FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 26, 2018
CONTACT:
Edie Surtees
Communications Director
512.407.2739
esurtees@DRTx.org
AUSTIN — A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012 by Disability Rights Texas (DRTx) on behalf of a child with diabetes denied accommodations at the child care center The Learning Care Group has settled. DRTx investigated the claim that the childcare group refused to provide assistance with the administration of insulin to children with diabetes based on a corporate-wide policy, and filed the DOJ complaint after only a partial settlement could be reached with The Learning Care Group.
After six years of DRTx attorneys persistently monitoring and following up on the complaint, the DOJ determined that the child care group’s refusal to provide reasonable accommodations for children with insulin-dependent diabetes amounted to discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The resolution required The Learning Care Group to support the needs of children with diabetes in compliance with the ADA, allowing those children to fully participate in day care programs. Eight affected families were each compensated $10,000 in damages for the discriminatory policies. The settlement also included a provision requiring antidiscriminatory training for staff at each of The Learning Care Group’s 900 childcare centers across the country.
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Disability Rights Texas (previously named Advocacy Inc.) is the federally designated legal protection and advocacy agency (P&A) for people with disabilities in Texas. Its mission is to help people with disabilities understand and exercise their rights under the law, ensuring their full and equal participation in society.