Banner for Monday Morning in Washington, DC

Volume 07                                                                     Issue 26                                                   July 2, 2007              

Welcome to Monday Morning in Washington, D.C., published weekly by The Arc of the United States. We will bring to you news of interest to self advocates and their families, volunteers, professionals, and supporters of the disability movement. Please send any comments to mmwdc@thearc.org. You are welcome to reproduce and distribute items from Monday Morning in Washington, D.C., but please credit Monday Morning in Washington, D.C. (The Arc of the United States, 2007).

 

The Arc of the United States advocates for the rights and full participation of all children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Together with our network of members and affiliated chapters, we improve systems of supports and services; connect families; inspire communities; and influence public policy.

 

[NOTE: Having trouble reading this newsletter?  Read it online.] [Past Issues]

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

NCTQ (National Council on Teacher Quality) issued their State Teacher Policy Yearbook

There are 10 focus areas of the report - one being special education.  The executive summary (http://www.nctq.org/stpy/primaryFindings.jsp)  includes the following:
 

"States do not ensure that special education teachers are well-prepared to teach students with disabilities."  The report notes that state standards are "woefully inadequate" with only 4 states having strong clear explicit comprehensive standards.  Few states require special education teachers to have subject matter knowledge, the report holds. States are not requiring the teacher preparation programs assume any responsibility for ensuring that secondary special education teacher are highly qualified, leaving the task up to districts, the report concludes. States give teacher preparation programs "free rein" over the professional coursework they require of special education candidates, the report notes.
 

The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities

Recommended Books About the Disability Experience

You can access the full report through the following link. http://www.nctq.org/stpy/ - http://www.nlcdd.org/resources-books-movies-disability.html

Nancy R. Weiss, The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities, Center for Disabilities Studies, University of Delaware, 461 Wyoming Road, Newark, DE 19716, home office: 410-323-6646, www.nlcdd.org

Friend with nimble fingers
Parents with cognitive/intellectual disabilities - Resources

Information or training for parents and/or soon-to-be parents with cognitive impairments who want to keep/ regain custody of their children.

Parents with disabilities - http://www.developmentaldisability.org/parents_with_disabilities.htm 

Through the Looking Glass - http://lookingglass.org/id_parents/index.php - http://lookingglass.org/index.php

Curricula for supporting parents with cognitive disabilities - http://www.ct.gov/dcf/lib/dcf/external_affairs/pdf/curricula.pdf 

Working with Parents Who Have Cognitive Limitations: Teachers Supporting Student Learning - http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/parents-with-special-needs/90340a.html 

The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, CCDC - http://www.ccdconline.org/

Parents with disabilities: Abledata - http://www.abledata.com/abledata.cfm?pageid=113573&top=16046&ksectionid=19326

The Internet's One-Stop Resource for Parents with Disabilities - http://www.disabledparents.net/ 

Celebrating autistic Parents - http://cap.autistics.org/ 

Blog on having parent with autism - http://ballastexistenz.autistics.org/?p=41 

Aspar-Parents -from the children's view - http://www.aspar.klattu.com.au/ 

Beach Center: http://www.beachcenter.org/

Parents with ID - http://www.intellectualdisability.info/lifestages/ds_parent.htm

Guidelines for Identifying Children with Intellectual Disability/Mental Retardation (2000) - http://www.ctserc.org/id/

From UK: http://www3.fhs.usyd.edu.au/fssp/parents/our_research/support.htm

Report on International Conference on Parents with Disabilities & their Families http://www.disabilityworld.org/04-05_02/news/families.shtml

Parenting with a disability - http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncodh/orchid/pages/parenting.cfm

Learn More about Working with Parents with Cognitive Limitations - http://www.trainingmatters-nc.org/tm_vol5_no2/tm_vol5no2.htm 

Parents with Cognitive Disabilities - www.dhfs.wisconsin.gov/bdds/b3etn/200305/spbriefing.doc 
 

Systems Change Report

The National Health Policy Forum announces the availability of a new issue brief Trading Places: Real Choice Systems Change Grants and the Movement to Community-Based Long-Term Care Supports.

