Class action on behalf of 9,000 persons with brain injuries in nursing facilities and rehabilitation hospitals in Massachusetts who, with appropriate supports, can live in integrated community settings. A Comprehensive Settlement Agreement, approved by the Court in 2009, required the Commonwealth to develop community living arrangements and supports, a new community service system for persons with brain injuries, a quality assurance and oversight program, and an education and outreach initiative for all class members. The State was unable to fully implement the settlement, in part because it did not secure an anticipated federal grant for the agreed-upon community expansion. The parties re-negotiated, and in 2013 the Court approved, an Amended Settlement Agreement that requires the further expansion of the home and community-based services system for people with brain injuries, through the Money Follows the Person federal demonstration grant and HCBS waivers.
Under the Amended Agreement, eligible class members can receive services in the most integrated settings appropriate to their needs, such as apartments, family homes, group homes and shared living arrangements. The State agreed to increase waiver slots for community placements and implement outreach programs. In 2017, the State issued a formal policy clarifying the individual rights, safeguards, and procedural protections available to class members who enroll in the Acquired Brain Injury Residential Habilitation waiver, as well as those utilizing the Money Follows the Person Residential Services waiver. Under the Agreement, over 1200 institutionalized people with brain injuries moved to the community by 2021.
On August 24, 2021, CPR joined Massachusetts officials in requesting dismissal of Hutchinson v. Patrick. In September 2021, the Court found the Commonwealth in substantial compliance with the Amended Settlement Agreement and dismissed the case.
CPR co-counseled this case with WilmerHale, LLP.