San Diego office activities

Conferences, trainings, outreach, events

Lawsuits

Success stories

Conferences, trainings, outreach, events

PAI staff at an outreach to the Vietnamese community in San Diego

PAI staff at an outreach to the Vietnamese community in San Diego

PAI helps plan conference to address home foreclosure crisis

PAI, the Affordable Housing Coalition of San Diego County, ACORN, and other groups are planning a June 28 forum and conference on the mortgage foreclosure crisis and its impact on affordable housing.

A growing number of homeowners are losing their homes because they obtained risky mortgages. Tenants, including tenants with disabilities, are also being affected. According to the Los Angeles Times, at least 20% of residents of foreclosed properties are tenants, many of whom are being subjected to unscrupulous tactics by lenders eager to get rid of them, forcing the tenants onto the streets. In addition, foreclosures are turning owners into tenants, increasing rents overall.

The Affordable Housing Coalition has been in the forefront of local organizing efforts on behalf of low income renters. The coalition has opposed residential hotel and condominium conversions and has fought for inclusive housing. The Coalition is hoping to expand the ranks of affordable housing activists in addressing this crisis while keeping the needs of the most vulnerable, low income residents at the center of their work.

Back to the top

PAI collaborates in training about Social Security and work incentives

PAI in collaboration with Legal Aid Society of San Diego’s Children and Youth Advocacy Project (CYAP) provided substantive training to two groups of students on Social Security Administration and Work Incentives for students. Over 60 students were in attendance.

In-depth information was presented to transition-aged youth with developmental disabilities, emphasizing the organization of the Social Security Administration, definitions and information about how work earnings affect benefits.

Students actively participated in an interactive presentation where they talked about why they like to work and how they like to spend their money. Training topics included social security taxes, retirement, disability and supplemental security income. Students were given a case scenario of a working student with disabilities and how the Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) applied to them as students. PAI provided resources for these students that included information about how to get benefits planning with the local Community Work Incentive Coordinator, information about the school to work calculators on the disabilitybenefits101.org, how SSI benefits are calculated by Social Security Administration and about Medi-Cal’s 250% Working Disabled Program.

This is the second year PAI has collaborated with the CYAP to reach transition aged youth. Students participating in this event do so as part of a series of Legal Life Skills trainings provided by CYAP.

Back to the top

PAI staff during San Diego Deaf Awareness Day

PAI staff during San Diego Deaf Awareness Day

Fiesta Educativa in San Diego

Fiesta Educativa, San Diego “Parent Empowerment: A Journey to Success” took place at the San Diego County Board of Education grounds.  PAI hosted an information/resource booth and provided information about its legal services.  The most popular resources at this event related to Regional Center Services:  49 Spanish language publications on the Individual Program Plan were distributed. The “IPP” is the document that outlines a regional center client’s services.  Many parents were unaware that each child must have an IPP that outlines the services and supports provided to a regional center client, including services paid for by the regional center. 

Fiesta Educativa is one of the premiere events for Spanish speaking parents.  All workshops are provided in both English and Spanish, and the majority of the parents in attendance were from the Latino community.

Parents who visited PAI’s resource table were provided with valuable information regarding special education, regional center services and social security.  On hand for this event was Aleyda Toruno, one of our staff who specializes in Social Security work incentives.

PAI generated three intakes at this event, including a student having difficulty getting a passport due to his disability.  PAI will follow up to determine how to assist these clients.

Back to the top

Collaboration on trainings in the Inland Empire

The San Diego and Los Angeles offices of Protection & Advocacy, Inc. are working together to introduce a new concept of community training to the Riverside and San Bernardino community leaders, organizations, and tribes. 

Participating in our initial community leaders’ partnership meeting were Lily Alonzo and Faustino Alvarez from Community Access Center; Jennifer Batoon from the Arthritis Foundation; Lisa Smith from the Braille Institute; JoAnne Brinson a Parent Advocate; Elvis Zornoza and Shannon Englehart from the Center on Deafness I.E. and Lolita Barnard from Blindness Support Services. Our meeting took place at the Behavioral Center Health Resource in Rialto, CA on Friday, January 18, 2008.

Our group was able to identify the Special Education, Advocacy Skills, Lanterman Act and IHSS as the top four training topics that would help the public in the Inland Empire area. We are now working on delivering the trainings throughout 2008.