The Real Choice Systems Change grant program was created to help states transform their long-term care service systems from ones that rely on institutions to ones that are more community-based. The grants are intended to help states develop the infrastructure needed for seniors and individuals with disabilities to live in integrated community settings. This issue brief provides information about Systems Change grants and the kinds of activities state Medicaid agencies have undertaken to transform their institutionally based systems. In addition, this paper reports on some of the qualitative and quantitative responses to the changes. This brief also raises critical policy questions related to public spending for long-term care in different settings that might be considered in tandem with future grant funding decisions. http://www.nhpf.org/pdfs_ib/IB822_SystemsChange_05-30-07.pdf

NECTAC eNotes - June 29, 2007

New Knowledge Path Focuses on Child and Adolescent Social and Emotional Development


Source: MCH Alert - June 29, 2007

The Maternal and Child Health Library has developed an electronic guide to resources for professionals on healthy social and emotional development in infants and young children, school-age children, and adolescents. Selected topics include developmental stages; factors that impact social and emotional development; policies and programs to promote social and emotional well-being in homes and community settings; and strategies for integrating health, development, and education services. A section for families is also included. It is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_Mental_Healthy.html.

 

Comment Request - Part D Discretionary Grant Application, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
 

Source: Federal Register - June 28, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 124)

The Department of Education recently posted the following request for comments in the Federal Register: Title: Comment Request; Part D Discretionary Grant Application - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before July 30, 2007. For complete information go to http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/other/2007-2/062807b.html

 

Grant Notices from the Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families
 

Source: Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families - June 26, 2007

The Office of Head Start (OHS), within the Administration for Children and Families, recently announced the following two grants notices:

New from the Early Childhood Outcomes Center
 

Source: Early Childhood Outcomes Center - June 28, 2007

The Early Childhood Outcomes Center recently posted updates to the following documents on their Web site:

Building Relationships: Parallels Between Infant-Toddler Development and the Public Policy Process
 

Source: ZERO TO THREE Policy Center - June 25, 2006

This recent article from the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center explores relationship-building in early childhood and in the world of policy and advocacy. It is available online at http://www.zerotothree.org/site/DocServer/BuildingRelationships.pdf?docID=3641

The California P&A (PAI) issues first investigation of restraint and of children with disabilities in California schools

A 10-year old boy with significant disabilities was bound to his wheelchair and left in the school van on two separate days. One school built a locked seclusion room where an 8-year old boy with psychiatric and developmental disabilities was routinely locked away. Other children were dragged by their teachers into seclusion areas and then barricaded from leaving.

These are some of the more serious complaints that in 2006 led PAI to open a full-scale investigation into the extent of dangerous and prohibited restraint and seclusion practices currently in effect in the California school system. "This investigation starkly revealed both the failure of school personnel to comply with existing regulations and the failure of current law to sufficiently regulate these dangerous practices," stated Leslie Morrison, author of the report.

Attorney Morrison, head of PAI's Investigations Unit, further explained that over the years, with insufficient training and oversight, the use of restraint and seclusion in primary and secondary California schools has become routine and is no longer reserved for situations posing imminent risk of harm.

The 61 page investigation report, entitled "Restraint & Seclusion in California Schools: A Failing Grade," included extensive review of records; on-site inspections in a rural school district in the northeast part of the state, a Bay Area school district and a non-public school in the Los Angeles area; victim and witness interviews; and consultations with experts in restraint and seclusion.

Morrison and her investigations team made numerous recommendations for improvements that will bring the practices of schools-based behavioral restraint and seclusion in line with those applied in other settings. This includes prohibiting the use of seclusion; limiting the use of restraint to the most dire circumstances; ensuring compliance with state laws and regulations limiting the use of emergency interventions; and ensuring that school personnel proactively address serious student behavior problems through  individual assessments.

