WILLIAMSPORT – A woman in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has filed a complaint against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, alleging the agency failed to transition her to proper care as an adult and instead stuck her in a rest home where she faces discrimination.
Plaintiff Miranda Doxzon, 21, on Feb. 10 asked the court for a judgment against the department and DHS Secretary Teresa Miller.
Doxzon requires the use of a wheelchair and has mental health disabilities, the brief said.
“Ms. Doxzon was living in an apartment in the community with services funded by the DHS,” the court brief stated. “Due to her status as a dependent youth, after she turned 21 years old in October 2019, she was no longer eligible for that funding from Philadelphia County.
"Due to defendants’ (DHS) failure to provide an appropriate transition between its child welfare system and its adult disability services system and to make community-based services available, the plaintiff (Doxzon) was removed from her home in the community and sent to live in a large nursing facility.”
The lawsuit claims that as a resident of the nursing home, the plaintiff had little access to community and social activities, including shopping, visiting with friends, and other community activities. As a result, the lawsuit said, Doxzon is also now unable to seek treatment from her own doctors.
“She receives no job training or other services aimed at teaching her life skills needed for community living,” Doxzon’s attorney said. “In the nursing facility Ms. Doxzon feels as if she is in jail, does not feel safe, and has no privacy.”
The complaint alleges the DHS failed to properly provide Community Health Choice (CHC) Medicaid services for assisted living.
Doxzon’s attorney is asking the court to declare his plaintiff’s situation a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation and Social Securities Act. The attorney is asking for compensation damages for Doxzon as well as attorneys' fees and relief the court may deem proper.