Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks Terminates Contract with Disability Agency

For four days, I have been on the sidewalk with the folks from the Center for Disability Rights (CDR) as we fight for the freedom of our sisters and brothers who use the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services (CDPAS) program through CDR.

On July 22, 2010, CDR, and each of its 300 CDPAS consumers received a terse, 5-sentence letter from the Monroe County Department of Human Services stating that CDR's contract with the County had been terminated, and that consumers had until August 1, 2010 to find another agency. No reason was given for the termination of the contract.

A list of five agencies was provided for consumers to transfer to in order to receive services. All are for-profit, and two have central offices that are located out of state.

In a separate three page letter to the media (which was leaked to CDR), the County made several allegations which were either patently false, or misrepresentations of CDR responsibilities as set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by both parties (CDR and the County) when the program began some years ago. CDR responded to this letter with facts and documentation so that the truth would be known. Also, three of the four individuals cited in the allegations publicly stated that the County twisted their words and lied on them.

On Monday, July 26, 2010, the 20th anniversary of the signing of the ADA, over 300 people packed a forum originally organized to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but it quickly became a venue to express their outrage over what had happened, and how it would have a devastating impact on their lives.

After the forum, 100 activists and CDPAS consumers and attendants, along with CDR staff and ADAPT members marched to the Monroe County Building to demand the restoration of the CDPAS contract to CDR. More than 30 people, including myself, held vigil through the night in front of the building.

Today, Thursday, is day four of our vigil at the County Building. Maggie Brooks, the Monroe County Executive, has dug in her heels and is refusing to meet with CDR, or restore the CDPAS contract. However, this issue has gone national. People from around the country are calling her office and demanding that she restore the CDPAS contract.

I am appalled at the actions of Ms. Brooks and Kelly Reed, Commissioner of the Monroe County Department of Human Services. They are well aware of the fact that their decision has done three things: It has taken away our people's ability to direct their own attendant services (something unheard of in traditional home care agencies), it has endangered their lives because traditional home health agencies will not accept or cover those with complex needs, and those who need 24-hour care, leading to health deterioration, and it has put people at risk of placement in nursing facilities, where neglect and substandard care are common. They simply don't care! The County also doesn't seem to mind that due to its actions, it is potentially in violation of Olmstead, and lawsuits from consumers and their families are a likely result, as well.

I am sure that the county knows the status of the agencies that it is referring CDPAS consumers to transition to. According to one worker who called each agency, one of the agencies is closed, another is not accepting new clients, and the others are saying that they don't have the human resources to deal with the influx of clients with complex needs.

These machinations by the County are in my opinion, politics in action. It is a ploy to silence the advocacy, activism, and voice of CDR and its consumers, particularly since CDR has, in the past, protested Ms. Brooks. I can't help but believe that when I hear stories of people dying of neglect in the county jail, yet that contractor still has a contract. It is my understanding that children have died in the care of the Monroe County Department of Human Services, yet, Kelly Reed, it's Commissioner, still has a job. CDR has not neglected CDPAS consumers, and no one has died at our hand, yet CDR's contract has been terminated without due process. When the County tolerates long-standing abuse and neglect of clients in other programs that it oversees, but terminates the contract of an agency well-known in the community as outspoken disability rights activists and advocates, it is a clear sign that the County is attempting to silence our voices.

We are not giving up, nor are we going away. Lives are literally at stake, so we will remain camped out at 39 West Main Street until Ms. Brooks restores the contract. If you are in the Rochester area, feel free to stop by and give words of encouragement and support.