Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

Time 2020-12-13 20:04:52

Web Name: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

WebSite: http://www.bazelon.org

ID:133138

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This website requires JavaScript. If you haven't manually disabled JavaScript, your browser security settings or firewall settings could be blocking JavaScript. Please re-enable JavaScript and refresh this page to proceed. WATCH THE PROGRAMThe Bazelon Center Stands in Solidarity,Calls for JusticeThe Bazelon Center, standing in solidarity, calls for justice in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daniel Prude, and so many other Black Americans. The deaths and injuries, and unjust treatment, of people of color at the hands of law enforcement, the courts, and jails and prisons will continue until the forces that perpetuate racial bias and hatred are dismantled. We will continue to fight to end systemic racism. We all must do better.Bazelon Center's Opinion PieceFeatured in The Hill“COVID-19 spreading quickly through psychiatric hospitals:Reduction of population a must,”by Ira Burnim, Legal Director (5/21/20)READ THE OP-EDChampioning the Right & Dignity of Peoplewith Disabilities Since 1972The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law advocates for the civil rights, full inclusion, and equality of children and adults with mental disabilities. ABILITY Magazine Features theBazelon Center for Mental Health Law"Our main priority is to eradicate the stigma andthe misconceptions around people with mental illnesses...”Eve Hill, Chair of the Bazelon Center, says.READ THE ARTICLE COVID-19 BAZELON CENTER AND OTHERS FILE DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT CHALLENGING WASHINGTON S RATIONING SCHEME FOR COVID-19 TREATMENTOn March 23, 2020, the Bazelon Center, together with Disability Rights Washington (DRW), Self Advocates In Leadership (SAIL), the Arc of the United States, the Center for Public Representation, and the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and Samuel Bagenstos, filed a complaint with the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights challenging Washington State s plan to ration treatment for COVID-19 in a way that discriminates against people with disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws. The complainants are DRW, and the Arc, on behalf of Washington residents with disabilities, and Ivanova Smith, a Washington resident with a developmental disability.  The complaint asks HHS to enforce the ADA and stop Washington from implementing its rationing plan, which would deny treatment or give lower priority to people based on their disabilities, without an individualized assessment. Read more about how Bazelon Center is challenging Washington (PDF) Policy & Advocacy LEADERS AND ALLIES OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY HOST FEBRUARY 3 CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON “DEBUNKING THE MYTHS: MENTAL HEALTH AND GUN VIOLENCE”In case you missed the Coalition for Smart Safety and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Rights Task Force briefing on “Debunking the Myths: Mental Health and Gun Violence,” this PDF includes helpful handouts from the February 3 briefing, photos of the briefing, and a link to watch the briefing. Read more about the briefing (PDF) Litigation BAZELON CENTER AND PARTNERS REACH GROUND-BREAKING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH STATE OF OHIO IN SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASS-ACTION LAWSUITA settlement agreement reached in the longstanding Doe v. State of Ohio special education class action lawsuit will improve the academic achievement of students with disabilities, in part by supporting their inclusion in regular classrooms. The settlement is expected over the next five years to improve the state’s support for special education throughout Ohio, as well as create measurable improvements in student performance and inclusion for children with disabilities in 11 of Ohio’s large urban school districts. Disability Rights Ohio (DRO), the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and the law firm Steptoe Johnson celebrate this agreement and thank Ohio Governor John Kasich, the Ohio Department of Education and the State School Board for their efforts to arrive at this important outcome. Read more about the Bazelon Center settlement agreement with the state of Ohio (PDF). Bazelon Center and Other Disability Organizations Send Letter to Senate in Opposition to Nomination of Judge Amy Coney BarrettRead the Opposition Nomination letter (PDF) here.Bazelon Center and 14 Other Disability and Civil Rights Organizations Urge Chief Justices to Endorse Bar Applicants’ Diploma Privilege During PandemicToday (October 6), the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, together with fourteen other disability and civil rights groups, sent a letter to the Conference of Chief Justices urging the conference to endorse the widespread adoption of temporary diploma privilege, for individuals applying for admission to the bar during the ongoing pandemic. In-person bar examinations during the COVID-19 