Action Alert: Ask Senators to Adequately Fund SSA!!

Take Action: http://capwiz.com/thearc/utr/1/CVSHHHKHBU/OGNPHHKOEJ/1250594336

Background:
People with severe disabilities are dependent on the Social Security Administration (SSA) to promptly and fairly process their applications for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security disability benefits for their basic economic survival. Under the current budget situation, people with severe disabilities have experienced increasingly long delays and decreased services in accessing these critical benefits. Processing times, especially at the hearing level, have reached intolerable levels with claimants waiting as long as three years just to receive a hearing. The main reason for the increase in the  disability claims backlogs is that SSA has not received adequate funds to provide its mandated services. In every fiscal year since FY 2000, Congress has appropriated less than both the SSA Commissioner and the President have requested.

SSA's administrative funding shortfalls have resulted in growing backlogs in initial and hearing decisions on disability claims, the largest in history, that have been described by Members of Congress as "tragic," "unconscionable," and "an unmitigated disaster." The impact of the delays on individuals with disabilities has been extremely detrimental. Behind each number and claim is an individual with disabilities whose life is coming unraveled while waiting for his or her claim to be properly decided  families are torn apart; homes are lost; medical conditions deteriorate; once stable financial security crumbles; and many claimants die while waiting for a decision. Click here http://capwiz.com/thearc/utr/1/CVSHHHKHBU/AHEWHHKOEK/1250594336 to read individual stories on the effect the backlog of SSA hearings has had on people with disabilities from across the country.

Status:
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education is scheduled to mark up its appropriation bill this Tuesday, June 19.

Take Action!

Please e-mail your Senators asking them to urge their colleagues on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education to support an appropriation for the Social Security Administration (SSA) for its Limitation on Administrative Expenses (LAE) of, at a minimum, the amount allowed in the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget Resolution Conference Report  $10.1 billion. A sample email has been provided.

Source: Disability Policy Collaboration of the Arc and United Cerebral Palsy
 

Disability Potpourri - Week Ending 6/8/07

Kids on Wheels magazine looking for youth activists

Kids on Wheels, a magazine for young people who use wheelchairs, is working on a story on young activists and is looking to hear from young wheelchair-users who are activists in their communities. The activism need not necessarily be disability-related. The activism could be with regards to the environment, health care, peace, animals, or disability and accessibility. The individual does not have to use a wheelchair (although they may use one part-time) and the primary focus is on young activists, so younger age groups are preferred.

Anyone who is interested should email Laura Kaminker, Associate Editor of Kids on Wheels, at laurakaminker@gmail.com or call her at 212-781-2238 or 416-619-7615.
SOURCE: Kids on Wheels

One-Stop Toolkit Resources of the Week Technical Assistance Project

Project SEARCH Business Model Succeeds in the Banking Industry

"State Health Initiatives: What's Next?" transcript and podcast now available

The Alliance for Health Reform recently co-sponsored a briefing with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation a briefing on state initiatives to assist the uninsured and how such efforts at the state-level could influence changes in national health care policy.

A transcript of that briefing is available at: http://www.allhealth.org/briefingmaterials/Transcript-742.pdf Materials are available at: http://www.allhealth.org/briefing_detail.asp?bi=106 and webcast/podcast is available at: www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=2159
SOURCE: Alliance for Health Reform

"Make the Day Matter! Promoting Typical Lifestyles for Adults with Significant Disabilities."

Written by Pam Walker and Pat Rogan. For more information, go to the Brookes website: http://www.pbrookes.com/store/books/walker-67137/index.htm

Family Voices of North Dakota/Share the Wealth Week of June 11th

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Public Hearings: IDEA Part C Regulations-

The Secretary of Education has proposed changes to the regulations for the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C). The proposed regulations will implement changes made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA).  The official proposed regulations for IDEA Part C will be published in the Federal Register on Wednesday May 9, 2007. In the interim, you can download unofficial proposed regulations at http://idea.ed.gov/static/partCNprm

Once proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register, there is a 75-day public comment period, which will close on July 23, 2007.  DEC is working with CEC and the Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA) to develop a side-by-side comparison and analysis of current IDEA Part C regulations and the proposed regulations. The group is also working on developing comments on the proposed regulations and recommendations for the final regulations.  DEC will post these comments, recommendations, and related information to our website: http://www.dec-sped.org/ We will also continue to send updates via this list. You can submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. The Department of Education will not accept comments by fax or by e-mail. Include the Docket ID - ED-2007-OSERS-131 - at the top of your comments and submit comments only one time. Comments must be received by July 23, 2007.

