News and Alerts

The brief urges the Court of Appeals to affirm the district court’s decision finding that Massachusetts continues to violate the Medicaid Act when it fails to promptly provide critical home-based services.

Today CPR submitted a brief to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts on behalf of C.R., a person with a psychiatric disability who was confined for almost a week in a hospital emergency department. 

The Center for Public Representation is extremely concerned by today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Texas v. US that puts the healthcare of tens of millions of people at risk. The Court ruled that the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is unconstitutional and sent it back in the hands of the district court judge – who has already once struck down the entire ACA as unconstitutional – to decide whether to invalidate the entire law.

Today we filed a brief in the federal court of appeals in our Massachusetts children’s mental health case, on behalf of 30,000 children with serious emotional disturbance (SED). We argued that the court should not end monitoring and oversight of its remedial order designed to address ongoing violations of the Medicaid Act. Since children are still waiting weeks, if not months for intensive home-based services, that enable them to remain in their own homes and communities, the state is not in compliance with either federal law or the remedial order.

During 2019 we fought for the rights of people with disabilities to live in their communities, to have access to healthcare, to be paid fair wages for real employment, and to make decisions about their own lives. From courtrooms and legislative hearings to organizing the disability community and establishing a national technical assistance center, we’ve worked to promote and preserve choice for individuals with disabilities. We need your help to pursue this work. Learn more about our work in 2019 and plans for 2020.

CPR, the ACLU, and 17 other disability advocacy organizations represented by Latham & Watkins filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit opposing the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) motion to stay the preliminary injunction issued by the district court last month against the public charge rule.

CPR, through its work with Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD), submitted a letter to the new Acting Assistant Secretary of the Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS) opposing the Department’s expressed intent to reopen the implementing regulations of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Today, CPR released new materials detailing what the Department of Homeland Security’s public charge rule will mean for immigrants with disabilities if it goes into effect, including a fact sheet reviewing the basics of the rule and its impact on people with disabilities and a more in-depth explanation of the rule and the lawsuits challenging it.

The Center for Public Representation joined a coalition of disability, education, and other civil rights groups in an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, asking the Court to affirm the decision of the Montana Supreme Court, which invalidated Montana’s private school tax-credit scholarship program.

On November 15, CPR’s Director of Advocacy, Alison Barkoff, will present testimony to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) for the Commission’s public briefing, “Subminimum Wages: Impacts on the Civil Rights of People with Disabilities.” USCCR is also accepting public comments until December 15 that, along with the briefing, will help shape a forthcoming report analyzing the use of the 14(c) program and making recommendations.