Texans Sue to Block Medicaid Cuts

A group of home health providers and parents of disabled children has sued the Texas health agency, seeking to block deep cuts in Medicaid therapy payments set to take effect Sept. 1.The cuts would eliminate some $200 million in Medicaid spending on physical, occupational and speech therapy services, as directed by the Legislature in a rider tacked onto an appropriations bill. The cuts would primarily affect care for children with disabilities who require ongoing therapy, but they also could impact adults requiring therapy from injuries or surgery.

Thousands to Moving From Nursing Homes Into Community Under Pact

An agreement filed Monday in a federal court in Texas means thousands of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities now residing in nursing homes may be able to move into less restrictive settings in the community, a disability rights group announced.The result of a 2010 class-action suit filed by six plaintiffs — three from San Antonio — the two-year interim agreement requires the state to inform people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, or IDD, of alternatives to nursing homes, where they often don't belong and don't receive the type of services they need, said Garth Corbett, a senior attorney at the Austin-based Disability Rights Texas.

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.”

On ADA Anniversary, Texas Businesses Called Noncompliant

AUSTIN, Texas -- On the 21st anniversary of the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a state advocacy group said Tuesday that it is suing several Sixth Street businesses and the Domain shopping center, accusing them of preventing people with disabilities from entering and fully enjoying the restaurants, music venues and shopping mall.

Clinical Pathology Laboratories is also among those named in the lawsuits, said Joseph Berra, an attorney for the Texas Civil Rights Project, which filed the suits on behalf of several plaintiffs.

Smaller Cuts Still Sting for Texas Center

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Legislature has cut $15 billion out of its budget for the next two years, affecting virtually every state agency and almost all state services. Bluebonnet Trails, a mental health services provider based in Williamson County, has lost more than a quarter of its funding.

At the beginning of the legislative session, Andrea Richardson, Bluebonnet Trails' executive director, was pleasantly surprised when the budget reductions she thought would force Bluebonnet to cut services to 2,000-plus individuals never materialized. But she was soon unpleasantly surprised by the dramatic cuts to programs serving people with developmental disabilities.

“We’re looking at cutting about 470 persons from our services list,” Richardson says.

That's far fewer than 2,000, but it’s little consolation to those on the sharp end of the budget blade, like Joe Goode.

Texas Budget Brings Good and Bad News

AUSTIN -- The recently passed Texas budget dealt people with disabilities good news, bad news and a couple of wild cards, and because the cuts didn't land evenly across the board, advocates are unsure how things will play out.
Overall, funding for human services took a 17.6 percent cut. The five state agencies whose responsibilities include providing services to people with physical, mental and other disabilities will receive about $53 billion in 2012 and 2013, down from $64.7 billion in the previous two-year state budget.
But some programs, such as community mental health services, emerged intact. Others, such as early childhood intervention, took big hits. And then there are the wild cards, like how funding shifts will play out for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Actress Joins Rally Against Cuts in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas -- A serious issue got a touch of Hollywood glamour Tuesday when celebrity Eva Longoria spoke to a crowd of more than 1,000 gathered at Morgan's Wonderland to rally against proposed cuts to services for those with intellectual developmental disabilities, or IDD.
As the petite star spoke, many in the crowd — made up of folks with disabilities such as mental retardation and autism, along with their caregivers and families — hooted, hollered and fist-pumped the air.
"When I heard about the budget cuts in Texas, I was outraged, personally hurt," said Longoria, co-founder of a program for those with IDD in San Antonio. "We need those in Austin to hear us loud and clear — this is not OK!"

Teaching People to Stand Up for Themselves

Quote of the day goes to David Swallow, a recent graduate of a program in Texas designed to help people with developmental disabilities learn advocacy and leadership skills: "People tell you you can't do anything, but I have proved them wrong every time."

FORT WORTH, Texas -- David Swallow has been called retarded all of his life.
"I hate that word," said Swallow, 54, of Fort Worth.
But instead of dwelling on negative stereotypes, he has tried to educate others, including lawmakers, about more positive alternatives. This year, he pushed for a bill that would ban the word from state statutes.
"People tell you that you can’t do anything, but I have proved them wrong every time," he said. "I have a car, I pay insurance, I drive, I’m my mother’s caregiver, and I am contributing to the community."
Swallow is among the first graduates of a new project designed to teach people with developmental and intellectual disabilities how to stand up for themselves