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Each year objectives are established for our agency and each of our programs. As part of the process of establishing these objectives, Disability Rights Montana seeks input from our clients, their families, and the public.
Disability Rights Montana staff are divided into eight workgroups: Information and Referral, Abuse and Neglect, Developmental Disabilities Services, Discrimination, Employment, Benefits, and Access, Education, Mental Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, Outreach and Training, Voting, Policy, and Civil Rights. The following are vision statements and objectives for each workgroup FY2010:
Information and Referral
Disability Rights Montana will provide information, referral, and short-term assistance and will develop and provide resource materials to people with disabilities.
| 1. |
Provide reliable, timely information and referral services to all callers. |
| 2. |
Expand and maintain resources to provide information to persons with disabilites and their families. |
| 3. |
Provide short-term assistance for non-priority issues to eligible persons with disabilities. |
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Abuse and Neglect
Disability Rights Montana will work to protect people with disabilities from abuse and neglect.
| 1. |
Review all reports of serious incidents, including abuse and neglect from psychiatric residential treatment facilities for children (PRTFs). Investigation selected reports to target systemic issues and follow-up, where appropriate, with reports to agencies, the public, or litigation.
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| 2. |
Review all reports received of serious incidents, including abuse and neglect, from Montana State Hospital and Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center. Investigate selected reports to target systemic issues and follow-up, where appropriate, with reports to agencies, the public, or litigation. |
| 3. |
Review all reports of serious incidents, including abuse and neglect, from Montana Developmental Center. Investigate selected reports to target systemic issues and follow-up, where appropriate, with reports to agencies, the public, or ligitation. |
| 4. |
Review all reports of serious incidents, including abuse and neglect, from community facilities (not jails or prisons), and programs which provide treatment or services to youth or adults with mental illness. Investigate selected reports to target systemic issues and follow-up, where appropriate, with reprots to agencies, the public, or litigation. |
| 5. |
Review all reports of serious incidents, including abuse and neglect, from community facilities and programs, which serve youth or adults with developmental disabilities. Investigate selected reports to target systemic issues and follow-up, where appropriate, with reports to agencies, the public, or litigation. |
| 6. |
Collaborate with DPHHS and other stakeholders to develop through regulation and/or policy, compliance with Part I of the Children's Health Act of 2000 as it relates to the use of seclusion and restraint. |
| 7. |
Investigate all reports of premature surrogate end-of-life decisions for persons with disabilities to detremine the application of Montana Uniform Rights of the Terminally Ill Act. Intervene as necessary including proactive education and assembling ad hoc hospital ethics committees in cooperation with Developmental Disability Services, Adult Protective Services, community caregivers, hospital staff, attending phyhsician(s), guardians, and family. |
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Developmental Disabilities Services
Disability Rights Montana will promote appropriate, person-centered, quality community services that support people with developmental disabilities to live in the most integrated setting possible.
| 1. |
Advocate for changes in State policies or practices to improve the quality of developmental disability supports and services, increase availability of self-directed, person-centered community supports and services, honor individuals' civil rights, and reduce reliance on segregated institutions. |
| 2. |
Monitor and enforce the Travis D. Class Action Settlement. |
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Discrimination, Employment, Benefits, and Access
Disability Rights Montana will promote independent living, meaningful employment, and access to governmental services and programs and public accommodations, for people with disabilities.
