1) What’s Happening in the Nation’s Capital?
ADAPT Outraged by CMS Guidance on Cutting Home and Community Based Services; Demands a Meeting with HHS Secretary Sebelius
2) National News
Unemployment Rate for People with Disabilities on the Rise
Department of Labor Announces $1.6 Million for Add Us In Initiative
Social Security Celebrates Its 76th Birthday!
3) State News
“Loud, Disabled and Proud” at Second Annual Bay Area Disability Pride Parade
MA Residents with Disabilities Sue MassHealth for Inaccessible Documents
4) Announcements and Additional Resources
NCIL Joins Many Disability Advocacy and Civil Rights Organizations to Sponsor The Save Medicare and Medicaid Rally!
National Home Care and Services Survey: Your Input on Home Services Needed
New Dating Website for People with Disabilities
ADAPT Outraged by CMS Guidance on Cutting Home and Community Based Services; Demands a Meeting with HHS Secretary Sebelius
ADAPT, a national grassroots disability rights organization, is outraged by a Dear State Medicaid Director letter issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday, August 5th. That letter explained how states can cut Medicaid home and community based services, which provide alternatives to institutionalization, and not run afoul of the maintenance of effort requirement in the Affordable Care Act.
The organization is particularly upset because Secretary Sebelius spoke before national disability rights groups in July, highlighting how the Affordable Care Act benefits people with disabilities, including the potential to improve access to home and community based services. While the Secretary gave rousing speeches and was applauded by our community, her staff were crafting guidance to states on cutting our services, said Rahnee Patrick, an ADAPT Organizer from Chicago, IL. This is reprehensible.
The national advocacy group has other concerns about the federal agency.
Although the United States Department of Justice has taken action to assure that Americans with Disabilities are not forced into institutions as mandated in the Supreme Courts Olmstead decision, the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has done little to address Olmstead concerns identified in the states. Though talking tough about the need for states to comply with the Olmstead decision, CMS has not developed any accountability criteria to monitor states to assess if states are really complying with the decision" said Bruce Darling, an ADAPT Organizer from Rochester, NY.
Additionally, the group is frustrated by inconsistency within the federal agency. The guidance issued Friday was developed in response to concerns by states which face increasing costs as Medicaid enrollment increases because more Americans are eligible for the program due to lost income and expansions mandated in the Affordable Care Act. This same federal agency misinterpreted statutory language establishing the Community First Choice Option and developed proposed rules that would require states to provide more expansive services beyond what the statutory language would require.
Ultimately that means fewer states would select the option and fewer Americans will have the opportunity to live in freedom, said Ms. Patrick.
The fact that the federal agency took this action despite being told directly by the provisions sponsors that this was not Congress’ intent is particularly upsetting to advocates.
The only thing these policy directions have in common is that they negatively impact Americans with disabilities and older Americans who want to stay in their own homes, said Darling who indicated that ADAPT is seeking to meet with the Secretary. We intend to take our concerns directly to the Secretary, one way or another.
Unemployment Rate for People with Disabilities on the Rise
Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports on the Labor Statistics on the Current Population Survey. On Friday, August 5, 2011 the BLS announced the July 2011 unemployment rates. The numbers for persons with disabilities has increased year-to-year. The numbers show that 970,000 people with disabilities were unemployed in July 2011 compared to 919,000 in the same month last year.
By comparison, unemployment for persons without disabilities took a dip in July 2011.
NCIL advocates and the IL community nationwide are focused on increasing the employment opportunities of persons with disabilities. The NCIL Committees and policy staff are creating stronger and better outcomes through advocacy outreach working with legislative staffs and the Administration. We are assisting with the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) as well as reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). All of these bills will increase education outcomes and provide better employment outcomes for the Independent Living community.
For more information on the BLS labor statistics or to view the unemployment table please go to: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t06.htm.
