Lawsuit Claims State is Denying Mental Health Services to Medicaid-Eligible Children

‘The state’s current approach is not only a serious violation of federal law, it is very poor public policy,’ Steven Brown, Executive Director of the ACLU of Rhode Island

The lawsuit says the state is in violation of the Medicaid Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.
The lawsuit says the state is in violation of the Medicaid Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.
cmh2315fl / Flickr
Share
The lawsuit says the state is in violation of the Medicaid Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.
The lawsuit says the state is in violation of the Medicaid Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Rehabilitation Act.
cmh2315fl / Flickr
Lawsuit Claims State is Denying Mental Health Services to Medicaid-Eligible Children
Copy

A group of advocacy organizations filed a class action lawsuit yesterday against the state of Rhode Island for denying Medicaid-eligible children access to mental health care. The 68-page federal lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and advocacy groups Disability Rights Rhode Island and New York-based Children’s Rights, says this puts children at higher risk of being unnecessarily institutionalized.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, was brought on behalf of Medicaid-eligible children under 21 years old who require intensive home and community-based services. The complaint says the state is in violation of the Medicaid Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

Activists gather in the State House rotunda with a list of demands for McKee administration
With the 2026 campaign and expectations of a budget hole hovering over the Statehouse, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee proposed ways the state can cut taxes
The recommendations call for annual inspection signed off by the local fire department, board of health and building inspector
A federal judge allowed construction to resume, delivering a temporary win for offshore wind amid Trump’s push to halt the project
Climate change makes a lot of us feel anxious, overwhelmed, or helpless. This week on Possibly we travel north, to a place where people can unpack all of these feelings
Bishop Bruce Lewandowski led prayers outside the facility that houses some ICE detainees in part to protest the recent killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis