LRS commends ABLE on its win on behalf of people with disabilities

September 23, 2011: Ohio Legal Rights Service (LRS) congratulates David Koeninger and the other attorneys at the Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE) who achieved a major victory for a client with developmental disabilities and her family. In the Court of Appeals of Ohio Sixth Appellate District opinion, the court held that the state violated its due process procedure when it denied releasing information on the Ohio Developmental Disability Profile (ODDP) calculation to the recipient and her representative. The court also ruled that the county board of developmental disabilities failed to provide any criteria for determining the number of hours of "natural support" required of the waiver recipient's brother and therefore had not adequately justified its reduction in the number of hours of care funded by her waiver. Read the decision: Mocznianski v. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (PDF file)

This case is typical of problems that people with disabilities and their families are having with counties as they seek to cut their costs on the waiver programs by requiring a family member to provide additional uncompensated care as a "natural support."

ABLE is a public interest law firm in Toledo and is currently co-counseling with LRS on G.D. v. Riley, a class action lawsuit that seeks to require the state to comply with federal laws related to the Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program.