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DRM’s Annual Advocacy Services Survey for 2022 is Online!

Posted on September 13, 2021

DRM's Annual Advocacy Services Survey
for 2022 is Online!

Please share with us what you see as the most important disability-related legal needs of people with disabilities in Maryland. This survey helps DRM prepare our 2022 Advocacy Services Plan – the areas where we focus our services to meet the important needs of our communities.

We want to hear from people with disabilities, family members, advocates, providers and encourage individuals facing multiple types of overlapping discrimination– based on disability, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, or other characteristics to reply.  

Click here to fill out the survey online
Click here to fill out a hard copy and return to us via mail or email

Deadline to return the survey is October 16th

If you need help filling out the survey please call DRM at 410-727-6352 (TTY 410-235-5387) and ask for Jacqueline.

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Portrait of Randi Ames, a white woman with blonde hair, in a black shirt against a cream-colored background

DRM Attorney Randi Ames Named 2021 MSBA Leadership Academy Fellow

Posted on August 27, 2021

DRM Attorney Randi Ames Named

2021 MSBA Leadership Academy Fellow

The Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) has selected Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) Attorney Randi Ames to join the prestigious Leadership Academy as a Fellow. Randi is joining an impressive 2021-2022 cohort, made up of fifteen of Maryland’s most promising up-and-coming attorneys across a wide range of backgrounds and specialties. The opening ceremony took place earlier this week. Join us in congratulating Randi for this accomplishment and sending her best wishes as she continues through the Leadership Academy!

The Leadership Academy is a 12-month program focused on developing leaders in the legal field. The program provides its Fellows with a unique combination of training in areas ranging from public speaking and media relations to budgeting, a wealth of networking opportunities and events, and hands-on experience in the form of a public service project. 

Portrait of Randi Ames, a white woman with blonde hair, in a black shirt against a cream-colored background

Of all the wonderful  opportunities that the MSBA Leadership Academy offers, Randi is most excited about the public service project, which will be planned and implemented with a team of Fellows, offering them hands-on experience tackling legal issues in their communities. 

Past public service projects have including educating communities and vulnerable groups about labor trafficking, raising public awareness of the environmental degradation of the Chesapeake Bay, and providing children in foster care life and job skills to succeed as they age out of the foster care system.

We are incredibly proud of Randi’s work supporting fair housing, our clients with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (I/DD), and cases falling under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). She uniquely harnesses out-of-the-box thinking to make a significant impact in the lives of our clients and members of our community while working towards larger-scale systematic changes for people with disabilities.

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Special Education

Posted on August 3, 2021

DRM assists students with all types of disabilities from birth – age 21 in K-12 special education matters, with an emphasis on placement in the least restrictive environment; appropriate assessments, educational and behavioral plans, services and supports; access to the school curriculum and high school diplomas; inclusion in school-based and out of school activities; and student discipline matters, including inappropriate school exclusion, restraint, seclusion, and the use of school police and arrests. DRM also advocates for appropriate educational programming and related services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. We provide information, advice, training, and selected individual and class representation for issues of systemic significance.

View publications and resources regarding Special Education

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Disability Rights Activists holding yellow signs that say Housing is a "Human Right" and a green sign that says, "Fair Housing is a Civil Right."

Housing

Posted on August 3, 2021

DRM provides information, advice, training and legal representation to help individuals with disabilities access and remain in public or subsidized housing, and obtain reasonable accommodations or modifications to allow them to live meaningful, integrated lives in their communities. DRM’s current focus is on Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Prince George’s County; we accept a limited number of cases outside these areas that present important systemic issues affecting large numbers of people with disabilities. DRM also works on various systemic policy issues that improve housing opportunities for Marylanders with disabilities.

Public Housing Information Guide – Baltimore City (PDF)

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Transportation

Posted on August 3, 2021

DRM provides information, advice, training, and limited legal assistance on matters related to eligibility and rider rights to individuals with disabilities who need access to Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Mobility paratransit services because they cannot use the bus, light rail or subway system. We are also involved in a lawsuit challenging certification and other MTA practices, with the goal of obtaining improvements for riders.

Resources:
MTA Mobility Rider Rights and Self-Advocacy Guide  (coming soon)
MTA Mobility Eligibility Appeals Self-Advocacy Guide  (coming soon)

Links:
Consumers for Accessible Ride Services (CARS):
https://www.facebook.com/CARSBaltimore/  

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Mobility Website:
https://mta.maryland.gov/mobility

Washington Metro Area Transit Administration (WMATA) Accessibility Resources:
http://www.wmata.com/accessibility/

WMATA MetroAccess Website:
http://www.wmata.com/accessibility/metroaccess_service/

US Department of Justice ADA Complaints Website:
https://www.ada.gov/filing_complaint.htm

National Aging and Disability Transportation Center:
http://www.nadtc.org/

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund ADA Transportation Topic Guides:
http://dredf.org/ADAtg/

Federal Transit Administration ADA Transportation Circular:
https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/fta-circulars/americans-disabilities-act-guidance-pdf

Federal Transit Administration 2016 Compliance Review of MTA Mobility:
https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/civil-rights-ada/mta-final-ada-report

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About DRM

Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization advocating to improve the lives of Marylanders with disabilities. Combined Federal Campaign #76352; United Way/Maryland Charities Campaign #5178.

The information on this website is not offered as legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional legal advice. No information on this website creates an attorney-client relationship with you.

Contact

Phone: 410-727-6352
Toll Free: 1-800-233-7201
TTY: 410-235-5387
Fax: 410-727-6389

Mail: Disability Rights Maryland
1500 Union Ave, Ste. 2000
Baltimore, MD 21211
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