Developmental Disability News  covers the long-term impact of a landmark 2014 Consent Decree between the U.S. Department of Justice and the State of Rhode Island, as well as a related Interim Settlement Agreement between the DOJ and the City of Providence signed in 2013. 

These agreements, taken together, aim to enforce the rights of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities under Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act to seek competitive employment and access to other community-based activities. Federal oversight in the combined cases is expected to continue to 2024. 

Gina Macris is a career journalist with 43 years’ experience as a reporter for the Providence Journal in Providence, RI. She retired in 2012. During her time at the newspaper, she wrote two series about her first-born son, Michael M. Smith. Both series won prizes from the New England Associated Press News Executives Association.  Michael, now in his 30s, appears on the cover page, in front of the Rhode Island State House.