pandemic pose a significant danger for communities of color and people with disabilities because of the disproportionate infection and death rates in those communities. This policy would allow qualified law school graduates to practice law without sitting for the bar exam during the pandemic. Read the press release here (PDF). Read the letter (PDF) here.Bazelon Center and More Than 50 Other Disability Organizations Send Letter to Senate in Opposition to Nomination of Judge Amy Coney BarrettToday (October 5), the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, together with more than 50 other organizations representing people with disabilities, sent a letter to the Senate leadership, urging them to reject the nomination of Judge Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The coalition also states that Congress should not act on any nomination to the Supreme Court until it has passed and the President has signed a COVID-19 relief bill. Read the letter (PDF).Bazelon Center Releases Review of  Amy Coney Barrett’s Record on Issues Affecting People with DisabilitiesToday (September 30), the Bazelon Center released a new report reviewing the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett’s record on issues affecting people with disabilities. The review outlines her judicial decisions and other writings on healthcare/the Affordable Care Act, the “public charge” rule, and other disability rights issues. Read the full report here (PDF).HHS OCR Resolves Federal Complaint Filed Against State of Utah by Bazelon Center and PartnersToday (August 20), the U.S. Department of Health Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of a federal complaint filed against Utah. The complaint, brought by the Utah Disability Law Center and a coalition of national groups— the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, The Arc of the United States, Center for Public Representation, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and Samuel Bagenstos—is one of nearly a dozen complaints that have been brought nationwide challenging states’ plans for rationing medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic as discriminating against people with disabilities. Today’s resolution sets a national precedent, with OCR building off earlier resolutions of complaints regarding plans in Alabama, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee and weighing in on the discriminatory impact of a number of provisions common in many states’ rationing plans. Read the announcement. Read the press release (PDF). Read the original complaint (PDF).Bazelon Center and Partners File Lawsuit against Alameda County for Its Failed Mental Health SystemToday (July 30), the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, along with Disability Rights California (DRC), Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and the Oakland-based law firm Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian Ho filed a federal lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Alameda County and Alameda Health System. The lawsuit challenges the unnecessary and illegal segregation of people with mental health disabilities especially Black people with disabilities in psychiatric institutions and the failure to ensure people with disabilities are provided the services they need. Read the press release (PDF). Read the complaint (PDF). A video providing an overview of the lawsuit is available, with personal stories of people who have faced institutionalization in Alameda County.Bazelon Center and Partners File Federal Complaints Challenging Crisis Standard of Care Plans in COVID-19 Hotspots Arizona and Texas(July 23) A coalition of state and national disability and civil rights advocacy groups have filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) challenging the crisis standard of care plans in Arizona and Texas, two states hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. These crisis plans are used to decide who receives life-saving treatment.  Along with state partners, the national groups—the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, The Arc, the Center for Public Representation, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and Justice in Aging—argue that the plans discriminate against people with disabilities, older adults, and people of color, placing these communities at risk of substantial and imminent harm—and the real risk of being denied basic and emergency treatment—during the pandemic. Read the press release (PDF). Read the Arizona complaint (PDF). Read the Texas complaint (PDF).July 20 Letter from Bazelon Center, ACLU, Disability Rights Maryland and NAACP-LDF Demands Urgent Action Following Baltimore Police Shooting of Ricky Walker Jr.(Updated July 22) The Bazelon Center decries the July 1 shooting of Mr. Ricky Walker, Jr., a Black Baltimore resident with mental health issues, by Baltimore City police officers responding to a 9-1-1 call at his family s home.  Yesterday, Bazelon, Disability Rights Maryland, the ACLU of Maryland, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund sent a letter to Baltimore’s mayor, police commissioner, State’s Attorney, and the CEO of Baltimore’s behavioral health authority demanding that they take immediate action to prevent more tragedies like Mr. Walker’s.  