Final Waiting List Update- December 2009
Martha M. Lafferty, Managing Attorney
The State stopped paying consumer directed support (CDS) funds to people on the Waiting List on December 31, 2009. CDS is not a regular state or federal program. CDS has only been paid due to the Settlement Agreement.
Our settlement monitoring activities stopped on December 31, 2009.
This lawsuit has forced the State to address many of the problems with the waiting list for the Waiver Program. This lawsuit has made the State give more people help.
As a result of the lawsuit:
- More than 3,000 people on the waiting list have been enrolled into a waiver program
- The number of providers of waiver services has grown
- People on the waiting list have received more than 15 million five hundred sixty-seven thousand three hundred ninety-six dollars ($15,567,396.00) in Consumer Directed Support funds
- The State has informed more people who may be eligible for a waiver program about these programs and the waiting list
During the past several years, the State has been trying to end the Settlement Agreement early. The State has asked both the Federal District Court and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to end the Settlement Agreement early. The courts have only ended part of the Settlement Agreement early. The courts have said the State does not have to substantially reduce or eliminate the waiting list. The State only has to enroll people into a waiver program as long as there are slots and funding to do that. The courts have also said that the State does not have to continue increasing the number of service providers. Among other things, the State argued that due to the economy, it did not have the funds to do more.
DLAC monitored the settlement activities until it ended on December 31, 2009.
Federal District Court hears motion on Waiting List case
Martha M. Lafferty, Managing Attorney
On August 21, 2007, Federal District Court Judge Robert L. Echols granted Plaintiffs Motion for Substitution of Counsel. That Order allowed Attorney Gary Housepian to withdraw from the case and DLAC Attorneys Martha M. Lafferty and Sherry A. Wilds to be added as class counsel. In addition, Nashville Attorney Kent Krause who has represented plaintiffs from the time this litigation was first filed will continue as class counsel along with Attorneys Lafferty and Wilds.
On August 30, 2007, Judge Echols heard oral arguments on several motions that had previously been filed with the court. It is anticipated that Judge Echols will issue rulings on those motions within the next several months.
The motions argued on August 30 and the rulings that will be made by the court will have significant impact on how soon persons with mental retardation will receive necessary services to live in the community. The plaintiffs are asking the court to direct the Division of Mental Retardation Services (DMRS) to enroll into waiver services the persons that have been in the "crisis" category of need for over 90 days. In addition, the plaintiffs are asking the court to direct DMRS to accomplish this enrollment by December 31, 2007. The defendants are asking the court to "set aside" or abolish the five year Settlement Agreement that the plaintiffs and the State of Tennessee agreed to enter in December, 2003 and which Judge Echols approved on June 17, 2004. The defendants are also asking the court to dismiss the entire Waiting List case.
Despite the Settlement Agreement previously entered in this case, the State of Tennessee is failing to make meaningful progress toward the goal of eliminating or substantially reducing the Waiting List. Each month, approximately 150 people are being added to the Waiting List. At the same time, on average, less than 50 people are being enrolled into waiver services each month. That means that the Waiting List is growing at more than 3 times the rate people are being enrolled into services.
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