Community Inclusion & Services
G.G. et al. v Meneses et al. (Rainier School)
On September 2, 2022, two individuals and Disability Rights Washington filed a systemic lawsuit against several state officials for the harm they do to people with developmental disabilities at Rainier School. The Rainier School is a large state-run, residential institution in rural Pierce County. It is a dangerous place to live. It has a long history of failing to provide a healthy and safe environment for residents. The mistreatment and neglect within its walls have maimed, hospitalized, and killed residents.
Read Notice & Motion for Class Action Settlement for Youth in Foster Care
August 5, 2022Read Notice for Class Action Settlement for Youth in Foster Care and Plaintiffs’ Unopposed Motion for Order Approving Attorneys’ Fees and Costs Following Mediation.Sahira Barajas
July 18, 2022Sahira (she/her/ella) joined Disability Rights Washington as an Office Assistant in the summer of 2022. Most of her professional experienceWashington State Reaches Groundbreaking Federal Class-Action Settlement for Youth in Foster Care
June 7, 2022Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) settled a federal class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds of youth in the state’s foster care system. Learn more here.Carina Tong
February 1, 2022Carina Tong is an attorney with the Community Inclusion and Services Team at Disability Rights Washington. She joins the teamHealth Care Authority commits to remove Medicaid restriction on WISe for all youth with Apple Health
October 29, 2021The Health Care Authority has committed to changing its rules and provider billing guides over the next few months to remove the Medicaid restriction so that Wraparound with Intensive Services can be a treatment resource for all children and youth covered by the State’s Apple Health program, including undocumented immigrant and refugee children and youth who are not eligible for federal Medicaid funding.Renters’ Rights Training with LGBTQ Allyship & Disability Rights Washington
September 20, 2021On August 11, 2021, DRW partnered with LGBTQ Allyship for a virtual Renters’ Rights Workshop, where we discussed modifications, serviceJudge Orders Washington State to End Car and Hotel Stays for Foster Youth
June 29, 2021Today, Federal Judge Barbara Rothstein of the Western District of Washington ruled that the Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families must end its practice of forcing youth in foster care to sleep in unlicensed and unsafe settings, including hotels, child welfare agency offices, and even cars.
D.S. v. DCYF
In January 2021, Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit on behalf of three named plaintiffs, hundreds of similarly situated foster children, and Disability Rights Washington, the state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) is shuttling children with behavioral health and developmental disabilities from hotels to state offices to other one-night stays, “essentially rendering them homeless for extended periods of time.” Other youth end up in institutions, some of them hundreds of miles from their families in non-therapeutic facilities that further traumatize them.