They were violating her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. We called the county commissioner. #AdvocacyMatters
August 24, 2018 / #AdvocacyMatters
Like many people with disabilities, Genevieve depends on her county department of job and family services (JFS) and Medicaid to provide taxi transportation to her medical appointments. Genevieve kept encountering one company that always refused to put her wheelchair in the trunk of their cabs - a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. They wanted Genevieve or her husband, who also has a physical disability, to do it themselves. Her complaints to JFS about the problem only resulted in JFS claiming that they weren't responsible for the cab company's actions - another ADA violation - and suggesting that she just cancel the cab ride if that company was providing the service, which would leave her without a way to get to the doctor. Ultimately, JFS cancelled her transportation service entirely. DRO had resolved the same problem for Genevieve just two years ago, so she called us again for help.
A DRO attorney attempted to contact a supervisor at JFS, but they never returned his calls, so he reached out to a county commissioner and asked her to intervene. The county commissioner's office connected with Genevieve to get the details, and soon, she reported that her services had been reinstated. She is happy to no longer have to worry about how she will get to her critical doctor's appointments.
Get information you can use to advocate for yourself on the Transportation page of our Self-Advocacy Resource Center.