Back to the top

Autism awareness & military families

This year Protection and Advocacy staff attended the second annual Autism Awareness at the Camp Pendleton base in Oceanside, California on February 21, 2008.

We set up a booth for anyone who wanted to know about our services and functions, but in fact the outreach was more of a meeting for military families expressing the need for more medical services or attention for their children with autism.  We heard stories of war fighters and the amount of stress a family can go through when the father is gone on tour to fight a war and the mother stays at home trying to figure out how to help their child with autism, and doing it all alone.  We heard many families expressing their needs and telling their stories of their children with autism and how it really affected the family while one or even both of the parents served in the military.  There were approximately 200 families present for this event.

Some of the other organizations and VIP’s that attended were TASK, Exceptional Families, Operation Home Front, high ranking military officials and the C.E.O. of the medical program for military families.  Our role in attending this outreach was very interesting to me, and hearing all of these testimonies really help me understand a little bit more about autism and what families can go through on a daily basis.

Back to the top

San Diego Clubhouses collaborate on Housing Advocacy Project

On May 29 during the CNMHC Far South Regional Meeting Housing Panel presentation spearheaded by Ann Manache, the Far South Sluggers and the Friendship Clubhouse took their housing issues to the San Diego Mental Health Board. As a result of their advocacy efforts, they met with a Community Research Foundation housing specialist, The Independent Living Association and a housing developer at the Corner Clubhouse on May 29 at 1:00 pm. There were 27 Peer/Self-Advocacy Group Members from both Clubhouses present discussing everything from reasonable rents including barriers to obtaining affordable housing. Clients were homeless or at risk of being homeless.

Some of the barriers they talked about were transportation, credit checks, co-signers, 1st/last month rents, deposits, accessibility, environment, housing discrimination, key charges and even living with people that actively using drugs and alcohol.

As a result of this collaboration, each Clubhouse will have their own Independent Living (details are still being worked out), two clients moved into an Independent Living as of tomorrow and one couple was offered and accepted a Resident Manager position. This is an advocacy project with multiple collaborations and a host of results.

Back to the top

Lawsuits

Capitol Action Day in San Diego

Capitol Action Day in San Diego

Group home residents file suit against City of Buena Park for discriminatory refusal to allow use of garage as a recreation room

PAI filed suit on September 6, 2007 against the City of Buena Park on behalf of four persons with developmental and/or psychiatric disabilities who live together in a group home. The suit challenges the City’s refusal to allow the plaintiffs to use their two car garage as a recreation room. The City’s parking and zoning ordinances require that two car parking spaces be available in a garage. Plaintiffs’ claim that the City discriminated against them and refused to provide reasonable accommodation based on their disabilities in violation of Fair Housing laws and the ADA. The recreation room enhances the quality of the residents’ lives by helping to ameliorate the effects of their disabilities. None of the residents have vehicles.

A settlement is being finalized that will allow the tenants to use the garage as a recreation room.

Back to the top

Four witnesses come forward in case challenging San Diego County’s discriminatory childcare policy

Plaintiff Supportive Parents Information Network (SPIN) has identified four witnesses who are willing to come forward and provide evidence in this Writ of Mandate action filed by PAI , challenging San Diego’s discriminatory childcare policy. The policy defines use of subsidized childcare by CalWORKS recipients during any absences from welfare-to-work activities as a crime and allows no exceptions where the absences are necessitated due to the disability of a parent or child. The four witnesses have been harmed by the County’s policy, either because they complied with the policy and refrained from going to necessary medical appointments; or because they put themselves at risk of prosecution by attending disability-related medical appointments or taking care of family emergencies while utilizing childcare.

In settlement of the parties’ discovery dispute, plaintiff released the names of the four witnesses to defendants. Defendants, in turn, dismissed their pending motion to compel the names of all SPIN members who had consulted with SPIN director and attorney Joni Halpern.

Defendants will be taking the depositions of the four witnesses in June, 2008. Plaintiffs have located counsel, Cory Briggs, who will be representing the witnesses pro bono at their depositions. Hearing on the Writ of Mandate is scheduled for October 17, 2008.

Back to the top

PAI files licensing complaint against Alpine Special Treatment Center on behalf of mental health client

On February 19, 2008, PAI submitted a complaint to California Department of Mental Health Licensing and Certification on behalf of Francisco Duenas (pseudonym), a mental health client.

