PRESS RELEASE: DRCT to Focus on Seven Priority Areas in 2023 - Problems Adversely Impacting People with Disabilities That Are Most Widespread, Pose Greatest Risk

Areas of Focus: Abuse and Neglect, Healthcare, Education, Employment, Individual Rights, Housing and Opportunities to Live in the Community     


PRESS RELEASE: Yale University Violates Federal Law in Treatment of Students with Mental Health Disabilities, Lawsuit Alleges, Seeking Court Action to End University’s Discriminatory, Unlawful and Harmful Practices

Suit Filed on Behalf of Current and Former Students Seeks Class Action Status As Concerns About Suicides, Current Yale Policies Remain Despite Advocacy for Change


Our New Free Education Rights Clinic

Education Rights Clinic Flyer
Folleto de la Clínica de Derechos Educativos

Disability Rights Connecticut is pleased to announce our Education Rights Clinic. The clinic will be open to students and families of students with disabilities, including students with special education needs or students who have or may need 504 plans. 

Clinic appointments will provide an opportunity for callers to talk with advocates, law students, and attorneys. In a one-hour virtual meeting, clinic attendees will receive counsel and advice and short-term service related to their child’s special education needs free of charge.


Day & evening appointments available | Virtual appointments only* | Walk-ins not available**

Important Note: If you need a disability accommodation or an interpreter, please contact 860-310-1993.


Introducing the Recite Me Web Accessibility and Language Toolbar

DRCT’s commitment to making its website accessible includes our addition of Recite Me.  Recite Me is a web accessibility and language toolbar (WAT).  The WAT allows visitors to use many tools, like text-to-speech and language translation.  DRCT thanks the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) and our fellow protection and advocacy systems (P&As) for introducing us to Recite Me.

As a cloud-based program, Recite Me allows users to view and use a site in a way that works best for them.  It helps the 1 in 4 people in the U.S. who have a disability, including those with common conditions such as sight and hearing loss, dyslexia, among others.  It also meets the needs of the 1 in 5 people who speak a language other than English at home, by translating on-page content into over 100 different languages.

We are highly encouraged by our community’s early engagement with and enthusiasm for the new toolbar.  In just a few short weeks, we have been better able to meet folks where they are at, and thus, fulfill DRCT’s mission.  Specifically, nearly 350 web pages were viewed while using the WAT.  What’s more, users viewed 5-7 pages per session, which is 1-1.5x times the industry average. 

So how do you access Recite Me?

You can open the Recite Me toolbar by clicking on the “Accessibility & Translations” button at the top center of the homepage or by clicking the accessibility icon, which now appears in the bottom right corner of every page on our website.

The toolbar will then open and display a range of different options for customizing the way our site looks and the ways in which you can interact with its content.

How does Recite Me help me access DRCT’s website?

Again, Recite Me helps people access our site and customize their UX with the content. The toolbar has a unique range of functions. You can use it to:

  • Read website text aloud (including PDFs)

  • Download the text as an MP3 file to play it where and when it suits you

  • Change font sizes and colors

  • Customize background-color

  • Translate text into more than 100 different languages

  • Access a fully integrated dictionary and thesaurus

You can find out more about how Recite Me works from their user guide (https://reciteme.com/user-guide) and/or video tutorial (https://drive.google.com/file/d/13ULlgfGn_zIISX0CPMsZymz4SKzGGYWS/view).

Where can you find additional support for Recite Me?

If you have any questions about using Recite Me, you can contact them by email at info@reciteme.com or by calling (571) 946-4068.

Or as always, please do not hesitate to reach out directly to our team with UX feedback, suggestions, etc.


Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) Flyer. For information & assistance:, please contact (860) 297-4300 or info@disrightsct.org.

COVID-19 Updates

Protect Yourself, Get Boosted!

The CDC approved the vaccination and booster shot for Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer. You are not required to show documentation regarding your pre-existing medical conditions.

If you are experiencing disability-related accessibility barriers, please call Disability Rights Connecticut at 800-842-7303 or email info@DisRightsCT.org

If you would like to receive the vaccination and/or booster shot:

Free, At-Home COVID-19 Rapid Tests Delivered to Your Door
Individuals are able to order free, at-home COVID-19 tests at COVIDTests.gov. Tests will usually ship within 7-12 days of ordering.

Obtenga pruebas caseras gratuitas de COVID-⁠19 https://www.covidtests.gov/es/ (Spanish)

Those without internet access and those needing assistance may order by calling 1-800-232-0233.

The Disability Information and Assistance Line (DIAL) is an additional resource, connecting people with disabilities to COVID-19 vaccination and testing in their communities.

DIAL support can be reached by calling 888-677-1199 or by emailing DIAL@USAgingandDisability.org

  • Deaf and hard-of-hearing people can reach DIAL using the 711/Video Relay Service (VRS). To use this free service, simply dial 711 to be connected via text with a communications assistant.

  • For people who do not communicate through speech, sign language, or VRS, email is the best option to communicate with DIAL.

  • Older adults can call the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 Monday-Friday or visit the website to chat live or browse resources.

