Mouth
asks,
What can the HHS
Office of Civil Rights do to help us get the Olmstead
ruling implemented?
Velveta
SAYS
The
OCR believes in civil rights.
The ADA is a civil rights law.
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an interview with Velveta Golightly-Howell
by Jennifer Burnett
This interview first appeared in Mouth magazine in May
2000
Velveta Patrice
Golightly-Howell has served as the principal legal
counsel for the Region VIII Department of Health & Human
Services Office of Civil Rights, and is now that region's
acting manager. She trains states and other "covered
entities" in federal civil rights law. She is also a real
live negotiator and litigator who has worked as assistant
general counsel for the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers
International Union, and once served as assistant to
Congressman William Nichols of Alabama. She is a licensed to
practice law in Colorado and New York.
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People are afraid to file a
complaint, especially when they live in a nursing home or an
institution. They fear retaliation. What should they
do?
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While noting that OCR does not solicit complaints,
Velveta said:
I
would encourage readers who have civil rights concerns to
pick up the phone and contact the OCR
[U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services Office of Civil
Rights] regional
manager in their jurisdictions.
Regional
managers are always very responsive. Basically, they have an
open door policy. People should not hesitate to build
relationships with their regional Office of Civil Rights.
Tom Perez is Director of the [national] HHS Office
of Civil Rights. Under his leadership, OCR is focusing on
five priority areas. One of those areas is Olmstead
implementation.
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When did OCR involvement begin in
the Olmstead case?
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It
began with Helen L.
We
had been looking at this issue for quite a while. We were
very interested in the Helen L. case. [Helen L. v.
Didario, the Pennsylvania case where Steve Gold sued the
state under the "most integrated setting" ADA provision on
behalf of nursing home inmates in 1992. The Supreme Court
declined to hear that case in 1995 and so affirmed the
federal appeals court ruling that Helen L. and others
similarly situated had a right to live in freedom.]
Legal
staff at OCR's central office advised regional offices of
continuing developments in Helen L. They kept the regions
abreast of new developments by sharing copies of the trial
and appellate courts' decisions.
When
there are cases of national interest, that have national
implications, regional offices have close contact and
consultation with our central program and legal office.
Over
the years, complaints had been filed in some OCR regional
offices that raised issues similar to, if not exactly like,
those raised in Helen L.
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How can we get OCR involved at the
state level?
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Filing
a complaint will start the process.
The
Office of Civil Rights is a law enforcement agency and we
investigate complaints. We also provide technical assistance
on an informal basis. Readers who feel their state has
violated Title II of the ADA can file a complaint with OCR.
Again, we do not solicit complaints. A lot of times, just
making that contact with state officials, advocacy groups
can start the development of a comprehensive, effectively
working state plan.
We
have for many years considered 'most integrated setting' to
be a high priority issue. We have all done work in that
particular area. For at least as long as I have been with
the agency -- about nine and a half years -- 'most
integrated setting' cases have been at the forefront.
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At right is a
list of the OCR regional managers -- with their phone
numbers:
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Region I -- Caroline Chang 617-565-1340
CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT
Region II -- Michael Carter 212-264-3313
NJ, NY, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
Region III -- Paul Cushing 215-861-4441
DE, District of Columbia, MD, PA, VA, WV
Region IV -- (acting) Roosevelt Freeman 404-562-7886
AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
Region V -- Lisa Simeone 312-886-2359
IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI
Region VI -- Ralph Rouse 214-767-4056
AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
Region VII -- John Halverson 816-426-7278
IA, KS, MO, NE
Region VIII -- (acting) Velveta Howell 303-844-2024
CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY
Region IX -- Ira Pollack 415-437-8310
American Samoa, AZ, CA, Guam, HI, NV
Region X -- Carmen P. Rockwell 206-615-2287
AK, ID, OR, WA
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What does OCR mean by "Olmstead
implementation?
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OCR
is making efforts to insure that states are complying with
their ADA Title II responsibilities as regards
institutionalized people with disabilities. Under the ADA,
states are obligated to provide nondiscriminatory services
to such persons, and, where appropriate, those services are
to be provided in the most integrated setting. As a means of
implementing Olmstead, OCR is conducting outreach to
advocacy groups. My use of the term 'advocacy groups,'
includes all advocacy groups that are located within a
state.
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How did you become acquainted with
Mike Auberger and Joe Ehman of Atlantis?
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Joe
picked up the phone and called us.
The
Office of Civil Rights, Region VIII, had just recently
determined that Olmstead would be one of its priorities. Joe
called, right around that time. It couldn't have been better
timing. So he did call, and he requested a meeting, and we
[including Vada Kyle-Holmes, former regional
manager] were very happy to hear from him.
Vada
asked me to go with her to the initial meeting at Atlantis.
[Atlantis is a Center for Independent Living in Denver,
and the original home of Adapt.] We met with Mike and
Joe and Babs and had a good dialogue. At that first meeting,
we talked about some things we might do together. We decided
that training the Atlantis staff would be a good idea, and
that we in OCR also could benefit from the knowledge that
Atlantis/Adapt could pass along to us.
We
provided training relating to OCR's enforcement
jurisdiction, the processes we use in order to carry out our
regulatory responsibilities, insuring compliance with
various federal civil rights laws and training on
Olmstead.
Mike
Auberger provided us with training that included an overview
of Adapt's dealings around the country in this area, and its
plans for the future in terms of ensuring states' Olmstead
compliance, ensuring that states met their obligations
relative to institutionalized persons. He and Joe also gave
us information about Atlantis, Adapt -- and their dealings
with nursing home residents, the type of information that
they are able to get from residents. They talked with us
about their interviews with those residents to discover
which ones are interested in moving into the community. It
was a broad informational session, and it was great.
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What comes next in the
states?
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After
consulting with advocacy groups and contacting state
officials, regional staffs are meeting with the states.
During these meetings, we are making it very clear to states
that all key players be represented in Olmstead-related
discussions. In our view, when discussing Olmstead
implementation, all stakeholders should be at the table.
We
are going into states that have asked for and/or accepted
our offers of assistance. So far in Region VII, our offers
to provide states with technical assistance in implementing
Olmstead have not been rejected. Both at the state level and
on the advocacy and grassroots level, we've been welcomed
in. We are sitting down with them to develop comprehensive,
effectively working plans.
In
this particular office, the focus is on those states where
we have complaints. But we have also taken steps to assure
that other states and their officials are well aware of
Olmstead, that they know of our existence, that we are
available to lend assistance.
Here
in Region VIII, it's not just OCR and HCFA going in. We have
a regional workgroup that is composed of Health Care
Financing Administration (HCFA), OCR, the Administration for
Children and Families, Administration on Aging, and Housing
and Urban Development (HUD). The federal agencies are all
working together on Olmstead implementation.
Currently,
most of our regional OCR offices are working on Olmstead
implementation.
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