disAbility Law Center of Virginia (dLCV) investigated the death of Irvo Otieno in March 2023. From his initial encounters with police and the hospital emergency room to his incarceration and transfer to Central State Hospital, dLCV discovered a complete breakdown of Virginia’s mental health crisis system, compounded by a culture of criminalizing individuals with mental illness, particularly communities of color. The system that was supposed to help Mr. Otieno utterly and completely failed him.
In 2023, the disAbility Law Center of Virginia (dLCV) worked together with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services’ (DBHDS) Office of Human Rights (OHR) to survey service recipients and their families about their experiences with the available complaint processes.
The ACLU of Virginia, the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, the law firm of Brown, Goldstein and Levy, and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia reached a settlement on Friday, May 17, in a lawsuit brought on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and four blind men, Michael McCann, Kevin Muhammad Shabazz, William Hajacos, and Nacarlo Courtney, alleging that the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) denied them equal access to prison communications, services, and programs.
In an annual report to the State Board of Elections, the disAbility Law Center of Virginia found that only 15% of surveyed poll workers thought that curbside voting created any additional work for them on election day.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently considered whether “gender dysphoria” is categorically excluded from the definition of “disability” in the ADA.
During Federal Fiscal Year 2022, dLCV received a total of 410 Critical Incident Reports from facilities operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS).
dLCV is mandated by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (PL 107-252) to advocate for the rights of Virginia voters with disabilities. Through dLCV’s Protection and Advocacy for Voter Access (PAVA) program, we survey polling sites on Election Day to determine if sites are accessible and take corrective action if sites are not accessible.
Have you heard about the Department of Medical Assistance Services’ (DMAS) proposed rule regarding “legally responsible individuals” as personal care aides? Under the proposed Medicaid rule, parents of minors and spouses are able to serve as personal care aides for their family member and be paid for their services. Check out dLCV’s fact sheet to learn more about the rule and how you can share your opinion on the rule with DMAS via “public comment.”
Today the ACLU of Virginia, the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, and the law firm of Brown, Goldstein, and Levy filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia against the Virginia Department of Corrections (VDOC), individual VDOC officials, and the Virginia Information Technologies Agency on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia and seven incarcerated men who are blind or visually impaired and are being denied equal access to services and programs available to sighted incarcerated people.
Today, the Commonwealth of Virginia affirmed that peer masking in Virginia public schools is a reasonable modification for students with disabilities that put them at severe risk if they contract COVID-19 as part of a settlement in the Seaman et al. vs. Commonwealth of Virginia et al. lawsuit.
