Section 7-1305.01 - Habilitation and care; habilitation program(a) To the extent that appropriated funds are available to carry out the purposes of this chapter, no District resident with an intellectual disability shall be denied habilitation, care, or both suited to the person's needs regardless of the person's age, degree of intellectual disability, or other disabling condition.(b) To the extent that appropriated funds are available to carry out the purposes of this chapter, each person shall be provided a habilitation program that will maximize the person's human abilities, enhance the person's ability to cope with the person's environment, and create a reasonable opportunity for progress toward the goal of independent living.(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, no person subject to commitment pursuant to § 7-1304.06 a shall be denied habilitation, care, or both suited to the person's needs, regardless of the person's age, degree of intellectual disability, or other disabling condition.(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section, a person subject to commitment pursuant to § 7-1304.06 a shall be provided a habilitation program that will maximize the person's human abilities, enhance the person's ability to cope with the person's environment, and create a reasonable opportunity for progress toward the goal of independent living.(e)(1) Notwithstanding the availability of an appropriation to carry out the purposes of this chapter in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, effective January 1, 2012, a District resident with an intellectual disability who is otherwise eligible to receive supports and services from the District pursuant to this chapter must either pay the full cost of such supports and services directly to the provider or become District Medicaid-eligible and maintain District Medicaid eligibility in order to receive supports and services under this chapter from a District Medicaid-eligible provider. This requirement shall not apply to a person: (A) Who is a former resident of Forest Haven;(B) Whose needs cannot reasonably be met by a District Medicaid provider;(C) Who is eligible for enrollment in the D.C. Healthcare Alliance; or(D) Whose representative payee for the purposes of Social Security benefits is the Department of Disability Services or a provider agency who is contracted with the District to provide supports and services for that person, if the reason the person lost Medicaid eligibility is due to a failure by the representative payee.(2) The Department of Disability Services shall work with and support the person to become District Medicaid-eligible and to maintain District Medicaid eligibility, and the person and his or her representatives, estate, or both shall fully cooperate in such efforts.Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-137, § 501, 25 DCR 5094; Mar. 24, 1998, D.C. Law 12-81, § 9, 45 DCR 745; Oct. 17, 2002, D.C. Law 14-199, § 2(p), 49 DCR 7647; Sept. 14, 2011, D.C. Law 19-21, § 5002(b), 58 DCR 6226; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-169, § 17(dd), 59 DCR 5567; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 55, 59 DCR 6190; May 5, 2018, D.C. Law 22-93, § 201(c)(28), 65 DCR 2823.Section 17(cc) of D.C. Law 19-169 substituted "Rights of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities" for "Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons" in the heading of subchapter 5.
Section 35 of D.C. Law 19-169 provided that no provision of the act shall impair any right or obligation existing under law.