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National and Around the World
Hot Off the Press! National and Around the World will be updated monthly highlighting the latest national and international disability news. Check out what is happening on the disability-front around the nation.
July 2010 - ADA to turn 20 on July 26th
July 26, 2010 will mark 20 years since the signing of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). While progress has been made in many areas, the original promise of the ADA continues to elude the disability community. To show your support for this important law and to remind your lawmakers of the original intent of the legislation, you are encouraged to participate in one of the many ADA Anniversary events that are taking place in your community. The American Association of People with Disabilities has developed a website dedicated to the ADA 20th Anniversary, which features events throughout the nation. The website also features a new interview every Monday with a member of the disability community concerning their experience with the ADA. To read more about the ADA and its 20 years, visit http://www.aapd.com/ADAanniversary.
June 2010 - Sign on to the Spirit of the ADA Agenda
The Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN), a coalition led by 13 national organizations run by people with disabilities, has developed a 3-point agenda that will "safeguard human rights and respect human dignity, enhance self-determination, and make technology work for everyone." The agenda calls for the passage of several bills that will complement the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensure each agenda point is accomplished. To ensure your legislators understand the importance of passing legislation that brings equal access and opportunity to Americans with Disabilities, show your support for the agenda. Visit JFAAN Spirit of the ADA Agenda to write a personalized message and sign your name in support of the Agenda's message.
June 2010 - Home-based Medicaid services face severe cuts in coming months and years
In the article published on May 20th, entitled Disabled Face Hard Choices as States Slash Medicaid, the Wall Street Journal brings light to a crisis that is about to hit home for thousands of people with disabilities. With state budgets ripping at the seams, states are scrambling to find ways to balance their out of control spending. South Carolina is just one state that has deemed it necessary to cut Medicaid, the program that pays for both in-home and institutional care for many low income people with disabilities. Even though home care costs far less compared to nursing home care ($39,000 vs. $100,000 annually according to one study), states feel it is easier and less damaging to cut home services rather than close a 24-hour care facility, which could leave residents with nowhere to go. Some Medicaid beneficiaries are receiving notice that their in-home services will be cut in half. For one wheelchair-bound South Carolina resident, that means that she will go from having 8 hours of care each day to just 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. Basic needs such as toileting will have to wait.
As stated in the article, "cutting home care could ultimately prove penny-wise and pound-foolish, however. It could push more people into institutions or large group homes because that is where services are guaranteed, even though institutional care is more expensive."
To read more about this looming crisis, check out the article in its entirety available on the Hope House Matters website: http://hope-house.org/news/blog.php/2010/05/27/370/.
June 2010 - Report outlines how Health Care Reform will impact people with disabilities
The United Spinal Association and the National Spinal Cord Injury Association have recently issued a report entitled Impact of Health Care Reform on People with Disabilities. Key benefits to people with disabilities include:
As of 2014, health insurers will no longer be able to deny coverage due to disabilities or other pre-existing conditions
As of 2014, Medicaid will be expanded to provide coverage to non-elderly, childless adults with incomes up to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level
Most Insurance plans will be required to cover rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices
Home and Community-based Programs will be expanded to allow more people to receive daily care in their homes
To learn more about how Health Care Reform will impact you, as a person with a disability, visit jfactivist.typepad.com/files/health-reform-and-disabilities-april-2010-pdf-4-27-10.pdf.
June 2010 - Report presents ideas to improve transportation for people with disabilities
The United We Ride National Dialogue Final Report, issued this past February by the National Academy of Public Administration, brings together suggestions from key stakeholders on how to effectively meet the transportation needs of people with disabilities, older adults, and people with limited incomes. From the more than 280 unique ideas presented by more than 783 Dialouge participants, 4 major themes emerged:
Theme 1: The process for creating coordinated transportation plans continues to need improvement.
Theme 2: Significant federal policy barriers still exist to facilitate access to transportation services.
Theme 3: Mobility management strategies are underutilized in communities across the country.
Theme 4: There are missed opportunities to bridge gaps between transportation and other community services
To review the suggested improvements, visit the report, The United We Ride National Dialogue: Final Report online.
June 2010 - Comprehensive Resource Book Available to Wheelchair users
New Mobility has recently published the 4th Edition of Spinal Network: The Total Wheelchair Resource Book. " Packed with 400 pages of vital information and tips from longtime wheelchair users, Spinal Network has been called the “Rehab Bible” — the one book you need to live life to the fullest after paralysis. From sex to sports to spirituality, the new 4th edition covers it all — health, relationships, travel, recreation, technology, transportation, fertility, parenting, cure research, media, the arts, disability rights, personal assistance services, insurance, employment and more!" The book is available in printed format for $34.95. To order your copy, visit the New Mobility Online Bookstore or call 1-888-850-0344.
