NEW YORK — Advocates for children and the Commissioners of the New York State Department of Health and the Office of Mental Health have reached a preliminary settlement agreement in C.K. v McDonald, a federal class action lawsuit filed in March 2022.
The lawsuit asserts that despite federal laws requiring that Medicaid-eligible children and youth be provided with access to timely, intensive home and community-based mental and behavioral health services, New York has failed to do so. The case was brought by Disability Rights New York, Children’s Rights, the National Health Law Program (NHeLP), and Proskauer Rose LLP.
The impact of New York’s statutory violations is sweeping. As of September 2024, more than 2.5 million children under 18 years of age were enrolled in Medicaid, nearly half of New York State’s children. As is the case across the U.S. and globally, concerns about children’s mental health in New York have intensified over the last decade, exacerbated by stressors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, digital and social media, and long-standing impacts of income inequality, racism, gun violence, and climate change.
Without adequate services, children’s mental health conditions deteriorate, causing disruption and harm to their well-being, their education, their families and relationships, and their future lives as adults. Families in crisis often have no alternative but to rely on hospital emergency rooms to provide short-term care that fails to address children’s underlying conditions. Children also are unnecessarily placed in psychiatric hospitals and similar institutions for extended periods, where they are separated from their families and communities and fail to thrive. When in crisis, they face law enforcement personnel instead of qualified mental health responders.
C.W., a named plaintiff in the class action, is one of these children. Her mental and behavioral health conditions became evident when she was very young. C.W.’s guardian repeatedly sought intensive therapeutic interventions in order to keep C.W. safely at home. Because of the state’s failure to provide them, she was admitted to a residential treatment facility in 2020, where she remained for three years. Her guardian hopes this settlement will mean children like C.W. don’t follow in her child’s footsteps.
The preliminary agreement in C.K. v McDonald is a major first step toward fulfilling that hope. It requires New York to develop and execute a set of key services statewide, including intensive care coordination, intensive in-home behavioral health services, and mobile crisis services. It also requires the redesign of existing state support services for children and families.
New York has committed to taking these steps and to developing an implementation plan over the next 18 months that will serve as a blueprint for improving and strengthening the delivery of mental and behavioral health services for children and establishing quality management and accountability systems.
“Children’s Rights is gratified to have reached this critical milestone, and we look forward to working with New York health and mental health officials and our terrific co-counsel team to put in place an enduring plan for providing children the mental health services they deserve and are legally entitled to,” said Daniele Gerard, senior staff attorney at Children’s Rights.
“The mental health needs of children in New York State are a priority for DRNY. Access to the essential home and community-based services necessary for their safety is not up for debate,” said Timothy A. Clune, Executive Director, Disability Rights New York.
“Our health care system must work for all children, especially those with mental and behavioral health needs. Decades of evidence show that intensive home and community-based mental health services lead to the best long-term outcomes. They help children stay safely with their families, succeed in school, and build healthy futures. This settlement is an important step toward making sure children get the care they need, when and where they need it,” said Kim Lewis, Managing Director of California Advocacy, National Health Law Program.
“Today is a good day for the thousands of children with serious mental health conditions living in communities across New York State. They have waited long enough. This agreement is the first step toward putting in place the reforms necessary to guarantee they get the care they need. I commend the State for holding itself accountable, and salute the tireless efforts of our co-counsel partners,” said Steven Holinstat, Co-Head of Proskauer’s Fiduciary Litigation Group.
About Disability Rights New York
Disability Rights New York is the designated independent non-profit Protection & Advocacy System empowered by Congress to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect and provide legal and non-legal advocacy services to people with disabilities in New York State. The Protection & Advocacy System was created by Congress as a direct result of the horrific conditions that were uncovered in the 1970’s at New York’s Willowbrook State School.
DRNY is supported at taxpayer expense by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, The Administration for Community Living; Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration; U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration; and the Social Security Administration. This press release does not represent the views, positions, or policies of, or the endorsements by, any of these federal agencies. www.drny.org.
About Children’s Rights
Children’s Rights is a national advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of children living in or impacted by America’s child welfare, juvenile legal, immigration, education, and healthcare systems. We use civil rights impact litigation, advocacy and policy expertise, and public education to hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy. Our work centers on creating lasting systemic change that will advance the rights of children for generations. For more information, please visit www.childrensrights.org.
About National Health Law Program
The National Health Law Program (NHeLP) protects and improves access to health care for low-income and underserved people and works to advance health equity. We believe that everyone should have access to high quality, equitable health care and be able to achieve their own highest attainable standard of health. We enforce health care and civil rights laws; advocate for better federal and state laws and policies; train, support and partner with national, state and local health and civil rights advocates; and use strategic communications to achieve these goals. www.healthlaw.org.
About Proskauer Rose LLP
Proskauer is a leading international law firm serving clients from 12 offices located in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. At Proskauer, “for good” means giving of ourselves and making a positive impact on the lives of those less fortunate. Our pro bono work breaks boundaries. From high-impact litigation and complex transactions for nonprofit organizations, to matters for low-income individuals seeking equal access to justice – we are committed to driving businesses, as well as society, forward. Additional information about the firm can be found at www.proskauer.com.
Contacts:
Katrin Haldeman, [email protected]
Camilla Jenkins, [email protected]
Andrew DiAntonio, [email protected]
Samantha Norton, [email protected]
William C. Silverman, [email protected]