Department of Labor Announces $1.6 Million for Add Us In Initiative
On August 4, 2011, The United States Department of Labor (DOL), Office on Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) held the first National Diversity Forum titled “Add Us In”. This initiative was created by Assistant Secretary Kathleen Martinez and focused on Merging Diversity and Disability into Business Opportunity. The day started with a welcome and introduction by the Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. She discussed the importance of bringing more diverse persons with disabilities as well as diverse disabilities to the business community. She stated that this day was an opportunity for both future employees and employers to come together and discuss solutions to obtaining employment. Secretary Solis also announced the availability of $1.6 million in funding for the Add Us In initiative, which will fund up to three cooperative agreements with allotments ranging from $500,000 to $550,000 each.
Solis stated, “The Labor Department is committed to ensuring that every American who wants a job can find one, including people with disabilities. The Add Us In initiative will help businesses develop strategies to provide a broader range of employment opportunities for this underutilized group of workers.”
L. Dara Baldwin, Policy Analyst at The National Council on Independent Living presented on Diversity Dollars: Why Small Business Should Engage Diverse Communities, where she stressed the importance of the discussion on diversity and employment policy issues that will assist with achieving the goal of employing all people who wish to be employed. She discussed the importance of entrepreneurship and the creation of home businesses as a non-traditional way to employment stability. She also provided information on the fact that employment is fundamental to Independent Living, because good stable employment equals quality independent living for all people. All presentations for the day and the full announcement for the grant opportunity can be found at the Add Us In website: http://www.dol.gov/odep/Addusin/. Applications for the grant will be accepted until September 2, 2011.
Social Security Celebrates Its 76th Birthday!
On Sunday August 14, 2011 Social Security will celebrate its 76th Birthday! In 1935 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into Law. This program provides stability and a retirement income for those citizens who may not have this opportunity. It also grew into much more over the past 70 years.
It is ironic that as Social Security celebrates this “milestone”, the NCIL community, along with many other social advocates, are fighting to keep Medicare and Medicaid alive. The “Super Committee of 12,” created by the Deficit Ceiling Law signed by President Obama last week, will discuss the dismantling of “Entitlement Programs” as part of its legislative outcomes. See the NCIL Action Alert on this topic and contact your congressional representatives NOW to stop this!
“The civilization of the past hundred years, with its startling industrial changes, has tended more and more to make life insecure. Young people have come to wonder what would be their lot when they came to old age. The man with a job has wondered how long the job would last. This law, too, represents a cornerstone in a structure which is being built but is by no means complete. It is, in short, a law that will take care of human needs and at the same time provide the United States an economic structure of vastly greater soundness.” President Roosevelt’s words the day he signed Social Security into law – August 14, 1935.
For more information on Social Security and the 76th anniversary visit: http://www.ssa.gov.
“Loud, Disabled and Proud” at Second Annual Bay Area Disability Pride Parade
Hundreds of participants walked and rolled down a mile-long stretch of North First Street in San Jose on Saturday morning chanting together during the second annual West Coast Disability Pride Parade and Festival.
"We're here, we're loud, we're disabled and we're proud," marchers chanted as they celebrated the 21st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act's signing. Colorful signs dotted the crowd, declaring "United We Stand" and "Cuts Kill, Taxes Heal."
Paradegoers welcomed a post-parade rest at a festival held at Silicon Valley Independent Living Center, the event's organizer. Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese's office co-organized the event.
For participants of all ages and disabilities, the parade was a chance to share a sense of community and raise awareness. "Visibility in the community helps," Berkeley resident Peni Hall said. "People need to know we're a large group of people that are horribly affected by budget cuts."
…The parade honored three grand marshals who had devoted their lives to advancing disability rights in the area. In short speeches, they urged communities to collaborate toward common goals. "We cannot afford to be two ships passing each other in the night, unaware of each other's presence," said Jean Lim, who was honored for her work with Asian-Americans with disabilities.
And many who were present felt that activism was as important as celebration. Hall and Bazar said they travel to Sacramento several times a year to advocate for disability rights, and many walked by the banner for Communities United in Defense of Olmstead, pushing for continued adherence to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1999 that said people with disabilities have the right to live in a community instead of being relegated to nursing homes. Read More.
