No Benefit Increase for SSI in 2016

For only the third time in decades, individuals with disabilities who receive Social Security benefits will see no increase next year in their monthly payments.

The Social Security Administration said Thursday that there will be no automatic cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for 2016. That’s because inflation is too low to warrant an automatic benefit hike, the agency said.

Kansans with Disabilities Complaints Prompt Delay in Service Changes

The state said Tuesday that it will delay a major overhaul in the way it provides services for the disabled.

The announcement comes after people with disabilities, their family members, providers and care takers voiced major concerns with the state’s nine-month time line to switch a complex system of care for some of Kansas’ most vulnerable populations.“This is probably the single biggest change this system has seen” in nearly 20 years, said Dee Staudt, director of the Sedgwick County Developmental Disability Organization. In 1995 the state passed a law, guaranteeing certain rights for people with developmental disabilities.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article38029176.html#storylink=cpy

Rankings of Most Livable Cities

When searching for a new city to call home, most people share a common list of priorities — affordability, jobs, schools and attractions among them. But people with disabilities often have a larger list of considerations. Factors such as the accessibility of various facilities, the quality of health care and even the cleanliness of the air can take precedence over others. The availability of such elements allows them to play an important role in the community and make significant contributions to the economy.

Lawmakers Urged to Fund Developmental Disability Services in Florida

TALLAHASSEE-- .Advocates for people with developmental disabilities Tuesday called on lawmakers to take advantage of Florida's improved economic outlook, slash a waiting list for services and raise hourly wages for caregivers.

The Florida Developmental Disabilities Council and The Arc of Florida said their legislative agenda includes supporting Gov. Rick Scott's budget recommendation of $20 million to reduce a waiting list for home- and community-based services under what is known as a Medicaid "waiver."

The thousands of people on the waiting list have different levels of need, but the Agency for Persons with Disabilities has identified people to serve as quickly as possible because of critical needs.

The Most Powerful Advocacy Tool

There are several tools that, as advocates and activists, we use to be effective in our work. Most of us tend to use what I refer to as the “nice” tools –- letter writing, meetings, action alerts and –- quite often –- policymaking, which is crafting public policy or legislation to address or resolve an issue.In fact, in the disability advocacy world, policymaking is a favorite tool, as it is considered “safe." It is used almost exclusively by the large “mainstream” disability organizations. Some even offer training on policymaking for their employees and other disability rights advocates.Advocacy and policy training are great and necessary but there is a tool in the toolbox glaring all in the face, yet the advocacy and policy types don’t want to discuss or utilize it -- it’s called direct action.

Replacements Anger Striking School Bus Drivers and Matrons

School bus drivers and matrons
protest.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Momentum on the picket line grew among the striking yellow school bus drivers and matrons as they watched newly-hired replacements pick up their abandoned routes on Tuesday morning.

Between 50 and 60 buses rolled out of the Atlantic Express depot in Chelsea, according to Huguenot resident Ernie Maione, a member of Amalgamated Transit Union 118 who has been driving a special education route for more than 30 years.

Flu Outbreaks and What It Means for Children

From Pamela Wilson, BellaOnline's Children with Special Needs Editor.

Seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for all children and teens with neurologic conditions, including babies over 6 months, especially those who experience difficulties with muscle or lung function, have smaller airways as is common in Down syndrome, or have difficulties swallowing, coughing, or otherwise clearing fluids from airways.

We continue to learn about how suspected flu pandemics will adversely affect children with disabilities as statistics and stories from the 2009 Swine Flu (A1N1 Influenza) and other recent outbreaks are collected. A high risk of life-threatening complications have been found for children who have intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, seizure disorders, MD, stroke, cerebral palsy or other brain or spinal cord problems. The nasal spray vaccine is not recommended for children under the age of two or those with chronic health conditions.

A Different Approach to Therapy

Kristen Earley runs with her horse,
Star, at the North Carolina Therapeutic
Riding Center.