The letter asks that Baltimore’s 9-1-1 system dispatch non-law enforcement mobile crisis teams on calls responding to individuals in crisis, and that Baltimore expand and enhance its behavioral health system, including its crisis response system but also longer-term supports, including housing services.  Bazelon calls on Baltimore and all communities to consider a reduced role for the police and additional spending on community-based measures that promote the well-being of all. Read the press release (PDF). Read the full letter (PDF).HHS OCR Resolves Federal Complaint Filed Against State of Tennessee by Bazelon Center and PartnersToday (June 26), the U.S. Department of Health Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the resolution of a federal complaint filed against Tennessee, one of nearly a dozen complaints filed by a coalition of national disability advocates – the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Center for Public Representation, The Arc of the United States, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund and Samuel Bagenstos challenging states’ plans for rationing medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic as discriminating against people with disabilities. Medical rationing policies have disproportionately impacted Black people with disabilities, who have higher rates of COVID-19 infection and hospitalization. Today’s resolution sets a national precedent, with OCR building off earlier resolutions of complaints regarding Alabama’s and Pennsylvania’s plans and weighing in for the first time on the discriminatory impact of a number of provisions common in many states’ rationing plans. Read the announcement (PDF). Read the press release (PDF). Read the original complaint (PDF).Bazelon Center and Partners File Preliminary Injunction Addressing Undue COVID-19 Risk at Mental Health FacilitiesThe Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Connecticut Legal Rights Project, and Center for Public Representation this week (June 10) filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in a class action case challenging Connecticut’s failure to take adequate steps to protect residents of two state psychiatric hospitals from contracting and dying from COVID-19. Both hospitals, Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH) and Whiting Forensic Hospital (WFH), have had outbreaks of the virus. Five patients at CVH have died from COVID-19. At CVH and WFH, Defendants have confirmed 73 cases of COVID-19 among patients and 64 cases among staff, since testing began. Read the full press release (PDF).Bazelon Center and Eighteen Other Leading National Disability Rights Organizations File Amicus Brief in California v. Texas, Defending the Affordable Care Act This week (May 13), the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, American Association of People with Disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and 16 other leading disability rights organizations, represented pro bono by law firms Dentons and Baker Hostetler, filed an amicus brief with the US Supreme Court highlighting the crucial health care protections that Congress provided for people with disabilities in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA prevented people from being denied coverage or charged more due to pre-existing conditions and made coverage of needed services available and affordable to millions of people with disabilities for the first time. In March, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, formerly known as Texas v. US and now known as California v. Texas, which it will hear in the fall. Read the full press release (PDF). Read the amicus brief (PDF).Bazelon Center and Partners Release Guidance on COVID-19 Hospital Visitation PoliciesToday (May 15), the Bazelon Center and partners have released a guide setting forth what hospitals and doctors offices must do to comply with the ADA and other disability rights laws when there are no-visitor policies in place due to COVID. The guide explains the requirement to make reasonable modifications to such policies and to allow a person to bring someone else to support them when necessary to accommodate the person s disability. Read the guide (PDF).Bazelon Center Joins Connecticut Legal Rights Project in Federal Class Action Lawsuit Addressing the Spread of COVID-19 in Two Connecticut Psychiatric HospitalsYesterday (May 7) the Bazelon Center joined the Connecticut Legal Rights Project in a federal class action lawsuit addressing the spread of COVID-19 in two Connecticut psychiatric hospitals, where patients face grave risks to their health and safety as a result of the facilities failure to take adequate measures to protect residents, in violation of the Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other laws.  