Annual Impact Report

ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT

Fiscal Year 2017-2018

New P&A Program: In March 2018, a bipartisan Social Security bill unanimously passed in Congress and created a much needed new P&A program to monitor Social Security Administration (SSA) representative payees.

Legal Representation: P&A provided legal representation to 578 individuals with disabilities who had been abused, neglected, denied services or had their rights violated.

Investigations: Last year P&A conducted 80 inspections of Community Residential Care Facilities (CRCF) and filed 64 complaints with the Department of Health and Environmental Control for unsafe living conditions.

Continuing Education: P&A co-sponsored a conference with the SC Bar Association called “Changes to Guardianships and Protective Proceeding Under the New Article 5 of the Probate Code.”

Information & Referral: P&A assisted 2,479 callers who were seeking help to understand and defend their rights.

Training & Outreach: P&A provided trainings, education and outreach throughout the state to over 4,452 individuals with disabilities, their family members and professionals about the rights of individuals with disabilities. This year P&A lunched a new initiative to help educate individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing of their rights by publishing quarterly videos in American Sign Language.

P&A vs. DDSN regulations case:  P&A reached a resolution in this case that began in 2007 when P&A and a group of individuals sued the SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (DDSN) for not complying with the state law that government agencies must issue regulations.

Some of Our Many Success Stories