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Georgia Advocacy Office, Inc.

The Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO) is a private non-profit corporation. Its mission is to work with and for oppressed and vulnerable individuals in Georgia who are labeled as disabled or mentally ill to secure their protection and advocacy. GAO's work is mandated by Congress, and GAO has been designated by Georgia as the agency to implement Protection and Advocacy within the state.

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Justice for Jonathan King

Please consider attending the King vs. Pioneer hearing at the Georgia Court of Appeals on July 7, 2009 at 10:00 am or immediately following the first case. The Court of Appeals is located at 47 Trinity Ave, Suite 501 Atlanta, GA 30334.

This is the case of a young man, Jonathan King, who committed suicide in a seclusion room in a North Metro Atlanta school. This case is of national importance because there were hearings on School Seclusion Rooms and Restraints in Washington on May 19, 2009.

Click on the link below to view a webcast of the hearing.
http://edlabor.house.gov/hearings/2009/05/examining-the-abusive-and-dead.shtml

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GAO Objects to Settlement Ending DOJ Lawsuit

As a result of the ongoing dialogue between the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the unsafe conditions and practices at the State’s seven (7) Psychiatric Hospitals, the AJC "Hidden Shame" series, and complaints from other mental health advocates and concerned citizens, the United States filed a complaint against the State of Georgia. The DOJ alleged that the protections, supports, services, and treatment at the Hospitals substantially depart from generally accepted professional standards of care and applicable federal law, thereby exposing the individuals residing there to significant risk of harm, and in some cases, to actual harm and death. The DOJ and the State of Georgia reached a Settlement Agreement that would end the lawsuit.The United States found that Georgia's institutions have failed to ensure safety, failed to provide adequate treatment, have inappropriately used seclusion and restraints, failed to provide adequate medical care, failed to provide adequate services to people with special needs, and failed to provide adequate discharge planning to assure placement in the most integrated setting. Georgia confines persons of all ages with mental illness and developmental disabilities in institutions without specific standards of care or adequate supervisory, professional and direct care staff. A coalition of stakeholders, including the Georgia Advocacy Office, Cynthia Wainscott, the Carter Center, Mental Health America, Mental Health America of Georgia, Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network, Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Georgia Parent Support Network, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, John J. Gates, Ph.D., and Georgia Council on Substance Abuse, have asked Judge Charles A. Pannell Jr., United States District Court, Northern Division of Georgia in Atlanta, to withhold approval of the settlement.To view the full documents, GAO’s objections and expert affidavit, stakeholders' objections and Susan Jamieson's affidavit, please click on this link to the Bazelon Law Center.

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Crisis in Georgia’s state institutions Many people have read the series of articles in the Atlanta Journal Constitutions titled "A Hidden Shame: Death in Georgia's Mental Hospitals." (Click here if you would like to read the series of articles.) Like most of you, our initial reaction is to be horrified at the loss of life and at the conditions reported. Through the routine monitoring that GAO engages in, GAO advocates have an opportunity to witness many of these neglectful conditions within institutional settings. When advocates witness incidents of abuse and serious neglect we investigate the situation and step in to protect the vulnerable individual from further harm. GAO believes that the only way to prevent abuse and neglect is by involving vulnerable people in the life of the community. The highest threat that any group of people can face is to be congregated and separated away from the rest of society. Some people have concluded that the current problems with Georgia’s institutions can be fixed with more funding – more staff, larger facilities, etc. It is our belief, based on experience, that the problem of abuse in institutional settings cannot be fixed with any amount of funding. GAO recently sent a letter to key State Legislators to express our concerns about the current crisis in Georgia’s mental health system. Click here to read the letter outlining our concerns about the current crisis in Georgia’s state institutions.

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Restraint and Seclusion in Educational Settings

The Georgia Advocacy Office is investigating abuse, neglect, and deaths on a daily basis and working with people with disabilities, family members, schools, advocates, and the state to end the most harmful practices.

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) published a paper in January, 2009 reporting on the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. NDRN collected information from Protection and Advocacy organizations around the country, including the Georgia Advocacy Office. Many states have laws and regulations concerning the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. Georgia currently does not have any such regulations. The use of restraint and seclusion has led to psychological harm, physical harm, and even death. Click hereto read the full report and to learn about the efforts of NDRN to advocate for national legislation around the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. If you know of a student who is experiencing restraint and seclusion and would like to discuss the individual situation, please contact our Resource Advocacy Unit by calling 404.885.1234 or 800.527.2329 (both number are voice or TTY), via email at info@thegao.org, or writing to Georgia Advocacy Office, Resource Advocacy Unit, 150 E. Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Suite 430, Decatur, GA 30030.

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Georgia Senate Bill 507
In the 2008 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 507, a bill that is certain to impact the provision of services to Medicaid-eligible children in Georgia. Click hereto read an article that will explain the relationship between this new legislation and the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Testing (EPSDT) provisions of the federal Medicaid Act and a report on a Spring 2008 decision from a federal court in Georgia in a case brought to enforce these EPSDT provisions. Click here to read the text of Senate Bill 507. Click here to read a basic explanation of EPSDT.******************************
Register to Vote!
Click here for general Voter Information. ******************************
On June 22, 1999 the United States Supreme Court held in Olmstead v. L.C. that unjustified isolation of individuals with disabilities is properly regarded as discrimination based on disability. Click on this link for a brief history of the Olmstead decision. and the most recent news about the decision

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Accessibility Guidelines Published on July 23, 2004. For details visit the Access Board website and read individual chapters or download the entire 161 pages.

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GAO Board and Council

Through our Programs we help secure Protection and Advocacy for..

..People with Developmental Disabilities

..Individuals with Mental Illness

..Assistive Technology

..Individual Rights

Beneficiaries of Social Security

.. Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injuries

Help America Vote Act

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