Report: Florida Agency Evades State Regulators Amid Abuse Charges

A tough read - part 1 of 2-part series. Link to part 2 at the bottom.

Three years ago, it looked like the Florida agency that oversees care for children and adults with disabilities had finally had enough: It filed a legal complaint that outlined horrific abuse at Carlton Palms, a rambling campus of group homes and classrooms near the small town of Mount Dora.

A man called “R.G.” was punched in the stomach, kicked and told “shut your [expletive] mouth,” the complaint said. “R.T.” was left with a face full of bruises after a worker hit him with a belt wrapped around his fist. A child, “D.K.,” who refused to lie face down so he could be restrained, was kicked in the face and choked until, eyes bulging, he nearly passed out.

State officials wanted to bar Carlton Palms from accepting new residents for a year.

Budget Roundup: Fighting Planned Cuts

The message is coming from so many states that we decided to compile a roundup. First piece addresses New Jersey cut and is by Tom Toronto, president of United Way of Bergen County

We are deeply concerned about the position the state of New Jersey has recently taken with respect to housing opportunities for those with disabilities and special needs.

The state is contemplating a rule change that will limit housing choices for people with developmental disabilities to either four-bedroom group homes or set-aside units that are 25 percent or less of a large multifamily development. Bergen County's United Way believes that people with developmental disabilities have the right to choose from a full array of housing, lifestyle and support-service options.

Charlene Smith-Scott, an employee with The Arc Baltimore, responds to Maryland cuts.

Before Gov. Martin O'Malley left office, he cut funding that my colleagues and I were counting on to stay ahead of minimum wage. Now, Gov. Larry Hogan is doing the same thing with the new budget. People in my profession are not state employees, but we are doing work that is the responsibility of the state. Maryland doesn't seem to take that seriously because we are paid as the lowest of the low among our comparable peers in health care, elder care and the like.

NEWARK, Del. — The conflict among caretakers and community advocates for Delawareans with intellectual and development disabilities came out in full force during a public hearing Monday discussing how taxpayer-funded community housing and work placement funded is offered in the state.The hearing, held at Delaware State Police Troop 2 headquarters in Newark, provided a forum for the community to evaluate Delaware's preliminary transition plan to adapt a new federal rule that changes how subsidized home- and community-based services are funded.

Delaware Gov. Focuses on Lack of Jobs for People with Disabilities

DOVER, Del. — States should do more to hire people with disabilities, according to a new report from Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. The former chair of the National Governor's Association made the announcement at the association's meeting held Friday in Milwaukee.
The report states 54 million Americans are living with a disability, but only 20 percent are employed or are searching for work. 

Future of Sheltered Workshops Debated

Patrick Biscoe, a worker at the
sheltered workshop, sorts through
old x-rays that will be recycled.

ELWYN, Del. -- Nobody working in the sheltered workshop at Elwyn Delaware gets a cut in pay if their Paratransit bus is an hour late. Nobody raises an eyebrow if they wear a helmet to work or answer questions by pressing a button on an electronic voice device.
The passageways are wide enough on floor A and floor B for anyone in a power wheelchair to move easily. And those who walk without difficulty can scoot quickly between work tables to distribute supplies needed to keep the work line on schedule.
Some of the 154 employees at Elwyn have worked at its tables for 30 years. They are among about 500 Delaware residents with intellectual and physical disabilities who work in such jobs with state and federal support.

Funding Challenges Familes with Adult Children

Neil Stevenson and his son, Niles,
at home.

GEORGETOWN, Del. -- Neil Stevenson's son is 33 years old, yet he still lives at home. That's because he has nowhere else to go.
Stevenson calls his son, Niles, a "forever child." He's intellectually disabled, but because of a seizure condition, it's hard to find adequate medical services to supervise him. And Niles doesn't qualify for group housing -- that is, unless Stevenson and his wife either abandon him or die.

Politics Aside, Officials Find a Common Ground: Jobs for People with Disabilities

How to bring down the nation’s high unemployment rate and create jobs for millions of people seeking work dominated last weekend’s confab of governors in Williamsburg, Va., setting the stage for an admittedly “niche initiative” targeted at employing people with disabilities. “There are a lot of people who want to be working in our country, and aren’t given a shot,” says Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, who was selected by his peers to head the National Governors Association (NGA) for the next year.

With so many able-bodied people out of work, why would Markell choose to focus on the special-needs community? It’s not politically correct to even ask such a question, but Markell has a ready answer, and he is not the least fazed by the unseemliness of the inquiry. He says hiring people with disabilities is good for the bottom line of companies that are doing it, which means it’s good for the shareholders. “It’s not just for charity,” he told The Daily Beast. His NGA initiative is dubbed “A Better Bottom Line: Employing People With Disabilities.”