On June 11, 2009, individuals with developmental disabilities and housed in state-run psychiatric institutions in Pennsylvania filed this class action against the state Department of Public Welfare (DPW) in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs claimed that Pennsylvania had failed to provide community-based treatment and habilitation services that would prevent them from being institutionalized. Some of the plaintiffs had diagnosed psychiatric disorders, while others were individuals with disabilities who claimed to be housed in psychiatric facilities even though they had no mental illness. The plaintiffs alleged that the Department of Public Welfare violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They requested class certification, declaratory and injunctive relief, and attorneys' fees and costs.
On September 8, 2009, the court certified the class of individuals with developmental disabilities institutionalized in state psychiatric facilities and not subject to the jurisdiction of the criminal courts. The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint on September 17, 2009. Judge Thomas I. Vanaskie denied this motion on November 19, 2009.
On July 30, 2010, the parties submitted a settlement agreement, which was approved by Judge Christopher C. Conner on September 2, 2010. Pursuant to the agreement, DPW agreed to:
• assess each plaintiff's eligibility for Medicaid waiver services and develop individualized assessment plans;
• develop individualized community support plans for eligible individuals;
• ensure that individuals who are eligible for a community-based waiver program are not discharged to a personal care home;
• establish a review committee to determine which institutionalized individuals were eligible for release into the community;
• provide funding for additional services both in institutions and in the community;
• implement enhanced services in state hospitals;
• provide the plaintiffs with incident reports concerning class representatives or class members no later than five days after their occurrence; and
• issue status reports to the plaintiffs that contain funding updates (every 12 months) and updates on the discharge of class representatives and class members, as well as the admission of individuals to state hospitals (every six months).
The settlement agreement was set to terminate 90 days after the provision of community services to the last person identified as eligible for such services. The defendants agreed to pay the plaintiffs $210,000 for attorneys' fees, litigation expenses, and costs incurred. The docket reflects no further litigation in the case since December 2, 2010.
Beth Kurtz - 02/08/2013
Eva Richardson - 11/20/2018
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