*State House NewsBy Sam Drysdale, August 26, 2024 Following a groundswell of advocacy from people with disabilities and local service agencies, MassHealth officials are switching gears on a wide-ranging change they had planned to make to the state’s care delivery system — though the agency is still pursuing some reform. MassHealth issued a procurement for […]
Category: Home and Community Based
DignityMA hosted a webinar (watch below) to present information in support of the request to MassHealth to put aside the Request for Response (RFR) and engage in meaningful exploration with stakeholders to improve current systems on August 21. (Read more about the IAE) Spoiler Alert: At about 1:04:40 in the video, Mike Levine, EOHHS Assistant […]
Supreme Court outlawed segregation of disabled people 25 years ago. But change has come slowly STAT, June 21, 2024By Timmy Broderick As a toddler, Veronica Ayala loved Fridays. At 5 o’clock sharp, her mom whisked her away from the grim Moody State School for Cerebral Palsied Children for a 48-hour reprieve. Ayala’s house was mere […]
Self-Determination and Self-Directed Services Download the letter on Self-Determination and Self-Directed Services (pdf) Download the Facts Sheet from MA Alliance for 21st Century Disability Policy (MA21) on Self-Directed Services (pdf) Letter to DDS June 18, 2024Department of Disability ServicesOffice of the General Counsel,1000 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02118 dds.regs.comments@mass.gov. SUBJECT: Self-Determination and Self-Directed Services Dignity Alliance Massachusetts […]
May 29, 2024: A webinar explaining the Marsters v. Healey Settlement Agreement, was prepared especially for guardians, supporters in supported decision-making arrangements, and other advocates. The objectives of the webinar are to review basic provisions of the Agreement and review rights available for residents. The agreement has been finalized. For more information, see our Marsters […]
May 29, 2024: The Center for Public Representation (CPR) and Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS) have prepared a webinar especially for attorneys, paralegals, and legal advocates explaining the Marsters v. Healey Settlement Agreement.. The objectives of the webinar are to review basic provisions of the Agreement and describe avenues for ongoing advocacy for class members […]
May 2024 You can read more about the settlement at the Marsters Overview post. Attorneys (Steven Schwartz and Kathy Walker from the Center for Public Representation) for the plaintiffs have prepared a webinar presentation, Bringing People Home – Understanding the Settlement Agreement in Marsters v. Healey. The presentation targets individuals who have regular communication with […]
By Jason Laughlin*Boston Globe, May 12, 2024 In more than four decades of fighting for the rights of people with disabilities, Joe Tringali never got angry. But he sure was persistent. He called, emailed, called again, relentlessly, until he got legislators to listen. Most recently, Tringali’s steady but forceful activism focused on a practice by […]
February 10, 2025: Dignity Alliance MA sent the attached letter to Governor Healey to raise awareness and express alarm about the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) procurement through the Office of Long-Term Services and Supports (OLTSS) of a so-called “Public Assessor.” Read the DignityMA Response to the current RFR for the IAE […]
Bringing People Home – website by the Center for Public Representation Bringing People Home flyer (pdf) Bringing People Home October 2024 Newsletter (pdf) Ongoing Monitoring and Discussion September 2025: The assumption should be that everyone wants to leave a nursing home and can be served in the community. Coordinated by the Center for Public Representation […]