A Future Vision for Well-Child Care: Re-thinking the "Who, What, and Where' of Preventive and Developmental Services" A workshop at the National Initiative on Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) Annual Forum outlined a framework for transformational change that emphasizes new technologies, improved developmental and behavioral screening, team-based care, and tiered reimbursement based on bio-psychosocial risk.  To view a synched slides and audio from a presentation, look under "hear from the experts" on http://www.commonwealthfund.org/topics/topics_list.htm?attrib_id=15315

The newsletter is a created by young people, for young people. We hope it will be a source of information and entertainment for you. If you have any ideas of stories that we should cover or topics that we should write about, please let us know! The newsletter can be found at: http://nyln.org/newsroom/newsletter/Newsletter_Spring_06.htm

DisabilityInfo.gov 

Job Seeker & Employees Update:  New Factsheets on Disclosure for Youth with Disabilities

A series of new factsheets for youth with disabilities addressing subjects including workplace accommodations and when to share information about your disability with an employer. This information has recently been updated, and is now available http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/DisplayPage.do?parentFolderId=5067

JFA Daily, 6/11/07

Supreme Court Says Wage Rules Don't Apply To Home Healthcare Workers

By David G. Savage, Times Staff Writer
June 11, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nation's growing cadre of home healthcare workers are not entitled to minimum wages or overtime pay under federal law, even if they work for private employers, the Supreme Court ruled today.

The 9-0 decision keeps in place a long-standing exemption to the minimum wage law for workers who provide "companionship services" at home to those who are sick or elderly.

With an estimated 1 million workers now assisting the elderly and the injured in their homes, unions and civil rights groups had urged the justices to repeal the rule because it deprives many of the nation's lowest-paid workers of a decent wage. These employees tend to be women and minorities and often work all night, but they do not earn enough to rise above the poverty level, the advocates said.

They won a ruling from a U.S. appeals court in New York that said the exemption did not extend to those who are employed by a private company or another employer. But the Supreme Court rejected the bid, holding that businesses are not required to pay the federal minimum wage or overtime to employees who provide home care services for the elderly. "The court's ruling is another blow to struggling, low-wage women," said Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women's Law Center.

"It means that home care workers, who are overwhelmingly low-income women of color, will continue to be unfairly treated despite providing essential services to our growing elderly and disabled population," Campbell said. "Employers in the home care industry should, like other businesses, be required to comply with modest, but vital, labor protections."

The suit had been brought on behalf of Evelyn Coke, a 73-year-old retiree, who was employed by Long Island Care at Home, a private company that provided home care aides for the elderly.

To read the entire article, go to: http://www.aapd.com/News/courtdecisions/070611lat.htm

New Report Underscores Housing Crisis Facing People with Disabilities

Every two years since 1998, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force and the Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) have published Priced Out, a report which compares the monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI) of people with serious and long-term disabilities to local U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rents for modestly priced one bedroom and studio/efficiency rental units. This year's report includes a forward by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, longtime advocate for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The recently released Priced Out in 2006 revealed that:

• from 2004-2006, people with disabilities who relied on SSI as their source of income descended further into poverty. In 2006, the average annual income of a single individual receiving SSI payments was $7,584 equal to only 18.2 percent of the national median income for a one-person household and almost 25 percent below the federal poverty level;

• the national average rent for a modest one-bedroom unit climbed to $715 per month - equal to 113.1 percent of monthly SSI payments (which on a national average were $632 per month);

• studio/efficiency rents climbed to $633 per month - 100.1 percent of monthly SSI income.

These shocking statistics mean that approximately 4 million SSI beneficiaries with disabilities are shut out of the rental market in every city, town and rural area of the country. For example in the Columbia, Maryland housing market, the federal Fair Market Rent for a modestly priced one-bedroom apartment was 193.2 percent of monthly SSI income the highest level in the nation. In New Orleans, modest studio/efficiency apartments soared to $755 a month a 45 percent increase since Hurricane Katrina. In the rural areas of Nevada, the cost of a one-bedroom unit priced at the HUD Fair Market Rent was $603 consuming the entire monthly income of a single individual receiving SSI in that state leaving a SSI beneficiary totally unable to pay for food, clothing, or out of pocket medical expenses.

As Mrs. Shriver notes, "[H]ow can we possibly expect any individual or family to spend 100-113 percent of their entire monthly income on housing? It is not only mathematically impossible, but morally unconscionable."

Even more shocking is that Priced Out in 2006 found a precipitous and relentless decline in housing affordability for SSI recipients since 1998 when the first edition of Priced Out was developed. During the past eight years, as funding for low income housing programs has been slashed, the cost of a modest one-bedroom rent rose from 69 percent to 113.1 percent of SSI. During that time, SSI income dropped 26 percent compared to the one-person median income.

Priced Out in 2006 strongly recommends that the federal government commit to a multi-year plan to create a minimum of 150,000 new federal rent subsidies for people with disabilities with the lowest incomes. Specifically, the report urges Congress to commit to provide 10,000 new Housing Choice Vouchers and 5,000 new Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities rent subsidies each year for the next ten years.

