Discrimination Against Parents with Disabilities | Wrightslaw Way (original) (raw)

Landmark Settlement Agreement: Mass Child Welfare Agency to Stop Discriminating Against Parents with Disabilities

“The stakes are never higher than when a parent faces the possibility of losing a child”

In a landmark Settlement Agreement between the Civil Rights divisions of the US Dept of Justice, the US Dept of Health & Human Services, and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, the child welfare agency will no longer “base decisions about removing a child on stereotypes or generalizations about persons with disabilities, or on a parent’s disability, diagnosis or intelligence measures (e.g., IQ scores) alone.”

“Parents with disabilities should never lose custody of their children due to discriminatory assumptions about their abilities. The love of a parent, coupled with proper support services, can overcome a multiplicity of challenges,” said Roger Severino, Director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights.