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Sign on to Support the National Disability Integration act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427)
PA ADAPT and the entire disability community are calling ALL supporters of Disability Rights, Civil Rights, Human Rights, and the Independent Living Movement !!!
On December 18, 2015, the Disability Integration Act (DIA) was introduced into the United States Senate by Senator Chuck Schumer as S-2427.
Passing the Disability Integration Act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427) is THE priority for the disability community, representing - more than any other campaign ever has - the cornerstone of the independent living philosophy, the reversal of the longest standing "legal" barrier to freedom, and the end of the Medicaid institutional bias ... and therefore, it should be a major priority for EVERY organization that has a moral or mandated obligation TO the disability community!
as it grows, and DO NOT HESITATE to exert your peer influence as needed if you know of organizations who should be listed but have not signed on.
The Disability Integration Act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427) ...
- ... acknowledges and fulfills the 1999 US Supreme Court ruling that it is unconstitutional to NOT provide Long-Term Supports and Services (LTSS) in the most integrated setting;
- ... upholds the right of the 97% of Americans who PREFER to age in place with home and community-based LTSS rather than be placed in a nursing home or other institution;
- ... supports and funds the civil and human right to be able to CHOOSE where a person with disabilities wants to receive the supports and services they need;
- ... recognizes that this right, which the people have always wanted, is also the MOST COST EFFECTIVE OPTION for both state and federal government;
AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY,
- ... proclaims that every Medicaid recipient who is eligible for LTSS (including those now in nursing homes and institutions) will have, AND REALIZE, the right to receive them in the setting of their choosing - regardless of age or disability - and that providers of LTSS, "cannot limit the availability of services to individuals who need such services based on cost or service caps"!
The Disability Integration Act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427) is the civil rights legislation ...
- ... that finally finishes the job where the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 fell short;
- ... that the disability community has needed since Medicaid-funded LTSS were first offered in 1965;
- ... that hundreds of disability rights organizations and THOUSANDS of advocates have tirelessly fought for in the last 50 years;
- ... that hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities have died - isolated, forgotten and neglected, cold and alone, and far too often, abused - for lack of...
With your help, we will lack it no longer! The Disability Integration Act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427) is FINALLY here for the taking!
Join us! Help us pass the Disability Integration Act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427) and FREE OUR PEOPLE once and for all!!!
Step 1. Forward this email to everyone you know, and add a personal note of request and thanks to all parties even remotely connected to the disability community.
Step 2. Educate yourself on the Disability Integration Act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427). There are a number of sources for you to peruse for more information about this historic bill:
THIS IS WHERE WE FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
THIS IS WHERE YOUR HEART TAKES ACTION THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY NEED .
Step 3. It doesn't matter if we get every citizen in the State of Pennsylvania to support this bill, if it doesn't pass through Congress. As citizens of this great Commonwealth, our PRIMARY CHARGE in this national fight is to persuade Pennsylvania's Senators to show THEIR support for the Disability Integration Act by signing on as CO-SPONSORS of the bill. By co-sponsoring a bill, they are essentially telling everyone that if or when it comes up for a vote, they WILL vote for it. As of today, the DIA has only been introduced in the Senate, so we can ALL focus all of our efforts on Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey . We must call them, fax them, write them, and (most effective) meet with them!
Equip yourself ahead of time with the information found in the links, set up a meeting with the legislators, line up some friends to go with you, and PERSONALLY urge them to co-sponsor the bill!
And we must act quickly! If we can get Casey and Toomey to co-sponsor it quickly here in Pennsylvania, that will send a positive ripple through the rest of the nation. Moreover, it will not be long before the House version is introduced, and then our efforts will be split between Pennsylvania's 19 US Representatives, and I'm sorry to say, but I anticipate a heated battle with at least some of the Republicans. Let us organize early, get our more agreeable (Democrat) Senator to sign on, and use that experience for the harder battle in Pennsylvania's US House seats.
Step 4. Raise awareness about the Disability Integration Act (DIA) of 2015 (S-2427) via social media and other outlets.
