1) What’s Happening in the Nation’s Capital?
Take Action: Demand Your Senators Protect Students with Disabilities from Abuse in Schools; National Call-In Day Tomorrow
2) National News
Health Care Bill Offers Tax Credit to Small Nonprofits
An Opportunity for Centers Partnering with Local ADRCs: AoA Announces Availability of Approximately $2.25 Million for Lifespan Respite Care Programs
3) State News
DOJ Signs Agreement with Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS to Ensure Civic Access
Harkin Announces Nearly $85,000 to Help Iowans with Disabilities
4) Announcements and Additional Resources
RSA Technical Assistance Webinar
Save the Date: Webinar on New HUD NOFA for Section 8 Vouchers
Campaign for Disability Employment Challenges Public to Improve Disability Employment Landscape
Take Action: Demand Your Senators Protect Students with Disabilities from Abuse in Schools; National Call-In Day Tomorrow
Source: APRAIS Coalition
On March 3, 2010, the United States House of Representatives took a bold step forward and passed H.R. 4247, moving this legislation closer to becoming federal law. The next part of the process now rests in the hands of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee members. The cooperation of these individuals, along with the help of all Senators, is needed to move the bill’s counterpart, S. 2860, out of committee.
We are asking you to join us in a National Call-In Day on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, to tell your Senators to support the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, S.2860, introduced in December 2009 by Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT). This legislation would provide students with and without disabilities vital protections against abuse in schools. Please inform your Senators about the importance of this legislation to the disability community and for health and safety all children, and ask for their support.
Please call this coming Tuesday, April 13 and encourage your friends, family and coworkers to participate by dialing the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking for your Senators to support S. 2860.
- Find out the names of your US Senators: www.congress.org
- Ask for the offices of your US Senators
- Ask to speak to the person working on education issues
- Identify yourself as a constituent and the organization that you represent (if any)
Message: “I am calling to urge (Senator __________) to support S.2860, legislation preventing harmful use of restraint and seclusion in schools.”
If you are interested in doing more, please e-mail us at info@autisticadvocacy.org for information about how you can arrange a meeting with your representatives to explain why this bill is essential or visit www.tash.org/aprais to learn more.
Health Care Bill Offers Tax Credit to Small Nonprofits
Source: Philanthropy.com, by Suzanne Perry
The historic health-care bill adopted by the House of Representatives Sunday night provides relief to small charities that offer health insurance to their employees -- a victory for nonprofit leaders who fought for such language.
By adopting the Senate version of the major health-care overhaul, the House agreed that both nonprofit groups and businesses could qualify for tax credits. The original House bill offered only income-tax credits to small employers, which would not have helped tax-exempt groups.
The final bill, set to be signed by President Obama in the next day or two, allows nonprofit groups to apply the credit to certain payroll taxes, like the money withheld from employee checks for Medicare. The provision applies to employers with no more than 25 full-time employees and average wages below $50,000.
For tax years 2010 through 2013, nonprofit groups will be eligible for up to 25 percent of the costs if they pay for at least 50 percent of the premiums (businesses get 35 percent). Starting in tax year 2014, they will be eligible for up to 35 percent of such costs if they buy insurance from new exchanges, or insurance marketplaces, that states must set up for small businesses. Read More.
An Opportunity for Centers Partnering with Local ADRCs: AoA Announces Availability of Approximately $2.25 Million for Lifespan Respite Care Programs
The U.S. Administration on Aging is announcing the availability of approximately $2.25 million for implementation of the requirements of the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006. These projects will enable states to establish, enhance or expand Lifespan Respite Care systems, including new and planned emergency respite services, training and recruitment of respite workers and volunteers and assist caregivers with gaining access to needed respite services.
Under the 2010 "Lifespan Respite Care Program" announcement, AoA will award approximately ten to fifteen grants to states with federal funding up to $200,000 each for three-year project periods. AoA will fund projects that propose to serve all eligible respite recipients, including family members, foster parents, or other adults providing unpaid care to adults needing care to meet basic daily needs or prevent injury and to children who require care beyond that required to meet their basic needs. Over the course of these projects, states will work to expand and enhance respite care services to family members; improve the statewide dissemination and coordination of respite care; and provide, supplement, or improve access and quality of respite care services to family caregivers, thereby reducing family caregiver strain. Read More.
