RI ORS Official Queried About 28 In Olmstead Consent Decree Population Waiting For Services

By Gina Macris

The names of 28 adults with developmental disabilities, ostensibly protected by a 2014 federal consent decree mandating they receive job-related services, are nevertheless on a waiting list for assistance from the Rhode Island Office of Rehabilitation Services. That figure is 5 more than ORS reported as of Feb. 1.

Joseph Murphy                   Photo By Anne Peters 

Joseph Murphy, vocational rehabilitation administrator for ORS, gave an update on the waiting list Feb. 13 when he attended the monthly meeting of the Employment First Task Force, a group created by the consent decree which is representative of individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, and community organizations working with them.

The waiting list had a total of 399 names as of Feb. 7, according to an ORS web page, with most of the affected individuals having a wide variety of significant disabilities.

Of that group, the 28 individuals at the center of the discussion at the task force meeting have developmental disabilities, physical or intellectual challenges that have been present since birth or childhood. These applicants for ORS services are supposed to have legal protection through the Olmstead consent decree against having any waiting period for services – a fact pointed out by Deb Kney, Director of RI Advocates in Action. The consent decree derives its name from the U.S. Supreme Court decision which clarified the integration mandate of the Americans With Disabilities Act. 

Murphy said the consent decree monitor and the Department of Justice undoubtedly are watching the situation closely, as is the judge in the case. Murphy referred to comments made from the bench Nov. 30 by Judge John J. McConnell, Jr. about his concerns that adequate state and federal funding be available to provide the services the consent decree requires. The next court hearing related to the consent decree is April 10.

Murphy said the monitor, Charles Moseley, and DOJ lawyers will visit Rhode Island Feb. 26 through 28th  to assess the latest developments in the implementation of the decree. 

When he notified the monitor of the waiting list, Murphy said, the monitor reacted with dismay. “He said, ‘Oh my,’ “ Murphy told task force members.  Regulations of the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) require the states to set up a waiting list for vocational rehabilitation services when they can’t serve all eligible applicants.

In this case, the waiting list was triggered by the state’s unexpected loss of about $3 million in federal aid, which was re-directed to Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

The regulations require states to prioritize the order in which someone is removed from the list according to the degree of a person’s disability. Rhode Island’s so-called “Order of Selection” policy list has three levels of disability, but ORS is planning to amend the criteria for the highest priority category

Currently, applicants for ORS services in the highest priority category are those with mental or physical impairments that limit their ability to function on the job in at least three of seven different ways cataloged in state policy.  A proposed amendment would reserve the highest priority status for individuals those whose disabilities affect them in a minimum of four ways, according to an ORS spokeswoman. A public hearing on the matter will be March 8.

Murphy said that because of the consent decree, ORS is working with the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals to help protected clients find employment-related support elsewhere. 

The waiting list didn’t go into effect until Dec. 19, nearly three weeks after it was supposed to start, because changes in ORS policy needed formal approval from the federal RSA, Murphy said.

On the first day, there were already 324 names on the list, he said. Counselors “are in shock,”  Murphy said.

Murphy said the waiting list is “particularly awful because we were just starting to make headway” serving the consent decree population.

No one is affected who was already receiving services when ORS imposed the waiting list.

ORS receives $10.4 million from Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.But in the last few years it was able to supplement that basic grant with as much as $3.5 million in so-called “reallotment" funds  collected by the federal RSA from states that don’t meet their vocational rehabilitation obligations and re-distributed elsewhere.  For the federal fiscal year that  began Oct. 1, the re-allocation funding came to just $532,000.

While the reallocation money wasn’t set aside for clients with developmental disabilities, a lot of it went to help this group because that’s where the demand was, Murphy said. He characterized the consent decree as an “unfunded mandate.”

Nearly 400 Wait For RI ORS Services, Including 23 Protected By Olmstead Consent Decree

By Gina Macris

In two months – from Dec. 1 to Feb. 1 – a total of 392 job hunters with disabilities have added their names to a waiting list for assistance from the Rhode Island Office of Rehabilitation Services (ORS) at the Department of Human Services.

ORS established the waiting list for rehabilitation services because of a dramatic reduction in so-called federal vocational “reallocation funds” distributed solely at the discretion of the federal government. 

Of the 392 individuals who were waiting for services Feb. 1, 336 have significant disabilities that make them “priority one” clients, according to a spokeswoman for Ronald Racine, the ORS director.  

Within the highest priority category, 23 individuals are protected by a 2014 federal consent decree which requires the state to find jobs for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities who have been isolated in sheltered workshops or day programs, according to Racine’s spokeswoman. The decree takes its name from the Olmstead decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which spelled out the integration mandate of the Americans With Disabilities Act. 

Those protected by the consent decree are being referred to employment-related services offered through the Division of Developmental Services (DDD) at the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH.)

According to a BHDDH spokeswoman, Tracey Cunningham, the Chief Employment Specialist at DDD, confirms clients’ eligibility and refers them to DDD social workers who help them find private providers of employment services.

Racine has emphasized that those clients who were receiving rehabilitation services before December 1 are not affected in any way by the waiting list.

