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TWIN CITIES, MN PERMIT NO. 4766
Volume 31, Number 11
November 1, 2020
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Monitoring won’t go on in court case
MONITORING To page 3
Paul Wellstone
NEWS DIGEST
Even though rallies have been on hold since March, the message of more pay for staff was finally heard by state lawmakers.
FILE PHOTO
What may be a final salvo in a long and complex legal battle was filed October 22 in U.S. District Court. Judge Donovan Frank denied a motion by plaintiffs against the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and a number of state officials, in which monetary damages and ongoing monitoring were sought. Court oversight in the case, which has had many implications for Minnesotans with disabilities, came to an end October 24. The case began in 2009 when three families sued over treatment of their children at Minnesota Extended Treatment Options (METO) in Cambridge. What began with three families turned into a class action involving more than 300 people. Use of restraints and placement of patients in seclusion at METO were at the heart of the lawsuit, filed by the Jensen, Jacobs and Allen-Brinker families. They contended their adult sons were subject to seclusion and restraint, and cruel treatment. The case brought changes to how practices of seclusion and restraint are handled at facilities including the AnokaMetro Regional Treatment Center and the St. Peter Forensic Mental Health Program. It also led to work on Minnesota’s Olmstead Plan, which outlines how the state will provide inclusion for people with disabilities. In a recent court filing Frank urged state officials to continue working with disability right advocates to avoid further problems and potential litigation. Plaintiffs’ counsel Shamus O’Meara filed a motion this fall for appointment of an independent review and sanctions against the state. Frank denied that motion. The plaintiffs sought sanctions, calling out state officials for decadeslong noncompliance that they said “severely delayed the administration of justice, endangered vulnerable citizens and caused the needless expenditure of several thousand hours by the court, consultants and plaintiffs to address DHS noncompliant conduct.” They asked the court to sanction DHS for $500,000, dividing that amount five ways with $100,000 to the court’s Cy Pres fund to be used for access to justice and improve the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families. Another $100,000 would go to third party organizations selected by the court, unaffiliated with DHS, to promote the state-wide changes in the agreement including the Minnesota Olmstead Plan, Positive Supports Rule and best practices regarding the use of restraint and seclusion. The Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities would each have received $100,000 for their executive directors’ work as court consultants. Both requests cited the unprecedented ongoing noncompliance and delay caused by DHS, and for DHS lead counsel’s “contemptuous statements about
"We all do better when we all do better."
More hours, interim pay hike approved for state's PCAs Finally. Long-awaited help for the personal care attendant (PCA) program was a highlight of the Minnesota Legislature’s October special session. The bonding bill Gov. Tim Walz signed into law October 21 includes needed dollars for the program. Direct care for people with disabilities was in crisis before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. A shortage of staff, due in large part to low pay, put many people with disabilities at risk. Many people struggled to fill all of their worker shifts, with some spending days in bed because they had no help. The pandemic worsened those problems. The measure Walz signed includes several key changes. One is an emergency 8.4 percent rate increase for PCA, Consumer
Directed Community Supports (CDCS), and the Consumer Support Grant (CSG). This extends to February 7, 2021. Another change that was approved allows parents, stepparents, and legal guardians of minors to provide PCA services through February 7, 2021. Also approved is a permanent increase to the monthly hourly cap from 275 to 310 hours. Having the PCA finding and other needs addressed with the bonding bill is another atypical occurrence in what has been an atypical year for state lawmakers and those who closely follow public policy. The pandemic sent committee and floor sessions online in March. Disability-focused groups and self-advocates found themselves following issues at a distance, learning to
Outstanding employers honored Page 9 The Arc turns 70 Page 2 Duluth marks gains Page 4 Empathy is focus Page 11
PCA To page 3
Support Access Press on Give to the Max Day Access Press is taking part in Give to the Max Day 2020 on Thursday, November 19. Plan to join GiveMN and thousands of Minnesota nonprofits and schools as millions of dollars are raised for the organizations which make our communities stronger. Access Press has taken part in Give to the Max Day since the event began several years ago. Last year’s event raised $21.6 million for 5,610 organizations. Now more than ever, our newspaper must rely on contributions from readers and supporters. Advertising revenues have declined as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Access Press must ask for more support from readers to help us through these challenging times. Access Press turned 30 years old in 2020. We are one of the few publications in the country that covers a wide range of disabilities. We cover issues important to Minnesotans with disabilities, and celebrate accomplishments. We do this without the usual media focus on people with disabilities as objects of pity. It’s important for us to continue as a source of news and information but we need support to do so. Our goal this year for Give to the Max Day is $20,000. We have made many budget cuts to keep Access Press viable, including moving to a virtual office. We are working to bring in new advertisers and funding. But we cannot do it alone.
How can you help? We have some specific asks that supporters can fund. • $30 pays for a one-year subscription for a reader who cannot otherwise afford our print edition. While much news is online, Access Press still has many readers who rely on a print newspaper. A donation of $30 per year helps those readers get the paper delivered to their homes. • $60 pays for an organization or group to be listed in our Directory of Organizations or DOO. The DOO is printed four times a year and is online 24/7, providing access to key resources for people with disabilities. • $150 covers the cost of mailing our
newspapers to Greater Minnesota news stands for a month. • $250 covers the cost of maintaining a Twin Cities area news stand for one year. • $500 allows us to buy office supplies for one year. • $1,000 allows us to hire freelance writers and photographers for a year. Look for Access Press on https://www. givemn.org/gtmd We will be posting updates on our Facebook page this month and on the day itself. Thank you for supporting quality, disability-focused journalism. Thank you for supporting Access Press!