June 2010 - Exceptional Family TV - Reality TV for the exceptional family
Exceptional Family TV is a new web-based reality series for and about families raising children with disabilities. Created by Susan Stephens, a grandmother of a child with Cerebral Palsy, eFamily TV "provides a multi-media platform focusing on the wide variety of topics in the special needs community -- information on new therapies, treatments, equipment, adaptable toys, emotional discussions, family stories, and more. The cornerstone of eFamily TV is the weekly webisodes, which feature families on their exceptional journeys through life. One recent episode chronicled the journey of Renee and Nathan as they struggled to come to terms with their emotions as they learned of their son’s diagnosis and later came together to create a positive attitude and connection with others.
To view other episodes, or to connect with other Exceptional Families, visit www.exceptionalfamilytv.com.
June 2010 - It's Our Story to chronicle the struggles and triumphs of the disability community
In an effort to educate the community about the disability experience, It's Our Story is developing a fully accessible online database of personal testimonials and oral histories provided by individuals with disabilities over the last several decades. The collection of testimonials, known as the "Discrimination Diaries", was started in the 1980s by Justin Dart Jr., a disability advocate who played a pivital role in the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act. After Mr. Dart's passing, a gentleman named Scott Cooper continued this journey with a video camera, capturing "oral histories" from more than one thousand disability advocates in more than 100 cities across the United States. Now, these diaries and oral histories will be brought together in a database that will serve as our nation's single most significant collection of primary source records of the disability experience.
It's Our Story will launch on July 26th, 20 years to the day the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. You can be a part of this effort. The project needs assistance transcribing (typing) the oral and handwritten histories for its database. If you would like to be a part of this landmark project, visit www.itsourstory.org.
June 2010 - ABC program, What Would You Do? focuses on treatment of individuals with Down Syndrome
The popular ABC show, What Would You Do?, uses actors to protray controversial scenarios in an effort to "study" human behavior and reactions. A recently aired episode featured an actor with Down Syndrome portraying a bagger at a grocery store who is berated by impatient customers (also portrayed by actors). How did other customers react? As expected, some stood quietly by, trying to avoid confrontation. Others snickered at the customer's snide remarks. It is the few who took a stand against the ignorant comments, that really stood out. To view an excerpt of this episode, visit www.hulu.com and search for "What Would You Do?: Who Stops Grocery Clerk Abuse?"
March 2010 - Census 2010 - Be counted, Complete your census
It is likely that you have already received your 2010 Census form in the mail. While it is important for every household to participate, it is even more important for households that include an individual with a disability. The census directly affects the funding many agencies receive, as well as federally funded programs that support people with disabilities in the community. It is estimated that for every 100 people not counted, a community risks losing an estimated $1.2 million over the next decade for federally funded programs including: Medicaid and maternal and child health programs, transit programs, public housing assistance, Community Development Block Grants, Head Start, Title 1 education funds and grants for special and vocational education. To learn more about the 2010 Census, visit 2010.census.gov.
March 2010 - Disabilities At Work Internet Radio to launch April 14th
Disabilities At Work is a national effort aimed at encouraging businesses to open their doors to the millions of consumers and employees with disabilities. In support of this effort, Disabilities At Work will be launching an Internet Radio Show to air every Wednesday at 12 noon (EST) on the Voice America Business Channel, starting on Wednesday, April 14th. The show will spotlight businesses that go ‘beyond compliance’ in finding and hiring qualified people with disabilities, or who support people with disabilities through philanthropy or in other ways. The show will feature corporate VIPs, successful service providers, educators, people with disabilities who have interesting stories, authors, researchers, government officials, elected representatives, and celebrities who have reasons to be involved.
To learn more, visit Disabilities at Work online at www.DisabilitiesAtWork.org.