The plaintiffs ask the state to take steps to ensure the safety of patients in two state psychiatric hospitals by discharging individuals to community services and ensuring adequate safety measures for those remaining in the hospitals. Read the complaint.Bazelon Center Urges Decrease of Number of Individuals in Psychiatric Hospitals during COVID-19The COVID-19 pandemic has created enormous health risks for people confined in psychiatric hospitals. Today (April 15), the Bazelon Center released a statement urging states and localities to decrease the number of individuals in psychiatric hospitals during this pandemic by reducing admissions and accelerating discharges. Read a copy of the statement (PDF)Bazelon Center and Partners Release Rationing Evaluation ToolTogether with other partners, the Bazelon Center today (April 9) released a tool for evaluating Crisis Standard of Care plans that ration scarce medical resources, in order to determine whether they comply with federal laws prohibiting disability discrimination. The tool contains six questions that are useful for scrutinizing these rationing plans. It is a companion to the guidance (PDF) that we and our partners released on April 3, 2020 applying HHS Office of Civil Rights bulletin concerning disability discrimination in medical rationing schemes. The tool, Evaluation Framework For Crisis Standard of Care Plans, is available to download (PDF). (Updated 6/26/20)Alabama Withdraws Discriminatory Ventilator Rationing Policy and Issues Directive About Non-Discrimination in Accessing Life-Saving TreatmentOn April 8, in response to a complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) by the Alabama Disability Advocacy Program (ADAP), the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, and other disability rights advocates, the state of Alabama has withdrawn its discriminatory ventilator rationing policy and instructed hospitals across the state that they cannot discriminate against people with disabilities in accessing treatment. The previous policy placed the lives of disabled adults and children at serious risk, in violation of federal law, by ordering hospitals to “not offer mechanical ventilator support for patients” with “severe or profound mental retardation,” “moderate to severe dementia,” and “severe traumatic brain injury.” Read the Press Release (PDF) and read the original complaint (PDF).Bazelon Center Statement on the Urgency of Reducing the Jail Population During the COVID-19 CrisisToday, April 6, 2020, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law released a statement urging all jurisdictions to: (1) Immediately release a majority of the individuals with mental illness held in jails, and (2) Take immediate steps to divert from jail the majority of individuals with mental illness who are arrested. Read the Bazelon Center Statement (PDF).Large Coalition of National Disability and Health Advocacy Organizations Endorse Guidance On Preventing Disability Discrimination in COVID-19 Treatment RationingThe Bazelon Center and partners released today (April 3) a guidance document for states and hospitals on avoiding disability discrimination in the event of rationing of life-saving medical treatment.  The guidance is based on the bulletin that the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights issued on March 28 concerning the requirements of federal disability rights laws in the context of rationing scarce medical treatment.  The guidance explains how the principles in HHS s bulletin would apply in practical terms, what those principles mean for covered entities developing and implementing rationing protocols, and what concrete steps can be taken to comply with federal law.  The guidance is endorsed by nearly 90 national disability rights organizations. Read the press release (PDF) and the guidance (PDF) here.Bazelon Center and Partners File Additional Complaints of Disability Discrimination in COVID-19 Treatment RationingOn Tuesday, March 24, the Bazelon Center, together with the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, the Arc of the United States, the Center for Public Representation, and Samuel Bagenstos, filed a complaint today with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) contending that Alabama’s ventilator rationing plan discriminates against people with intellectual and cognitive disabilities, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other laws. The complainants are ADAP and The Arc, on behalf of Alabamians with intellectual and cognitive disabilities who will likely die if medical professionals are allowed to withhold health care services from them on the basis of their disabilities. The complaints ask HHS to take immediate action to address this discrimination and assist local jurisdictions and providers to develop non-discriminatory approaches before there are lethal consequences to application of these illegal policies. The day before, we filed a complaint challenging Washington state s discriminatory scheme to ration COVID-19 treatment. Read the Press Release (PDF)..On Friday, March 27, we filed two additional complaints for the states of Kansas (PDF) and Tennessee (PDF). Read more about our Kansas complaint (PDF) and the Tennessee complaint (PDF).JOIN THE COALITION FOR SMART SAFETY AND THE CONSORTIUM FOR CITIZENS WITH DISABILITIES RIGHTS TASK FORCE ON FEBRUARY 3, 2020 FOR HOUSE AND SENATE-SIDE BRIEFINGSJanuary 30, 2020  On February 3, 2020, the Coalition for Smart