The complaint involved two month-long denials of rights to all visitation from family and friends. The complaint asserts that the denial of rights was, used as a punishment and that the client’s rights were withheld as a privilege to be earned. These assertions violate Title 9 regulations and provisions of state law. The complaint also asserts that the denial of rights was too restrictive and continued far too long, even assuming that there was good cause for the temporary restriction of some visitation.

The complaint also asserts that Duenas was denied culturally competent care (he is a member of an ethnic minority), and was deprived of his greatest strength and source of support, his close-knit family. The denial of visits from his family worsened the client’s depressive condition, resulting in serious isolation.

Back to the top

PAI staff at a San Diego

PAI staff at a San Diego
special education training

Success stories

Student wins rights to services

Nick Brozowski (pseudonym) is a student who has Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Atypical Depressive Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder , and Emotional Disturbance. He was attending a comprehensive middle school, and was succeeding academically. However, due to his behaviors, he received multiple suspensions from his school of attendance. When the student came to PAI, he had been suspended for more than 20% of the school year. Despite these suspensions, he did not receive any behavior support services and never had a functional analysis assessment (FAA) or behavioral intervention plan (BIP) . Although the school had presented one to the parents, school failed to inform parents what an FAA was; therefore parents refused to sign.

A PAI attorney filed for due process on behalf of the student. The issues were that the student was denied a free appropriate public education (FAPE) because he was not allowed to attend school, the school had not conducted appropriate assessments, the school did not provide appropriate services, and the school used inappropriate and illegal disciplinary tactics.

Mediation with the district occurred in May where we reached a favorable settlement agreement. As a result, Nick will receive an FAA and BIP, tutoring from a non-public agency to compensate for his loss of academic instruction, an updated psychological assessment, and placement at a comprehensive high school with a one-to-one aide for the first six weeks of the school year.

Back to the top

Student awarded speech & language services

Tyler Carter (pseudonym) is 22 years old and a student. He has an orthopedic impairment, cerebral palsy, and a visual impairment. During the 2005/2006 school year, he received speech and language therapy sessions. In September, 2006, his school district decided to terminate speech and language therapy. Tyler’s parents decided not to consent to the (Individualized Education Program) IEP because they felt that Tyler still required speech and language therapy. According to state law, if a parent does not agree to an IEP, the school district cannot change the level of services provided until the parent signs in agreement, or a judge orders the change.

Tyler’s parents believed, largely due to communications from the school district, that Tyler continued to receive his speech and language therapy during the 2006/2007 school year. School district employees communicated with his parents regularly, sending them therapy logs and notes from these “speech and language” therapy sessions.

In June, 2007, Tyler’s parents attended an IEP and learned that the school was not providing speech and language therapy, but instead provided assistive technology sessions. The school argued that because it offered these services, it did not owe speech and language therapy sessions to Tyler.

A PAI attorney filed a compliance complaint on behalf of Tyler alleging that although the school provided the agreed upon amount of services, because the type of services was not agreed upon, the school must compensate for all of the missed sessions.

The school and Tyler’s parents reached a favorable settlement in November, 2007 with the school agreeing to provide speech and language therapy sessions to compensate for the missed sessions.

Back to the top

San Diego School District retracts expulsion of student due to inappropriate behavior supports

A parent contacted PAI because her 15 year old son, Andy Melton., who was eligible for special education under the category of Specific Learning Disability (SLD) was being expelled for his participation in a fight. Andy also has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Notably, the fight occurred after school at an apartment complex off campus, and Andy’s only involvement in the fight was as an observer, although he was alleged to have struck one of the participants after the fight was over. This was Andy’s third fight during the 2007/2008 school year.

Andy had an SLD in math, but had no academic goals. Further, although his Individualized Education Program (IEP) noted that his SLD originated from a visual processing disorder, he had never been referred for a visual processing assessment or an Occupational Therapy assessment, and did not have any goals or services to address the disorder. Although Andy had engaged in fighting before, he was never referred for a functional analysis assessment (FAA) or behavioral intervention plan (BIP). He had a behavior support plan that put all of the responsibility on him to seek out assistance if he felt that he was going to have a fight. IEP team members had noted that he did not have the social skills to avoid a fight. Despite this, the child was not offered any behavioral, social, emotional, or counseling goals or services.

The legal issues arose under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (“IDEA”) and the California Education Code.

