November 16, 2005
SSA Fails to Provide Accessible Communications
The American Council of the Blind and a group of individuals who are blind or have vision impairments today filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), alleging that the agency fails to provide the most basic accommodations to its blind applicants and beneficiaries.
ACB v. SSA
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November 16, 2005
Over one hundred thousand blind and visually impaired Americans rely on benefits from the Social Security Administration ("SSA") to meet their basic needs. They are among the 48 million Americans who receive benefits from the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance ("OASDI") program based on an earnings history, and the seven million Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") based on financial need and either age, blindness, or other disabilities. Despite the obvious and critical importance of these benefits, SSA regularly communicates with blind and visually impaired persons in standard print format, which they cannot read. SSA regularly suspends the benefits of blind and visually impaired recipients for failing to comply with requirements set forth in standard print documents that they cannot read and for failing to return printed forms that they cannot complete. As a result, many have suffered extreme financial and personal hardship.
American Council of the Blind
November 6, 2005
On behalf of the American Council of the Blind and a group of individuals who are blind or have vision impairments, DREDF filed a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, California Northern District against the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), alleging that the agency failed to provide the most basic accommodations to its blind applicants and beneficiaries. More than 30 years after federal civil rights law made the obligation clear and technological advances made alternative formats commonplace, the SSA continued to ignore the needs and rights of blind and visually impaired individuals.
Children With Diabetes Sue School Districts, State for Assistance
October 11, 2005
Oakland, California — Four elementary school-age students, along with the American Diabetes Association, filed an unprecedented civil rights complaint today in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California seeking class action relief against the California Superintendent of Public Schools, the California Department of Education, members of the California Board of Education, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, the Fremont Unified School District, and their Superintendents and Boards of Trustees. The suit asks the Court to compel public school officials to comply with federal law by providing the assistance that California students with diabetes require to manage their diabetes during the school day.
Hurricane Katrina
August 30, 2005
The disability community has come together to assist people with disabilities in the Gulf States affected by the hurricane. We've gathered the following information for those affected and how to help.
Sanchez v. Johnson Opinion
August 8, 2005
The Governor and the legislature now face a very large problem that has begun to destroy community services for people throughout California. Although the federal Court said it couldn't act, the state can and must deal with this crisis. Providers serving persons with disabilities in the community have seen insubstantial increases in payments since 1989. Although the state has collected $254 million in additional federal money for the disabled since this case started none of it has been used to pay for services for the disabled. The system cannot continue hemorrhaging skilled workers and replacing them with untrained persons who could be earning more at fast food restaurants.
Million Dollar Baby Built on Prejudice about People with Disabilities
February 13, 2005
The Oscar-winning movie Million Dollar Baby advances the offensive and dangerous message that death is preferable to life with a disability.
Laguna Honda Hospital Lawsuit Settles
December 18, 2003
Judge Saundra B. Armstrong of the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, today preliminarily approved settlement of a class action lawsuit against San Francisco and several State agencies brought on behalf of present and potential residents of Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH) and the Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco (ILRCSF). "This settlement represents a positive first step in establishing the rights of people with disabilities, including seniors, to receive services in their homes and communities rather than in institutions," says Kim Swain, lead counsel in the case from the Oakland office of Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (PAI), a non-profit agency that works to advance the rights of people with disabilities.
Zepeda and Zepeda v. County of San Mateo (California)
December 3, 2003
Hours after Marco and Adelina Zepeda gave birth to their healthy seven-pound son, Rivaldo, San Mateo County, California Child Protective Services attempted to remove the infant from his parents and place him in foster care while they began an investigation of the family's fitness as parents.
Tennessee v. Lane
November 12, 2003
DREDF filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Tennessee v. Lane on behalf of the of former US Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), and ADA Watch, which argued that Congress had the power to enact all of Title II of the ADA, enabling disabled persons to participate in critical facets of American life and helping to achieve full integration.