| 1. |
Review cases, provide short-term assistance, technical assistance, and represent individuals who have been discriminated against on the basis of disability or denied reasonable accomodations by employers, using such individualized strategies as filing administrative complaints, lawsuits, and appeals. |
| 2. |
Review cases, provide technical assistance, and represent individuals who have been denied or have been prohibited from using assistive technology or auxiliary aids by various entities including Medicaid, Medicare, governmental entities, public accommodations or other entities, using such individualized strategies as filing administrative complaints, lawsuits, and appeals. |
| 3. |
Represent qualified individuals in accordance with the Client Assistance Program (CAP) program requirements to include applicants and clients of the State Vocational Rehabilitation Program. |
| 4. |
Investigate and review any complaint of improper or inadequate services provided to Social Security Beneficiaries (SSB) with disabilities by service providers, employers, or other entity involved in the SSB return to work effort. |
| 5. |
Provide information and referral to Social Security Beneficiaries with disabilities about work incentives and employment, and other SSA-related issues. |
| 6. |
Provide consultation to and legal representation on behalf of Social Security Beneficiaries with disabilities to protect their rights. |
| 7. |
Assist Social Security Beneficiaries with disabilities in disputes before the Social Security Administration involving work-related program decisions and benefits overpayments that are barriers to gainful employment. |
| 8. |
Provide information and technical assistance on work incentives to governmental agencies, employment networks, and other service providers, and advocacy organizations. |
| 9. |
Identify and advocate to correct deficiencies in entities providing vocational rehabilitation, employment, and other support services to Social Security Beneficiaries with disabilities. |
| 10. |
Assure that county services are provided in compliance with state and federal anti-discrimination law and represent people with disabiities who are denied access to services. |
| 11. |
Review cases, provide technical assistance, and represent individuals who have been denied meaningful access to benefits or services or otherwise discriminated against on the basis of disability by public entities, using such individualized strategies as filing administrative complaints, lawsuits, and appeals. |
| 12. |
Review cases, provide technical assistance, and represent individuals who have been discriminated against or denied meaningful access to the benefits or services of places of public accommodation, using such individualized strategies as filing administrative complaints, lawsuits, and appeals. |
| 13. |
Review cases, provide technical assistance, and represent individuals who have been discriminated against on the basis of disabilities in the area of housing, using such individualized strategies as filing administrative complaints, lawsuits, and appeals. |
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Education
Disability Rights Montana will advocate and support students with disabilities to access a free public education as entitled by law.
| 1. |
Provide short-term assistance to students with disabilities to obtain Assistive Technology to progress in their education. (Short-term assistance = 10 hours or less of advocacy services) |
| 2. |
Provide short-term assistance to students with disabilities to obtain transition services from educational setting to adult life. |
| 3. |
Provide short-term assistance to students with developmental disabilities to obtain appropriate behavioral supports and services to progress in their education. |
| 4. |
Provide legal assistance up to and through due process hearings for students requiring AT, transition services, or appropriate behavioral supports that were not resolved through short-term assistance. |
| 5. |
Collaborate with the Office of Public Instruction and/or other entities to promote statewide compliance with federal and state education laws, to promote effective transition of high school students to adult life, and to educate students and their families about their educational rights. |
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Mental Health and Traumatic Brain Injury
Children and adults with mental illness living in the community and detention facilities experience difficulty accessing appropriate mental health treatment governed by recovdery principles.
| 1. |
Collaborate with the ACLU and other organizations to obtain systemic reform which will protect individuals with disabilities from abuse, neglect, or other mistreatment in city and county jails and detention centers. |
| 2. |
Help individuals with mental illness and/or TBI about how to self-direct medical treatment in a legally enforceable manner. |
| 3. |
Represent individuals, based on case selection criteria, or undertake projects, to enforce civil rights, and improve treatment and conditions at jails or treatment faciliites, and enable their discharge or release to integrated community living with necessary supports. |
| 4. |
Support Service Area Authority, Kids Management Authority, Brain Injury Association of Montana and other community-based groups to be vital consumer-driven organizations that foster grass-roots leadership and effectively steer the systems of care towards recovery-based, individualized, consumer-driven and fully accountable services. |
| 5. |
Obtain appropriate mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbance, mental illness, and/or TBI in cases with the potential for systemic impact. |
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Outreach and Training
Disability Rights Montana will promote disability rights and awareness and keep the public informed of its activities.
| 1. |
Provide and sponsor disability-rights-related awareness and training training events throughout the state targeting minority and under-served persons with disabilities. |
| 2. |
Produce and disseminate newsletters and publications. |
| 3. |
Enhance DRM's interactive electronic presence (website) to leverage technology to distribute information and receive input. |
| 4. |
Produce and disseminate news releases through the media to provide local perspective on disability-related issues. |
| 5. |
Provide self-advocacy training, assistive technology, and transition awareness trainings to students. |
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Voting
Disability Rights Montana will promote independent and private voting for people with disabilities.
| 1. |
Work with Secretary of State, Clerks and Recorders, election officials, disability community, and the general public to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to the voting process. |
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Policy
Disability Rights Montana will promote policies, statutes, and regulations in the State of Montana that are reflective and responsive of the equal, civil, and legal rights of people with disabilities.
| 1. |
Monitor and respond to law, policy, and rule changes affecting the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities, and affecting the ability of DRM to serve people with disabilities. |
| 2. |
Educate law and policy makers through oral and written comunications in legislative and executive branch forums. |
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Civil Rights
Disability Rights Montana will increase protection and recognition of the rights of people with disabilities through advocacy and legal representation.
| 1. |
Provide advocacy and/or legal representation for people with disabilities in cases with the potential for establishing precedent and enforcing and clarifying constitutional and other legal rights. |
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