CIL Services for Parents WITH Disabilities
What Got Us Started?
Take the Lead! 
Start Educating 
Change the Laws! 
•	(2015-2016) H. 3989- Persons with Disabilities Right to Parent Act– Included legislation for child welfare, family law, and reproductive health. 

2017- H. 3538 and S. 291- Persons with Disabilities Right to Parent Act
•	REMOVES DISCRIMINATING LANGUAGE FROM THE LAW
-the parent has a diagnosable condition unlikely to change within a reasonable time including, but not limited to, addiction to alcohol or illegal drugs, or prescription medication abuse, mental deficiency, mental illness, or extreme physical incapacity,
•	Prohibits Discrimination
•	H. 3538 & S. 291 would prohibit discrimination for parents and prospective parents with disabilities (will protect all individuals with any type of disability). 
•	accommodations to parents with disabilities
•	H. 3538 & S. 291 will require SCDSS to make reasonable accommodations to a parent or legal guardian with a disability as part of placement and visitation decisions; preventive, maintenance, and reunification services; and evaluations or assessments of parenting capacity. 
•	Adoption
•	H. 3538 & S. 291 will require that a child placing agency not deny a person with a disability the right to pursue adoption of a child solely on the basis of the disability, without considering whether adaptive parenting equipment, instruction in adaptive parenting techniques, and other supportive services could enable the person to parent adequately.

Continued--- H. 3538 and S.291-
•	Child welfare
•	H. 3538 & S. 291 will require that the SC Department of Social Services, and any other covered entity, must not terminate the rights of a parent or legal guardian with a disability solely on the basis of the disability.
•	ADAPTIVE PARENTING
•	H. 3538 & S. 291 will require the SC Department of Social Services to make reasonable efforts to avoid removal of a child from the home of a parent or legal guardian with a disability, including referrals for access to adaptive parenting equipment, referrals for instruction on adaptive parenting techniques, and reasonable accommodations with regard to accessing services that are otherwise made available to a parent or legal guardian who does not have a disability.  

Persons with Disabilities Right to Parent Act 
PASSED in May of 2017!! 
Parenting with a Disability: Present
Parenting with a Disability Today
•	Removal rates of parents with psychiatric disabilities are as high as 70-80%
•	Removal rates of parents with intellectual disabilities are as high as 80%
•	Extremely high removal rates and loss of parental rights for parents with sensory or physical disabilities 
•	More than two-thirds of dependency statutes include disability as grounds for termination of parental rights (TPR) 
•	In every state, disability may be considered when determining the best interest of a child for purposes of a custody determination in family or dependency court

Parenting with a Disability Today
•	Parents with disabilities are more likely to lose custody of their children after divorce
•	Prospective adoptive parents with disabilities regularly encounter barriers erected by discrimination and bias
•	People with disabilities face significant barriers to receiving assisted reproductive technologies
Who are Parents with Disabilities and Their Children?
•	At least 4.1 million parents with reported disabilities in the United States have children under age 18; meaning that at least 6.2 percent of American parents who have children under age 18 have at least one reported disability.
•	Estimates indicate 6.1 million children in the U.S. have parents with disabilities – Nearly 1 in 10, almost 10% of the population.

Overall Barriers
Recurring barriers include:
•	State statutes that include disability as grounds for TPR
•	Perceived limits on the application of the ADA, especially at the termination phase
•	Bias and speculation
•	A lack of training regarding parents with disabilities 
•	Not understanding resources
•	Parents with disabilities are unaware of their rights
ONLY 14 states do not consider ANY disability when terminating parental rights

