Hanif asks about DHS denials, appeals, and unfulfilled accommodations
Hanif asks whether rejections are detailed and whether there is an appeal. Reichman says determination notices are vague, appeals sometimes succeed, and even approved accommodations like single rooms or kitchen access often cannot be fulfilled due to limited supply.
The rejections are being detailed in a letter.
And is there an appeal?
So there is an appeals process that we help complainants with as much as we can.
Usually determination notices don't provide a lot of information.
So most often they just say that there has not been sufficient medical documentation to establish a need.
The attorneys in our project need to follow up for more details or an actual explanation.
We do sometimes see different decisions on appeal.
Another major problem, though, is that even when DHS approves some accommodations, they simply cannot fulfill them.
So, for example, there just aren't many single rooms available in the shelter system, yet we see a huge need for these rooms.
From people who are immune compromised, people who have mental health disabilities.
There are really a wide variety of conditions that might require a single room or a kitchen access, for example.
And DHS simply does not have capacity.
In their system, they simply don't have those available.
So what we see is some people have approved accommodations that remain unfulfilled.
We also see a lot of issues with training at the shelter level.
So even though there are policies that promote disability access,
you know, people's lived experiences are quite different and they,
received discriminatory comments from staff members at these sites.
And, you know, we try to flag those for follow-up training.
But, you know, there are hundreds of sites in the DHS portfolio.
And, you know, these are really systemic issues that...
We need more enforcement on.