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January 31, 2012

National Down Syndrome Congress

Governmental Affairs Newsline 

 

In This Issue

No Child Left Behind

No Child Left Behind

Employment Goals for Federal Contractors

 

 

 

 

 

National Down Syndrome Congress

30 Mansell Court

Suite 108

Roswell, GA 30076

ndsc@...

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  Fight Effort to Repeal the CLASS Act

 

Advocacy in Oregon

 

NDSC Opposes Draft Education Bill 

Fight for the CLASS Act continues: oppose effort in House to repeal this week

 Help protect the CLASS Act, by calling  to connect with Congress.

 

During the week of January 30, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to

vote on the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act (H.R. 1173), a

bill that would repeal the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports

(CLASS) Act.

 

Background: CLASS addresses the need for long-term care in the United States in

a completely voluntary way. It addresses the need for consumer choice, dignity

and independence - without forcing people to impoverish themselves to qualify

for Medicaid. If CLASS is repealed without an alternative being put into place,

the need for a coordinated long-term care system will only grow, as will the

financial strain on Medicaid.

 

The need for the program is reflected in its popularity with the American

people. According to a joint Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public

Health poll, 76 percent of Americans support CLASS - including 69 percent of

Republicans, 71 percent of Independents, and 87 percent of Democrats.

 

Here is what you can tell your legislators: 

* I strongly support the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports

(CLASS) Act. Please oppose H. R. 1173, which would repeal the program.

* The primary public program now covering long-term services and supports is

Medicaid.  

* The CLASS Act was designed to be a fiscally responsible alternative that will

encourage more personal responsibility and give American families a structure

for planning for their own long-term care costs. 

* Every family needs this protection. No one has proposed a better alternative

to CLASS Act for financing long-term services and supports. 

* Please allow continued dialogue on the CLASS Act and development of a viable

program moving forward. 

* Repealing CLASS is no solution at all. Simply allowing CLASS to be repealed

does nothing to address the dire need for real long-term care solutions.CLASS is

not perfect, but repealing it without replacing it will not solve our growing

long-term care crisis. People with disabilities and their caregivers have waited

long enough for Congress to focus on this problem.

* Preserving CLASS provides a framework for Congress to move forward

effectively. This may involve working with some of the fiscally responsible

options put forth by the CLASS Act actuary, tweaking or amending the law, and/or

developing additional alternatives; but repealing CLASS turns out the light on

real efforts to solve the problem. 

Oregonians with Disabilities 

Challenge Sheltered Workshops

 The United Cerebral Palsy Association of Oregon and Southwest Washington,

along with eight individuals, recently filed a class action lawsuit against

Governor Kitzhaberand the Oregon Department of Human Services. According to

an article on

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=jjpyswbab & et=1109185983061 & s=4414 & e=001VVpFn5HL7Ff\

wa5ba_oVIFKwtSLh94Khseml7kA7c0tFzfiZpaCzfrvoR47SQgCUCUyuCmM2aBxrCTK6m1aijsEzxoXb\

sruixVsTyrGES8gs=, the suit represents Oregonians with intellectual or physical

disabilities working in " sheltered workshops " .

The article states that, if successful, the lawsuit will set an example for

other states by ending Oregon's practice of having people with disabilities

spend their days in " sheltered workshops. "  In these workshops, which are found

nationwide, people with disabilities complete repetitive or rote tasks for

sub-minimum wage without the opportunity for training or advancement.

According to the lawsuit, at any point in time, more than 2,300 Oregonians are

" stuck in long-term, dead-end, facility based sheltered workshops that offer

virtually no interaction with non-disabled peers. "

This group of workers includes 48-year-old a Lane, who has an intellectual

disability, autism and an anxiety disorder. In March 2000, Lane began working at

a sheltered workshop in Beaverton where, according to the lawsuit, she spends

her time working on an assembly line in a large room with more than 100 others.

Her current tasks include putting parts into boxes, folding bags, packaging

gloves and putting bits into slots in a tool holder.

" The worksite is segregated, crowded and distracting, " the lawsuit claims.

Between February 2010 and March 2011, the highest amount Lane earned was $53.66

for 81 hours in September 2010. The lowest was $26.82 for 66 hours in March

2010, or approximately 40 cents an hour.

According to the lawsuit, Lane has performed her work well and has repeatedly

asked the state's vocational agency for help finding an outside job. She likes

to spend money on pizza parties and had wanted to attend a country music

concert, however Lawyers said that she " cannot afford to participate in as many

community activities. "

" Ms. Lane believes she can work competitively and would like the opportunity to

do so. "

 

According to http://oregonlive.com, the state of Oregon currently spends $30

million a year on sheltered workshops for people with disabilities. Over time it

would be much cheaper for taxpayers and better for individuals for the state to

fund programs that help people with disabilities work in jobs that pay minimum

wage or better, said Bob Joondeph, executive director of Disability Rights

Oregon and an attorney for the plaintiffs.

