Chalkbeat NY | The family is “caught between two systems,” said Betty Baez Melo, the director of the early childhood education project at Advocates for Children, which brought the lawsuit along with Morrison & Foerster LLP. “Neither agency is taking accountability in order to provide the child with the services that she didn’t receive.”

The lawsuit contends that R.A. has a right to what are known as “compensatory services” under federal law to make up for lost therapy sessions. The family unsuccessfully attempted to secure compensatory services from the Health Department from an administrative law judge. (Advocates for Children is also involved in a separate federal lawsuit against the Education Department to expedite makeup services for school-age children.) Read article