Print Friendly VersionAugust 2007, Issue 16
ADVOCACY ACTION NEWS
August 2007, Issue 116
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
WISCONSIN
LOCAL
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
ON THE WEB
FREEDOM FESTIVAL
Milwaukee’s Road to Freedom event was coordinated by IndependenceFirst, one of the tour’s biggest sponsors. Despite a sky threatening rain and unseasonably cool weather, the Road to Freedom event was held at the Peck Pavilion, an outdoor stage venue outside the Marcus Center for Performing Arts in the heart of downtown Milwaukee. (Thanks to the Marcus Center for donating the space for the day’s activities!)
Alie Kriofske Mainella, the emcee, first introduced local singer/songwriter Patti Westphal who kicked off the show with her musical set. Denise Johnson, then performed the National Anthem in sign song, leading into our formal program.
Local dignitaries welcomed the Road to Freedom and highlighted their commitments to preserving the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Local dignitaries included Paul Matthews, President of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, downtown area Alderman Robert Bauman, Sarah Spence–a representative from Congresswoman Gwen Moore’s office - and finally, Milwaukee Department of City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux, who made remarks on behalf of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Commissioner Marcoux gave an especially stirring speech and highlighted the impact of “activist judges” who have narrowed the ADA and other civil rights protections while defying the will of Congress and the American people.
He was followed by ADA Watch’s Jim Ward who thanked the City, IndependenceFirst and everyone who supported and turned out for this great event. His remarks outlined the goals of the tour, the need for passage of the ADA Restoration Act and the nomination of judges who will fairly interpret the Americans with Disabilities Act. Ward introduced his fellow bus tour crew: Tom Olin, who was photographing the event and whose images are central to the traveling exhibit which was set up at the event; Debbie Fletter-Ward, founder of Wired On Wheels and the former director of accessibility at AOL; and the boys, Zach Ward, age 3 and Jake Ward, age 2.
In honor of the upcoming anniversary, the crowd sang Happy Birthday for the ADA and enjoyed cake. Local singer Patricia Sobczyk had a musical set which was followed by an incredible performance by the Children of the Sun-the nation’s only deaf and hard of hearing youth drum troupe-and finally young and old were impressed by the illusions of Magic Matt Morgan, a performer who is also deaf.
Despite the threatening weather and negative weather predictions, the rain held out and nearly 200 people with disabilities and other supporters attended. It was a fantastic event! The Road To Freedom bus tour and traveling exhibit is a project of ADA Watch and the National Coalition for Disability Rights (NCDR), an alliance of hundreds of disability, civil rights and social justice organizations.
It is a national awareness campaign inspired by the historic journey of Justin and Yoshiko Dart to mobilize support for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The year-long, cross-country bus journey launched from Washington, DC on November 15th, 2006 and aims to engage audiences across the United States in the story of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the history of the disability rights movement.
Source: http://roadtofreedom.wordpress.com/
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
TAMPER-PROOF PRESCRIPTIONS DEADLINE NEARS - PHARMACISTS ASK FOR DELAY
Millions of Medicaid patients and their pharmacists could be in for a nasty surprise Oct. 1st. A provision tucked in a spending bill for the Iraq war requires that prescriptions for Medicaid patients be written on "tamper-resistant" pads. But most doctors do not use such pads.
The law is designed to make it harder for patients to illegally obtain controlled drugs and easier for the government to save money. The quick start date leaves little time to educate doctors and pharmacists. Pharmacists' groups have asked lawmakers and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to delay putting the law in place. "Millions of Medicaid beneficiaries may not be able to obtain their medications after Oct. 1," they said in a recent letter to lawmakers. "This could lead to higher Medicaid costs for emergency room visits, hospitalizations and physician office visits if medication cannot be obtained in a timely manner."
Steve Hahn, a spokesman for the centers, said the agency has no plans to change the Oct. 1 date. In the interim, it is consulting with health care providers and preparing guidance on how to comply with the law. The tamper-resistant pads often contain a chemical that reveals when efforts have been made to alter the paper. For example, the heat from a copier may cause the word void to appear. Sometimes, the pads contain serial numbers that are entered into a computer by the pharmacist so that they can be matched against a doctor's order.
