During the March Performance Oversight Hearing with the Department on Disability Services (DDS), a number of public witnesses raised concerns about how the agency was performing its duties. After the hearing, Councilmember Grosso heard from constituents and advocates with further concerns and complaints about DDS. On March 30th, Grosso sent a letter to DDS Director Laura Nuss, and received a short response a little over a week later, which the Councilmember found to be unresponsive to the issues that he sought to address. Grosso felt that these issues required close attention as they concern some of the most vulnerable residents of the city.
After a Budget Oversight Hearing during which Grosso continued to feel unsatisfied with the agency's answers to his questions, the Councilmember asked the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Brenda Donald to look into what was happening at DDS. On July 2, Grosso received a memo from DDS Director Nuss to Deputy Mayor Donald, which went into much more detail regarding the many issues that constituents, employees of DDS, and advocates had shared with Grosso's office. You can view all three documents below. Councilmember Grosso will continue to monitor DDS and listen to complaints about the agency from constituents and advocates.