NH Department of Justice enters settlement agreement against state of New Hampshire
Attorney General Joseph A. Foster announced in a news release today that the New Hampshire Department of Justice has entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement, subject to legislative appropriations, of the class action lawsuit Amanda D. v. Hassan.
The Settlement, which has been brought by several plaintiffs represented by the Disability Rights Center and the U.S. Department of Justice, are against the State of New Hampshire on behalf of a class of New Hampshire residents with serious mental illnesses. The residents claim that New Hampshire, in violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), fails to provide services to qualified individuals with mental illnesses in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs.
This suit was brought in federal court soon after the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice issued a report in April 2011. The State of New Hampshire's mental health system found that the State failed to comply with important aspects of the ADA and recommended that the State correct identified deficiencies to fulfill its commitment to individuals with mental illness.
The United States District Court certified the plaintiffs as a class on Sept. 13, 2013, including all individuals with serious mental illnesses who are unnecessarily institutionalized in New Hampshire Hospital or Glencliff Nursing Home or who are at serious risk of unnecessary institutionalization in hospitals, emergency rooms or prisons.
“The first priority in this case for the New Hampshire Department of Justice has been to ensure that the State of New Hampshire is able to develop its own plan for community mental health services that best meets the needs of its residents,” Attorney General Foster said in a news release. “This settlement agreement, developed in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, enhances the State's mental health services to address the concerns of the plaintiffs and protects taxpayers from far greater potential liabilities.”
Under the Settlement Agreement, the Legislature's fiscal authority is preserved as it determines appropriations for the services included in the Agreement. If the Legislature does not appropriate funds for the services, plaintiffs have reserved the ability to reinstitute the court case.
Under the settlement the State of New Hampshire is required to expand Assertive Community Treatment teams, create three mobile crisis teams, expand supported employment assistance and supported housing opportunities for people with mental illnesses, and seek to divert more people from Glencliff Home, New Hampshire Hospital, and emergency rooms into community-based services.
Initial estimates from the Department of Health and Human Services are that implementing the Settlement Agreement would require an additional $6 million from the State's General Fund in the current biennium for expanded mental health services, followed by $23.7 million in General Funds for the FY16/17 biennium. Under the terms of the Agreement, the State also agrees to pay $2.4 million for plaintiffs' legal expenses.