Joint DOJ and HHS Letter to Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) about Discrimination Against a Disabled Parent

On January 29, 2015 the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Health and Human Services wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) about accusations of disability-based discrimination by DCF to Sara Gordon, a parent with a disability, on the denial of opportunities to benefit from services, the failure to reasonably modify policies and procedures, and imposing methods of administration that have the effect of discriminating on the basis of disability.  

The joint letter issued after the Departments’ investigation detailed concerns by the agencies over what they describe as “extensive, ongoing violations of Title II and Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by discriminating against Sara Gordon on the basis of her disability, and denying her opportunities to benefit from supports and services numerous times over the past two years, including her existing family supports.”

NCD applauds the findings of the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, prompted in part by the awareness raised by our seminal 2012 report “Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children.”

You can download the letter issued by the DOJ and HHS in PDF and Microsoft Word formats at the following links:

PDF: http://www.ada.gov/ma_docf_lof.pdf

DOC: http://www.ada.gov/ma_docf_lof.doc

To get a copy of NCD’s report, “Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children” go to: https://www.ncd.gov/report/rocking-the-cradle-ensuring-the-rights-of-parents-with-disabilities-and-their-children/