Supreme Court Vindicates Network’s Right to Investigate Abuse and Neglect

For Immediate Release
4/25/2011

Contact
David Card
202-408-9514 Ext. 122
press@ndrn.org

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the attempts of state officials in Indiana to limit the ability of protection and advocacy agencies to enforce their investigative authority today.  In Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services (IPAS) v. Indiana Family and Social Services Administration the Supreme Court declined to hear a case in which state officials alleged that IPAS did not have the power to file lawsuits to enforce its authority.

Last week, in Virginia Office of Protection and Advocacy (VOPA) v. Stewart, the Supreme Court held that VOPA, an independent state agency, could file suit against state officials to enforce its investigative authority.

 “These two victories make it resoundingly clear that the Network has the right to access individuals and records, which is essential to fully investigate instances of abuse and neglect,” said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, the national membership organization for the protection and advocacy agencies.  “State governments and others who provide services to people with disabilities should take note that further challenges to the Network’s authority are just wasting the resources that would be better spent improving the quality of their services.”

 Congress created the nationwide network of protection and advocacy (P&As) agencies more than 30 years ago, granting broad authority to conduct investigations to uncover and prevent abuse and neglect wherever people with disabilities receive services. P&As have investigated many types of abuse and neglect, including physical and sexual assault, deaths and medical neglect.

 However, some providers continue to try to block these investigations.  In Virginia and Indiana, for example, the agencies learned that several individuals with disabilities in state-run facilities had been killed or injured.  Records were requested to find out what had happened and what steps the facilities had taken to prevent future deaths and injuries.  State officials in Virginia and Indiana balked and refused to turn the records over.  As a result, the agencies had to turn to the courts to enforce their right to access the records.

 “NDRN congratulates Virginia and Indiana for standing up for the right of people with disabilities to live free from abuse and neglect,” said Decker.

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 The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.