Ron Lospennato is hired as the first attorney at the Developmental Disability Advocacy Center.

Judge orders NH to come up with a plan for institutional improvement and community placements.

The DDAC gains access to residents and records of Laconia State School and affirms the right of DDAC and our sister agencies to sue on our own behalf.

Case dealing with eligibility for developmental services.

Class action involving special education for students placed by juvenile courts

The United States First Circuit Court of Appeals held that school districts must provide special education to all children with disabilities, including those with the most severe disabilities who had been historically excluded. Thousands of children with significant disabilities access special education services in New Hampshire as a result of this decision.

James O v. Marston

Class action litigation is settled, ensuring children with disabilities who are placed in a facility under NH’s juvenile laws receive appropriate special education and related services.

Individual alleged that violations relating to education occurred when she was between ages 3 and 21. Court held that she was not barred from an award of compensatory education because she was presently over 21 years of age.

Court held that the school district had deprived plaintiff of her right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and ordered compensatory education and monetary damages.  Upon motions from each side for clarification, the court held that monetary damages could not be awarded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) but upheld the compensatory education and lack of FAPE claims.

Case related to special education and attorneys fees.

DRC-NH’s Regional Action Committee (RAC) project sends over 150 people with disabilities across the state to enforce compliance with the recently passed Americans with Disabilities Act.

Court held that parents could proceed with a claim against the school district under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). It found that a child’s juvenile records were “educational records” under FERPA and parents had a right to review them.

A class action settlement in the Eric L v. Bird case was approved, paving the way for reforms of services for abused and neglected children in foster care.  DRC-NH represented children with disabilities in the class.

The US District Court ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act extends to private insurance companies. In this case, DRC-NH represented a woman with bipolar disorder who was denied mortgage insurance based on her disability.

Court affirms that the school district is responsible for the cost of providing special education for court-involved children who are placed out-of-district.

U.S. District Court ruled that the city’s refusal to allow residents with mobility impairments to build a paved parking space in front of their home violated the ADA, Fair Housing Act, and Rehabilitation Act.

The court found that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) did not forbid the state from providing and funding a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to a disabled child who may not be a domiciliary of that state, even if the state was not required to do so and the child was a charge under the IDEA upon the custodial parent’s state. It also found that under New Hampshire law, the plaintiff’s school district was financially liable for costs of the child’s special education in another school district.

Filene’s agrees to make improvements to its three New Hampshire stores to assure that persons with physical disabilities have access to most of its merchandise.

Maroni v. Pemi-Baker Reg. School Dist.

DRC-NH filed a brief as Amicus Curiae in this case. In case of first impression, the court held that that parents were aggrieved parties, as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and, therefore, could bring a lawsuit against the school district on behalf of themselves pro se (without an attorney).

State Prison Accommodation Case Settles

DRC-NH sued the state for failing to accommodate a disabled prisoner.

Governor’s Study Commission on Area Agencies

This Study Commission is chaired by DRC-NH Executive Director, Dick Cohen.

Federal Department of Education orders the New Hampshire Department of Education to return $441,167 with interest in response to the state’s illegal diversion of money intended for children with disabilities.

Bryan M v. Litchfield School District

The court overturned a hearing officer’s decision and found that the school district was required to continue to provide special education services to the plaintiff and reimburse his parents for the Independent Educational Evaluation they had obtained to support his right to continued special education.

HB 1672

HB 1672 relative to a registry for founded cases of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of incapacitated adults, relative to certain background checks, and establishing a task force relative to central registries is signed into law by Governor John Lynch. DRC-NH Executive Director, Dick Cohen, serves on the Central Registry Abuse and Neglect Task Force.

In The Matter of B.T.

NH Supreme Court clarified the standard for involuntary commitment and ruled that mental illness in and of itself is insufficient to involuntarily admit any person into the mental health services system.

DRC-NH concludes lawsuit against Cheshire Medical Center for failure to provide interpreter services. Cheshire is required to establish an effective communications program and take various steps to ensure effective communication for Deaf and hard of hearing people.

Class action settlement requiring New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to make timely disability decisions about Medicaid eligibility.

ABLE NH is Established

Petition of Gretchen Parker

NH Supreme Court decision affirms individual’s right to self-direction, choice and dignity of risk, enabling petitioner to remain in her home without losing needed supports. The Court affirmed that the client had the right to decide where and with whom she could live even if there was some risk involved.

DRC-NH conducts an investigation, reviewing the circumstances surrounding the death of VH, a former client of NH’s Health and Human Services/Area Agency System

DRC-NH files a lawsuit prompting Bretton Woods to let a man with ALS participate in its Adaptive Ski Program.

Dick Cohen authors a White Paper: Examining Preventable Deaths in the Developmental Service System: A Call to Action – Keeping Vulnerable Citizens Safe from Harm

First Advocate NH Learn It! Live It! Love It! Workshop

Dube v. NH Department of Health and Human Services

NH Supreme Court affirms Medicaid recipients’ right to free choice of provider, finding that the State’s imposition of requirements that operated to exclude an otherwise qualified healthcare provider from providing medical services for individuals on Medicaid violated the recipients’ right to free choice of provider, guaranteed by the Medicaid Act.

Stephanie Patrick becomes Executive Director of DRC-NH after Amy Messer is appointed to serve as a New Hampshire Superior Court justice.

Representative Payee Program Established

The Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 authorizes the Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system to monitor and investigate how social security representative payees are administering Social Security funds. The law directs P&As to conduct periodic, onsite individual or organizational representative payee reviews along with additional discretionary reviews. In addition, the P&As can conduct educational visits and reviews based on allegations they receive of payee misconduct.

To learn more, visit our Rep Payee Program page.

The case involved the right of DRC-NH to promptly access records when DRC-NH determines there is probable cause to believe an individual with mental illness may have been subjected to abuse or neglect in a facility. The federal district court ruled in DRC-NH’s favor and issued a preliminary injunction order requiring defendants to produce the records.