the advocacy monitor

Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living

Exploitation of People with Disabilities

Approved by the NCIL membership June 2012

WHEREAS, the extent to which people with disabilities are subjected to abuses of all kinds as a means to gain control of their benefits is unknown and often is long lasting; and

WHEREAS, recent accounts of individuals with disabilities in Philadelphia have highlighted the extent and cruelty that these predators will go to in order to gain and maintain this control; and

WHEREAS, this type of exploitation not only cost millions of tax payer dollars it also has a devastating effect on the health, well-being and independence of those individuals being exploited. 

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: that NCIL acknowledges that the exploitation of persons with disabilities is a chronic problem that may increase during times of economic hardships making individuals receiving benefits prime targets.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that NCIL will encourage its membership to provide advocacy and skills training around benefits and finances to the individuals they serve.

Respectfully submitted by: The NCIL Task Force on Violence and Abuse of People with Disabilities

List of Supporters:

  • Abilities in Motion, Reading, Pennsylvania
  • Appalachian Center for Independent Living, Charleston, West Virginia
  • Center for Independent Living Opportunities, York, Pennsylvania
  • Center on Victimization and Safety at the Vera Institute of Justice, New York
  • Community Resources for Independence Inc., Erie, Pennsylvania
  • Delta Resource Center for Independent Living, Pine Bluff, Arkansas
  • Idaho State Independent Living Council, Boise, Idaho
  • IndependenceFirst, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Independent Resources, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware
  • Living Independently For Everyone – CIL, Pocatello, Idaho
  • Mainstream Center for Independent Living, Little Rock, Arkansas
  • Mountain State Centers for Independent Living, Huntington, Beckley, West Virginia
  • NCIL ADA/Civil Rights Subcommittee
  • NCIL Mental Health Task Force
  • Northern West Virginia CIL, Morgantown, West Virginia
  • Pennsylvania Council on Independent Living, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • Progressive Independence, Inc, Norman, Oklahoma
  • Spa Area Independent Living Services, Hot Springs, Arkansas
  • SKIL Resource Center, Parsons, Kansas
  • Sources for Community IL Services, Inc, Fayetteville, Arkansas
  • Statewide Independent Living Council of Kansas, Topeka , Kansas
  • Three Rivers Center for Independent Living, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Montpelier, Vermont
  • West Virginia Statewide Independent Living Council, Charleston, West Virginia
  • Jaclyn Michelle Kratzer, Pennsylvania
  • Kimball Gray, Maryland
  • Jan Lilly-Stewart, Director Fair Shake Network
  • Mark Derry, Morgantown, West Virginia
  • Jan Derry, Morgantown, West Virginia
  • Mary Oschwald, Portland, Oregon
  • Robbie Barrutia, Idaho
  • Jami Davis, Idaho
  • Leslie Myers, Wisconsin
  • Roberta Sick, Arkansas
  • Stephanie Sanford, Kansas
  • Erin Fontaine, Minnesota
  • Marilyn Hammond, Utah
  • Kim Brittenham, Vermont