DRCT advocates to expand opportunities for
Competitive Integrated Employment for people with IDD
In April 2025, the Connecticut Department of Developmental Services (DDS) and the Connecticut Bureau of Rehabilitation (BRS) published a CT Employment Systems Transformation Plan to expand Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) for transition-age students and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Connecticut. The plan sets forth agency action steps to provide individuals with opportunities to learn about, secure, and maintain CIE and includes a timeline and benchmarks for implementation. The plan was developed based on an August 2024 agreement between the agencies and Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) and the Center for Public Representation (CPR).
If you are interested in learning more about CIE or have questions about the plan, please contact us.
PLEASE HELP DISABILITY RIGHTS CT ACHIEVE OUR GOAL OF RAISING $50,000
PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY SYSTEMS, LIKE DRCT, ARE FACING POSSIBLE FUNDING CUTS AND EVEN ELIMINATION. PLEASE HELP SUPPORT DISABILITY RIGHTS CONNECTICUT to CONTINUE ADVOCATING ON BEHALF OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES!
DRCT, together with other state Protection & Advocacy agencies (P&As), make up the nation’s largest provider of legally based advocacy services for people with disabilities; it has the legal authority, including the unique “access authority” to enter facilities unannounced.
DRCT protects individuals by empowering them and advocating on their behalf so that they can exercise their rights to make choices, contribute to society, and live independently.
Please read the letter to learn more about how our work has impacted residents of Connecticut.
Connecticut’s Disparate Medicaid Eligibility Criteria Violates State Constitution, Discriminating Against Individuals with Disabilities;
Lawsuit Filed to End Discriminatory Income Eligibility Rules Reinstated at Governor’s Urging
Inmate with ALS and Opiate Withdrawal Died within 24 Hours of Arrival at Bridgeport Correction Center; Investigative Report Reveals Multiple Systemic Failures, Numerous Violations of Federal, State Law and Dept. of Correction Policy
Disability Rights Connecticut Report Substantiates Failure to Provide Adequate Medical Care and Lifesaving Measures; Urges Legislature, State Agencies to Take Action to Prevent Deaths
Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education
What does it mean for students with disabilities?
Complaint Filed with U.S. Department of Education Alleging Significant Deficiencies in Oversight of Education Provided to Connecticut Students with Disabilities
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) and the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) on September 18, 2024 filed a Complaint with the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) alleging that despite having “monitoring and regulatory oversight obligations” for “all special education schools and programs” the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) has “not exercised the requisite monitoring and regulatory oversight” of High Road schools in Connecticut, private equity owned segregated schools where multiple school districts place students with disabilities.
“Based on the findings of our systemic investigation and CSDE’s continued noncompliance with IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) oversight and monitoring, OCA and DRCT request that OSEP conduct its own investigation … and issue an appropriate corrective action plan for CSDE based on its findings.”
Complaint Filed with U.S. Department of Justice Alleging Disability Discrimination by School Districts in Hartford, Bridgeport, Waterbury and Stratford
Investigation by Office of the Child Advocate & Disability Rights Connecticut Reveals Substandard Education Provided by High Road Schools and Lack of Oversight by Districts
Federal judge orders declaratory and injunctive relief in an ADA lawsuit on behalf of an Autistic and Deaf client who was illegally denied accommodations as an elected official.
Wheelchair User Files Federal Complaint Over Jefferson Radiology’s Discriminatory Denial of Services to People with Mobility Disabilities
in Violation of Federal Law
Brown, Goldstein & Levy and Disability Rights Connecticut obtain victory in an ADA lawsuit on behalf of an autistic and deaf client who failed to receive accommodations as an elected official.
DRCT Attends Event at White House
On January 10, 2024, I had the honor of attending the White House’s Communities in Action, Building a Better America event in place of our Executive Director, Deborah Dorfman, whose litigation schedule precluded her attendance.
This event is one in a series of events hosted by the White House for individual states, and for this occasion, the White House invited legislative and nonprofit leaders from Connecticut and Rhode Island. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo; Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy; Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Greg Jackson, Deputy Director of the first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention; Gene Sperling the America Rescue Plan Coordinator; and Rhode Island Congressman Gabe Amo addressed the attendees and highlighted how the Biden-Harris American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science ACT and the Inflation Reduction Act have impacted the states of RI and CT.
The attendees were invited to speak for a few minutes to share how these initiatives have impacted their work. Speakers addressed the impact of their work on healthcare, unionized labor, agriculture, early childhood, healthcare, gun prevention advocacy, food insecurity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives, to name a few. These individuals highlighted how the funding through all of the aforementioned Acts had either expanded health facilities and added mental health providers, increased tuition assistance funds, facilitated unionized agreements, expanded food services, increased training funds for teachers, improved bridges and roadways, again to name a few.
As the event neared a close, many more hands remained up, but fortunately I was selected as the last one to speak -- briefly as reminded. I indicated how the Biden-Harris Covid-19 initiatives had enabled DRCT to advocate for PPE and vaccines to be prioritized for distribution to individuals with disabilities living in institutions or congregate settings as the pandemic had run amok in those settings; secondly, since one of the items raised by the speakers that day was the efforts by the Biden-Harris administration to ensure that CT households are able to access affordable high-speed internet, I indicated that since the pandemic people with disabilities have increased in numbers in the economy because of flexible remote work opportunities and as we think about strengthening our economy we should not forget that people with disabilities are strong contributors to that economy if they have the flexibility and the technology to participate.
Santina Sciaba-Douglas
Deputy Executive Director
Yale Students, Alumni Reach Settlement Agreement to Resolve Lawsuit Against
Yale University
Elis for Rachael, Inc., two Yale students, and Yale University release the following joint statement:
"The parties have reached a settlement agreement to resolve a lawsuit filed last November in federal district court related to policies and practices impacting students with mental health disabilities."
For more information, please visit www.elisforrachael.org, www.bazelon.org, or www.disrightsct.org.
There is no reason why Connecticut cannot close Southbury Training School
Hartford Courant Opinion, by Deborah A. Dorfman
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
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.
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.”
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
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 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.
