Monday, February 18, 2019

Maryland is failing to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities

Jeneva Burroughs Stone is a member of Little Lobbyists.
I attended the Disability Integration Act reintroduction ceremony as a member of Little Lobbyists, a parent-led organization of families with children with complex medical needs and disabilities. As Elena Hung , the co-founder of Little Lobbyists, said at the ceremony, “We want to make sure [our children] have the support in place to live the best lives and maximize their independence in the community and be here with us and not in institutions far away.”

That statement hit me hard, because my husband and I have been placed in a no-win situation by Maryland. Now, our financial future is pitted against our love for our son...
...The problem isn’t the state’s Developmental Disabilities Administration, which assesses REM waivers, nor the state legislature. It’s the Maryland Division of Nursing Services, which processes applications for skilled nursing services, and the Maryland attorney general’s office, which reflexively backs up the nursing division’s internal guidelines that keep private-duty nursing hours at a minimum for Maryland families. In effect, the attorney general’s office is pitting the implementation of one Medicaid program against another at the expense of people such as my son...

5 comments:

  1. Q:Can the Attorney General's Office give me legal advice?
    A:The Attorney General's Office is the attorney for the state and its agencies and cannot offer legal advice to individuals. If you need help with a personal legal matter you may want to contact a private attorney. The Office does assist individuals with consumer problems through the mediation service offered by the Consumer Protection Division.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is not an individual legal problem.

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    2. The AG is also responsible for explaining the state’s position and points of law to individuals. His “client” is all of us who are citizens of Maryland. This is not about seeking legal “advice,” it’s about requiring the AG’s office to explain the state’s position on civil rights issues and elucidate points of law that affect all. My family has private attorneys, thank you. They aren’t responsible for explaining the state’s interpretation of the law. Civil rights for persons with disabilities are under attack everywhere. The AG’s office is also responsible for ensuring civil rights for all citizens of Maryland. If the AG’s office is obstructing civil rights, then that’s a serious issue of constitutional law.

      Delete
    3. http://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/FAQ.aspx
      Where does it say that?

      Delete
  2. He is preoccupied with Emoluments and Monuments.

    ReplyDelete

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