HHS Office for Civil Rights Secures Agreement with the State of Maryland to Make Programs More Accessible for Persons with Disabilities

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) secured a settlement agreement (Agreement) with the State of Maryland to protect the civil rights of persons with disabilities. The Agreement is based on federal civil rights laws, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II of the ADA). The Agreement requires the Maryland Department of Human Services to take corrective steps to ensure that Marylanders with disabilities who apply for and participate in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as well as other HHS-funded human services programs, that provide financial assistance and medical support, receive appropriate accommodations and necessary supports.

“Maryland Department of Human Services must take necessary steps to remove barriers to ensure that people with disabilities have equal opportunities to access the critical public benefits that it provides,” said OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer. “OCR will continue to enforce the pivotal civil rights laws to ensure equity and fairness in access to human services. We look forward to every state taking proactive steps to comply with federal civil rights laws to ensure access to public benefits and social services for residents.”

Section 504 covers programs and activities conducted by HHS or that receive Federal financial assistance from HHS and protects qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of benefits and services. Recently, OCR updated the Section 504 rule to strengthen it. Title II of the ADA broadly protects the rights of qualified individuals with disabilities and applies to all services, programs, and activities provided by or made available by public entities, including state and local governments.

OCR received numerous complaints from individuals and an advocacy organization alleging that the State of Maryland’s Human Services agency, which provides operations for local Departments of Social Services of federal programs like TANF, did not appropriately screen individuals for disability-related service needs or provide accommodations for such individuals, among other things.

OCR’s investigation revealed systemic concerns about Maryland’s oversight of the Departments of Social Services’ compliance with Federal disability civil rights laws. The investigations also revealed evidence that the local Departments lacked a consistent approach for assessing disabilities and disability-related modifications or accommodations needed for customers to participate and meet program requirements. Moreover, evidence showed the need for consistent system and statewide policies and procedures for providing reasonable modifications or accommodations to customers with disabilities, staff training, grievance procedures, monitoring processes, and oversight of local Departments’ compliance with Section 504 and Title II of the ADA.

Under this comprehensive Agreement, Maryland will take corrective actions to resolve outstanding issues and ensure that the agency and its local agencies meet civil rights requirements, including, but not limited to:

• Assess and document disability-related needs of customers, provide appropriate reasonable modifications or accommodations, and take appropriate action to provide other relief necessary to address their circumstances;
• Provide notice to the public and local agencies of the terms of this Agreement;
• Designate a coordinator responsible for ensuring compliance with this Agreement;
• Amend Maryland regulations, policies, and procedures to be consistent with this Agreement and the legal requirements of Section 504 and the ADA; and
• Update Maryland Department of Human Services’ automated case record system to allow identification and monitoring of a customer’s disability and request for reasonable modifications or accommodations.

OCR will monitor Maryland’s work included in this Agreement for three years; the State will provide annual reporting on their progress to OCR. To read the entire agreement, please visit: https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/compliance-enforcement/examples/disability/marylanddhs/index.html

This action is the latest in a series of efforts OCR has made to advance and protect the civil rights of people with disabilities. This includes the announcement of the Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 final rule and the Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act final rule.

For more information on nondiscrimination on the basis of disability, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, visit: https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/disability/index.html.

If you believe that you or someone else has been discriminated against because of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex, or religion in programs or activities that HHS directly operates or to which HHS provides federal financial assistance, you may file a complaint with the HHS Office for Civil Rights at:  https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/filing-a-complaint/index.html.

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