On August 6, 2019, Indiana Disability Rights, National Federation of the Blind, Brown, Goldstein & Levy, LLP, and the Law Office of Jana Eisinger, PLLC filed a lawsuit against the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, its Division of Family Resources (DFR), and their contractors for the agencies’ failure to effectively communicate critical benefits information with blind beneficiaries.
The lawsuit, filed in Indiana federal district court, alleges that Christopher and Sarah Meyers, siblings who are blind, lost their benefits when the DFR forced them to rely on other people to intercept and read their private information.
“Indiana agencies are required to offer communications with blind people that are as effective as communications with others. The plaintiffs are simply asking DFR to provide correspondence regarding their benefits in a format that is accessible and necessary to afford them an equal opportunity to participate in the program. Despite repeated attempts to work with DFR to achieve a workable solution, the agency continually fails to effectively communicate with blind Hoosiers,” commented Tom Crishon, Managing Attorney at Indiana Disability Rights.
Get Indiana Disability Rights full press release on the lawsuit here.
