Vega v. Eggleston

Index No. 02/401210 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., New York County, March 3, 2005) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55912

Description

New York State Agencies Agree on New Case Management Procedures in Adult Protective Services Program

Abstract

The parties settled this class action complaint, which alleged that defendant New York City and New York State agency commissioners failed to provide adult protective services to plaintiff adults with disabilities. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants violated state social service laws and their implementing regulations and the state constitution by refusing to accept referrals and denying protective services to individuals in need of shelter and assistance. Defendants agreed to implement new case management procedures, including but not limited to the following: The state human resource agency would record all applications and referrals for adult protective services in an electronic database or on easily accessible logs. The state central intake unit would request and record, at a minimum, information concerning each application or referral, including (a) whether the client had a physical or mental impairment and, if so, the nature of the impairment; (b) whether the client’s impairment rendered the client unable to advocate on client’s own behalf or unable to obtain services necessary for client’s own care and protection; (c) whether the client was willing to accept home care; and (d) whether any third parties were providing assistance. For life-threatening situations, the state agency would investigate and visit within twenty-four hours or, for non-life-threatening cases, within 72 hours. The parties agreed that the state human resource agency would not reject an application or referral, or fail to provide appropriate services, including medical services, eviction prevention, or relocation assistance, during eligibility assessment. The state agency would give written notice of its determination of eligibility to clients within fifteen days. Every six months defendants would assess the quality of its applications, referrals and determinations and give plaintiffs’ counsel the survey results and underlying instruments.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Yisroel Schulman, New York Legal Assistance Group, 130 E. 59th St., New York, NY 10022 (212.750.0800).
Docket Date
2005-03-03 00:00:00+00:00
Attorney Email
blapine@nylag.org