HHS Refers Kansas Waiting List Case to DOJ

See this article from the Kansas Health Institute.  It begins:

Federal officials have notified advocates for the physically disabled that efforts to get Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration to address long-standing waiting lists for services have been unsuccessful. 

As a result, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has turned the case over to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

“We were told Friday afternoon,” said Shannon Jones, executive director at the Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas. “I’m not surprised by the decision, but I am disappointed that it’s had to go this far. This is about 3,400 people who’ve been lingering and suffering on waiting lists for one, two and three years.”

As the KHI article suggests, the referral is a potential step toward a federal lawsuit, though the Department of Justice typically engages in further negotiations before bringing suit.