 

Last August, advocates sent a letter to Human Services director n

Kelley-Siel asking that the state take steps to help people with disabilities

find and keep real jobs.  The Oregonian requested a copy of the response under

the state's public records law. Oregon Human Services spokesman Gene said

he could not comment.

Advocates tried to " negotiate a way to avoid filing the case, " Joondeph said,

" but we were not successful. "

NDSC Opposes Draft Education Bill

 NDSC and 38 organizations sent a letter to Kline (R-MN), Chairman of the

House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee, opposing attempts to

rewrite sections of the law known as the No Child Left Behind Act. The draft

bill, called the Student Success Act, removes accountability provisions that

calls for meaningful academic achievement for students with disabilities. NDSC

also opposed a Senate bill last fall authored by Senators Harkin and Enzi for

similar reasons.

 

The letter reads, in part:

 

This draft bill also would allow federal dollars to flow but require virtually

nothing in return. This is bad for students and bad for taxpayers. Federal

funding must be attached to firm, ambitious, and unequivocal demands for higher

achievement, improved high school graduation rates, and progress in closing both

achievement and opportunity gaps. Any reauthorization of ESEA must, at minimum,

require states to set clear goals and provide instructional support so that all

students receive an education that prepares them for success in college and

careers.

 

The full letter and list of signers is found at

http://www.civilrights.org/press/2012/house-esea-proposal.html.

 

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R. Green

IMDSA Legislative Officer

IMDSA.org

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Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 1:42 PM

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March 13, 2012

National Down Syndrome Congress

Governmental Affairs Newsline 

 

In This Issue

Restraint and Seclusion

Community Living Incentives

Public Policy Fellowship

 

 

 

 

 

National Down Syndrome Congress

30 Mansell Court

Suite 108

Roswell, GA 30076

ndsc@...

/

  Restraint and Seclusion

 

Community Living Incentives

 

Public Policy Fellowship 

Abusive Techniques on Students Continue

 On March 6, 2012 the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) announced the

third in its series, School Is not Supposed to Hurt, and called on the U.S.

Department of Education (ED) to do more to reduce and prevent the use of

restraint and seclusion on school children. The first two reports were issued in

2009 and 2010. 

 

According to NDRN executive director Curt Decker, " ED has not provided any

meaningful leadership to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion − despite

the fact that students are continuing to be confined, tied up, pinned down,

battered and nearly killed on a regular basis. "

 

NDRN argues that ED should issue national guidance stating minimally that the

use of physical restraint or seclusion is limited to circumstances when

necessary to protect a child or others from imminent physical danger.  

 Some of the other recommendations to the Department of Education include:

* pulling together a national summit of researchers, educators, mental health

professionals and others to discuss whether restraint and seclusion has any

therapeutic value and to develop evidence-based best practices to prevent and

reduce the use of restraint and seclusion.

* collaborating with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration (SAMHSA) in the above effort. SAMHSA has successfully supported

efforts over the last decade to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion in

mental health facilities. 

* investigating instances of restraint and seclusion and requiring school

districts to take appropriate corrective action.

* defining the scope of the problem and how to address it by immediately using

data it has collected for the 2009-2010 school year about the use of restraint

and seclusion. A copy of the report can be found at www.ndrn.org.

Government Launches Community Living Incentive Program to States

 The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has begun a $3 billion

initiative established as part of the Affordable Care Act to increase spending

in states that allocate less than 50 percent of their long-term support services

funding to community-based settings. These matching grants are available to

encourage states to increase community living opportunities.

 

Currently, states are required by law to fund institutional care for individuals

with disabilities, but funding is limited for community-based options. States

that qualify for the new money must use it to increase the availability of

services in the community. In order to qualify, a state must spend less than 50

percent of its long-term services funding on institutional care.

 

New Hampshire, the first state added under the new program will get $26.5

million over the next three years.

 

Several other states are preparing applications for the grant money. NDSC

supports this important initiative to increase community-based living options

for people with disabilities.

The ph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation - Public Policy Fellowship

Program 2012-2013

 The ph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation is seeking family members of persons

with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) who are currently working

or volunteering in the field of inclusive services and supports for people with

I/DD for an intensive one-year Public Policy Fellowship in Washington, DC. The

purpose of the Fellowship is to prepare both early career and more seasoned

leaders to assume leadership in the public policy arena in their home state

and/or nationally. During this one year Fellowship, the successful applicant

will learn how federal legislation is initiated, developed, and passed by the

Congress, as well as how programs are administered and regulations promulgated

by federal agencies.  

 

The application deadline for 2012-2013 is March 31, 2012 by 5:00 pm EDT.   The

Foundation fellowship(s) will be awarded for the period July, 2012-June 30,

2013, though consideration may be given to those who wish to start later in the

year or early in 2013.  The applications may only be filed online.

http://www.thearc.org/document.doc?id=3509

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