News and Alerts

On October 1, 2024, CPR, its co-counsel, and a number of state officials met for the first quarterly meeting required by the Agreement. Secretaries, Commissioners, and senior staff from all relevant agencies presented status updates on each program required by the Agreement.

On August 28, 2024, CPR Staff Attorney Megan Rusciano presented alongside Judge Paula Carey, retired Chief Judge of the Massachusetts Trial Court, and Elizabeth Moran, Executive Director of The Arc of Colorado, at a plenary session of the National Association of Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers (NAPCO) conference in Denver, Colorado.  The presentation topic was “Breaking Barriers: Ensuring Effective Communication for Individuals with Disabilities in Court.”

CPR collaborated with the Monorom Family Support Program of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA) on a workshop for families in Lowell, Massachusetts. The topic was  Supported Decision-Making (SDM) and other alternatives to guardianship. This workshop was part of an initiative designed to increase access to SDM in linguistically, ethnically, and culturally diverse communities in the State. This interactive hybrid workshop – with participants both on-line and in-person–was held on August 24, 2024. It represented the culmination of a series of planning sessions with community leaders and advocates at CMAA over a number of months to ensure that the training’s approach, format, and materials would meet the needs of the audience.

From July 2023 through June 2024, the Center for Public Representation (CPR), in collaboration with key community partners and with the financial support of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council (MDDC), designed and implemented an innovative “gap-filling” initiative to make Supported Decision-Making (SDM) more available to linguistically, ethnically, and culturally diverse communities in Massachusetts. This final report summarizes the project, its approach, lessons learned, and promising practices.

Following a fairness hearing on June 17, 2024, at the United States District Court in Boston, Judge Nathaniel Gorton entered a final order on June 18, 2024 approving a landmark cross-disability Settlement Agreement in Marsters v. Healey.  The Marsters case is a disability rights class action lawsuit brought against the Commonwealth on behalf of tens of thousands of individuals with disabilities who are unnecessarily institutionalized in nursing facilities. “This case is all about bringing people home. The Court’s approval of the Settlement Agreement will allow thousands of people with disabilities who are segregated in nursing facilities to come home to their communities, where we all want and deserve to live,” said Steven Schwartz, Special Counsel for CPR.

On April 23, 2024, federal Judge Nathaniel Gorton preliminarily approved the Settlement Agreement in Marsters v. Healey.  The court also provisionally certified a class of people with disabilities in nursing facilities, and approved a notice that will sent to all people in nursing facilities in Massachusetts. 

On April 22, 2024, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a comprehensive and compelling Statement of Interest opposing dismissal of a Class Action Complaint filed by CPR and partners on January 3, 2024. 

Today, CPR and Massachusetts signed a landmark Settlement Agreement that will provide residential programs so that thousands of people with disabilities who are unnecessarily segregated in nursing facilities can return to their families and communities.

The Center for Public Representation, a national legal advocacy organization for people with disabilities, today announced the appointment of Kathryn L. Rucker as legal director. A longtime senior attorney at CPR, Rucker is succeeding Steven J. Schwartz, CPR’s founder, who has served over the decades as executive director and legal director. He will remain on staff as senior counsel.

CPR, Disability Rights Center of Kansas (DRCK), and the AARP Legal Foundation developed an Olmstead/PASRR lawsuit to challenge the unnecessary segregation of persons with psychiatric disabilities in specialized mental health nursing facilities.