In March, after a seven-month investigation, Disability Rights New York (DRNY), along with the American Civil Liberties Union and Lawyers for the Public Interest, released a report stating that New York state had been withholding information from the public about how COVID-19 had affected individuals with developmental disabilities. 

The report further alleged that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who live in group homes were three times more likely to contract COVID-19 and three times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the general public. 

State Sen. John Mannion is chairman of the Senate Committee on Disabilities and he discussed his view of the report on Capital Tonight.

“Of course, the pandemic had a tremendous impact on many people, and of course it had an impact on the disabilities community,” Sen. Mannion said. “I applaud [DRNY] and the other two they partnered with that they spent the time and energy to search into this.” 

“I read the report several times," Mannion added. "Then, myself and my office followed up with different providers and advocates out there to get their perspective on this as well. Additionally, beyond that, we communicated with OPWDD (Office of People with Developmental Disabilities) and others. So, we do want to make sure that there is a public accounting of exactly the procedures put into place and were followed and to what extent they were followed.”

Sen. Mannion had scheduled a meeting this past Thursday to discuss these issues with OPWDD, DRNY and other organizations, but it was canceled, the office said, for technical reasons.

DRNY is also asking lawmakers to look into the Justice Center for People with Special Needs, the office authorized to look into claims of abuse and neglect in the I/DD community. Since 2016, DRNY has claimed that the Justice Center lacks the independence needed to remedy abuse. 

Mannion told Capital Tonight that any investigation into the Justice Center is still up in the air. 

“There’s a bit of a gray area as to the extent of the authority that the Justice Center has,” Mannion said. “I’m assured, I’m pretty assured, that we are going to get to a good place there, but we are at a time when there is some uncertainty.”

OPWDD sent Capital Tonight this comment back in March; a spokesperson said tonight that the agency stands by the statement.

“OPWDD is proud of the significant efforts New York has made to ensure the safety of people with developmental disabilities during the pandemic and strongly disagrees with the findings in the report by Disability Rights New York. OPWDD has taken comprehensive and proactive action to combat the threat of COVID-19 to individuals with developmental disabilities and the staff who support them. Despite the slow response of the federal government at the onset of the virus, which impacted all citizens of New York State, OPWDD was able to minimize spread of the virus, work with providers to establish additional facilities to quarantine individuals when necessary, and provide financial and regulatory relief to its service providers during this unprecedented time.”