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ARE YOU READY TO LEAD? Disability Rights Maryland Seeks an Executive Director

Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) is seeking an experienced disability rights leader and advocate to lead this private, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) law firm and advocacy organization as it creates an integrated and just society by advancing the legal rights of people with disabilities throughout Maryland. DRM is Maryland’s designated Protection & Advocacy (P&A) agency and a member of the National Disability Rights Network. We work with people with disabilities to pursue opportunities to champion their rights to self-determination, dignity, equality, opportunity, and freedom from discrimination and harm. We provide free legal services to persons with disabilities in Maryland and engage in systemic litigation and public policy advocacy to positively impact people’s lives.  DRM’s work spans a spectrum of issues including criminal justice and prison reform, education, monitoring facilities to investigate abuse, neglect and rights violations, voting, housing, transportation, assistive technology, health care, and the right to self-determination and appropriate services, among others, on behalf of Marylanders with all types of disabilities.  DRM envisions a world where people with disabilities are fully included in all aspects of community life.

The new Executive Director will have the opportunity to lead DRM’s experienced and talented team with a positive, results-oriented style that inspires all staff and broadens the circles of support for DRM’s work. The successful candidate will manage DRM in a manner consistent with this core mission and can relay commitment to the mission both inside and outside the organization while demonstrating the highest ethical standards and operating with integrity and transparency in conducting the business of the organization.

 

HIGH PRIORITY ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • To serve as the primary public face of DRM with the disability community, the media, public officials, other nonprofits, and the community at large and to represent the organization in its various local, state, and federal networks;
  • To lead, encourage, and inspire a staff that is collaborative, talented, collegial and committed to the well-being of the communities we serve and one another;
  • To articulate and nurture a vision for DRM’s future;
  • To lead DRM’s community advocacy efforts including disseminating important information, making referrals, providing technical assistance, and training, as well as individual representation and systemic advocacy to promote legal rights for people with disabilities;
  • To lead DRM in setting priorities and in planning and pursuing creative strategies for addressing future challenges to the disability community and to the organization;
  • Develop and guide fundraising strategies which include cultivating and soliciting major gifts, and working alongside the board and staff to develop actionable fundraising plans;
  • To effectively and ethically oversee DRM’s finances in compliance with applicable law and DRM’s mission;
  • To grow and diversify resources to support DRM’s work;
  • To support an engaged Board of Directors in carrying out its responsibilities to the

 

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Possession of a Juris Doctor degree and membership in good standing with the Maryland Bar, or ability to obtain membership upon employment;
  • A passion for the mission of DRM and its multi-faceted advocacy approach;
  • A demonstrated commitment to, and experience with, advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in ways that express the values of inclusion, autonomy, equal access and full participation in community life;
  • Experience working with persons with disabilities, including from diverse communities;
  • An understanding of the difference between disability rights and disability justice;
  • Successful leadership of lawyers and others in a justice-oriented organization;
  • Experience managing a similar organization, including staff supervision, budget development, financial oversight, grant and contract compliance, strategic and priority planning, and managing change;
  • Experience successfully raising funds from private sources, including foundations and individual donors, and from federal, state and local governments;
  • Experience working effectively with multiple organizations and individuals with diverse perspectives, the public, elected and appointed officials, and consumers of services;
  • Demonstrated understanding of legislative and executive-level public policy issues and processes, in Baltimore and Maryland a plus;
  • Experience working productively with or on an engaged board of directors;
  • Interpersonal skills that demonstrate integrity, respect, compassion, collegiality, inclusivity, flexibility, capacity to motivate and thoughtfulness;
  • Outstanding communication skills, including written language, with a range of audiences and
  • Preference for an individual with lived experience as a person with a disabiiity.

 

SALARY AND BENEFITS:        

The salary range is $130,000 to $160,000 depending on experience and special skills. DRM also offers a very generous benefits package which includes excellent medical insurance, employer-paid dental, prescription, vision, life, and disability insurance, as well as pre-tax savings plans, and a retirement savings opportunity with generous employer contributions. DRM offers eligible employees reimbursement for the cost of spouse or partner-paid health insurance premiums up to an established maximum amount. DRM also offers generous paid time off package, including vacation, holidays, sick time, and more. DRM is headquartered in Baltimore and a hybrid work schedule is available upon approval by the Board.

 

HOW TO APPLY:

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled and will be reviewed as they are received. Serious candidates should submit applications as soon as possible, but no later than June 30, 2023. Applications should contain a current resume and a thoughtful cover letter outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position.

