Feds Investigate Civil Rights Complaint Against The State

The families are taking care of loved ones with severe mental disabilities and many of them need round the clock care.  They said budget cuts are cutting back on that care and leaving them with few options.

On Tuesday afternoon in a non-de script brick building near downtown Nashville, families shared their stories with federal investigators about a dire situation in their own homes.

Elaine and Michael Spaulding worry about the impact of state budget cuts  and what it will do to their son, a quadriplegic, and needs round the clock care.

"The state has taken a position that they are going to cut everybody, regardless of the amount of care that they need, down to the same level," Michael told us.

His son gets 132 hours of home health care every week. That number is about to be 50, which to them isn't enough, and they don't care for options from the state. 

"They are giving us some options as far as group homes or institutionalized care, but the ADA says they are supposed to provide Michael with the least restrictive environment," Michael added.

To them, that's in the home. It's the main issue behind a lawsuit the Spauldings and dozens of other families have signed on to against the Commissioner of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, the agency behind the cuts. Meanwhile, investigators from the Office of Civil Rights, which is a federal agency, were also in town Tuesday after complaints were filed from 45 families.

Carol Westlake with the Tennessee Disability Coalition said these cuts will force people from their homes into institutionalized care, or in the case of folks like Linda Gill, another disabled person, may have to move in to keep staffing levels the same, so assistants would care for two people instead of one. 

"You cannot say we will be happy to provide you services, but only if you go to this special place for it, and we won't make any accommodations for trying to provide those services in another way," Westlake told NewsChannel 5.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities said they cannot comment on pending litigation. But they've defended their actions in the past saying they are cutting a level of service which no other state offered. These cuts were also approved by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

With 7,000 people on a waiting list to get care, they simply have to spread the wealth.

The department of Intellectual and Developmental disabilities is cutting $47 million from its budget.  These cuts will impact services to 700 families caring for the disabled.