disabled

The federal government sharply criticized New York’s oversight of the developmentally disabled in a new report, saying the state agency charged with oversight lacks independence from the governor’s office, failed to account for how it is spending public money and has broken several requirements of federal law.

A 14-year-old New Hampshire boy was tattooed against his will by a group of fellow high school students who told the victim that they would no longer pick on him if he agreed to the inking.

The Justice Department today announced that the operator and manager of the Rathbone Retirement Community in Evansville, Ind., has agreed to pay up to $116,000 to resolve a housing discrimination lawsuit. The November 2008 lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated the Fair Housing Act by prohibiting the use of motorized wheelchairs and scooters in residents' apartments and in the home's common dining room during meals.

WASHINGTON — Marking the 19th anniversary of a landmark law barring discrimination against people with disabilities, President Barack Obama said Friday that the U.S. will sign a United Nations treaty urging countries around the world to do the same.

A class action lawsuit has been filed today in the United States District Court against the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) for violating the rights of over 1,200 Pennsylvanians with mental retardation and intellectual disabilities. The suit, Benjamin v. Department of Public Welfare, seeks relief for the residents of five large state-operated institutions who have not been offered the opportunity to move to appropriate community living arrangements.