Applications should be submitted by email to Christine Griffin (cgriffin@benderconsult.com) and should include “DRM Executive Director Search” in the subject line. Please include in your message how you heard about the search. Only a select number of highly qualified individuals will be invited to participate in the formal interview process. This is a confidential process and will be handled accordingly throughout all phases of the recruitment and selection process.

Materials should be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word or PDF format.

DRM has retained the executive search firm and certified disability-owned business enterprise, Bender Consulting Services, Inc. to conduct this search, www.benderconsult.com.

DRM is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified individuals with disabilities including those who are also people of color, LGBTQIA+ individuals and others who contribute to staff diversity are encouraged to apply.   DRM provides reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. Please notify us if you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and/or hiring process.

 

ABOUT DISABILITY RIGHTS MARYLAND:

DRM’s advocacy improves the lives of people with disabilities and creates a more inclusive and just society for all, by advancing human rights. We help people with disabilities pursue opportunities to participate fully in all aspects of community life, and champion their rights to self-determination, dignity, equality, opportunity, and freedom from discrimination and harm.

DRM provides free legal services to Marylanders with disabilities on matters that are related to their disabilities and fall within our advocacy service areas. DRM’s advocacy services are developed in close collaboration with the community of people we serve, and in compliance with our funding sources.

DRM is Maryland’s designated Protection & Advocacy (P&A) agency and a member of the National Disability Rights Network. As such, DRM is part of a nationwide network of organizations working to advance the rights of people with disabilities. Congress established the P&A System in 1975 in response to squalid conditions in institutional facilities for people with disabilities. In creating and funding the P&As, Congress granted us unique statutory authority to conduct investigations of suspected abuse and neglect of individuals with disabilities in facilities.

DRM currently has a budget of approximately $5 million, and a staff of 45, including 19 attorneys, 3 intake specialists, 14 advocates, and 9 administrative support staff. Among the leadership team members are the Director of Litigation, the Director of Finance, the Deputy Director, and the Executive Director.

DRM receives federal funding from several agencies under the following grants:

  • Protection & Advocacy for Developmental Disabilities (PADD), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Protection & Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR), U.S. Department of Education
  • Protection & Advocacy for Assistive Technology (PAAT), U.S. Department of Education
  • Protection & Advocacy for Traumatic Brain Injury (PATBI), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Protection & Advocacy for Voting Access (PAVA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • Protection & Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS), Social Security Administration

In addition, DRM is a grantee of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation. In 2016, DRM was awarded a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control & Prevention. DRM has received support from private foundations including the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Morton K. and Jane Blaustein Foundation, Open Society Institute, Hoffberger Foundation, Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund, Fund for Change, Steptoe Foundation, Venable Foundation and the Baltimore Bar Foundation. DRM’s governing Board of Directors financially supports the organization with 100% participation. DRM also relies on charitable contributions from individual donors.

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Statement on the Chauvin Verdict

Statement on the Chauvin Verdict

The trial and conviction of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd provide some accountability for practices and policies that have disproportionately and negatively affected people of color, including those with disabilities. Unfortunately, these kind of violent police actions that cause death, serious bodily harm, and unjust incarceration remain a very real aspect of daily life for many. The psychological and physical trauma inflicted by these policies and practices continue largely without the accountability our nation witnessed for the murder of George Floyd. This is evident in the deaths of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo which occurred during the trial.

Disability Rights Maryland is committed to justice. Since the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, awareness has been heightened in our nation and the world about the injustices perpetrated by a system of mass incarceration. Disability Rights Maryland remains committed to listening and learning more about what justice means. We learn from the youth who led this summer’s protest, and from leaders who have guided Baltimore City in redressing systemically unlawful policing. We learn from our clients, our communities and each other. We know that structural and institutional racism is fundamentally at odds with the freedom, liberty, and survival of people of color. Systemic discrimination in housing, transportation, education, healthcare, employment, and so many other aspects of our society perpetuate the disproportionate institutionalization and segregation of people of color with disabilities.

Our work to create a just and inclusive society will not end until structural racism is dismantled. Our nation’s reckoning with this truth must continue, and it must continue to be led by the communities most impacted. Disability Rights Maryland will continue to learn from, support, and stand alongside these communities to achieve justice for our clients and for all.