MA Residents with Disabilities Sue MassHealth for Inaccessible Documents
Source: Boston Globe, by David Abel
Eight [residents with disabilities] and a local advocacy group filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday against the state agency that provides health care to more than a million low-income people, arguing it has failed to comply with laws that require documents to cater to the needs of [people with a variety of disabilities].
On the 21st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Boston-based Disability Policy Consortium and other plaintiffs - four who are blind, two who are deaf, and two with other disabilities - filed a suit in US District Court in Boston, alleging MassHealth violated the law by failing to provide written notices in Braille or other electronic forms, failing to use American Sign Language to communicate, and not listing phone numbers to help the hearing impaired on the agency’s website.
“The ADA was pretty clear that state governments have to make communications accessible to people with disabilities, so they can participate as fully as anyone else,’’ said Bill Allan, executive director of the Disability Policy Consortium. “The Commonwealth has ignored this issue for years. It has been brought up to them in reports and by individuals. It’s time for them to take action.’’ Read More.
NCIL Joins Many Disability Advocacy and Civil Rights Organizations to Sponsor The Save Medicare and Medicaid Rally!
Save-the-date and get ready to come to Washington, DC to fight for your rights and save Medicare and Medicaid! On September 21, 2011 multiple disability advocacy and other civil rights organizations will hold a Rally on the National Mall in front of the very heart of the legislative system.
We are going to make sure the Super Committee of 12 and all of Congress hears our voices together as one as we tell them: Don’t Mess with our Benefits!
We will have speakers from the community, music and rally chants all to keep our story front and center.
We have asked you to visit your congressional representatives while they are home in the district during the August recess, to write and call their offices and to tell your story to your local media outlets! We are so happy that you have started the process but we must continue to fight while the Super Committee of 12 meets in Washington, DC. They must hear our voices as they try to convene and create the new deficit policies that could end Medicare and Medicaid benefits and the right to live an independent life for many in this country. This could be the law that rules this country for decades. Keep your eyes on the Prize!
Look for details on the rally through the WhAM!, NCIL Alerts and the NCIL Facebook page!
National Home Care and Services Survey: Your Input on Home Services Needed
In the past one to two years, have you received care and services in your home? Or have you helped arrange home care and services for a family member or friend?
If so, we want to hear from you about your experiences.
The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, a national organization that advocates for people receiving long-term care, and a number of other organizations are working to improve the quality of home care across the United States. We can’t accomplish that without hearing from people like you. We want to know about your experiences with care and services in your home, and what makes for good care and services. Please help us by answering the questions on this survey by SEPTEMBER 1, 2011.
Take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/86FFTTR.
Responses will remain confidential. Thank you so much for your help!
New Dating Website for People with Disabilities
For most people, finding love is hard enough. Now imagine trying to do that when you're confined to your house because of a disability. It's a challenge millions of disabled people face every day. But a new website, founded by an Orlando woman, is trying to change that. It's called eDateAbility.com, and it was launched in November of 2010. Less than a year old, the site already has nearly 200,000 members across the U.S.
"Dating is difficult enough for people without disabilities," said certified matchmaker and eDateAbility.com CEO Ann Robbins. "When you compound that with being disabled... it makes it doubly difficult."
Bob Horan, 48, of Tampa knows that only too well. He'd been independent all his life, working as a handy man and suffering through back pain. "I woke up one day in bed paralyzed," he recalled.
He lives alone, takes care of himself, and even created a pulley system to get his wheelchair down his front steps. But he needed a lot more help to re-enter the dating world. "I went through a variety of sites, and nothing. [I] frustrated myself, and it's very depressing," he recalled. "I've even asked my friends, 'Why is there not a website for disabled people?' There seems to be one for every other perversion out there."
Eventually, he came across eDateAbility.com. He created a profile and listed his disability right on the front page. And that's exactly how he wanted it. "Well, it allows you to just be yourself. You don't have to twist yourself around," he said. Read More.
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August 10, 2011