MEBANE, North Carolina — At age 6, Abigail Baggett wanted nothing more than to play soccer with her friends.
But battling cerebral palsy, the youngster faced major challenges, often stumbling when she tried to run up and down the field. The first time Abigail refused to go to physical therapy, her parents began searching for another outlet.

Opinion: It's Not About Cost; It's About Need

This letter is by Julie Cunningham, LICSW, who is the executive director of Families First Vermont. She sent it to Gov. Peter Shumlin, Sens. Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch. It pretty much could apply to any resident of any state who is concerned about cuts in services.
 
Dec. 17, 2012
Dear Gov. Shumlin,
Like you, I have been watching the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., and trying to comprehend how society has become completely unsafe for our children. I know that you have dedicated much time and energy to thinking about Vermont’s youth, and that you are invested in doing what you can to avoid a similar catastrophe in our state. Since our mental health and developmental services system have been undergoing major systems changes, I would like to share with you some of my thoughts about our shared concerns for our future.
As a community-based social worker for 25 years and for the past 13 years as director of a specialized service agency, I have worked closely with hundreds of families who are struggling with a child with a mental illness or a disability. I have noticed, over time, a steady decrease in services that are available for children — most notably in special education — but also in agency programming. Most families come into services at a crisis point. Prevention and outreach are non-existent. IEP and Coordinated Service Plan meetings are often uncomfortable, even excruciating, as service providers do not have enough funding to meet the needs presented. A child under the age of 19 who has a developmental disability can only receive a Medicaid (Developmental Services) waiver if there are repeated hospitalizations or the child is in DCF custody. We are a reactive system, and unfortunately our recent conversations about upcoming changes promise more of the same.

Parents Feel Impact of Caregiving

Caring for an adult child with developmental disabilities or mental illness increased by 38 percent the chances that an aging parent would develop disabilities of their own, according to findings of a new study led by Dr. Subharati Ghosh, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.
The study, published in Psychiatric Services, highlights economic and psycho-social challenges faced by parents of adult children with disabilities, compared with parents of children without disabilities.

Advocates Hope Senate Reconsider Treaty

WASHINGTON -- Advocates for Louisiana's disabled residents are trying to figure out why the Senate failed to ratify what they view as a non-controversial treaty designed to bring U.S. protections to other countries. The vote fell five short of the two-thirds margin needed to ratify a treaty.
The advocates contend the treaty, known as the United Nations Convention on The Rights of Persons with Disabilities, would insure that disabled Americans, including military, are provided with protections when they travel abroad.

Campaign Seeks to Improve Job Outlook for People with Disabilities

Maddie Hansen, left, chops onion,
while Sue Weber, a job coach,
looks on.

MANITOWOC, Wis. — Unemployment is a problem for people from all walks of life, but that’s especially true for those with disabilities. A new campaign in Manitowoc County called Jobs First! is seeking to close that employment gap.
The idea is to change employers’ perceptions of hiring people with disabilities “and at the same time raising the expectation on our students,” said David Koenig, Next Step UW and transition coordinator for the Manitowoc Public School District. Next Step UW is a program for 18- to 21-year-olds with developmental disabilities that is housed at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc.
“We’re trying to provide more training opportunities for these students that are tied directly into employers’ expectations,” Koenig said.

N.Y.'s Medicaid Changes Are at Washington's Mercy

Depending on who is doing the talking these days, New York State is either a national model of how to curb Medicaid spending, or the nation’s prime example of Medicaid abuse.

Now billions of dollars in state revenue may ride on which image prevails, as presidential politics puts a new spotlight on the joint federal and state spending program for care of the disabled, the elderly and the poor.

No state spends more Medicaid money than New York — $54 billion a year. But Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, persuaded health care providers and major health worker unions to live within a strict Medicaid spending limit last year, and to accept an ambitious Medicaid redesign that promises better health outcomes at a lower cost.

