United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon & SW Washington has long been a leader in the area of community-based employment for people who experience developmental disabilities.

Around the state today, however, a high number of people who experience developmental disabilities work in “sheltered workshops” where they are often paid less than the minimum wage and are segregated from the community. Some workshop participants have asked for numerous years to leave the workshop setting in order to pursue community-based employment opportunity, without success or support from their teams.

At a press conference today, United Cerebral Palsy of Oregon & SW Washington announced that it will act as an organization plaintiff in a Class Action Lawsuit filed against the State of Oregon and other identified leaders within related program areas. Joining us in this lawsuit are individual plaintiffs who experience developmental disabilities who wish to seek community-based employment, but feel that they have not received the support they need to leave sheltered workshops.

If you’d like to learn more about this issue, please visit these links:

• http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/01/oregonians_with_disabilities_f.html
• http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2012/01/25/disabled-workers-advocates-sue-state.html

Questions about the lawsuit should be directed towards our Executive Director, Ann Coffey, at 503-777-4166 or by .