VT Supreme Court Justice Nancy Waples asks a question as the court hears the case of State v. Z.P. and A.P. in which the Vermont Journalism Trust is the appellant, in Montpelier on June 29, 2022. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger
The Vermont Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state Human Services Board must reconsider a decision that denied a man with disabilities access to services he is entitled to.
The unnamed individual, who has autism and a seizure disorder among other conditions, was entitled to 30 hours of care per week from Washington County Mental Health Services, the court’s ruling said. Instead, he has received two to five hours per week since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, according to the findings of fact in the case.
The plaintiff had received “home and community-based developmental disabilities services” from the agency for more than 20 years, said the ruling, written by Justice Nancy Waples. But the ruling noted that designated service agencies, including the Washington County one, have collectively reported “high staff vacancy and turnover rates for positions that provide care.”
At first, the man petitioned the Human Services Board, which hears appeals to Agency of Human Services decisions, to intervene. The board denied his petition, claiming that his request for relief was “too vague” and he had failed to “state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”
Based on that finding, the board said it lacked the authority to order the Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, which is part of AHS and administers the services program, to act on the man’s claim.
The Supreme Court disagreed.
“Compliance with such an order is straightforward to determine,” the ruling said.
The staffing challenges “might make it more difficult to comply with such an order, but those challenges do not make the order unclear,” it concluded.
The court decision ruled in favor of the plaintiff and ordered the board to continue its proceedings.
Although the ruling does not directly order the state to provide care, it reiterated that the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living has a legal obligation to ensure that community services are provided. The ruling quoted state law that says that individuals with developmental disabilities “shall be provided” with services and funding.
Barbara Prine, a Vermont Legal Aid attorney who represented the plaintiff, said she appreciates the court understanding how difficult it is for Vermonters who can’t get the medical care they need. She said her client’s health has deteriorated due to his isolation in recent years.
“Our client’s story, as it is, is not unique,” she said. The extreme staffing shortage among designated agencies has forced many state providers to cut back, she said, and Legal Aid has received other calls from people in the same situation.
Prine said she hoped that the ruling would lead the state to intervene and increase funding for these agencies. The ruling noted that a study of the caregiver workforce in Vermont found that “low wages contribute to departures from the profession.”
She said if the state isn’t giving the agencies enough money, “then they can’t pay high enough wages to get the staff who need to do this important work.”
Prine added that the Human Services Board should act as a “backstop” when services aren’t being provided.
The Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, which administers the services program, declined to comment. The Human Services Board and Washington County Mental Health Services did not return requests for comment Friday afternoon.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Vermont Supreme Court rules man with disabilities has right to services.