[NYAPRS Enews] NYS Must Set Up Protection & Advocacy Services Agency That Will Strongly Protect, Enforce Disability Rights!

[Harvey Rosenthal]

NYAPRS Note: The following comes to us from Curt Decker, executive
director of the National Disability Rights Network, which is the
national organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy
(P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAP). 

 

Governor Cuomo has rightly sought to unify and move our Protection &
Advocacy services from CQCAPD to a single outside agency that will
strenuously work to protect the rights of New Yorkers with disabilities.
However, the process has not been inclusive of the disability
community's feedback in assessing how best to do this and around the
standard that applicants must meet. 

 

According to the New York Times, negotiations have been underway between
Disability Advocates and Syracuse University's Burton Blatt Institute.
Disability Advocates has a long, proven record of fighting to protect
and advance the rights of New Yorkers with disabilities (e.g. protecting
the community integration based rights of adult and nursing home
residents with disabilities and in mandating humane treatment of state
prisoners with psychiatric disabilities). BBI has a long record of
working to advance the economic status and community participation of
people with disabilities.....but has no experience in the kinds of
litigation that DAI and other P&As have waged that have led to critical
advances for our community. BBI's interest and experience here is
apparently more on a public awareness and general policy focus. 

 

NYAPRS has urged the Administration to back a design that puts a group
with DAI's strong record of enforcement at the top of any design for the
new P&A. We further agree with ADAPT's Bruce Darling that this process
and ongoing policy work should have  a strong disability community-led
focus. Stay tuned for opportunities to advocate on this critical issue.

 

A Missed Opportunity in NY: Disability Rights Enforcement Threatened

 

After 30 years of a fractured, sometimes ineffective Protection and
Advocacy System (P&A) in the state of New York, there is a once in a
lifetime opportunity to create a single unified aggressive system that
can use its unique legal authority to protect the civil rights people
with disabilities of New York.   Although in the current system, many of
the subcontractors of the P&A system (run by the Commission on Quality
Care - CQC)  have provided exemplary services to the full range of
people with disabilities, these services are not coordinated across the
states leaving the P&A lacking in the full range of available legal
remedies and with an inability to address systemic statewide systemic
problems.  

 

Governor Cuomo is now poised to designate an agency to serve as the
comprehensive P&A for the state allowing New York to join the system of
P&A agencies throughout the country that provides legally based consumer
run advocacy services to promote rights enforcement, independence and
inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life.

 

However, based on the recent NY Times article, there seems to be a back
room deal occurring without input from the very community designated to
determine the agencies priorities and who desperately needs these
services. According to the Times, after a solicitation period seeking
agencies to run the new P&A, two entities remained. Rather than choosing
one, the Governor's office has demanded a "shot gun wedding " to allow
both entities to share the federal funds. 

 

It is time for the disability community to stand up and demand that the
Governor choose an entity that has a demonstrated capacity and
experience to provide legal services to protect the rights of people
with disabilities in NY under the law.  This work is too important for
the possibility that precious resources of the P&A are syphoned off for
work that can be done without the use of the only federal funds
specifically designated for legal advocacy to protect the rights of
disability community, non-disability rights related issues and/or for
work that does not meet the requirements of the federal authorizing
statutes.

 

The Disability Community must demand from the Governor an independent
aggressive and comprehensive program that is accountable to the
disability community .. not the political or academic establishment.

 

Curtis Decker, JD

Executive Director

NDRN

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