Source: Associated Press article by KEVIN FREKING (edited)
NEW YORK COURT ALLOWS FORCED ECT TREATMENT
On June 27, 2007, the New York State Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, affirmed a lower court decision approving the forcible administration of electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) for a state psychiatric hospital resident. The case, In the Matter of Simone D., involved a long-time Creedmoor State Hospital resident who had already received 148 ECT treatments over 12 years in the hospital.
The hospital sought permission to administer another 30 treatments against Simone's will. The Bazelon Center joined with other disability rights groups in an amicus curiae brief written by John Gresham of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. Among other things, the amicus brief noted that past ECT treatments had helped Simone only marginally at best; to the contrary, ECT had caused lasting harm to her cognitive ability. The brief further noted that, despite its legal obligation to seek forced treatment only as a last resort, the hospital failed to try the less restrictive alternative of placing Simone on a bilingual ward where she might get some meaningful talk therapy in her native Spanish language.
Simone speaks little English. In affirming the lower court decision, the Court of Appeals did not address any of these issues. Instead, in a two-page opinion, it stated that the sole ground for its decision was that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in limiting Simone's counsel's cross-examination of the state's psychiatric expert witness.
Source: The Bazelon Center for Mental Health
NATIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND INTRODUCED
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA), along with Reps. Maxine Waters (D-CA), John McHugh (R-NY), and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) introduced legislation with the goal of producing, rehabilitating and preserving 1.5 million housing units over the next 10 years.
H.R. 2895 will initially allocate between $800 million and $1 billion annually to states and local communities, without increasing government spending or the federal deficit. The National Affordable Housing Trust Fund will be funded from amounts provided in the recently passed Government Sponsored Enterprises' (GSE) Affordable Housing Fund (H.R. 1427), from savings from Federal Housing Administration reforms contained in H.R. 1852, the Expanding Americans Home Ownership Act, and from any other funding sources that may be subsequently identified.
The Trust Fund will be the largest expansion in federal housing programs in decades. The fund can be used to build, rehabilitate, and preserve affordable rental housing and to provide down payment and closing cost assistance for first-time homebuyers. The bill is income targeted to those families most in need - through provisions that require that 100% of the funds go for the benefit of low income families and that three quarters of all funds go to extremely low income families.
These income targeting provisions ensure that housing assistance go to help precisely the category of families that face the most extreme challenges in finding a place to live that is affordable.
Source: House Financial Services Committee LISTSERV
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.”
~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
MEDICARE'S "IN THE HOME" RESTRICTION
Congressmen Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN) have introduced legislation in the House of Representatives that would fix Medicare's "in the home" restriction on mobility devices. Currently, Medicare will only cover a mobility device if an individual needs it for use inside their homes. In other words, if an individual is able to do without a wheelchair or scooter inside, but needs such a device to go to work, school, the grocery store, their place of worship, the pharmacy or their physician's office, Medicare will NOT pay for it. The "in the home" rule severely restricts the independence of people with disabilities by limiting their ability to participate in their communities.
Please contact the ITEM Coalition at 202-349-4260 (v/relay) with any questions and visit the ITEM Coalition website at www.itemcoalition.org for more information.
Source: ITEM Coalition
KOHL BILL AIMS AT ELDER ABUSE, CARE WORKERS WOULD GET SCREENING
Alarmed by growing abuse of the elderly and worried that abuse will become more prevalent as baby boomers age, Senator Herb Kohl has renewed his call for a nationwide system of background checks to identify applicants with criminal histories before they are hired by long-term care facilities. Kohl and New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici introduced the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act last month and are seeking more supporters.
The Elder Justice Act, the first comprehensive federal legislation designed to reduce elder abuse, neglect and exploitation, is also under consideration now in the Senate. In 2005, 4,234 cases of elder abuse were reported to the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, the most recent year of statistics, and a 7.5% increase from 2004. Of these, the largest group of victims, 1,587, were 80-89 years old. The second-biggest group, 1,384, were 70-79 years old. In Wisconsin, abuse of seniors is handled at the county level. The Department of Health and Family Services funds elder abuse prevention programs in all 72 counties. Each county operates an elder abuse telephone hotline among other services for victims.
