1) What’s Happening in the Nation’s Capital?

2) National News

Take Action: Ask Congress to Retain IL Funding in the Economic Recovery Conference Report!

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Changes the Way Employers Manage Compensation Decisions

Representative Miller Asks GAO to Investigate Cases of Abuse and Neglect of Schoolchildren

ADA Settlement Reached between the USA and Wal-Mart Under Title III

Number of Americans with a Disability Reaches 54.4 Million

3) State News

Involuntary Electroshock Continues in Minnesota: CIL Staff Banned from Contact – Act Now!

4) Announcements and Additional Resources

Save the Date! National Professional Training Conference on Responding to Crime Victims with Disabilities

Carol Jean Reynolds to Head Committee Supporting Centers in Serving People with Psychiatric Disabilities

Described Inauguration Now Available Online!

 

1) What’s Happening in the Nation’s Capital?  

Source: Politico

The stimulus bill is on the Senate floor, and President Obama is pushing for much more Republican support. From Sheryl Gay Stolberg of The New York Times: 'With House Republicans having spurned the bill last week - not a single Republican voted in favor - Mr. Obama is now on a quest to reshape the legislation in a way that will bring Senate Republicans, and perhaps eventually some House members as well, on board. On Monday, he will meet with Congressional Democratic leaders at the White House for further discussions on the package. 'I am confident that by the time we actually have the final package on the floor that we are going to see substantial support,' Mr. Obama said Sunday in a pre-Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer of NBC News.'

The Wall Street Journal's Gregg Hitt and Brody Mullins lay out the Senate fight: 'Big fights loom this week as the Senate opens debate on its version of the stimulus, a package of tax cuts and spending with a price tag approaching $900 billion. Republicans are preparing alternative proposals that would shift the emphasis away from spending. One proposal calls for cuts in the two lowest income-tax rates and strengthened aid to distressed homeowners, among other measures. At the same time, a Democrat-backed amendment being readied would increase infrastructure spending in the bill by between $20 billion and $30 billion, boosting support for mass transit, highways and bridges, and wastewater-treatment plants, among other things.'

Democrats are dropping more controversial items and trying to spend the money faster in the Senate version. As Politico's David Rogers reports: 'Last-minute changes in the bill text will drop set-asides allocating public health funds for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and to discourage smoking - two modest investments that had invited ridicule from conservatives. ... The Congressional Budget Office could release its scoring of the bill as early as Monday, and preliminary figures indicate that the CBO will show that 78 percent of the package will be pumped into the economy by Oct. 1, 2010.'

2) National News

Take Action: Ask Congress to Retain IL Funding in the Economic Recovery Conference Report!

Background: Centers for Independent Living received funding in both the House and Senate versions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but the Senate is currently attempting to strip all funding not related to immediate employment and infrastructure projects, so it is important to highlight the Independent Living Program as it relates to employment of people with disabilities.

You must communicate the following to your Senators and Representatives in order to secure this funding:

1. Centers work with people with disabilities to help them become employed, and provide much needed supports so that people can find good jobs that are sustainable.
   
   
2. Centers help people to remain independent in their own homes and communities, and help prevent people from being institutionalized.  In most cases it is much more costly to pay for institutional care, and much less costly to provide the supports people need to remain independent and productive in their own homes and communities.  Centers help ease the financial burden that states have to bear on institutional expenses by keeping people OUT of institutions.
   
   
3. Ask them to keep the funding for the Independent Living Program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

This Is Not A Done Deal: Congress Needs to Hear from You Today! In order to secure funding we must tell our Senators and Representatives how critical Centers for Independent Living are to the community and state. NCIL is working with Members of Congress and RSA to secure and distribute funding for CILs and SILCs.  

Targets

• Contact all Senators
  
  
• Contact all Representatives

Ask for the legislative aide handling the Economic Recovery package.

The Senate is expected to take up its version of the bill this week, and Democratic congressional leaders want the measure ready for President Obama's signature before the Presidents Day recess the week of February 16.  Text of the bills is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/. 

Members should also call Congressman Obey and Senator Harkin to thank them for including Independent Living!

For more information: Contact NCIL Policy Analyst Elizabeth Leef by email, Elizabeth@ncil.org, phone: (202) 207-0334, ext 1015 or fax: (202) 207-0341.

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Changes the Way Employers Manage Compensation Decisions

Yesterday, on January 29, President Barack Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, marking the first legislative act of his presidency. The law applies to discriminatory pay complaints and remedies under several current laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), and portions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Providing for retroactive coverage effective May 28, 2007, the law overturns the Supreme Court decision Ledbetter v. Good Year Tire & Rubber Co., extending filing deadlines for pay-bias complaints and clarifying the definition of a discriminatory employment practice. This also impacts the handling of closed and pending complaints and suits filed after the effective date. In addition, Title VII maintains that employers must avoid any actions that may be viewed as retaliatory against employees involved in any portion of a wage discrimination complaint investigation.

