The Center for Public Representation
The Center for Public Representation (“CPR”) is a nonprofit national legal advocacy center committed to protecting and advancing the rights of people with disabilities and others who are disenfranchised in today’s society. Their systemic priorities – race equity, community integration, healthcare, employment, education, criminal justice, and legal capacity – reflect their mission to enforce and expand the rights of people with disabilities and others who are in segregated settings or denied equal access to public services and community opportunities.
THE CASE
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Isaac A., by and through next friend, A.A., et al., v. Russel Carlson, et al. Civil Action No. 1:24-CV-0037 (N.D. Georgia)
The children’s mental health system in Georgia is in crisis. Every day, children with significant mental health conditions are denied the services they need to live at home, resulting in unnecessary institutionalization. The state has systemically failed to provide home and community-based services like Intensive Care Coordination, Intensive In-Home Services, and Mobile Crisis Response. Without these services, children languish in facilities, only to repeat the cycle upon discharge, often forcing parents to relinquish custody in a desperate attempt to access care.
As set forth in the complaint, filed in federal court last January, thousands of Medicaid-eligible children with serious emotional disturbance are denied access to medically necessary services in violation of federal Medicaid law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss on March 4, 2024; Plaintiffs’ Opposition, filed April 1, 2024, was supported by a Statement of Interest by the US Department of Justice. The court has not yet issued a ruling.
