Our Story
Each and every day in New Jersey, individuals with disabilities face barriers of discrimination and segregation. Despite their strides, people with disabilities continue to experience discrimination in schools, in places of employment, and within the community. They continue to reside in institutions against their wishes. Others are subject to abuse and neglect by their caregivers. Still others face the challenge of obtaining the supports and services they need in order to fully participate in their communities.
Since 1994, the advocate and legal staff of Disability Rights New Jersey has been committed to addressing these barriers and ensuring that these critical issues affecting people with disabilities are addressed. As the State’s protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities, DRNJ serves a unique purpose in the struggle for the right to equality of opportunity.
Our impact on the community is far-reaching. With a staff of just under forty, DRNJ provides, in a single year, case advocacy services to over 1,300 individuals, information and referral to over 2,500, and outreach, education and training to over 10,000. DRNJ’s clients represent every age group and reflect the state’s diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, and culture. DRNJ also engages in policy and legislative activities impacting large groups of people with disabilities.
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🎉🎉🎉 We would like to congratulate Paul Aronsohn for his appointment to the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. As New Jersey's statewide #Ombudsman for People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families, he has served the community honorably. With his selection, New Jerseyans with disabilities will be well represented in our nation's capital. 🇺🇸
Judge Brian Martinotti granted Disability Rights NJ the temporary injunction we sought to complete our investigation unimpeded and continue protecting and advocating for the rights of residents at the Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center. “There are clearly individuals who will suffer harm, and Disability Rights New Jersey (who will suffer) harm being unable to meet their mandate” to protect the legal rights of people with disabilities, the judge said.
The lawsuit is the latest action Woodland is facing that may ultimately threaten its existence. An inspection team from the Department of Health last month halted new admissions after finding scores of violations demonstrating how Woodland “failed to appropriately prevent abuse and neglect” of its hundreds of residents.
On Tuesday March 8, Attorneys Javier Merino and Andrew Wolf of DannLaw asked the Federal District Court for New Jersey to issue an injunction ordering the owners and operators of Woodland Behavioral Health to stop interfering with Disability Rights New Jersey’s ongoing investigation of abuse and neglect at the troubled Andover, New Jersey nursing facility. A hearing on the motion will be held via Zoom at 10:00 A.M. on Friday, March 11, 2022 before Judge Brian R. Martinotti.
https://conta.cc/3MzXDjU
Governor Phil Murphy signed S905/A1281 into law on March 3, 2022. This new law delays the statute of limitations until September 1, 2023 for filing a due process petition seeking compensatory services relating to any special education issue that arose between March 18, 2020 and September 1, 2021 (COVID period). This is significant as many students with disabilities missed services because school was closed and they could not receive services virtually.
https://conta.cc/3IdRMxz
‼️Today is the deadline to register for Disability Rights NJ's #SpecialEducation, #Transition, and #School #Discipline #LegalClinics
👉Do you need help getting special education services in school?
👉Do you have an IEP and need help preparing to go on to work or college?
👉Do you get in trouble at school because of your disability?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, register for one of our Special Education, Transition, and School Discipline Legal Clinics.
📌Tues., March 8 - 4:30-7:30 pm - Trenton Free Public Library
📌Sat., March 12 - 10:30am-1:30pm - Lawrence Public Library
Sign up for a free 20-minute consultation with an education attorney. Due to limited capacity, these clinics are intended to serve clients with limited transportation and/or technology who need in-person consultations to access services.
Registration form required and deadline to register for a slot is March 1, 2022.
https://disabilityrightsnj.org/events/
Woodland Behavioral and Nursing Center at Andover in Sussex County is facing a widening investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect after it was found that nearly 200 residents diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries, mental illness or developmental disabilities, or recovering from strokes are confined on a locked floor that operates like an “unlicensed psychiatric hospital,” as witnessed by Gwen Orlowski, Executive Director of Disability Rights NJ. Upon leaving the facility Orlowski immediately contacted the commissioners for the NJ Department of Human Services and New Jersey Department of Health and urged them to take action.
https://www.nj.com/news/2022/02/nearly-200-people-are-locked-down-living-in-inhumane-conditions-at-nj-nursing-home-advocate-says.html