Business & Legal Reports, Inc. (BLR) encourages employers to review their current pay administration policies and procedures to make sure any existing pay inequities are corrected and that supervisors and managers are trained to avoid them in the future.

"In practical terms," said Catherine Moreton Gray, J.D., managing editor, Human Resources at BLR, "the law eliminates the time limit within which an employee must file a complaint of pay discrimination as long as he or she continues on an employer's payroll. In other words, if a female employee had a supervisor 10 years ago that made pay decisions based on gender, causing her to be paid less than her male counterparts, and that pay inequity was not corrected in subsequent pay increases, each paycheck will start a new statute of limitations, This means the employee may file a charge of discrimination many years later when she learns of the discrepancy in pay." Read More (on the MSNBC page, scroll down for story).

Representative Miller Asks GAO to Investigate Cases of Abuse and Neglect of Schoolchildren

Source: U.S. House of Representatives, Education & Labor Committee, Congressman George Miller, Chairman

U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to further investigate recent reports of seclusion and restraint of children in public and private schools across the country. Miller’s committee plans to hold a hearing on these practices in the coming months.

Earlier this month, the National Disability Rights Network released a report detailing hundreds of cases where abusive uses of seclusion and restraint by school staff injured or traumatized schoolchildren, many with disabilities. The report revealed cases where students were abusively pinned to the floor, handcuffed, locked in closets, and subjected to other acts of violence. In some of the cases, children died.

As Miller noted in his letter to GAO today, a prior GAO investigation conducted at Miller’s request uncovered thousands of similar cases of abuse at teen residential treatment facilities across the country. GAO’s work laid the groundwork for legislation to address these abuses, the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2008 (H.R. 6358), which the House passed in June. 

ADA Settlement Reached between the USA and Wal-Mart Under Title III

Source: NVRC News

January 16, 2009, the Civil Rights Division entered into a settlement agreement with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to improve access for persons with disabilities at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. The agreement resolves an investigation that was initiated after the Department received several complaints alleging that Wal-Mart had refused to make reasonable modifications to its rules, policies, practices, and procedures for customers with disabilities in violation of Title III of the ADA. Many of the complaints alleged that persons with disabilities were denied access to Wal-Mart stores or were denied an equal opportunity to shop, free of repeated challenges by Wal-Mart staff, because they were accompanied by service animals. Service animals are dogs and other animals that are individually trained to work or perform tasks for persons with disabilities.

The settlement agreement covers all facilities located in the United States where Wal-Mart sells any good or service to members of the public, including all Wal-Mart stores, Supercenters, Sam's Clubs, and Neighborhood Markets. The settlement agreement, which will be effective for three years, requires Wal-Mart to take several steps to improve access for customers with disabilities, including:

• an undertaking by Wal-Mart not to discriminate in violation of Title III of the ADA and to provide reasonable modifications to individuals with disabilities as required by Title III of the ADA, such as disability-related assistance such as helping customers in locating, lifting, and carrying items;
  
  
• the adoption and implementation of an ADA-compliant policy of welcoming persons with disabilities who use service animals into Wal-Mart stores with little or no questioning and without repeated challenges by Wal-Mart employees;
  
  
• training for all employees on Wal-Mart's obligations under Title III of the ADA to make reasonable modifications for individuals with disabilities and Wal-Mart's new ADA-compliant service animal policy;
  
  
• additional training for store management and People Greeters, since employees in these positions have additional responsibilities under Wal-Mart's new service animal policy;
  
  
• the posting of Wal-Mart's new service animal policy on its website and in employee areas at its stores;
  
  
• the establishment of a grievance procedure in which Wal-Mart will receive complaints alleging violations of Title III of the ADA at a toll-free hotline, investigate such complaints, and take appropriate corrective actions to resolve any noncompliance with Title III of the ADA, including relief to complainants where appropriate.

Under the settlement agreement, Wal-Mart will also pay $150,000 into a fund to compensate certain individuals with disabilities who filed administrative complaints with the Department alleging Wal-Mart's refusal to make reasonable modifications, including the denial of equal access to persons with disabilities who use service animals. The Civil Rights Division will determine which complainants are to receive damages from the fund and the amount of damages to be received.