The report can be downloaded from the organization's website: http://www.pai-ca.org/pubs/702301.htm or http://www.pai-ca.org/pubs/702301.pdf.  For print copies, contact PAI's Oakland office at (510) 267-1200.

SOURCE: Protection & Advocacy, Inc., 1330 Broadway, Suite 500, Oakland, CA 94612
 

One-Stop Toolkit Resources of the Week Technical Assistance Project - www.onestoptoolkit.org 

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announces $65 million for Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development


U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration
News Release - June 20, 2007
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20070880.htm

[The following is excerpted from the ETA News Release.]

On June 20th, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced the U.S. Department of Labor's third generation of Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) regions. Each of the 13 self-identified areas successfully competed for $5 million to be awarded over a three-year period. "The WIRED program recognizes that local economies often transcend geographical boundaries," said Secretary Chao. "These grants are catalysts to mobilizing the diverse array of stakeholders in a community to focus on developing the human talent that will be key to any successful regional economic plan." The department launched WIRED in late 2005 with a competition among the nation's governors. In February 2006, 13 competitively selected regions were awarded a total of $195 million to transform their economies. In January 2007, 13 additional regions, which also were among the best nationally, were presented awards to reposition their regional economies. Today's announcement launches the third generation of selected regions.

Generation III WIRED projects are as varied and unique as the regions themselves. For example, rural Minnesota will use its know-how and ingenuity in agriculture to grow emerging bioscience and renewable energy industries. Central New Mexico will combine the capabilities of industry, research and development at its universities, and national laboratories to become a focal point for clean energy and advanced manufacturing. Oregon's Northern Willamette Valley will align regional services to respond to needs for talent in advanced manufacturing and other industries.

"These 13 regions join 26 others in transforming their regions into innovative, entrepreneurial economies, and preparing their workers with the education and skills necessary to be successful in the 21st century global marketplace," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco. "We are already encouraged by the results of the WIRED strategic partnerships, demonstrating that talent development can drive economic transformation."

WIRED's Generation III regions include: five counties in central New Jersey; 25 cities and counties in southeastern Virginia; 15 counties in central Kentucky; 18 counties in southeastern Mississippi; 12 counties in south central and southwest Wisconsin; 36 counties in south central and western Minnesota; 14 counties in southeast Missouri;10 counties in south central Kansas; eight counties in central New Mexico; four counties in southern Arizona; eight counties in south central Idaho; seven counties in greater Portland and Salem, Ore.; and five counties in Washington's Pacific Mountain region.

For more information on the WIRED initiative, go to: http://www.doleta.gov/wired/

ODEP-Funded Customized Employment Materials and Other Technical Assistance Resources: Customized Employment Portfolio Series--Volumes I and II

http://www.dol.gov/odep/categories/workforce/CustomizedEmployment/deliverables/index.htm

Customized Employment: Practical Solutions for Employment Success - Volume I
http://www.dol.gov/odep/documents/572b6c60_2f5e_46dd_8439_1b18da4bd731.pdf
http://www.dol.gov/odep/categories/workforce/CustomizedEmployment/practical/index.htm
Provides a general overview of the following topics:

  • Customized Employment: A New Competitive Edge

  • Principles and Indicators

  • Job Seeker Exploration

  • Creating a Blueprint for Job Development

  • Negotiating with Employers

Customized Employment: Applying Practical Solutions for Employment Success - Volume II
http://www.dol.gov/odep/documents/2e984b1d_f2de_40dd_b3c4_3b4073b67ca5.pdf
http://www.dol.gov/odep/documents/0f4c8970_ac6c_4ece_800e_9387366a0917.doc 
Expands on those topics presented in Volume I and provides ideas on how to use these strategies with job seekers for their own Customized Employment success.

