Justice Department sues Florida over ‘deliberate indifference’ in treatment of disabled children | The Raw Story

Justice Department sues Florida over ‘deliberate indifference’ in treatment of disabled children | The Raw Story:

Justice Department sues Florida over ‘deliberate indifference’ in treatment of disabled children

The U.S. Justice Department sued the state of Florida on Monday, accusing health officials of violating the Americans with Disabilities act by placing almost 200 handicapped minors in nursing homes usually used for elderly residents, Mother Jones reported.

The lawsuit, (PDF) filed after an investigation that began in 2011, charges that the practice shows the state “acting with deliberate indifference to the suffering of frail and severely disabled children.”

Florida is the 12th state sued by the department over alleged mistreatment of physically or mentally disabled residents in the past four years. The Miami Herald reported that while the state has increased patient care payments to $550 per day for children placed in nursing homes, lawmakers also cut $6 million from a program allowing residents to get private health care at their homes.

“Unnecessary institutionalization denies children the full opportunity to develop and maintain