, we are seeking feedback from people who have used these providers. Please print out the survey, complete as much of it as you can and mail it to

Center for Public Representation, 22 Green St., Northampton, MA 01060

December 18, 2008   Madoff scandal suspends CPR's juvenile justice project 

NORTHAMPTON – A Massachusetts nonprofit public interest law firm that seeks systemic reform on behalf of people with disabilities, and particularly those who are institutionalized, is yet another trickle-down victim of New York money manager Bernard L. Madoff.

The Center for Public Representation, with offices in Northampton and Newton, was forced this week to suspend its national juvenile justice reform project due to the loss of support from the JEHT Foundation, which is shutting down next month because all its funds were turned over to Madoff, whose firm allegedly bilked clients of more than $50 billion. 

“The real victims are the children – kids with disabilities who are held, often unnecessarily, in detention facilities without appropriate care or treatment,” said Steven J. Schwartz, CPR’s executive director.  

JEHT, which stands for Justice, Equality, Human Dignity and Tolerance, is a progressive foundation that has supported criminal justice reform, electoral reform and human rights initiatives since its founding in 2000.  According to Robert Crane, JEHT president, the funds of the foundation’s donors were managed by Madoff, who was arrested last week and charged with fraud. 

In 2006, JEHT awarded CPR a three-year grant, totaling about $700,000, to promote community-based alternatives to incarceration for youth with disabilities.  Assistant Director Robert D. Fleischner, who heads the juvenile justice project, said that during the first year, the initiative worked with advocates in Connecticut, Michigan and Vermont to prevent unnecessary institutionalization of children with disabilities.  He said the project is poised to realize similar successes in 2009.  “We are now making significant inroads on projects in Alabama, New York and Texas,” said Fleischner. “We do not want to abandon these children or our advocacy partners.”  

One of the partners is the Hartford-based Center for Children’s Advocacy, which dedicates a portion of its JEHT funds to representation of youth who are incarcerated or at risk of incarceration in Connecticut’s juvenile justice facilities.

The JEHT grant represents nearly all of CPR’s juvenile justice initiative.   As Crane pointed out in media interviews earlier this week, "Often when we fund a project we're the sole source of funding."  

Madoff was arrested the same day the Foundation authorized payment for the second installment of CPR’s grant award.  That $200,000 check, which was never forwarded, represents 20 percent of CPR’s annual budget for 2009.  Despite this setback, CPR is adamant that children with disabilities will not be forgotten.  “We are struggling now as we review our options,” said Schwartz. “We will need help from our friends to survive, but whether these children are in Alabama, Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or wherever, we will not abandon them.”

June 2, 2008: Brain injury case settled. Nearly 2000 individuals with brain injuries will be able to move out of nursing facilities and other institutions under a landmark settlement agreement signed today by state officials and attorneys for the plaintiffs. The settlement resolves a class action lawsuit, Hutchinson v. Patrick, which was filed in US District Court in Springfield last year on behalf of five individuals, the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts (BIA-MA) and the Stavros Center for Independent Living.  The complaint charges that the Commonwealth is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act for failing to provide adequate community services.  “This is a historic moment for persons with brain injuries in Massachusetts, many of whom have been unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing facilities, often for decades,” said Steven J. Schwartz of the Center for Public Representation, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.  “As a result of the settlement, close to 2000 persons with brain injuries finally will be able to live in integrated settings, nearer to their families and their home communities.”

April 9, 2008: Massachusetts House Bill 2042 will be coming up soon for a vote. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Ruth Balser, would require the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Public Health to jointly regulate the treatment of psychiatric patients in emergency departments, including restraint and seclusion (currently unregulated by Massachusetts in emergency department settings) and involuntary removal of clothing (psych patients who refuse to remove all their clothing for a mental exam are stripped involuntarily by security guards). While the bill does not specify the substance of the regulations, a consensus group has been meeting for the past several months and has come up with suggestions (around forced removal of clothing, for example) that might be adopted as regulations if this bill were to pass.

The bill has just been released from the Policy and Steering Committee and is due for a vote in the next two weeks. If you want to let your legislator know how you feel about the bill, addresses for House members are available here.

March 2008: Health Decisions of Massachusetts will be sponsoring a national conference on advance directives in Boston on May 7 & 8, 2008. Information about the conference is available by using the link above or by scrolling to the bottom of this page. 

