This model California County Department of Social Services Americans with Disabilities Act Policy was drafted by a coalition of advocates and attorneys from the following organizations dedicated to advancing and protecting the civil rights of poor people, including people with disabilities. The model is based on comprehensive analyses of the Americans with Disabilities Act, related California laws, and the State of California’s administration of vital public benefits programs. It is intended as a guide for state and county agencies to establish compliant ADA policies and enforcement systems necessary to protect the rights of the most vulnerable: poor people with disabilities.
- Download the Document (DOCX)
DREDF has filed an administrative complaint with the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (HHS–OCR) charging the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) and the California Department of Health Care Services (CDHCS) with failure to adequately monitor disability discrimination in public benefits programs throughout California. People with disabilities and their families and children are among the poorest of the poor in California and are disproportionately burdened by homelessness, hunger, and illness. But state–administered programs — CalWORKs, IHSS, MediCal and others – are placing life–sustaining cash–aid assistance beyond their reach by failing to provide accessible services through ADA–mandated reasonable accommodations and the overseeing bodies—CDSS and CDHCS—are failing to enforce these laws despite being charged with this responsibility.
In April 18, 2018 the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF) received a long-awaited response from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights, on a 2012 complaint filed by disability rights advocates about State failures to adequately monitor disability discrimination in public benefits programs throughout California. As these steps mostly reflect commitments to progress rather than finished achievements, the decision makes it clear that the State still has much needed work to do to ensure compliance. Advocates are working together with us to follow up and ensure appropriate implementation of these reforms. We’ll keep you posted as events unfold.