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.

The Providence-based nonprofit and three other arts organizations won a lawsuit, with the help of the local ACLU, against the Trump administration’s campaign targeting ‘gender ideology’
Executive Director Beth Lamarre shares how NAMI RI educates communities, reduces stigma, and prepares for the October 11 NAMIWalks event at Roger Williams Park
Other states created new oversight systems. In Rhode Island, officers still dominate misconduct hearings — and promised transparency measures remain unfunded
The libraries offer a slew of free programming every week for kids and adults at their nine locations around the city. We highlight a few of these events in this monthly segment – from a haunted house to a book club highlighting African American authors
Search for new cinema chain comes as mall is about to hit the sale market
The longtime North Kingstown lawmaker and House Judiciary chair enters a Democratic primary already featuring state Rep. Jason Knight and former AG policy director Keith Hoffmann, with others eyeing a run to succeed term-limited Peter Neronha