The Cuomo administration is fighting an attempt by a legal services group with federal oversight responsibility to obtain complete investigative reports about alleged abuse of the disabled and mentally ill in state care.
The state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs says it can only disclose completed reports after removing the names of staff accused of abuse or neglect, people who filed the complaints, witnesses and clinical records.
The Cuomo administration, which established the center in 2013 in response to ongoing abuse issues in state care, has asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit, filed by Disability Rights New York. It seeks withheld information from four cases, including one fatality and three others involving individuals who allegedly were abused.
A hearing is scheduled April 16th.
(c) 2015 The Associated Press.