Safety, a coalition of mental health, disability, civil rights, education, and privacy groups convened by the Bazelon Center and the National Disability Rights Network, together with the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Rights Task Force, is hosting congressional briefings titled Debunking the Myths:  Mental Health and Gun Violence. The House side briefing, presented in conjunction with Representatives Langevin and Napolitano, will be at 1 pm. The Senate side briefing, presented in cooperation with Senators Blumenthal and Casey, will be at 3 pm. See the invitations for details on the speakers and RSVP.2/3/20 Debunking The Myths: Mental Health and Gun Violence (PDF) 1 PM House-side Briefing Invite and RSVP (PDF)2/3/20 Debunking The Myths: Mental Health and Gun Violence 3 PM Senate-side Briefing Invite and RSVP (PDF)THE BAZELON CENTER FOR MENTAL HEALTH LAW: DIVERSION TO WHAT? EVIDENCE-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES THAT PREVENT NEEDLESS INCARCERATIONOctober 1, 2019  The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has released a report describing the essential community mental health services that must be expanded to divert people with significant psychiatric disabilities from the criminal justice system: Diversion to What? Evidence-Based Mental Health Services That Prevent Needless Incarceration (PDF).Diversion to What? is designed to provide guidance to stakeholders engaged in efforts to reduce incarceration of people with psychiatric disabilities, laying out the types of services that should be the focus of such efforts. The report describes what those services do and how they are structured, and identifies the evidence demonstrating their success in reducing incarceration.Download the Diversion to What? (PDF). The Bazelon Center gratefully acknowledges essential support for this report provided by the MacArthur Foundation s Safety and Justice Challenge and the Ford Foundation. @SSRC_mtp: Many technologies used widely during the Covid pandemic were innovated by disability communities. @AimiHamraie's #JustTech Covid-19 Rapid-Response project archives relational, aesthetic, and political uses of remote technologies by disability communities. https://t.co/iu0q5npjGA @AllilsaF: Housing is mental healthHousing is mental healthHousing is mental healthHousing is mental healthEvictions are traumatic!. Being homeless is traumatic!. This intensified during covid-19 where people fear for their lives FROM FACEBOOK TOMORROW, Friday, December 4, 2020 at 12 PM EST, join the Pretrial Justice Institute for its December First Friday Forum on alternatives to calling 911 for people with acute needs, as well as community based supports for people who do not want to call the police to address safety issues. The speakers will be Ira Burnim, Legal Director, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Melissa McKee, Peer Navigator, Familiar Faces Program, Olympia Police Department; Tenille Patterson, Executive Partner, Pretrial Justice Institute; and Larell Smith-Bacon, Executive Director, Restorative Response Baltimore. The panel will discuss these issues from both an equity perspective and how to achieve better outcomes for all members of the community. Register for Friday's discussion here: learning.pretrial.org/products/first-friday-forum-community-driven-alternatives-to-calling-police ... See MoreSee LessPJI Learning: First Friday Forum: Community-Driven Alternatives to Calling Policel.facebook.comPlease join us for our December First Friday Forum on alternatives to calling 911 for people with acute needs, as well as community based supports for people who do not want to call the police to address safety issues.  1 week ago View on Facebook ShareShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by EmailTODAY is #GivingTuesday! On this #GivingTuesday and during this giving season, we hope that you will consider a gift to the Bazelon Center. Your financial support enables us to protect and advance the rights of people with mental disabilities during this unprecedented time and beyond. The recent lawsuit that the Bazelon Center and its partners filed against Alameda County is an example of the type of cutting edge legal advocacy that your gift supports. The lawsuit seeks to end the needless arrest and incarceration of people with mental health disabilities, especially Black people. You can read the complaint HERE: secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.254/d25.2ac.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/July-30-202... and watch a video HERE: youtu.be/ESb5TY9XyLk We are grateful that so many of you joined and supported the 2020 Annual Awards celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) on November 17. You can watch the virtual event HERE: www.bazelon.org/get-involved-events/ It’s a inspirational and motivational showcase of how far we’ve come and how much further we need to go in order for people with disabilities to live free from discrimination and with the same opportunities as everyone else. Please consider making a donation during the month of December. Donate here: bit.ly/BazDonate ... 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