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Date:  June 12, 1995
For Release: Immediately
Contact:  Lisa Silverberg, OCR (202) 619-0403

HHS Office for Civil Rights Signs Agreement
with Connecticut Social Services Agency

An investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR) into a complaint of racial discrimination has led to the signing of a formal agreement by a state social services agency that home health providers receiving Medicaid funds will not refuse or limit services based on where a person lives, a practice that is called redlining.

The complainant in the case, an African-American resident of New Haven, Conn., alleged that Staff Builders Services, Inc., a N.Y.-based home health care agency, violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by terminating services to her and her severely disabled minor son when they moved to the Eastern Circle housing complex in January 1993. Staff Builders used written employee safety guidelines that prohibited employees from visiting certain streets and specific housing complexes. The areas so designated were predominately Hispanic and African-American. Staff Builders has rescinded these guidelines.

"While OCR previously (May 19, 1995) found Staff Builders in violation of Title VI for practicing medical redlining, this agreement addresses the issue of access in all home health agencies receiving funds through the state," said Dennis Hayashi, director of OCR.

"The state has now agreed to institute policies and procedures that will eliminate the practice of selecting certain neighborhoods for limited or, in some cases, no service at all. Our office will continue to work closely with the state to ensure that civil rights laws are not violated."

The state of Connecticut receives more than $1.3 billion in federal financial assistance from HHS.

Because of this agreement with OCR, the state will implement regulations prohibiting racial discrimination by home health providers. The state will take these and other steps necessary to ensure that such agencies do not refuse or limit services to individuals based on where they reside, except when, in emergency situations, they reasonably determine that unsafe conditions at a particular time and location place employees in immediate jeopardy.

Home health agencies will, wherever possible in the event of an emergency, provide alternative methods of service delivery, such as the use of escorts furnished without extra cost to clients. Agencies will take all steps necessary to insure that emergency suspensions of service are temporary, and that needed services are not denied or terminated.

OCR's regional office in Boston will monitor actions taken by the state to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color and national origin.

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