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
- P&A assisted a mother whose child was being restrained in school. After learning about her child’s rights the mother advocated to end the restraint, move the child to another classroom, and receive a one on one aide.
- P&A contacted the sheriff’s department after a woman who is deaf called and said she was refused effective communication during a traffic stop. The sheriff’s department reports they now have both a policy and training in place for officers on how to communicate with the deaf.
- P&A helped a man get his job back and receive back pay after he was informed he could not be employed because of his disability.
- P&A provided self-advocacy services to an individual who was having a hard time receiving services from the South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department. The client reported that they not only got their case reopened but also were able to receive appropriate career goals.
- P&A helped a child with autism avoid going to the Department of Juvenile Justice due to a charge of truancy caused by the child’s high anxiety following acts of bullying at school.