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DRM’S Leslie Margolis Featured in ABA Journal

Leslie Seid Margolis, managing attorney at Disability Rights Maryland (DRM), was featured in the ABA Journal last week for her role in the passage of the American Bar Association (ABA) Resolution 103, which urges government bodies to establish and enforce legislation and educational policies that prohibit school personnel from using seclusion and restraints on students in preschool through 12th grade. She worked with the ABA Commission on Disability Rights over the past year to draft and edit Resolution 103 and was invited to speak in favor of the resolution at the ABA’s Annual Meeting on August 3, 2020. Leslie shared the story of a 7-year-old child in foster care who was restrained more than 147 times by his school’s staff—a story she “wished that she could say [was] unusual,” but one that continues to affect children across the county at high rates, particularly students with disabilities and students of color. Thanks to the vigorous efforts of Leslie and other advocates, the ABA House of Delegates expressed overwhelming support for Resolution 103 by passing it with a vote of 358-19.

Every child has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. No child should ever be subjected to abusive treatment under the guise of providing effective educational services. DRM continues its efforts to hold school systems accountable for their over-reliance on these traumatic and potentially deadly interventions and is profoundly thankful to the ABA for passing Resolution 103 and, by doing so, acknowledging that what happens to so many children across the United States is unconscionable and inhumane.

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DRM’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Related Advocacy

Health Care:

Disability Services Personnel Are Essential:

  • April 3, 2020 – The Developmental Disabilities Coalition, in collaboration with Disability Rights Maryland and other organizations, sent a letter to State Governor Larry Hogan in response to the Executive Order (March 31, 2020) determining disability services personnel as health care providers necessary for Maryland’s response to COVID-19. More information can be found here.
  • December 18, 2020 – Disability Rights Maryland, along with a coalition of disability organizations, sent a letter to Governor Hogan to underscore the importance of having all people with disabilities, the professionals and caregivers that support them, and residents in nursing homes and residents in care facilities, prioritized in the first phases of the vaccination.

Protect Disability Rights if Ventilators are Rationed:

  • April 9, 2020 – Disability Rights Maryland and 20 disability advocates signed on to a letter to State Governor Larry Hogan in early April, urging him to pledge to protect the rights of Marylanders with disabilities if ventilators are rationed during the COVID-19 crisis. More information can be found here.

Allowing Disability Support for People with Disabilities in Health Care Facilities:

  • April 30, 2020 – Casey Shea, a Staff Attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, sent this letter on behalf of the organization to urge the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) to take swift action to provide statewide guidance to hospitals and health care facilities concerning visitors and other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities during the COVID-19 emergency.
  • May 12, 2020 –MDH and the Maryland Department of Disabilities (MDOD) issued a directive requiring that hospitals issue policies providing for disability support personnel for people with disabilities needing support. A few weeks later, the State issued a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) guidance document addressing “Access to Support for Patients with Disabilities in Hospital Settings.”
  • August 26, 2020 – Disability Rights Maryland with a Coalition of disability organizations sent a letter to MDH and MDOD requesting that the State of Maryland take further action to ensure that visitor and reasonable accommodation policies are adopted by health care facilities throughout the state to ensure that health care facilities do not discriminate against patients and consumers with disabilities. The Coalition’s recommendations include that MDH:
    • Amend Maryland’s Disability Support Directive to provide clear non-discrimination expectations for all Maryland health care facility providers (expanding from previous policy only covering hospitals).
    • Provide an expedited mechanism to (1) review disability support personnel access and other disability accommodation requests and (2) to review health care facility policies and enforce the Secretaries’ directive.
    • (1) Post the directive clearly on state webpages; (2) provide notice and contact information related to complaints about violations of the directive; and (3) update the directive to require health care facilities to list a contact point familiar with Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability support personnel legal requirements to whom questions or violations of the directive may be addressed.
    • Use the Framework developed by national disability rights advocates to create clear expectations and a notice of rights in the state directive and policy FAQs, including clearly advertising and posting notice of the directive at patient entry points in every facility, on the facility’s website, and providing the information to patients; and clarifying that COVID-19 positive patients are still entitled to access in-person disability support.
  • September 24, 2020 – MDOD Secretary Carol Beatty and MDH Secretary Robert Neall responded to the disability Coalition stakeholders and issued new directive and guidance documents regarding disability support personnel in health care facilities. The newly expanded directive and guidance replaces the May 12, 2020 directive and applies to all licensed Maryland hospitals, related institutions, freestanding medical facilities, freestanding ambulatory care facilities, chronic disease centers, hospice care facilities, comprehensive rehabilitation facilities, nursing homes, and assisted living programs (health care providers). Other changes in the directive and guidance make clear that patients with COVID-19 have the right to access support persons; provides that support persons “are permitted to access restrooms, food, and drink while in the health care facility”; requires facilities to take clear, affirmative steps to directly notify residents/patients of disability support rights and how to request them; requires facilities to make sure they can process requests for support persons “during all operational hours”; and posting the policies on the MDH and DOD state websites. With the change, Maryland health care providers are required to adopt policies on or before October 1, 2020, that comply with the directive.
    • Self Advocacy Resources:
      • Autism Self Advocacy Network and Green Mountain Self Advocates “Know Your Rights: Bringing a Supporter to a Hospital or a Doctor’s Office”: Resource
      • Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council “Access to support for people with disabilities in hospital settings FAQs”: Resource