This Election, a Stark Choice in Health Care

Joyce Beck, who runs a small hospital and network of medical clinics in rural Nebraska, is reluctant to plan for the future until voters decide between President Obama and Mitt Romney. The candidates’ sharply divergent proposals for Medicare, Medicaid and coverage of the uninsured have created too much uncertainty, she explained. 

“We are all on hold, waiting to see what the election brings,” said Ms. Beck, chief executive of Thayer County Health Services in Hebron, Neb. 

When Americans go to the polls next month, they will cast a vote not just for president but for one of two profoundly different visions for the future of the country’s health care system.

Romney Champions Medicaid in Ohio with No Mention of Proposal for Severe Cuts

Feeling a little political this morning, will try to provide a proper balance.

During a rally in Mt. Vernon, Ohio on Wednesday, Mitt Romney touted the benefits of Medicaid and claimed that all Americans will be able to obtain health care insurance without President Obama’s Affordable Care Act.
Responding to a question from a woman whose son suffers from Spina Bifida, Romney disparaged Obama’s health care measure — which would expand access to 30 million Americans — and claimed that the law is unnecessary for people suffering from chronic conditions:

ROMNEY: Actually, we had health care in America before Obamacare came along. And we still have health care in America…Each of us today in America has a choice of the type of health care plan we might choose. People who are poor are able to get Medicaid, which is a government support effort for those who can’t afford to have insurance. And these things aren’t going to disappear without Obamacare.

Opinion: Look at the Person, Not the Disability

Peter Ripley

Peter Ripley wrote this column for the Peninsula Daily News. Ripley, 52, has arthrogryposis, a congenital joint disorder that makes him unable to walk. 

 As we commemorate National Disability Employment Awareness Month this month, we need to reflect on far we've come, and still need go, to overcome barriers to employment for the disabled.

My story is about how I overcame adversity, the challenges I was born with ­— and the challenges which were placed on me by others because of underestimation and ignorance of not knowing how to treat someone with a disability in regard to employment.

Campaigns to Address Disability Issues

From Huffington Post, an item by Liane Kupferberg Carter, a columnist for Autism After 16.

Remember that saying from the 1970s, that the personal is political?
As the parent of an autistic 20-year-old son, I know what my own family is struggling with. The need for employment. Housing. Health care. Insurance. Long-term community-based services and supports. Education. Transportation. Research. Improving the quality of life for autistic children and adults is my top priority.

500 Practices Selected for Primary Care Demo

WASHINGTON --  More than 2,000 physicians and health professionals will care for Medicare, Medicaid and private plan beneficiaries under the same new payment model aimed at coordinating care and keeping patients healthy to avoid costly admissions for inpatient care.

Roughly 500 physician practices in seven regions spread out over eight states successfully applied to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-led comprehensive primary care initiative. Doctors will receive as much as $40 per high-risk patient per month to support care coordination and wellness programs. Practices that keep health spending below expenditure targets will share in the savings, but those that do not meet expectations might be asked to leave the project.

Administration on Community Living Formed to Support Seniors with Disabilities

A doctor makes a house call.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced Monday that it has established a new Administration on Community Living under HHS, which will be dedicated to “enhancing and improving the broad range of supports that individuals with disabilities and seniors may need to live with respect and dignity as full members of their communities” — rather than in nursing homes or other institutions.

Plenty of Lessons to Learn on the Job

MERCED, Calif. -- Maybe it's coincidence.

J.C. Whipp, left, Greg Friedman, middle,
and Steven Zambrano, fill customers'
orders at the Wired Cafe.

Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2012/04/02/2292903/plenty-of-lessons-to-learn-on.html#storylink=cpy

No, it's got to be karma.
Decades ago, when he was 14, Rich Kleitman's project to become an Eagle Scout was to teach disabled kids how to swim.

Today, he's giving jobs, skills and confidence to other disabled kids who work at the Wired Cafe in downtown Merced.