If you are experiencing disability-related accessibility barriers, please call Disability Rights Connecticut at 800-842-7303 or email info@DisRightsCT.org.


Interpreter Shortage Challenges Appropriate Medical Care For Deaf Patients

Deaf residents report frequent issues with sign language interpretation at Connecticut hospitals and health care facilities, hindering their ability to understand medical care fully.

And though video remote interpreting (VRI) services are widely available at Connecticut hospitals, patients have reported mixed experiences with the technology.

The issues persist more than 30 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires interpretation for patients and family members under the “effective communication” section of the law. In the last three years, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has negotiated four settlements with medical facilities in Connecticut for complaints related to communication with deaf patients.

“At one point, ADA and accessibility seemed to be very good,” said Marissa Rivera, an advocate with Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT). “And now, in 2022, it has completely collapsed.”


Letter From the Disability Community to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky

(January 13, 2021) - On Friday, January 7, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky spoke in an interview about a research study showing that among vaccinated COVID-19 patients, 78% of those who died had four or more co-occurring conditions. In her full, unedited remarks, Dr. Walensky stated that these people “were unwell to begin with” and referred to these results as “really encouraging news.”

Many disability rights organizations including Disability Rights Connecticut joined Autistic Self Advocacy Network in writing a letter to Dr. Walensky.


Coalition Calls For Greater Access To Mental Health Services

(January 11, 2022) - After a spike in adults and children seeking mental health treatment during the pandemic, a “Recovery For All” coalition of lawmakers, union leaders and providers are calling on Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative leaders to increase funding and access to services.

The state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the state Department of Children and Families are in a staffing crisis that has impacted the agencies’ ability to provide mental health services to the state’s poorest residents, according to the coalition. 

In order to increase services, the state needs to pay competitive wages to recruit and retain psychiatrists and other mental health workers, said Deborah Dorfman, executive director of Disability Rights Connecticut. “We have to entice providers to be in Connecticut and work in Connecticut, otherwise we won’t be able to do what we need to do,” she said…Read more


Disability Advocacy Organizations File Federal Complaints Against CT

HARTFORD (January 6, 2022) - Disability Rights CT, the statewide protection and advocacy system for individuals with a range of disabilities, and CLRP, a nonprofit law firm representing people with psychiatric disabilities, today filed two federal complaints against the State of Connecticut with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights.

The complaints allege violations of various federal anti-discrimination laws requiring equal access.  DRCT and CLRP allege that Governor Lamont’s refusal to require that towns and cities distributing the state’s essential supplies of COVID-19 test kits and N-95 masks during the Omicron wave prioritize individuals who are at high risk, either because of their health status or because of living in congregate settings, for the limited supplies available, violates federal law…READ MORE


Justice Department says isolation, inadequate mental health treatment and flawed education programming endanger young men incarcerated in Connecticut

The federal justice department on Tuesday accused the state of endangering young men incarcerated at the Manson Youth Institution with unsafe punitive isolation, inadequate mental health services and by failing to provide special education services for children with disabilities.

In a report and attached letter to Lamont, justice department lawyers accused the state of violating the rights of youths accused of serious crimes.

The state Department of Correction had no immediate response, but Gov. Ned Lamont’s office promised to work with the justice department on any problems with Manson. (via Hartford Courant)


CVS Health Partners with Disability Community in Commitment to Affordable and Equitable Access to Health Care

CVS Health, the American Association of People with Disabilities, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, and the National Council on Independent Living today announced that they are working together to seek policy solutions to protect equitable access to health care for all Americans and continue to protect the fundamental rights of people with disabilities.

“We have a long track record of supporting the essential and foundational legal protections for people with disabilities and ensuring that marginalized populations can access affordable health care and medicines in their community,” said David Casey, Senior Vice President, Workforce Strategies and Chief Diversity Officer at CVS Health. “Our agreement to pursue policy solutions in collaboration with the disability community will help protect access to affordable health plan programs that apply equally to all members. As a result, we will not pursue the matter further before the Supreme Court.”


Statement by Disability Rights Connecticut

RE: Reversal of Policy by Department of Social Services, Agreeing to Provide Medicaid Coverage for Individuals with Severe Disabilities Needing Robotic Arm

“The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) finally got it right, reversing previous repeated denials of Medicaid coverage for a robotic arm for severely disabled individuals to assist them with basic activities of daily life and facilitate independent living.

Person using a wheelchair and a robotic arm

Person who uses a wheelchair with a robotic arm.

While it is unfortunate that a misguided, illegal and counterproductive policy was established at all, we are pleased that the Department has rescinded that policy, and is no longer acting in defiance of state and federal law. Most importantly, we are pleased that our client will now be able to utilize the robotic arm that can make a demonstrable difference in her life, and that other individuals with similar disabilities will also have access to this impactful technology, reducing the need for hands-on assistance and the likelihood of institutionalization.

As we have pointed out, maintaining independence is a fundamental goal of the federal Medicaid Act, state Medicaid law, and state and federal disability law. In the absence of such independence, the likelihood of institutionalization increases, which is adverse to the best interests of the individual, constitutes disability discrimination and ultimately harms the taxpayers, who would be impacted by the higher costs of institutionalization.