In furtherance of the public interest, Wal-Mart will also pay an additional $100,000 into a fund that will be used by the Civil Rights Division to finance a public service announcement campaign to increase public awareness of the access rights of persons with disabilities who use service animals. The nature and scope of the public service announcement campaign will be determined by the Civil Rights Division. The settlement agreement is posted on the Department of Justice's ADA Home Page at www.ada.gov.

Number of Americans with a Disability Reaches 54.4 Million

About one in five U.S. residents - 19 percent - reported some level of disability in 2005, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. These 54.4 million Americans are roughly equal to the combined total populations of California and Florida. Both the number and percentage of people with disabilities were higher than in 2002, the last time the Census Bureau collected such information. At that time, 51.2 million, or 18 percent, reported a disability.

Among those with a disability, 35 million, or 12 percent of the population, were classified as having a severe disability, according to Americans With Disabilities: 2005 [PDF].  Nearly half (46 percent) of people age 21 to 64 with a disability were employed, compared with 84 percent of people in this age group without a disability. Among those with disabilities, 31 percent with severe disabilities and 75 percent with nonsevere disabilities were employed. People with difficulty hearing were more likely to be employed than those with difficulty seeing (59 percent compared with 41 percent).

A portion of people with disabilities — 11 million age 6 and older — needed personal assistance with everyday activities. These activities include such tasks as getting around inside the home, taking a bath or shower, preparing meals and performing light housework.

Other findings:

• Among people 15 and older, 7.8 million (3 percent) had difficulty hearing a normal conversation, including 1 million being unable to hear at all. Although not part of the definition of disability used in the report, 4.3 million people reported using a hearing aid.
  
  
• Roughly 3.3 million people, or 1 percent, age 15 and older used a wheelchair or similar device, with 10.2 million, or 4 percent, using a cane, crutches or walker.
  
  
• Nearly 7.8 million people age 15 and older had difficulty seeing words or letters in ordinary newspaper print, including 1.8 million being completely unable to see.
  
  
• More than 16 million people had difficulty with cognitive, mental or emotional functioning. This included 8.4 million with one or more problems that interfere with daily activities, such as frequently being depressed or anxious, trouble getting along with others, trouble concentrating and trouble coping with stress.
  
  
• The chances of having a disability increase with age: 18.1 million people 65 and older, or 52 percent, had a disability. Of this number, 12.9 million, or 37 percent, had a severe disability. For people 80 and older, the disability rate was 71 percent, with 56 percent having a severe disability.
  
  
• Among people 16 to 64, 13.3 million, or 7 percent, reported difficulty finding a job or remaining employed because of a health-related condition.
  
  
• Among people 25 to 64 with a severe disability, 27 percent were in poverty, compared with 12 percent for people with a nonsevere disability and 9 percent for those without a disability.
  
  
• Median monthly earnings were $1,458 for people with a severe disability, $2,250 for people with a nonsevere disability and $2,539 for those with no disability.
  
  
• Parents reported that 228,000 children under age 3, or 2 percent, had a disability. Specifically, they either had a developmental delay or difficulty moving their arms or legs. In addition, there were 475,000 children 3 to 5 years, or 4 percent, with a disability, which meant they had either a developmental delay or difficulty walking, running or playing.
  
  
• There were 4.7 million children 6 to 14, or 13 percent, with a disability. The most prevalent type was difficulty doing regular schoolwork (2.5 million, or 7 percent).

The Survey of Income and Program Participation produces national-level estimates for the U.S. resident population and subgroups, and allows for the observation of trends over time, particularly of selected characteristics such as income, eligibility for and participation in transfer programs, household and family composition, labor force behavior and other associated events. Detailed Tables.

3) State News

Involuntary Electroshock Continues in Minnesota: CIL Staff Banned from Contact – Act Now!

Source: www.mindfreedom.org/ray

Last Wednesday's involuntary outpatient electroshock for Ray Sandford was POSTPONED, with Ray in the waiting room. As has happened many times before, early this morning Ray was woken up in his assisted living home and escorted to a psychiatrist's waiting room at Mercy Hospital north of Minneapolis, Minnesota. As he often does, Ray complained about his physical health. In the past his complaint has not made a difference. This time it did.

Ray returned home and called the MindFreedom office, saying, "It was a miracle. They were ready to go. I was sitting in the hallway where you wait. There's a big picture of one of my former doctors on the wall that I was looking at. I was twiddling my thumbs. And someone came out and said, 'Oh by the way you're not going to get ECT today.'  As far as I am concerned that was a miracle. I was prepared for the worst. I am delighted."

It's not over yet, of course. Ray is supposed to have a check-up this week to see if his forced electroshocks may be rescheduled. Unless there is a miracle, Ray Sandford will continue receiving involuntary electroshock, all funded by taxpayer dollars. After more than three dozen forced electroshocks, Ray knows the drill.

