DRCT’s Work in 2025
In 2025, Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) worked on many issues to improve the lives of people with disabilities:
• Provided legal clinics on education, housing, voting, and supported decision-making.
• Released a major report on conditions at York Correctional Institution, the only women’s prison in CT. DRCT found that the Department of Correction (DOC) failed to protect women from sexual abuse by staff. DRCT recommended stronger laws and increased oversight to hold the DOC and its staff accountable.
• Investigated out-of-state special education programs with the Office of the Child Advocate, especially unapproved or unlicensed programs used by Connecticut school districts.
• Helped shape a new Connecticut law to improve oversight of private special education providers and increase funding for in‑district programs.
• Educated lawmakers about abuse and neglect of people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD). This led to new laws to improve reporting and ensure corrective actions.
• Negotiated an Employment Systems Transformation Plan with the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS), and the Center for Public Representation to increase competitive, integrated employment for youth and adults with I/DD.
• Provided testimony on Bill HB 6837, explaining problems with expanding involuntary Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), including issues with informed consent and legal standards.
• Participated in the Wheelchair Repair Advisory Council to improve enforcement of Connecticut’s new law requiring timely wheelchair repairs.
• Filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Social Services for discriminatory Medicaid income limits that force some people into nursing homes.
• Educated DSS and lawmakers about unlawful Medicaid prior authorization rules that deny medications without proper written notice.
• Increased community outreach to raise awareness of DRCT’s services and build partnerships with organizations serving people with disabilities.
• Analyzed large federal Medicaid cuts (HR1) and informed lawmakers about the serious impact on people with disabilities, urging action to reduce harm.
