After months of negotiation, CPR and its partners, the Disability Rights Center (DRC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), have reached a new settlement agreement to provide community residential alternatives to class members who are institutionalized at the Glencliff Home, New Hampshire’s only publicly-operated nursing facility.
Filed in 2012, Amanda D. v. Hassan, challenged the unnecessary segregation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities in New Hampshire Hospital and Glencliff. The parties entered a comprehensive Settlement Agreement in 2013. After the State failed to expand community residential services for several years, and then created incentives to trans-institutionalize class members to other nursing facilities, plaintiffs and DOJ filed a notice of noncompliance in 2021. The State challenged the alleged violations and declined to propose a plan of correction. In 2022, the parties agreed to mediate the dispute, and eventually agreed to a modification and expansion of the original settlement. The new provisions require the State to develop additional residential services in the community for Glencliff residents, facilitate class member transitions, and divert individuals from unnecessary or prolonged institutionalization. The parties joint motion to amend the Settlement Agreement was filed on February 8, 2023, and is awaiting final approval by the Court.