- Follow along with NATIONAL updates at the official Disability Integration Act facebook page, and Share, Share, Share!
- Keep us informed of YOUR progress and Disability Integration Act related activities at the PA ADAPT Facebook page- the "official" hub of grassroots organizing around the DIA in Pennsylvania;
- And please forward this email message.
Step 5. It never hurts to pray; we need receptiveness and open doors.
The introduction of this landmark legislation really must mark the end of the institutional bias in America and signal the beginning of a new age for people with disabilities. With two million of our American brothers and sisters (and parents) wrongly incarcerated, merely for needing assistance with personal needs, we cannot really move forward as a nation in good conscience, especially in global efforts of liberation. It is time that we are finally ALL free, or at least have access to freedom. Then, together, we can work to strengthen the rights that are weakening (adherence to zoning regulations / consumer leadership in disability organizations / etc.) and fight for further rights in areas where it is yet necessary to do so (accessibility of public entity structures such as the capitol building and court houses all across the state / employment/sub-minimum wages/financial disincentives / accessible, affordable housing / transportation / guardianship / equity/parity/equality in, well, so many areas / frankly, the list goes on...).
Giant corporations and their well-funded lobbying efforts will work to INDEFINITELY TABLE this legislation (as they have with ADAPT's MiCASA, MiCASSA, and Community Choice Act, and, in many states, the Community First Choice option), because its passage will remove Americans with disabilities from their profitable accounts receivable ledgers!
We will need the help of EVERY friend, ally, and disability-friendly organization at our disposal to be at our side! To every Center for Independent Living, and each of their employees, every home health care agency and waiver agent, every ARC, DDCouncil group, MRS, Hope Network, Network 180, and everyone else who has EVER served the disability community, and every employee who has ever been served a paycheck for doing so ... we implore you, both with humility and respect, and with strength and great pride: HELP us pass the DIA and bring a new day to ALL Americans with disabilities!
And once it is signed into law know you participated in the incredible impact of the fact that, in 20 years' time, there will be an entire generation of Americans with disabilities who will not know the threat of being forced to live in an institution that they did not choose. Who can really say what kind of effect these people will have on the world?
FREE OUR PEOPLE!!! FREE OUR PEOPLE!!! FREE OUR PEOPLE!!! FREE OUR PEOPLE NOW!!!
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PIE Info: Transformation Leadership Boot Camp
Summary
: This is to announce an opportunity for 10 Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) to attend a two-day "Leadership Boot Camp", during which information and resources about service model transformation will be provided by national experts. The opportunity also includes additional follow-up, intensive technical assistance to four of the ten providers to assist them in taking concrete steps to make the transformation. The Leadership Boot Camp is tentatively scheduled for March 3 & 4, 2016, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The attached application is due by email to dgrant@pa.gov by close of business Friday, January 29, 2016. There is no cost to participate, but all travel-related expenses will be the responsibility of the participants.
Project Description: Pennsylvania recognizes that all people with disabilities should have the opportunity to be employed and live a full and meaningful life of economic independence. A job establishes someone as a contributor and full participant in the community. Employment plays a key role in someone's sense of well-being, and facilitates and solidifies community inclusion and self-sufficiency. Pennsylvania is committed to improving competitive integrated employment outcomes for all people with disabilities and making the commonwealth a high performing employment state. In order for that to occur, we must consider and promote changes to our service delivery systems in terms of developing new service models and building provider capacity.
Application: Attached is an application to help us get to know your organization and attempt to measure your interest and commitment to Employment First and changes needed to better attain that goal. Please submit your application by email to dgrant@pa.gov by close of business Friday, January 29, 2016. Please remember, there is no cost to participate, but all travel-related expenses will be the responsibility of the participants. If you have any questions, please contact either of the Pennsylvania EFSMLP Co-State Leads:
Devon D. Grant | Executive Director
Governor's Cabinet for People with Disabilities
Phone: 717.783.4287 | Fax: 717.772.2062
dgrant@pa.gov
Diane Cashman | Director of Employment
Department of Human Services| Office of the Deputy
Phone: 717.783.5755 | Fax: 717.783.6583
dcashman@pa.gov
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PIE Info: Statewide Disability History Conference
MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2016, 9am to 4pm
The Pennsylvania History Coalition Honoring People with Disability and the Honors College at Millersville University are pleased to announce their second statewide disability history conference at the fully accessible Bolger Conference Center on campus in Millersville Pennsylvania.