•	Arkansas
•	California
•	Idaho
•	Illinois
•	Kansas
•	Maryland
•	Missouri
•	Oregon
•	Rhode Island
•	South Carolina (ah, yes!)
•	Tennessee
•	Utah
•	Vermont
•	West Virginia 
Disability Law & Child Welfare
•	Both the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (for agencies receiving federal funding) apply to the child welfare system. 
•	The ADA was passed with the intent of ensuring “full and equal opportunity” for Americans with disabilities.
Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) – 29 U.S.C. § 794 
•	“No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States…shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance…” 29 U.S.C. § 794(a). 
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
•	Title II applies to public entities, which include state and local governments, and their departments and agencies  42 U.S.C. § 12131(1) 
•	Accordingly, the child welfare system must comply with Title II’s mandate: “No qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.” 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq. 
The ADA, Continued…
•	Provide parents with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in programs, services, and activities, including reasonable modifications, unless such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the service, program, or activity. 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)
•	Administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified parents with disabilities. 28 C.F.R § 35.130(d).
•	Not impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out any parents with a disability from fully and equally enjoying any service, program, or activity…28 C.F.R. § 35.130(b)(8).
The ADA, Continued…
•	Furnish auxiliary aids and services when necessary to ensure effective communication. 28 C.F.R. § 35.160(a)(1),(b)(1), 28 C.F.R. § 35.164.
•	Provide, as needed, benefits, services, or advantages beyond those required by the regulation. 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(c).
•	Not impose surcharges on parents with disabilities to cover the costs of measures to ensure nondiscriminatory treatment. 28 C.F.R. § 35.130(f).
•	Not deny the benefits of programs, activities, and services to parents with disabilities because entities’ facilities are inaccessible. 28 C.F.R. § 35.149.
•	Provide services, programs, and activities that, when viewed in their entirety, are readily accessible to and usable by parents with disabilities. 28 C.F.R. § 35.150.
How to File Complaints with 
DOJ & HHS
•	DOJ – Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section
ADA.Gov Filing Complaint Form
•	HHS – Office for Civil Rights
HHS Office for Civil Rights Portal

Adaptive/Modified Parenting Techniques
-means strategies for accomplishing childcare and other parenting tasks that enable a person with a disability to execute a task safely for themselves and their children alone or in conjunction with adaptive parenting equipment.

Examples of Adapted Tools
•	 
Examples of Adapted Tools Continued…
Other Examples of Reasonable Modifications

•	Increase frequency/extend length of service provision
•	Provide in-home parent modeling
•	Links of parent with a co-parent or mentor
•	Tailor parenting education to the needs of the parent
•	Provide services at an individual’s home or alternative accessible site

•	Give frequent reminders for appointments/services
•	Provide accessible transportation
•	Provide all information in large print, audio tape, Braille, or digital format
•	Offer note-taking or transcriptions of meetings and court activities
•	Assist in reading materials
•	Provide interpreters
Examples of Reasonable Accommodations
•	Day care services
•	Respite care
•	Family or informal support networks (church, neighbors)
•	Parent helper/child care assistant
•	Aide or personal assistant
•	Supported housing
•	Pictorial representation or reminders of tasks (step by step)

•	Housekeeping services
•	Adaptive equipment (e.g. adaptive cribs and child care equipment, communication devices, specialized computer software, cooking/feeding equipment)
•	Adaptation to physical environment (e.g. ramps, lower counters, level handled door knobs)

Resources
Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities 
Department of Justice/HHS Technical Assistance 
ABA Resolution 114
•	ABA urges federal, state, territorial, and tribal governments to enact legislation and implement public policy providing that custody, visitation, and access shall not be denied or restricted, nor shall a child be removed or parental rights be terminated, based on a parent’s disability, absent a showing—supported by clear and convincing evidence—that the disability is causally related to a harm or an imminent risk of harm to the child that cannot be alleviated with appropriate services, supports, and other reasonable modifications.

•	ABA urges federal, state, territorial, and tribal governments to enact legislation and implement public policy providing that a prospective parent’s disability shall not be a bar to adoption or foster care when the adoption or foster care placement is determined to be in the best interest of the child.
Incorporating Parenting Programs in Your CIL 
Centers for Independent Living’s Role
Advocacy 
•	Advocacy Efforts with Child Welfare agency, family court, law enforcement, etc. 
•	Teaching self-advocacy skills to parents
•	Educating attorneys and judges 
•	Providing testimony in hearings 
•	Educating about the impact a bill can have on people with disabilities 
•	Custody Issues

Independent Living Skills Training
•	Parenting Skills 
•	Child Development 
•	Teaching about and trying out adapted equipment
•	Family Planning– what steps will it take to have a family
•	Teaching disability rights
•	Household Management 
Peer Mentoring
•	Networking with parents with disabilities 
•	Reproductive Health
•	Adoption
•	Child Birth 
•	Peer Support
•	Adjusting to parenthood
•	Navigating child welfare system 

Information & Referral 
•	Connecting to community resources
•	Service provider resources 
•	Equipment & equipment modification resources
•	Providing outreach  
•	Developing your own resources 
•	Sharing information about rights

Transition 
•	Family planning with youth – you can be a parent one day!
•	Developing goals
•	Teen pregnancies 
•	Institution transition/custody 

Go Change the World! 
Thanks!
Any questions?
You can find me at…

Kimberly Tissot, Executive Director
803.779.5121 ext. 124
ktissot@able-sc.org