Disability Rights Florida restores APD care funding

Michael Pinelli is a 36-year-old man who has intellectual and neurological disabilities. Michael requires 24-hour support and uses the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) to fund most of his care. However, APD decreased his overall budget by $15,000, a decrease that was incredibly detrimental to Michael. Michael’s parent, who is also his guardian and care provider, contacted Disability Rights Florida for legal assistance with a fair hearing. Our staff worked with Michael’s guardian to ensure that they assembled the proper documentation describing Michael’s various services and care needs to use in a hearing with the APD. With this supportive paperwork, we are happy to report that Disability Rights Florida successfully provided legal representation that helped reach a settlement with APD, not only restoring his services’ funding, but even increasing the overall budget and services Michael receives.