Have you been wondering what’s been going on in the Samantha R case? Join Disability Rights NC staff next month as we share an update on the case and provide you the opportunity to ask questions and give your thoughts and feedback.
We have two options for you to attend, and you are welcome to attend one or both of them. The first one is at 1pm on Wednesday, Sept. 17, and the second one is at 6pm on Thursday, Sept. 18.
During these one-hour sessions, DRNC’s Legal Director Emma Kinyanjui, Litigation Counsel Lisa Grafstein, and Director of Public Policy Corye Dunn will share the latest about the case and the status of compliance with the May 2024 Consent Order.
The Order stems from a lawsuit DRNC filed in 2017 on behalf of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who were unable to access essential services in their communities and were at risk of or forced into institutional settings as a result. In 2020 Judge R. Allen Baddour agreed the state is in violation of the rights of people with I/DD and must ensure community-based services are available to people with I/DD who want them. The judge imposed specific, measurable goals in November 2022 to ensure the state addressed gaps in the I/DD system so people with I/DD can live and thrive in their communities and avoid unwanted segregation. These goals included elimination of the Innovations Waiver waiting list.
But DHHS appealed that ruling. DRNC and DHHS then began exploring ways to move forward without the appeal. The result is a May 2024 Consent Order.
The Consent Order set forth a two-year period, during which NCDHHS is to move more people into community-based services, including people on the Innovations Waiver waitlist and people in institutional settings, if they so choose. NCDHHS also agreed to meet benchmarks for increasing the Direct Support Professionals workforce and ensuring that people are receiving more of their authorized services.
The Consent Order also contains detailed reporting requirements to ensure that DRNC, NCDHHS, the judge, and the community can track compliance, and to enable DRNC, DHHS, and Judge Baddour to assess and propose future benchmarks. At the end of the two-year period, DRNC and NCDHHS will make their recommendations for additional benchmarks or other provisions.
The state’s quarterly reports, labeled under the branding of “Inclusion Connects Reports,” are posted on the DHHS website. So far there have been four reports. DRNC provided written comments about each report, and will continue to after each new report is released.
- WHAT: Samantha R Town Halls
- WHEN: 1pm, Wednesday, Sept. 17, and 6pm on Thursday, Sept. 18
- WHERE: Online, register here for one or both sessions –
- WHO: DRNC’s Legal Director Emma Kinyanjui, Litigation Counsel Lisa Grafstein, and Director of Public Policy Corye Dunn
- WHY: To update anyone interested about the work being done pursuant to the Samantha R case