The conference features:
* Keynote speaker Eric Rosenthal, J.D. - Professor of Human Rights at Georgetown University Law School and founder of Disability Rights International, a DC based global advocacy organization.
* Information sharing from organizations across the state engaged in historic preservation and outreach supported by the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council.
* The world premiere of a full length documentary produced by WITF public media that examines the treatment and interpretation of people with developmental disabilities in Pennsylvania from the early 19th century into modern times.
* A community forum discussing current and prospective historic projects, initiatives, and issues.
This March 28, 2016 conference is free and open to the public. Registration and other program materials will follow soon.
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ACRE Certificate: Supported Employment 101
Networks for Training and Development, Inc. is excited to offer our ACRE Certificate: Supported Employment 101 course for Employment Professionals! ACRE, (Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators), promotes best practices in employment supports through competency-based training with a focus on contemporary practices in employment supports. These competencies align with the APSE CESP (Certified Employment Support Professional) certification exam.
When
Wednesday March 2 2016 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Where Giant Community Center at the Linglestown Giant
2300 Linglestown Road Harrisburg, PA 17110
This 44-hour, in-person, eight-session ACRE Certificate Course is offered as an introduction to the basic concepts of employment of individuals with disabilities with an emphasis on current best practices. Attendance at all eight sessions is required. Certificates will only be issued when all Course requirements are met. To find out more, click on "Get more information".
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Attend a Participant-Directed Services and Supports Brokering Workshop
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Do you want more control over your services?
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Do you want to direct your own services?
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Are you directing your own services but need more support with managing your paid staff?
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Are you interested in finding more creative ways to arrange your paid and unpaid supports?
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If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, this session is for you!
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Session Times: 10:00am and 5:30pm
The Arc of Luzerne County
67-69 Public Square, Suite 1020, Wilkes-Barre
Participant-Directed Services, also called "Self-Directed Services," are a way for a waiver participant to have more control over who provides services and how services are provided.
In this session you will learn:
- Who can use Participant-Directed Services
- What services can be self-directed
- Financial Management Services (Vendor/Fiscal Employer Agent and Agency With Choice)
- Rights and responsibilities
We will also discuss Supports Brokers. A Supports Broker can:
- assist you with directing your own services and supports
- help you in hiring and managing your workers
- help you understand and manage your budget for the supports you direct
- help you build natural and community supports
Presenters:
Kristin Ahrens, Policy Director, Institute on Disabilities at Temple University
Marian Frattarola-Saulino, CEO, Values Into Action - PA
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Lawsuit Filed to Address Unnecessary Institutionalization in Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, PA -
TheDisability Rights Network of Pennsylvania (DRN) announced today that it has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of itself and two individuals with intellectual disabilities against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) for violations of federal Medicaid law, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Rehabilitation Act, because plaintiffs, who are Medicaid beneficiaries, are unable to access prompt services to which they are entitled, which places them at serious risk of unnecessary institutionalization. The lawsuit, Miller v. Department of Human Services, was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania today.
"The Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania has been tracking this problem for many, many years," said Kelly Darr, Legal Director at DRN. "DRN has spent a lot of time and resources to represent individual plaintiffs, conduct individual interventions, and advocate with DHS to avoid the unnecessary institutionalization of persons with intellectual disabilities. It was time to address this problem in a more systemic way so that the threat of institutionalization in state facilities, psychiatric hospitals, or nursing facilities come to an end."
In the complaint, DRN identifies numerous individuals enrolled in the Consolidated Waiver, a Medicaid home and community-based services program for individuals with intellectual disabilities who were forced into institutions or had their discharges from institutions delayed because of the lack of timely access to residential and other services funded by the Consolidated Waiver necessary to enable them to remain in their own homes and the community. Many of these individuals were represented by a DRN staff attorney or had a DRN advocate working on their behalf.
