Re: Restraint & Seclusion Bill - NO VETO PLEASE

[Guest guest]

One thing I am sure of: Negative behavior should not get positive reinforcement.

If R & S has any chance of being revisited next year it needs to be clear to our

Legislators, and especially this years co-sponsors and next years Leadership,

that this Bill was gutted regarding R & S.

Slapping them on the back and telling them what a great job they did is just

driving coffin nails into next years chances. What the 35 House co-sponsors need

to be told is that the Bill they signed on to was not the Bill that passed. The

new Leadership for next years session needs to know that this problem was not

solved and that the data that we are trusting the schools to take needs to be

addressed next session.

In 2008 the autism insuranmce Bill passed. The Legislature knew then that less

than 14% of Florida's autistic children would benefit from the Bill. Governor

Charlie flew all over the State signing the Bill and got his picture in the

paper with Dan Marino, what a great day! I was at the Ft Lauderdale signing. In

the TWO sessions since there has been no effort at all to improve the insurance

situation for autistic children in the State.

Don't reinforce negative behavior. I have spoken to a few of the co-sponsors of

81 / 1073 and they are clueless that it was gutted. Those Legislators aren't

clueless anymore but we need to stop telling them what a great job they did and

tell them we need to start over for next year starting tomorrow.

I just hope next years statistics don't include any deaths.

Steve Moyer

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> This was a great message. I am confused about what stance to take on this. I

was originally all for veto and then I began to read some posts on here advising

otherwise and offering some good reasons. I know that this bill did not only

cover R and S and that alone may be a good reason to not ask for a veto. I don't

know if the governor were to veto it, what good would that do aside of sending

the message that we don't approve of the flimsy bill? But how else should we

express, those of us that feel this way, that we are very unhappy with the

outcome? Yes having the lights on and being informed are something, but compared

to the heaviness of this issue its like an umbrella in a tsunami. I don't know

what to think about this now and can only agree that we who feel strongly on R

and S need to stick together and give each other room to be heard and to have

differing opinions while not letting those tear us apart and weaken the strength

that comes with unity.

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> From:

> Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 12:36 PM

> To: sList

> Subject: Re: Restraint & Seclusion Bill - NO VETO PLEASE

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> I have read your note " Do not ask for a veto of the Restraint and Seclusion

Bill " and I believe we all feel the same, disappointed. That being said, I

havent heard any advocates including myself blaming anyone . We are all aware of

the work that went into this. There isnt one advocate that actually thought HB81

would stay intact but we never thought all the safety precautions for our

children would be removed from the bill. Our disappointment is with those who

just dont get it and changed the bill so drastically and without any parent

involvement. Parents & children are in the trenches everyday. I am an advocate

because my child was abused by restraints.I know first hand why we need Laws to

protect our children. It's been three years since my son was abused and he still

wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. He still cant go into the

bathroom in his own home alone. He is forever changed but he is alive as you

know there are some children that didnt make it home.

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> When my son was abused no one would help me. I went online & found Phyllis,

she took me under her wing & showed me the ropes. I am a part of Florida

Families Against Restraint and Seclusion & have been for 3 years. I do see

people giving their opinion who werent really involved in pushing the Bill

forward but maybe they will jump in & help next round. We need people to feel

comfortable speaking out, we need to get the truth out in the open. To tell

parents their children are now safe because of this Bill & act like it is a

Great thing is just not true. The way you represented the Bill in this note is

accurate, you then expressed your opinion of the Bill, which is your right. That

way it is up to the individual to decide if " something is better then nothing "

because that is what we have here. Among those speaking out I also see a lot of

organizations taking credit for all the parents hard work. The same

organizations who slammed the door in our face's for years. Only now that R & S is

getting the attention it deserves, have they stepped up only to start taking

credit for our work or pretending that they helped us. You seem to be taking

the parents view of the Bill personal, it's not about us, its about the

children. I really didnt see the children mentioned in your note.

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> As you know there are a lot of holes in this Bill and the parents of abused

children know first hand how schools work. We have been in the trenches, through

the cover ups, the lies, the changed documents and the retaliation against

ourselves and our children. We know that schools are not going to tell on

themselves. They will continue to hide things or most of the reporting will

blame the child. They will embellish & exaggerate the whole incident even though

they more then likely caused the incident by escalating or even provoking the

child. My child was provoked & I have documentation that proves that, but no one

asked me for any documentation except Sylvia, late in the hearings. She asked

for my DCF report which had verified findings of abuse.

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> Im assuming when you wrote " take pictures " (which most of us are already

doing) you are aware of what this next year holds for disabled (mostly

autistic)children & their parents. What scares me the most is that there is no

guarantee that we will be allowed to go back to this Bill next year or the year

after and add the safety language that was taken out. We gave our Florida

legislators pleanty of pictures, videos and parent testimonals so why does Sen.

Gardiner feel he has to wait until he see's the data from the school districts

to make any new additions to the bill in the future? Are we talking about the

same school districts that are abusing our children and then trying to hide it?

Whether this Bill becomes Law or is Vetoed I am scared for the children next

school year. Im sure the Bill will become Law, I seriously doubt the Governor

will veto the Bill. Our children seem to be irrelavent to most politicians.

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> You say leadership feels they dont have enough information to act. Have they

not read the Florida family testimonials, GAO report, NDRN report, ACLU report,

COPAA report etc... or the already well documented cases of misuse and illegal

use of restraint and/or seclusion. I was told parents were needed for a press

conference in Tallahassee for Rep. Hukill. I said I would go & was told I would

hear from someone. I finally heard from someone but it was either too late or

the press conference was already over. This person said they would rather wait &

use me for the hearings. That never happened either, instead we had two men &

only one had a child who was abused by R & S. A mother should have been testifying

also. My son wanted to talk to legislators & is very capable of doing so. They

need to see that our children are just like theirs.

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> I for one know how much blood, sweat, expense, effort, pleading & tears go

into fighting for services and for protection of our disabled children. We are

just parents, parents with enough courage to stand up and say this is wrong. We

are the ones who got these stories in the news and newspapers all over the

nation. Parents feel the same " Until you've walked a mile in the shoes of a

parent with a special needs child, during the very stressful school year, while

teachers, school staff & districts are covering up, allowing your child to be

abused and there is nothing you can do about it because there are no Laws to

protect them.

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> I dont know you, I have only met you once but you are highly respected

amongst the Advocate community. If I havent said so, Thank you for all your hard

work & taking on the challenge of getting a Bill passed to protect our children.

I dont know what is right or wrong anymore in reference to this Bill. I do know

our children deserve so much more and it was nice to read you have the same

feelings. Most parents have no idea how the political arena works, but after

reading your note I have a better understanding of what it takes. One side I

didnt see in your note was the side of the disabled children, that is why we are

here, because in the end they will pay the price of being abused while people

that are passing the laws look the other way. We appreciate you -we know what

you have done to help us but please don't try to silence us by insinuating that

going against the bill somehow means we are rude or unappreciative, We need

everyone to speak up and not feel as if they will be attacked , bullied or shut

out like some parents have already been made to feel. The agencies are meant to

represent us not the other way around. Remember, we are not criticizing you -we

are expressing our discontent with legislators and the bill.

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> Sincerely,

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