December 2007: The Boston Globe Spotlight Team wrote a compelling three part series on Massachusetts' treatment of prisoners with mental illness. The series and accompanying videos can be seen by clicking here.

November 7, 2007: CPR attorney Susan Stefan has an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe about the treatment of people with mental illness in hospital emergency rooms. 

September 12, 2007: Arc/Massachusetts (represented by CPR) and the Disability Law Center have joined with the Mass. Department of Mental Retardation in appealing the federal court order regarding the future of Fernald Developmental Center.

August 2007: Arc/Massachusetts and many other advocates and families are urging Governor Patrick to appeal the recent federal court order concerning the future of Fernald State School. You can read the order and the briefs in the Ricci case by clicking here. For even more materials and suggestions about how to advocate with the Governor go to the Arc's website.

August 2007: The National Association of Rights Protection and Advocacy (NARPA) has announced the program for its 2007 annual conference. You can find an up-to-date  description of the conference and registration information by going to www.narpa.org or by clicking the icon at the bottom of this page. 

November 2006: The Department of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law have officially launched the National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives (NRC-PAD), located at:  http://www.nrc-pad.org.  The NRC-PAD aims to provide mental health consumers, family members, clinicians, and policy-makers with timely information about PADs, including: • Introduction to PADs  • Forms to complete PADs • Links to state statutes • Discussion forums • Frequently-Asked-Questions • Past and Up-to-date research. 

 

The NRC-PAD will be a key gathering place for stakeholders to learn about psychiatric advance directives and how to complete these legal documents. The NRC-PAD aims to assist in implementing of laws that support patient self-determination and high quality mental health care.

April 13, 2004: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals decided the important ADA-Olmstead case, Frederick L. v. Department of Public Welfare, today. While upholding the District Court's factual findings and many of its rulings of law, the Court held that short term fiscal constraints alone cannot provide the basis for a fundamental alteration defense to an Olmstead-based case. Also, the court held that a state's past progress in deinstitutionalization, without a commitment to continue that progress, is an insufficient defense. The opinion is available on the 3d Circuit's official web site and other legal web sites. The Center for Public Representation and the Bazelon Center submitted a amici brief on behalf of 14 former state mental health commissioners, in support of the plaintiffs. Read the brief here.

April 5, 2004: Massachusetts mental health services for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Center for Public Representation and the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health have signed a memorandum of understanding to increase and improve services to the Department's clients who are deaf and hard of hearing. The agreement will eliminate the need for litigation. To view a copy of the agreement, click here.

January 29, 2003 - Victory in Rolland v. Romney On January 28, 2003, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a sweeping decision in the Center for Public Representation’s Rolland v. Cellucci case. . The decision is the first Court of Appeals case which establishes the rights of individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities to specialized services in nursing facilities. It recounts the history and purpose of the Nursing Home Reform Amendments (NHRA) as a Congressional directive to prevent the warehousing of individuals with disabilities in nursing homes. The decision also establishes an important precedent for the enforecability of the NHRA and the Medicaid nursing home requirements. It also establishes an important precedent about the enforecability of the federal Medicaid statute and its implementing regulations in light of Supreme Court decisions in Gonzaga and Sandoval. This important victory was substantially aided by an Amici brief written by Howrey Simon Arnold & White on behalf of ARC-USA, NHeLP, NSCLC, the Bazelon Center, NAPAS, NMHA and NAMI. Read the full brief here.

December 16, 2002 - Frederick L. Amici Brief Filed in 3d Circuit CPR and the Bazelon Center have filed an amici brief for 14 former state mental health commissioners in Frederick L. v. Department of Public Welfare. The plaintiffs are residents of Pennsylvania's Norristown State Hospital, who are seeking discharge to community programs, citing their rights under the ADA. The trial court held that the state need not discharge the plaintiffs unless placement would result in an immediate cost savings. The former commissioners argue that the court misunderstood both the ADA and how mental health systems are administered. Read the full brief here.

Oct. 20, 2002 - Currie case settles: After oral argument, but before a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the plaintiff and the state agreed to a financial settlement in Currie v. Group Insurance Commission. Ms. Currie, a state employee disabled by mental illness, challenged provisions of her disability insurance policy which provided her fewer benefits than she would have been entitled to if she was unable to work because of a physical disability. She claimed the policy violated state anti-discrimination law. The Center for Public Representation submitted an amici brief which can be found here