DRP Obtains Preliminary Injunction Compelling the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to Provide Community-Based Services and Prohibiting Institutionalization

DRP brought a federal lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and Title XIX of the Medicaid Act against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (“DHS”) and others on behalf of a young woman with disabilities.  Although she had successfully lived in the community with services and supports prior to turning 21 years old, when she transitioned from the child welfare system to the Commonwealth’s system of services for adults with disabilities, DHS failed to provide her with the services she needed to live in community and, instead, transferred her to a nursing home against her explicit wishes.  DRP successfully argued that the Court should issue a preliminary injunction requiring DHS to provide the young woman with around-the-clock aide and other services in a safe, wheelchair accessible, community-based location acceptable to the young woman in the Philadelphia area. Importantly, the Court prohibited DHS from sending the young woman to a congregate care setting, including a nursing facility, shelter or other facility or institution that has multiple people in a single bedroom.

The lawsuit is captioned Doxzon v. Dept. of Human Servs., Civ. A. No. 1:20-CV-00236 (M.D. Pa. July 15, 2020). Click here to read the Court’s decision.