Every member of Congress, Congressional Committees with jurisdiction over housing programs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other relevant federal agencies are given a copy of Priced Out. DPC staff and other members of the CCD Housing Task Force use the report's compelling data to make a case for retaining and increasing funding and reforming housing programs.

Since the report's data is broken down by local housing markets, state and local chapters and affiliates are strongly encouraged to use the report in their housing advocacy. The report can be accessed at http://www.tacinc.org/Pubs/PricedOut.htm.

SOURCE: The Disability Policy Collaboration of the Arc and UCP

AAIDD F.Y.I. - June 2007, Vol.7, No.6
SUPPORTS INTENSITY SCALE TRAINING SCHEDULED TO BE HELD IN BALTIMORE IN FALL 2007

Training on the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) planning tool for people with intellectual disabilities is scheduled to be held in the Baltimore, Maryland area in Fall 2007. The workshop is open to a small group of professionals and it is an opportunity to get an in-depth orientation on the Scale from AAIDD senior trainers. Participants will learn how to administer SIS in an accurate and reliable manner. Since its publication, training has repeatedly proven to increase the reliability of scores obtained from a SIS assessment, ensuring fair and equitable allocation of resources to people living with a developmental disability. The SIS is currently in use in several U.S. states as well as the Netherlands, Iceland, China, and other countries abroad.

Due to the small size of the workshop, please write immediately to books@aaidd.org if you are interested in attending this training session. To learn more about SIS training, visit www.siswebsite.org/Training.

Visit www.aaidd.org/FYI/ to access current and past issues of this monthly newsletter. Subscribe at http://www.responsetrack.net/aaidd/sign_up

WHAT ARE THE BIG IDEAS CONTAINED IN THE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT AND THE IDEA LEGISLATION AND HOW DO THEY BENEFIT YOUR CHILD? FIND OUT IN A NEW PUBLICATION FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

No one cares more about a child than parents. Two of the U.S. government's biggest public investments are in laws pertaining to the education of children-the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) legislation. Now find out what the big ideas are behind NCLB and IDEA, and how exactly children can benefit from them through a new booklet published by the U.S. Department of Education at http://www.ed.gov/parents/needs/speced/learning/index.html titled, Learning Opportunities For Your Child Through Alternate Assessments.

TWO-YEAR FELLOWSHIP IN FAMILY MEDICINE WITH FOCUS ON DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES NOW BEING OFFERED BY BOSTON UNIVERSITY

Boston University is seeking applicants for a two-year Academic Family Medicine fellowship with a primary focus on developmental disabilities. The fellowship involves obtaining a Masters degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics or in Health Services Research from Boston University's Department of Public Health and includes clinical experience in providing health supports to people with intellectual and physical disabilities. To find out more on the application process, stipend, and deadlines, email Mary Cerreto at Mary.Cerreto@bmc.org.

Executive Summary Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report on Future of Disability

Here is a link to the free executive summary of the 2007 Institute of Medicine Report on the Future of Disability in America http://www.nap.edu/execsumm_pdf/11898.pdf

Summer School for Parents; Relax & Read; Plan & Prepare; Parent Tools

Go to Wrightslaw to learn more http://www.wrightslaw.com/nltr/07/nl.0613.htm

International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities
IASSID 13th World Congress People with Intellectual Disabilities: Citizens in the World

Monday 25th August to Saturday 30th August 2008, Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC), Cape Town, South Africa
Please see website www.iassid.org. For more information contact - Belinda Chapman, UCT Conference Management Centre, Tel: +27 (0) 21 406 6407; Fax: +27 (0) 21 448 6263, Email: Belinda.Chapman@uct.ac.za 

CCF Reports Examine SCHIP Issues

New CCF Reports Examine Major SCHIP Issues
As Congress prepares to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the Center for Children and Families released June 13 two reports examining major issues surrounding SCHIP reauthorization. One report explores the implications of a Bush administration proposal to restrict SCHIP coverage to children with family incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. In the second report, CCF, in collaboration with The Children's Partnership, examines strategies to reach the over 6 million children who are eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP but remain uninsured.

The reports, SCHIP Reauthorization: Can The Nation Move Forward Without Going Backward?; Making Real Gains for Children: Strategies for Reaching the More Than Six Million Uninsured Children Eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP, are available on the CCF Web site at http://ccf.georgetown.edu.

Project Based Housing Vouchers and the "Family's Right to Move". Information Bulletin # 212 (6/07).

Housing Choice Vouchers, formerly known as Section 8 vouchers, include both "tenant based" and "project based" housing vouchers. The difference
between the two is important.