Diversitydata.org


http://diversitydata.sph.harvard.edu/

Diversitydata.org, a website from the Harvard School of Public Health, allows visitors to explore how metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. perform on a diverse range of social measures. Available data relevant to education include: proportion of the population that is foreign born, non-English language spoken at home, child poverty rate, composition of public school enrollment by race/ethnicity, poverty rate of school where average primary school student attends by race/ethnicity, and segregation of the population.

Issue Brief -- Dropout Prevention for Students with Disabilities: A Critical Issue for State Education Agencies


Prepared by the National High School Center
http://www.betterhighschools.org/docs/NHSC_DropoutPrevention_052507.pdf

[The following is excerpted from the Issue Brief.]

The purpose of this issue brief is to provide information and guidance to state education agencies (SEAs) regarding their accountability for IDEA 2004 legislative mandates in the area of dropout prevention for students with disabilities.

There are significant costs to individuals with disabilities who do not complete high school. These costs include unemployment, underemployment and higher rates of incarceration. There are also significant costs to society related to lost tax revenues and welfare expenditures. The extent of the problem is illustrated in the following statistics:

  • Students with disabilities drop out of school at significantly higher rates than their peers who do not have disabilities.

  • In the 2001-02 school year, only 51 percent of students with disabilities exited school with a standard diploma.

  • Arrest rates are relatively high for students with disabilities who drop out. Overall, at least one-third of students with disabilities who drop out of high school have spent a night in jail; this rate is three times that of students with disabilities who have completed high school.

  • Of those who do not complete high school, about 61.2 percent are students with emotional/behavioral disabilities, and about 35 percent are students with learning disabilities.

JFA Daily: Investigation of Restraints-Students with Disabilities

New National Resource Center Launched and Seeks Members for National Steering Committee!

The National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination was recently unveiled during the United We Ride Executive Council Meeting. The goal of the National Resource Center is to provide states and communities with the support they need to coordinate transportation services for people with disabilities, older adults, and individuals with lower incomes. The Center will be administered by the Community Transportation Association of America through a cooperative agreement with the Federal Transit Administration.

The Center's major activities include (1) Expansion of United We Ride (UWR) Coordination Ambassadors for every federal region; (2) UWR information clearinghouse; (3) Coordination among federal and non-federal technical assistance centers; (4) Support of the National Consortium on the Coordination of Human Services Transportation; (5) Delivery of training classes and informational sessions; and (6) Research. The Center will also provide technical assistance to the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility (CCAM) and its member agencies.

The National Resource Center is also SEEKING members for the National Advisory Committee. The deadline for applications is July 20, 2007.  For more information: http://www.ctaa.org/ntrc/steering_committee.asp or call 1-800-527-8279.

Babes Among Elders: Nursing-Home Kids Parents Want Cheaper Home Care, but Medicaid Pays to Institutionalize; Ronnie's Journey

By Clare Ansberry
June 28, 2007

COMMERCE, GA - Ronnie Rivera, a 15-year-old in braided pigtails, sits in a wheelchair in a narrow hallway of Hill Haven senior-citizen nursing home. A half-dozen other residents, many with dementia and most four to six decades older, sit nearby. Around them, a maintenance worker mops the linoleum floor.

Ronnie has lived in this single-story red-brick building since she was 10 years old, the only child among elders. Her mother, Iris Rivera-Smith, has tried unsuccessfully for years to get the financial help she would need to bring her daughter home.

Thousands of other children are growing up in nursing homes across the country, many for the same reason as Ronnie. Federal disability insurance guarantees nursing-home care for the disabled. But in many states, its coverage isn't enough to let those people, children included, live at home -- even when the cost to taxpayers, and the strain on families, is often much lower.
...
To read the rest of the article, go to: http://www.aapd.com/News/medicaid/070629wsj.htm

SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Thank you to Mitsubishi Electric of America Foundation for flagging this.)