For the past several years, Rhode Island has received an average of about $3.6 million in rehabilitation reallocation funds, which are given up by states that don’t meet their obligations for local support of job-related services and are re-distributed by the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).

In the most recent round of redistribution, the federal RSA awarded $33 million to Texas because of the economic effects of Hurricane Harvey, with Rhode Island and other states receiving much less than they had expected.

The re-distribution went into effect for current federal fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. Rhode Island sought $5 million in reallocation funds for the current fiscal period, but was awarded only $532,000.

Rhode Island still receives a regular grant for rehabilitation services under provisions of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - $10.4 million for the federal fiscal year that began Oct. 1, according to Racine.

The ORS waiting list does not affect high school special education students who seek separate ORS-sponsored pre-employment transition services intended to acquaint them with the world of work.

These services include job exploration and internships, training in social skills and independent living, as well as counseling on opportunities for more comprehensive transition programs or post-secondary education, Racine has said.

A total of about 665 students have signed up for pre-employment transition services during the current school year, according to ORS figures.

Detailed information about the list is on an ORS webpage here.

Wait List For Vocational Rehabilitation Services In RI Starts Dec 1; Won't End Any Time Soon

By Gina Macris

There is “no quick fix” to the waiting list that will kick in for Rhode Islanders with the most extensive disabilities who apply for supports from the Office of Rehabilitation Services (ORS) after Dec. 1, according Ronald Racine, head of the state's jemployment rehab services. 

Because of restricted federal funds for rehabilitation services to Rhode Island, the waiting list is expected to grow to 2,620 individuals in a year’s time, although those now receiving services will not be affected.

About ten to 15 percent of future applications are expected to come from individuals with developmental disabilities, based on the current caseload. ORS currently serves 3,621 individuals with very significant, or “first priority” disabilities, including those with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Racine, Associate Director of the Division of Community Services at the state Department of Human Services, said Nov. 22 that ORS might reduce the time anyone spends on the waiting list by collaborating with other state agencies, like the Department of Labor and Training or the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. 

Racine spoke at a public hearing at the Warwick Public Library Nov. 21 that he said was a pre-requisite to amending a federally-mandated state plan to formally create the waiting list under provisions of the Workforce Investment and Opportunities Act.

The trigger for the waiting list is a dramatic restriction in so-called federal vocational rehabilitation “reallocation” funds awarded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), part of the U.S. Department of Education. In the past several years, these reallocation funds have averaged about $3.6 million, according to ORS officials.

For the federal fiscal year that began Oct. 1, Rhode Island sought $5 million in reallocation funds, but was awarded only $532,000.

While some of those attending the hearing asked what could be done to advocate for the restoration of the funds, Racine explained that this reallocation money is not Rhode Island’s to start with.

Rhode Island still receives a regular grant award under provisions of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act - $10.4 million for the latest federal fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, according to Racine.

But he explained that the reallocation money comes from states that must return funding to the federal government because they did not put up sufficient state dollars to support vocational rehabilitation. That pool of money is then reallocated by the RSA at its discretion to the other states.

This year, the RSA said it gave Texas all $33 million in reallocation funding it requested because of the impact of Hurricane Harvey. Racine told those attending the public hearing that the reallocation process was completed before Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, and he anticipated that the island would dominate in the next round of reallocation funding. That would mean a waiting list for vocational rehabilitation services would continue in Rhode Island, Racine said.

He said that ORS has been using reallocation money to support clients who are protected by a 2014 federal consent decree requiring the state to give adults with developmental disabilities greater access to regular jobs in the community.

ORS has notified the U.S. Department of Justice and a federal court monitor of the change in funding, and the resulting waiting list, Racine said at the Nov. 21 hearing. Neither the monitor nor the DOJ has commented in response, he said.

Separately, ORS faces the loss of $300,000 in federal funding earmarked for supported employment services. Supported employment services, like job coaching, also can be provided through the overall $10.4 million federal grant to ORS, according to Joseph Murphy, assistant administrator for supported employment. 

In a telephone interview Nov. 22, Racine elaborated. He said that the loss of federal supported employment funds does not directly impact an ORS pilot program that complements a similar project operated by the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH.)

ORS’ performance-based pilot program involves about 50 clients, with the last ones due to finish their program year in April, according to Murphy, who explained that they did not all begin at the same time.

Racine further explained that some changes may be made to supported employment services as a result of the performance-based program, but these would be programmatic rather than financial.

Exempt from any waiting list are about 520 high school special education students who have not applied for vocational rehabilitation services but who nevertheless are entitled to federally-mandated pre-employment and transition services.

These services include job exploration and internships, training in social and other skills necessary to prepare for the workplace, help with the skills of independent living, and counseling on opportunities for more comprehensive transition programs or post-secondary education, Racine said.

At the hearing, members of the State Rehabilitation Council, among others, expressed their concerns about the impending waiting list.

Willa Truelove, the Council chairperson, and Catherine Sansonetti, who is also a staff attorney at the RI Disability Law Center, both said the waiting list should be made public and that such transparency could help document the need for services.

Racine said the numbers on the waiting list can be put on the ORS Facebook page, but the names will be kept private.

(Click here to read an earlier article on the waiting list that has been corrected and clarified.).