A person who has applied for a housing voucher with his/her public housing authority receives a "tenant based voucher." That voucher is attached to or "goes with" the person. That is, if a person with a tenant based voucher decides to move, the voucher stays with the person and can be applied to an other apartment. The tenant/family controls the voucher.

A "project based voucher" is attached to a specific unit or apartment, regardless of who resides in that unit. Historically, if a person residing in an apartment with a "project based voucher" decides to move, the family cannot take the voucher with them. Rather, the voucher is attached to the apartment or unit, and the next tenant in that unit receives the housing subsidy of the voucher.

Many Housing Authorities have converted "tenant based vouchers" into "project based vouchers" and then awarded these "project based vouchers" to housing developers. Historically, "project-based vouchers" had the effect of putting low-income disabled families in the bind of either staying in a place where they no longer want to reside (in order to keep the housing subsidy) or moving and losing the voucher's housing subsidy.

HUD regulations provide for the "Right to Move" from a "project based" unit and to receive a tenant based voucher instead of the project based subsidy. Specifically, the family "may terminate the project based assisted lease at any time after the first year of occupancy. The family must give the owner advance written notice of intent to vacate (with a copy to the PHA)." The Public Housing Authority "must offer the family the opportunity for continued tenant-based rental assistance, in the form of either assistance under the voucher program or other comparable tenant-based assistance." That is, the Housing Authority must offer a tenant based voucher to the person leaving a project based unit.

"Before providing notice to terminate the lease" to the owner, a family "must contact the PHA to request comparable tenant-based rental assistance." "If voucher or other comparable tenant-based rental assistance is not immediately available upon termination of the family's lease of a project based voucher unit, the PHA must give the family priority to receive the next available opportunity for continued tenant-based rental assistance." This right to obtain a tenant based voucher for a family in a project based apartment tilts the power significantly back to the tenant. Without this opportunity, families would be forced to chose between a bad housing situation with a subsidized rent and a much better housing situation without a subsidy. This regulation balances the relationship.

Special thanks to Luciene Parsley of the Maryland Disability Law Center.

Steve Gold, The Disability Odyssey continues

Back issues of other Information Bulletins are available online at http://www.stevegoldada.com  with a searchable Archive at this site divided into different subjects. To contact Steve Gold directly, write to stevegoldada@cs.com  or call 215-627-7100.

American Management Association and Leader to Leader Institute Announce New Scholarship Program for Nonprofit Leaders

Deadline: November 15, 2007

The American Management Association ( http://www.amanet.org/) and the Leader to Leader Institute ( http://leadertoleader.org/) have established the AMA Scholarship Program to assist social sector nonprofit organizations in developing "the strong leaders today who will lead the organizations of the future."

AMA has allocated funding for seventy-five scholarships to be administered by the Leader to Leader Institute. Scholarship benefits include one management education and professional development seminar offered by AMA; one year of individual member benefits, including access to members-only Web site, subscriptions to e-newsletters and journals, and discount pricing on all other AMA products and services; and a one-year membership with the Leader to Leader Institute, including subscription to Leader to Leader Journal and discounts on the institute's publications and services.

The AMA Scholarship Program is available to a range of non-profit organizations representing the social sector across the United States. To be eligible, a candidate must be an employee of a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization or operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3); have a minimum of three years of work experience in the social sector; and receive nomination by the Executive Director/CEO of their sponsoring organization (if candidate is the ED/CEO, then nomination by the board).

Visit the Leader to Leader Institute Web site for complete program information.

RFP Link: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/10007670/leadertoleader

For additional RFPs in Philanthropy and Voluntarism, visit: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_philanthropy.jhtml

FYI-new resource: Disaboom.com

http://www.disaboom.com/

"At Disaboom.com, we strive to empower anyone touched by a disability or functional limitation with the tools needed to not just experience life---but to live the journey.

Scheduled to launch in September 2007, Disaboom.com will be the first online resource to offer comprehensive medical information and education, classifieds, social networking and commerce together in one area targeted to meet the needs of hundreds of millions of people currently living with a disability or functional limitation as well as family members, friends, caregivers, recreation and rehabilitation providers and employers."

Disaboom recently solicited people to help create this comprehensive and interactive user-driven website for people with disabilities. I do not know if it is still asking for that help, but you can check it out yourself. Here are the instructions: log on to: http://www.disaboom.com/ltmd and sign up to be a beta tester, its completely free, only takes a second and you get a free movie download for joining. Anyone can join, people with disabilities, their caregivers, families, friends, employers, people working in the disability community, etc. We want to hear from you all, your ideas and what you think needs to be included in this new community. Help make history and create the most interactive and user driven website specifically for the worldwide disability community. Sign up at: www.disaboom.com/ltmd   

If you have any questions, drop an e-mail to: mdavis@disaboom.com. Muffy Davis J, Director, Disaboom Market Development, http://www.disaboom.com/ltmd