February 2010 - Report highlights family caregiving in the US
A new report, issued by the National Alliance for Caregiving in collaboration with the AARP, provides a comprehensive portrait of family careigivers in America. For the first time ever this report also provides statistics on caring for children with special needs. Among the key findings:
65.7 million Americans served as unpaid caregivers to an aged or disabled family member
Three in ten households reported that at least one household members served as an unpaid caregiver to either a child or adult within the past 12 months
14% of respondents reported caring for their child with a disability
On average, family caregivers spend 20.4 hours per week providing care, but those caring for a child spend an average of 29.7 hours per week
73% or respondents worked while also providing care, among those 66% percent reported a need to come in late, leave early or take time off to care for their family member
A number of proposals have been developed by policymakers in an effort to ease the burden of caregiving. The most popular among family caregivers is the availability of a $3000 caregiver tax credit. Another popular proposal is a voucher program which allows the care recipient to provide the caregiver a minimum wage payment for some of their hours. Other proposals include respite services to provide a break from caregiving and a partially paid leave of absence from work.
The report can be downloaded from the AARP website by visiting http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/caregiving_09_es.pdf.
Action Alert! - February 2010 - Campaign fights for community based services
ADAPT has recently launched a national campaign to protect the rights of Americans with disabilities when it comes to choice in long term care. Despite the Supreme Court's ruling 11 years ago that care must be provided in the community, states continue to allocate the majority of their Medicaid dollars to nursing home care. The federal government is doing nothing to correct the actions of the states, forcing thousands of individuals into nursing homes. In an effort to mobilize the Obama administration to enforce the law, ADAPT is calling on the disability community to participate in a three-prong national campaign:
Demand that the Obama Administration aggresively enforce the Olmstead Decision
File complaints with the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (Visit: How To File a Complaint with the Office for Civil Rights) and the U.S. Department of Justice (Visit: Submit a Complaint) that document the violation of rights of individuals who have been forced into institutional settings
Document the disability community's efforts to fight back against state cuts by e-mailing your stories to defendingourfreedom@gmail.com
The campaign's progress can be tracked by visiting www.defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com.
February 2010 - SSA launches new website for Social Security Disability Beneficiaries who want to work
The Social Security Administration has developed a new website dedicated to their Ticket to Work Program for individuals with disabilities. The Ticket to Work program provides a voucher that eligible individuals with disbilities can use to pay for employment-related services. This program has been largely underutilized and is simply waiting for you to tap into it. If you are currently receiving Social Security Disability Benefits and are interested in going to work, check out the Choose Work website at www.choosework.net.
February 2010 - Think Beyond the Label - New campaign works to bust myths related to hiring workers with disabilities
Think Beyond the Label has a simple goal - to raise awareness that hiring people with disabilities makes good business sense. Many employers continue to be "scared off" by the prospect of hiring an individual with a disability. This campaign aims to educate employers on available hiring incentives and to connect employers to qualified candidates with disabilities. Their website features a Business Case for hiring individuals with disabilities, a Tax Incentives Tip Sheet and Best Practices for finding qualified workers.
Get your reality check by visiting www.thinkbeyondthelabel.com.
February 2010 - Report highlights state of housing in America for people with disabilities
The National Countil on Disability has recently issued The State of Housing in America in the 21st Century: A Disability Perspective. This report looks at the state of housing for people with disabilities with the intent to provide recommendations that can improve housing opportunities. The report found that affordability continues to be a major factor in the availability of housing for people with disabilities and that existing laws are doing little to increase the supply of accessible, affordable housing. The report also provides evidence of what can be effective in meeting the range of housing needs among a diverse group of consumers with disabilities. This includes best and promising practices drawn from real examples, and lessons learned from experts working on housing issues and policy. To read this report in its entirety, visit www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2010/NCD_Housing_Report508.pdf.
January 2010 - Extra Help available to seniors and disabled for prescription drug costs
Under a new law that changes what counts as income, more Medicare beneficiaries could qualify for Extra Help with their Medicare prescription drug plan costs. More specifically, it eliminates the cash value of life insurance from counting as a resource. Second, it eliminates the assistance
people receive from others to pay for household expenses, such as food, rent, mortgage or utilities, from counting as income. Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for Extra Help could save an estimated $3,900 per year. To qualify, a person must be on Medicare, have limited income and resources, and reside in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. To learn if you qualify, visit www.socialsecurity.gov/prescriptionhelp.
January 2010 - Medicaid expenditures for aged/physically disabled biased towards nursing home care
Despite the 1999 Supreme Court Olmstead decision, which held that unnecessary institutionalization is discrimination against people with disabilities, and an overwhelming desire among the aged and individuals with disabilities to receive care in their home, Medicaid is continuing to spend two-thirds of long-term care dollars on institutional care. In FY 2008, only 4 states, California, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington, spent more for community care versus nursing home care.
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