The Memphis Center for Independent Living

Senator Bill Frist and Deborah Cunningham.

Information on the "Ashley Treatment"

Well being of children with disabilities.

By: Daniel C. Schneider, HHS
Department of Health & Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
Office of the Assistant Secretary, Suite 600
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447

May 30, 2007

Kelly Buckland, President
John Lancaster, Executive Director
National Council on Independent Living
1710 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, 5th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036

Dear Mr. Buckland and Mr. Lancaster:

Secretary Leavitt has asked me to thank you for your letter expressing concern about the disabled nine-year-old child known as Ashley X. We agree that the well-being of children with disabilities is of paramount importance.

Secretary Leavitt uses a 500-Day Plan as a management tool to guide our Department's energies in fulfilling the President's vision of a healthier and more hopeful America. In that plan, the Secretary has a section called "Protect Life, Family, and Human Dignity," which includes priorities that "Children are protected from abuse and neglect" and "Seniors and persons with disabilities are cared for with dignity and respect." Children with developmental disabilities, including Ashley, are human beings with inherent human dignity, and they are due all the rights and respect that come with that status.

That is why the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Administration on Developmental Disabilities within the Administration for Children and Families, funds 57 protection and advocacy (P&A) systems in the states and territories to protect the civil and human rights of individuals with developmental disabilities. The Washington Protection and Advocacy System opened an investigation in January 2007 into the "Ashley Treatment" interventions and the role of Seattle's Children's Hospital. On Tuesday, May 8, 2007, the P&A released the findings of that investigation. You may view the findings and entire report on the Washington P&A website:

www.disabilityrightswa.org/news-1/ashley-treatment-investigation

I hope this information is helpful to you. Please call me if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Daniel C. Schneider Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families.

MCIL Journal Index 2007

Date Name
1/4/2007 Trip to Horshoe on MCIL
1/5/2007 ADAPT Youth Appalled at Parents Surgically Keeping Disabled Daughter Childlike
1/10/2007 MCIL comments on Mayor Herenton’s Liberty Bowl Stadium plan.
1/12/2007 ADAPT of Tennessee secures several commitments from Robert Lipscomb at the Memphis Housing Authority.
1/31/2007 Disabled People and Poverty in 2007.
2/1/2007 The Road To Freedom.
2/19/2007 Mental Retardation Is No More.
2/22/2007 Community Choices Act of 2007.
3/7/2007 Harkin introduces the Community Choice Act of 2007.
3/10/2007 Text of S799 the Community Choice Act.
3/26/2007 Tennessee ADAPT Success!
3/2/2007 Motorized Wheelchairs for Nursing Home Residents.
4/2/2007 U.S. Disgrace at UN Convention Signing Ceremony.
4/3/2007 Ask the Candidates to Answer the Questions!
4/5/2007 Help Pass the Community Choice Act.
4/26/2007 Report: U.S. Needs Better System for Disabled.
5/4/2007 When Your Health Privacy is Violated, Complain!
5/13/2007 Disability Rights and the Death Penalty.
5/20/2007 Project Action Announcement.
5/30/2007 Information on the "Ashley Treatment."
6/12/2007 Housing Crisis Facing People with Disabilities.
6/13/2007 Project Based Housing Vouchers and the "Family's Right to Move".
7/10/2007 ADAPT Pushes the Community Services Act.
6/8/2007 Four Memphis Schools To Become ADA Compliant.
6/27/2007 New Report Underscores Housing Crisis Facing People with Disabilities.
7/11/2007 ADAPT recap on Senate HELP Committee long-term care hearing.
7/15/2007 HUD Secretary Asks Housing Authorities for MFP Update.
7/26/2007 Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26, 2007.
8/6/2007 Municipal Election POLITICAL SOAPBOX.
8/8/2007 Disabled People and Physically Restraints in Nursing Facilities.
8/18/2007 FY 2006: Medicaid Expenditures for Institutions versus Community-Based Services.
8/25/2007 On a "Mission from ADAPT," Disability Activists Blow into the Windy City to Attack Segregation.
8/28/2007 Abusing Drugs In Nursing Facilities.
9/12/2007 ADAPT's 2007 Chicago Action.
9/13/2007 ADAPT at AFSCME.
9/20/2007 U of M professors' benefits fall short.
9/24/2007 Another handle? One U.S. Attorney's Lawsuit Against A Nursing Home.
9/25/2007 Community Choice Act Hearing in the U.S. Senate.
9/27/2007 Victory for Institutionalized Californians.
10/4/2007 AARP Supports the Community Choice Act.
10/22/2007 Get Involved!
12/9/2007 Nursing Home Closings Show Broken System