AARP: Family Caregiving Valued at $350 Billion

The economic impact of informal caregiving on the U.S. economy is massive according to a new AARP Public Policy Institute study, Valuing the Invaluable: A New Look at the Economic Value of Family Caregiving. The study found that the contributions of family caregivers often go unnoticed, but in fact, their contributions are the foundation of the nation's long-term care system with an estimated economic value of $350 billion in 2006. More on this release >> http://www.aarp.org/research/press-center/presscurrentnews/family_caregiving.html

 

Rebalancing Long-Term Care: The Role of the Medicaid HCBS Waiver Program

 

The Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver program is the major public financing mechanism for providing long-term care services in community settings. Authorized under section 1915(c) of the Social Security Act, states have used HCBS waiver programs to serve a wide variety of populations, including seniors; people with physical disabilities, HIV/AIDS, mental retardation and developmental disabilities (MR/DD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI); and children who are medically fragile and/or technology-dependent (such as ventilator dependent due to paralysis). Under the waiver program, states are permitted to provide HCBS to individuals who require the level of care provided in institutional settings [that is, hospitals, nursing homes, or intermediate care facilities for people with mental retardation (ICFs/MR)]. Because of the diversity of the populations served, as well as other factors such as unique state delivery systems, payment structures, and service models, it is difficult to generalize about the programs that have been implemented under the authority of section 1915(c). http://www.nhpf.org/pdfs_bp/BP_HCBS.Waivers_03-03-06.pdf

 

 National Council on Disability

Open Invitation to Join the NCD Chicago Quarterly Meeting July 24-26

On behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD), I would like to invite you to participate in NCD's Chicago quarterly meeting. The meeting will take place at the Crowne Plaza Chicago Metro at 733 West Madison on Tuesday, July 24, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.; Wednesday, July 25 from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.; and Thursday, July 26 from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. These events are free of charge and open to the public. There will be time in the agenda each day for public comment and your input is appreciated. You can also provide us with your written comments by E-mail, fax, or mail. The meeting facility is fully accessible.

NCD is an independent federal agency and is composed of 15 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. We provide advice to the President, Congress, and executive branch agencies to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that:

  1. guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability; and

  2. empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.

To carry out our purposes, we believe it is vital that NCD hears from disability communities around the country on what works and what does not for people with disabilities. We are delighted to have the opportunity to visit Chicago and learn first hand about the experiences of people with disabilities from Illinois and the surrounding states. Please save the date and do not miss this opportunity to meet NCD board members and staff and offer your comments during the public comment sessions.

For more information, please contact NCD's Director of Communications Mark S. Quigley at mquigley@ncd.gov or by telephone at 202-272-2004 (V), 202-272-2074 (TTY). And please visit our website at http://www.ncd.gov.

 

Disabled entrapped by ID rules

 

A week after his first birthday, Bobby Hartwell's parents dropped him off at the Colorado State Home and Training School for Mental Defectives northwest of Denver. He never saw them again.

For the next 30 years, Hartwell, who has cerebral palsy and mental retardation, lived at the school and at a nursing home. In 1980, Wade Blank, a preacher and activist for the disabled, got Hartwell out, helped him get public assistance and a home, and taught him to live on his own.

Now, at 57, Hartwell may lose it all, starting with his apartment-because he can't prove he's a U.S. citizen.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_5351362

Information Courtesy: Law, Health Policy & Disability Center, The University of Iowa
To subscribe to this free e-newsletter, go to http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/lhpdc/publications/news.html and subscribe to the "Disability Law & Policy e-Newsletter."  The e-Newsletter is archived at http://disability2.law.uiowa.edu/.
Rehabilitation Service Administration (RSA) Parent Information and Training Projects Outcome Data (2005-2006)

The Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) Project released a publication summarizing the performance of the seven RSA funded Parent Information and Training Programs. The report contains data regarding the number and type of disability of children served through the projects, and the locations of currently funded RSA projects.