Voting:

Provide Polling Centers with Accessible Voting Machines:

  • April 11, 2020 – David A. Prater, a Managing Attorney with Disability Rights Maryland, sent this letter on behalf of the organization to urge the State Board of Elections (SBE) to provide an option for accessible voting machines at accessible polling locations for the Special General Election, to be held on April 28, 2020.

Education:

Help Baltimore City Youth Get Internet Access for Distance Learning:

  • April 24, 2020 – Disability Rights Maryland joined nearly 60 other advocates in signing onto a letter sent by the Baltimore Teachers Union to address the digital divide in Baltimore City. The coalition called on city officials to make an emergency financial investment into the purchase of technology for the children and families who need computers or internet access in their homes. More information can be found here.

We need your help now more than ever. Donate to DRM to support our work.


Last Updated: September 30, 2020

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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Advocacy, Information, & Resources

A Message from Us

Disability Rights Maryland (DRM) is working hard to stand together with Marylanders with disabilities and will continue to do all that we can to provide excellent services to our communities during this challenging time.

For legal assistance, we encourage you to call our intake department using the phone numbers listed below:

Phone: 410-727-6352 (EXT. 0)

Toll Free: 1-800-233-7201

TTY: 410-235-5387

Please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible. Please note that return calls may be made from blocked numbers since staff are working remotely.

Subscribe to our email list and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date with our COVID-19 related updates and advocacy.


How We Can Help

Disability Rights Maryland recognizes the serious threat to the health, safety, and legal rights of people with disabilities posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19).  Although DRM’s offices are currently closed, our staff is working remotely to ensure we continue to protect the rights of people with disabilities throughout Maryland.

Please contact us if you:

  • Have questions about your legal rights during this time
  • Are unable to access critical information
  • Wish to speak with an attorney about a disability-related legal issue

We also need to hear from you about how institutions and services throughout the state are managing the impact of COVID-19.  To ensure the safety of individuals with disabilities residing in facilities or receiving services in the community, employees, and our staff, we are gathering information from people who have been in facilities (including psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment centers) or involved in providing or receiving community-based services to tell us your concerns.

Please contact us if you observe or have problems, including:

In a facility:

    • You have not been given information about the signs of COVID-19, how to stay safe, and how staff will help you stay safe. 
    • Staff and visitors are coming into the facility with symptoms of COVID-19 (coughing, fever, shortness of breath) or are not being screened for symptoms at the door. Information about COVID-19 should be posted at the entrance and around the facility. 
    • There are staffing shortages in the facility. 
    • You live in a small facility or group home where someone is sick and you can’t get physical distance to be safe. 
    • Staff are not being careful with personal hygiene to protect against COVID-19 (washing hands frequently or using hand sanitizer, staying 6 feet away when possible, wearing protective gear if caring for someone who is ill). 
    • You don’t have access to medications, food or other necessary items.  
    • You don’t have access to needed services.
    • You are being abused or neglected, including extreme isolation, lack of human contact, and/or over–medication.
    • You are being pressured to sign a do-not-resuscitate order (DNR).
    • You are being denied aggressive treatment.
    • You are in a high-risk group for complications from COVID-19 and/or are experiencing increased barriers to transitioning to a community placement.
    • For youth in RTCs, you do not have access to education or IEP services.

In the community:

    • Your in-home assistance staffing changes or is not available. 
    • Your staffing has been impacted by COVID-19 and your needs are not being met. 
    • Your staff is not careful with personal hygiene (washing hands often, staying 6-feet away when possible, wearing protective gear to stop the spread of infection). 
    • You can’t get your medications. 
    • You don’t have access to food or supplies you need. 
    • You can’t access necessary telehealth services because you don’t have needed technology, phone minutes or internet services;
    • You are being pressured to sign a do-not-resuscitate order (DNR).
    • You are being denied aggressive treatment.
    • For youth, you don’t have access to education or IEP services.

Last Updated: April 7, 2020

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