PAI filed a complaint for a due process hearing on April 17, 2008. There were five issues in that complaint:

• Failure to appropriately assess Andy’s behavior functioning and visual processing ability in both the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 school years;
• Failure to provide appropriate related services by failing to offer behavior supports and services and vision therapy in both the 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 school years;
• Failure to provide appropriate goals and objectives during the 2007/2008 school year;
• Failure to provide any behavior supports during the 2007/2008 school year.
• And that the pending expulsion was illegal because it violated the California Education Code. Since the fight occurred after school and off campus, there were no school personnel for him to seek out, as required by his behavior support plan

We attended mediation on behalf of the client on April 28, 2008. We settled. The school has agreed to provide Andy with one hour per week of on-site counseling, an IEE for vision processing, placement at a comprehensive high school, an updated behavior support plan, and will implement an FAA in the beginning of his new school year. The district also dropped the pending expulsion against Andy and agreed to reassess what sorts of goals and objectives should be set for him.

Back to the top

Regional Center purchases Turny seating system and assesses for waiver services

Zachary Miller (pseudonym) is an 18 year old who is non-ambulatory and non-verbal with developmental disabilities, including mental retardation. He lives with his mother, a single parent with health problems, and is entirely dependent upon her for his care.

Zachary’s mother contacted PAI for advocacy assistance in obtaining an assessment of her son’s need for assistive technology (AT) which would enable her to safely transfer him to and from her vehicle. PAI agreed to attend the youth’s Individual Program Plan (IPP) meeting with the Regional Center.

At the IPP meeting, the Center denied a request for an AT assessment and eligibility for the waiver that authorizes home and community-based services for developmentally disabled persons who are Regional Center consumers. After the Center also refused to place an AT goal for transportation in Zach’s IPP, PAI agreed to represent him at a hearing.

Before the hearing was set to take place, the Center reversed its position on the DD waiver eligibility and AT assessment. The AT assessment resulted in Zach’s obtaining a Turny seating system in his mom’s vehicle. PAI also obtained interim transportation for Zach from the Center while the Turny system was being installed. Zach’s mother reports that she is now able to transport him safely to vital therapy and medical appointments.

After a home visit, California Children’s Service provided Zach with a hospital bed, bath chair, hoyer lift, stander, stroller tray and approved an authorization for him to be evaluated for a back brace.

Back to the top

Assessments and services received – special education

Albert Wai is a 7 year old Vietnamese boy who has autism and severe behaviors. Mom wanted IBI services for her son and had requested them. The school denied the request stating the assessments they had did not recommend IBI services. Mom was advised to request IEE if she did not agree with the assessment. The school denied the assessments on the basis that their assessments where adequate and told mom she could do her own assessments and pay out of pocket. We attended an IEP meeting with the mom and requested that Albert have an IEE done. The school agreed to pay for the IEE assessments. Mom was satisfied with the assessment and requested IBI services which she then received.

Back to the top

Social Security overpayment resolved

Lorena Freitas is a 53 year old Latino female with cerebral palsy and visual impairments. Ms. Freitas was working and receiving benefits. She reported her income to SSA office every month and kept accurate, detailed records of income coming in and going out. She would note names of people at the social security office whenever she spoke to someone to report her income. When Ms. Freitas had an overpayment of $8,944.80, $5,130.20 was waived in response to her request. SSA requested she repay $3,814.60, but Lorena did not feel that SSA was accurate. After reviewing her file, we determined that she could have the rest of the overpayment waived. We prepared a position statement for her, placing all her exhibits together and guided her on the questions that the Administrative Law Judge would ask. Lorena attended the hearing with the position statement and exhibits and was successful in getting her entire overpayment waived.

Back to the top

Preferred placement obtained – special education

Julio Flores is 8 year old Latino boy with learning disabilities and ADHD. When his mother initially contacted our office, Julio son was being placed in a different school for the beginning of the school year. Mom felt that the school did not want to deal with her son’s behaviors. We had our first IEP meeting with staff at the new school and reviewed his behavior support plan (BSP) and goals and objectives. The IEP team decided they would put the BSP in place. Two months later Julio was still having severe behaviors, so we reconvened and decided as a team that he would best benefit by having a FAA. We then reconvened again to discuss the FAA and a BIP was developed. The school only tried the BIP for eight days and decided that it would be best if he was moved to a different school. The family including Julio, wanted him to remain in the same school. We had another meeting and requested that the BIP be implemented and that Julio remain in that school. After several hours in the IEP meeting, we were successful in keeping Julio in his current placement with supports

Back to the top

Note: Where necessary, we have protected our clients’ identities with pseudonyms