OKLAHOMA CITY -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Disability Law Center are calling on the Oklahoma Department of Human Services to rescind a letter notifying citizens of a termination in services.
A letter was sent out saying the Adult In-home Support Waiver will no longer be available starting Dec. 1, which will affect more than 20,000 Oklahomans and comes as a result of budget cuts in the state.
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The ACLU asked the DHS to reverse its decision to cut benefits to adults with disabilities.
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“These benefits are absolutely essential to the more than 20,000 Oklahomans receiving them, and are actually much less costly to the state than the alternative of forcing recipients into nursing homes,” said Melissa Sublett, Executive Director of Oklahoma Disability Law Center.
Brady Henderson, Legal Director of ACLU of Oklahoma added, “The expensive accounting trick the State is attempting by terminating these medical and disability support services, without any due process, is unconscionable, illegal, and unconstitutional. If the State does not reverse course, we will have no choice but to file a federal lawsuit to protect some of our state’s most vulnerable citizens.”
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