Ray's mental health workers always manage to find an escort for Ray's forced electroshocks or psychiatrist visits. On the other hand, a few days ago Ray said he had to miss a dental appointment that was supposed to help with his severe teeth problems, because no attendant could be found that day.

Since Ray's campaign started, an attendant is required to accompany Ray any time he leaves his home. MindFreedom volunteers have been banned from visiting. One such visitor, a disability advocate, even had her employment threatened after Ray's "helpers" filed a complaint with her employer for bringing Ray to a Minnesota Center for Independent Living.

Ray says the waiting room of his electroshock doctor, Bernard M. Coelho, MD, at Mercy Hospital is often full with about 10 patients who Ray believes are also scheduled for electroshock. Giving multiple electroshocks on the same morning is a common practice, sometimes called a "Shock Mill," and can be very lucrative. Mercy Hospital is owned by Allina Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota. Ray will lay in a bed and feel an injection as anesthesia and a muscle paralyzer are administered to suppress muscle writhing. Ray says Dr. Coelho will then run electricity through Ray's brain, inducing a convulsion.

Ray calls the MindFreedom office almost every day, including just before and just after his forced electroshocks. He says forced shock is always scary, that it's harming his memory and ability to concentrate more and more. Ray is asking us all to protest peacefully his forced electroshock.

The nightmare of involuntary electroshock over the expressed wishes of the subject has happened regularly since the very first electroshock in Italy in 1937. But now the atrocity of forced electroshock has climbed over the institutional walls, and is out in our towns and cities, in our neighborhoods and homes. Do not let this become "normal." Do not wait to see your neighbor escorted out into some early winter morning for this. Do not wait for that to be you.

MindFreedom reminds everyone that Ray's campaign is nonviolent. Ray values his religious principles, and MindFreedom has strict nonviolence guidelines. If you communicate with any potential opponent, please be strong but civil. Anything else can be used against Ray.

Here are a few easy ways you may protest Ray's electroshock from wherever you are.

4) Announcements and Additional Resources

Save the Date! National Professional Training Conference on Responding to Crime Victims with Disabilities

September 30, 2009 - October 2, 2009

Hyatt Regency Denver Convention Center; 650 15th Street; Denver, CO  80202

We are pleased to announce The National Professional Training Conference on Responding to Crime Victims with Disabilities will be held September 30, 2009 through October 2, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Denver Convention Center located at 650 15th Street, Denver, Colorado. More information can be found at the conference website:
http://www.register123.com/event/profile/web/125952

The National Professional Training Conference on Responding to Crime Victims with Disabilities will serve to enhance the knowledge, skills, and abilities of providers to effectively serve people with disabilities who are victims of crime, (e.g. abuse, and neglect, etc.). The conference will facilitate partnerships among the fields of victim assistance, advocacy for persons with disabilities, and allied professions (e.g. adult and child protective service workers, faith-based practitioners, medical practitioners/forensic examiners, mental health practitioners, educators) for conference participation.

This conference was funded by the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime to the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Joint Center on Violence and Victim Studies. These organizations have partnered with the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) / Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), the National Sheriffs' Association, the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University, and Davis Innovations, Inc.

Solicitation and Submission of Workshop Proposals: We are seeking presenters for workshops to address a wide range of topics organized into separate conference tracks. The 2009 conference will emphasize a multidisciplinary approach in sharing promising practices, current research, and effective policies to ensure comprehensive responses, rights, and resources for all crime victims with disabilities. We are especially seeking workshops that have practical hands-on skill-building focus, or focus on new research in the field.

Scholarships for Community Teams: Since this is a national program, teams that represent a wide spectrum of geographic and cultural experiences will be sought. Representation on the teams of practitioners and advocates with disabilities who have been victims of crime is strongly encouraged A limited number of scholarships are available for multi-disciplinary teams. Team scholarships serve to encourage individuals from diverse organizations and disciplines to engage in the professional development, collaboration, and planning afforded by the conference in order to address the unique needs of crime victims with disabilities. 

Carol Jean Reynolds to Head Committee Supporting Centers in Serving People with Psychiatric Disabilities

Carol Jean Reynolds, NCIL's Region VIII Representative and Executive Director of the Disability Center for Independent Living in Denver, Colorado has been invited to serve on a newly created National Advisory Committee, which is part of the University of Pennsylvania's Collaborative on Community Integration project. The committee will focus on supporting Centers for Independent Living in addressing the needs of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. Contact: Carol Jean Reynolds, Executive Director of Disability Center for Independent Living. Telephone: 303.320.1345; Fax: 303.320.1355.

Described Inauguration Now Available Online!