The named plaintiffs are Jared Miller (37) and Albert M. Spurri (25) are Consolidated Waiver participants who have been living at home with their families. Due to their complex needs, their families have struggled to maintain them at home with quality services funded by the Consolidated Waiver. The families have sought residential services repeatedly through the Consolidated Waiver, but those efforts have been unsuccessful. Unless the families can secure residential habilitation services promptly through the Consolidated Waiver, they will resort to institutionalization.
"It is outrageous that beneficiaries of the Consolidated Waiver in Pennsylvania are entitled to services, yet cannot timely secure them," said Kelly Darr, DRN's Legal Director. "The lack of timely access to Consolidated Waiver services has in too many cases resulted in unnecessary institutionalization, often by Court Order. The forced institutionalization of individuals with intellectual disabilities could have been avoided had the state provided the approved services that these individuals wanted and to which they are entitled."
In the lawsuit, DRN seeks to ensure DHS provides prompt access to Consolidated Waiver services so that persons with intellectual disabilities can remain in the community and receive necessary services to avoid institutionalization.
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40th ANNUAL
Philadelphia Regional Conference on Developmental Disabilities
Healthy Relationships - Romantic or Otherwise
Friday, May 13, 2016
The Developmental Disabilities Conference Planning Committee is actively seeking proposals for workshops and poster sessions from parents, individuals with developmental disabilities, professionals and family members.
The Conference will be held at 3535 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA, 16th, Floor. The site is wheelchair accessible and convenient to public transportation and street parking.
This conference provides a forum to highlight practices in the field of developmental disabilities, as well as techniques and models of service for individuals with developmental disabilities from birth to senior citizens and their families.
Developmental disabilities may include: autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disability, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, cerebral palsy, and other cognitive or physical disabilities.
Our keynote speakers this year are Megan and Barton Cutter, an inter-ability couple and authors of the book Ink in the Wheels: Stories to Make Love Roll.
The conference planning committee encourages you to submit a workshop/poster session proposal that relates to our keynote address topic and theme for this year:
"Healthy Relationships - Romantic or Otherwise."
WORKSHOP TOPICS / POSTER SESSIONS COULD INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
Greater consideration will be given to proposals that include individuals with developmental disabilities, parents, or family members as part of the presentation team.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS Friday, January 22, 2016
PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR COLLEAGUES WHO MIGHT WANT TO PRESENT IN 2016
You must use the attached format to send your proposal.
40th ANNUAL
Philadelphia Regional Conference on Developmental Disabilities
Friday, May 13, 2016
Click here for submission sheet
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REQUEST FOR NOMINEES
The State Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention is looking for nominations for the:
2015 Ron Cowell Award
For Excellence in Service to Young Children with Disabilities and Their Families
Eligibility:
an individual who has a significant impact on early intervention public policy development, early intervention practices or staff development such as: parents, providers of early intervention services, higher education personnel, public policy makers, philanthropists, and others dedicated to early intervention.
The following documentation should be submitted for each nominee:
- Attached nomination form
- A short essay explaining why the individual is deserving of the recognition
- Three letters of recommendation
- Other forms of substantiation of accomplishments
Click here for complete application
Nomination information and/or questions should be sent to:
Ms. Kim Koteles at:
kkoteles@pattan.net
by: Monday, February 22, 2016.
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TASH is currently accepting applications for the Executive Director position.
This position is full-time and based in Washington, DC at the TASH national headquarters. Resumes and letters of introduction must be submitted to jobs@tash.org by Tuesday, March 1st, 2016.
TASH's Executive Director serves as the public presence and chief strategy officer for this exciting, progressive, and values-based organization. TASH is seeking a candidate who can find solutions where others see dead ends; believes in the capacity and human rights of people for whom TASH advocates; and who finds this leadership opportunity in a social justice advocacy organization personally and professional motivating.
If you or someone you know is a good fit for this position, please read or share the full job description. The job description includes essential duties and responsibilities of the Executive Director, as well as educational and professional qualifications.
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