DOJ Signs Agreement with Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS to Ensure Civic Access
The Justice Department today announced an agreement with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities. The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“Civic access is a civil right, and individuals with disabilities must have the opportunity to participate in public programs, services and activities on an equal basis with their neighbors,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division. “I commend officials from the Unified Government for making this commitment to its residents with disabilities, and for working with us to attain equal access to all of its programs, activities and services.” Read More.
Harkin Announces Nearly $85,000 to Help Iowans with Disabilities
Source: IowaPolitics.com
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced today that the South Central Iowa Independent Living Center in Oskaloosa received $84,176 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. These funds, which can be spent over the next five years, will allow the Center for Independent Living to provide advocacy, peer support, independent living skills training and other essential services to individuals with disabilities in the Oskaloosa area. Harkin worked to secure these funds through his role as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which wrote much of the Recovery Act.
“These funds will help provide critical support services to individuals with disabilities in the Oskaloosa area and help them realize the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act – full participation, equal opportunity, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency,” said Harkin. “I applaud the funding and I am sure that it will be used to benefit as many individuals with disabilities as possible.”
One of the purposes of the ARAA funds is to help serve unserved and underserved populations of individuals with disabilities, so that they too can benefit from these independent living services, regardless of where they reside. In addition, Centers for Independent Living are instrumental, on a national basis, in helping individuals with significant disabilities access home and community based services which allow them to return to or remain in their communities, rather than in a more restrictive setting.
RSA Technical Assistance Webinar
SPIL Guidance: Network of Centers and Priority for Establishing New Centers
Friday, April 23, 2010, 1:00 p.m. (ET)
This webinar will provide guidance on the content of the State Plan for Independent Living as it relates to Section 3.1 -- the composition of the statewide network of centers and Section 3.2 -- the statutory priority for establishing new Part C centers as part of the state’s design for its network of centers.
Information necessary for participation in the webinar is available here. Please carefully review information provided at this site to ensure your participation on the day of the webinar. Pre-registration is not required for this webinar. In addition to containing all information necessary to access the webinar, the site also provides the handouts, slides and the accessible version of the slides to be used during the webinar. A complete recording of the webinar will be available at this site the day following the webinar. If you have any questions regarding access to the webinar, please contact Terry Martin at (202) 245-7275 or Terrence.martin@ed.gov.
Save the Date: Webinar on New HUD NOFA for Section 8 Vouchers
HUD issued the NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) for the FY 2009 Section 8 vouchers targeted to non-elderly persons with disabilities on Wednesday April 7. Ann O’Hara and her colleagues at the Technical Assistance Collaborative will be hosting a webinar for advocates to explain the NOFA and how they can work with their local PHAs.
- Wednesday, April 28, 2010; Noon – 2:00 PM ET
More details on accessing the Webinar will follow. Iinformation on the NOFA can be accessed at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/programs/hcv/pwd/ned.cfm.
Campaign for Disability Employment Challenges Public to Improve Disability Employment Landscape
The Campaign for Disability Employment, a newly-formed collaborative of leading disability and business organizations, has launched What Can YOU Do? – a national effort designed to promote positive employment outcomes and increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Every day, people with disabilities can and do add value to America’s workplaces. However, in both good economic times and bad, people with disabilities have far fewer job opportunities than the general population. Inspired to change these realities, the Campaign for Disability Employment’s What Can YOU Do? effort aims to promote the hiring, retention and advancement of people with disabilities and dispel negative stereotypes about disability and employment.
Several unique tools characterize the What Can YOU DO? public outreach initiative, including the Campaign’s Web site, www.whatcanyoudocampaign.org, which offers users the chance to learn, express their commitment to disability employment efforts and share what they “can do.” The site also features grassroots tools and tangible ideas for supporting the Campaign’s goals, as well as video public service announcements (PSAs) that challenge assumptions about people with disabilities and employment. Included in the video library is the Campaign’s flagship “I Can” PSA, intended for nationwide television broadcast, and "Meet Sue," winner of the What Can YOU Do? Video Contest, which invited aspiring filmmakers to produce their own videos in support of the Campaign’s goals.
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April 12, 2010