Families of disabled want no part of lawsuit
Families who fear their loved ones could be the losers in a court battle between the state of Ohio and legal advocates for Ohioans with disabilities asked a federal judge this week to allow them to intervene in the case.
“We want to be part of this because our interests are not being reflected,” said Caroline Lahrmann, whose son and daughter have severe disabilities and live in a Columbus care center.
The legal advocacy group Disability Rights Ohio sued the state last year, saying it operates a discriminatory disabilities system that traps thousands of people in institutions because they can’t get the support they need to live and work in their communities.
Disability Rights wants the lawsuit to be a class action on behalf of some 27,000 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in institutional settings or could someday because of service limitations.
Larhmann and others who are part of the Disability Advocacy Alliance oppose the effort, which they see as a misguided attempt to push people into small, community settings where their complex medical and behavioral needs won’t be met. They say Disability Rights is threatening the welfare of family members now living safely in so-called intermediate-care facilities, or residential centers with eight or more residents.
The lawsuit filed by Disability Rights last spring should proceed on behalf of its six named plaintiffs, Lahrmann said, not extend to others. “We don’t object to that,” she said. “We object to making us a part of a fight that we don’t want.”
Lahrmann’s children and eight other Ohioans who reside in intermediate-care facilities are named in the motion to intervene. Families are representing their loved ones in the action and are trying to raise money for an attorney. “We need $50,000 just to retain someone,” Lahrmann said.
Disability Rights Ohio is a nonprofit organization that serves as Ohio’s federally designated protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities. The organization’s executive director, Michael Kirkman, said in a statement that the motion to intervene reflects “an ongoing misunderstanding” about the aim of the case.
“Nothing in the complaint, and nothing in our court filings, asks the court to end (intermediate-care facility) services or to deny any group of people with disabilities access to those services,” he said.
Kirkman said the lawsuit seeks to require Ohio to follow federal law and foster a system that provides opportunities for people who want to live and work in their communities, “and not be unduly segregated in institutions in order to receive necessary service and supports.”