To view the report in its entirety, use the following link: Technical Assistance on Transition and the Rehabilitation Act (TATRA) Project, Rehabilitation Service Administration (RSA) Parent Information and Training Projects Outcome Data 2005-2006: Helping Families Transition to the Future, 2007, http://www.pacer.org/tatra/RSA/RSA.pdf

 

Viable Futures Toolkit Offers Guidance on Sustainable Community Development

The Viable Futures Toolkit is an online resource for "planners, policymakers, service providers, and funders about how to create solutions for older generations that simultaneously address needs of younger generations and their communities." The toolkit provides a structural framework for how to develop sustainable communities by emphasizing lifelong education, civic engagement, wellness, economic development, affordable housing, and the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources.

For more information: Just Partners, Inc., Sustainable Communities for All Ages: A Viable Futures Toolkit, available at
http://viablefuturestoolkit.org/welcome.htm
 

The Disability is Natural E-Newsletter - Disability is Natural Free Press

 

The newest edition is now available - www.disabilityisnatural.com Copyright June 2007 by Kathie Snow

 

Family Voices

Health Indicators by State

June 13, 2007- The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System released the first-ever comprehensive comparison of health system performance in all 50 states. Aiming Higher: Results from a State Scorecard on Health System Performance ranks states on 32 performance indicators of access, quality, avoidable hospital use and costs, equity, and "healthy lives."

The report compares each state's performance to benchmarks that have already been achieved in states across the country. Although some states ranked highly on multiple indicators, no single state or group of states scored top marks in every area. Some, however, far surpassed others: Hawaii and states in the Northeast and Upper Midwest often rank high in multiple areas, while states with the lowest rankings tend to be concentrated in the South. Across states, health care access and quality were found to be highly correlated.

"Where you live clearly matters: for access to care when you need it, the quality of care you receive, and opportunities to live healthier lives," says Fund senior vice president Cathy Schoen, one of the report's authors. The analysis also estimates how much the nation would save in human and economic costs if all states attained the level of performance reached by the top states.

The report is now available for free download on www.commonwealthfund.org, where you can also find an interactive U.S. map containing rankings and performance data for each state.

New Research Shows Simplifying Medicaid Can Reduce Children's Hospitalizations

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities this month released a 2-page report by Leighton Ku—"New Research Shows Simplifying Medicaid Can Reduce Children's Hospitalizations." This summary of research conducted by Dr. Andrew Bindman and his associates at the University of California at San Francisco, "indicates that improving the continuity of Medicaid coverage through what is known as ‘12-month continuous eligibility' can improve children's health and avert unnecessary hospitalization costs." To view the report, go to www.cbpp.org/6-11-07health.pdf. 

REFERENCE POINTS: Research Project Evaluates 20 Years of What Works for Youth with Disabilities

The What Works Transition Research Synthesis Project funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) has published the first report in a series to be released. The project was established to review and synthesize the past two decades of research and advancements in the area of transition for youth with disabilities. By reviewing 50 previous studies, this first report examines how teaching life skills as an intervention affected the lives of 482 youth with varying levels of intellectual disabilities. To read the first report "A Systematic Review of the Effects of Curricular Interventions on the Acquisition of Functional Life Skills by Youth with Disabilities, What Works Transition Research Synthesis Project, 2006" go to the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center web site. As they become available, additional reports will be posted on the site.

REFERENCE POINTS, transition updates from the TATRA Project, features resources and information to help parent organizations, advocates and professionals better serve adolescents and young adults with disabilities, and their families. Administered by the TATRA Project at PACER Center www.pacer.org, REFERENCE POINTS was launched with the initial support from the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition www.ncset.org. TATRA is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration.

 

Until Next week

  

The Arc of the United States, 1010 Wayne Avenue, Ste. 650, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Phone: 301-565-3842, Fax: 301-565-3843, Email: mmwdc@info.thearc.org, Web: www.thearc.org

 

Disclaimer: MMWDC publishes information about issues and events that we believe to be important and likely to be of interest to advocates and others interested in inclusion of persons with disabilities in all parts of society.  However, MMWDC and The Arc of the United States do not necessarily endorse all events, sponsoring organizations and reports which appear.