Kohl's plan for national background checks is based on a three-year pilot program that examined how seven states, including Wisconsin, screened applicants for employment in nursing homes and other health care facilities. The program began in 2005 with $1.5 million in funding from the federal government, and it ends in September. In Wisconsin, four counties designed fingerprint background check systems with the money. A report from Kohl's office stated that 9,950 applicants were screened in the program, and 265, or 2.7%, were subsequently excluded from employment.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by AUDREY HOFFER (edited)
WISCONSIN
ASSEMBLY BUDGET PASSES
The Assembly passed their version of the next two-year state budget (SB-40) on 7/10/07. It is very different from both the Joint Finance Committee and Senate versions. The Assembly promised to deliver a budget without tax or fee increases and it appears that was accomplished. In order to craft a budget without tax or fee increases, their version of the budget removed or reduced funding for many services and programs. The Assembly removed the tobacco tax increase and reduced funding for tobacco use control grants. This could impact Medical Assistance programs. They removed the universal health care plan that was added in the Senate budget. Other features of the Assembly budget that could affect people with disabilities:
-Delete the expansion of Family Care statewide;
- Delete the creation of the Dept. of Children and Families;
- Eliminate the Medical Assistance (MA) rate increase for non-institutional providers; -Replace the MA dental reimbursement rate pilot in 3 counties with a $3 million increase in MA dental rates statewide;
- Delete the nursing home bed assessment and instead increase nursing homes rates;
- Delete all parts of BadgerCare Plus that would improve health access, but retains the parts that would reduce spending;
- Create a state tax break for Health Savings Accounts;
- Create an autism scholarship program;
- Make second and third grade SAGE programs optional;
- Reduce school aids funding by $85.3 million;
- Reduce funding to counties by 5% and further reduce the county and municipal aid program by $57.9 million;
- Delete funding and provision allowing the Public Defender to represent adults subject to involuntary civil commitment, protective placement or involuntary administration of psychotropic medications without finding of indigency (you have to be found poor before you can be represented by the Public Defender in these matters).
Since there are differences between the Assembly and Senate versions of the budget, the Assembly passed AJR-59. This creates a conference committee to resolve the differences between the two houses. For more information about the budget, go to the DAWN budget section page at: <http://www.dawninfo.org/advocacy/budget.cfm>. If you are not a member of DAWN, you can sign up at http://www.dawninfo.org/ea/index.cfm
Source: DAWN
According to State Representative Jason Fields, the Assembly budget also has the following impact on Milwaukee specifically:
• Reduce Shared Revenue for Milwaukee by $32.7 million
• Eliminate Youth Aids by $7.1 million
• Eliminate Law Enforcement Community Grants by $750,000
• Eliminate Milwaukee Summer Youth Employment aid by $500,000
• Eliminate Boys & Girls Club funding by $250,000
• Eliminate Circuit Court Services by $1.8 million
• Eliminate Treatment Alternatives and Diversion Programs by $500,000
• Eliminate Grants for MPS to improve Pupil Academic Achievement by $15 million
• Eliminate UW-Milwaukee School of Public Health funding by $200,000
LOCAL
PARATRANSIT SERVICES
Do you use paratransit services? Recently, we have been hearing complaints that drivers are constantly on their cell phones while driving. They are not supposed to be using their cell phones AT ALL while driving! If you notice a driver using his/her cell phone, please note the date & time, and the driver’s name and contact Autumn Manz, here at IndependenceFirst (414-291-7520 v/tty or amanz@independencefirst.org).
PLAN ENDS ROUTES, RAISES FARES
Milwaukee County would raise bus fares from $1.75 to $2, drop 13 bus routes and shorten 13 others, under the Milwaukee County Transit System's 2008 budget request. Fares would rise from $3.25 to $4 on the Transit Plus vans that serve the county's disabled and frail elderly residents. And Transit Plus service would be sliced to the minimum allowed by the federal government, replacing the current countywide door-to-door service with service only in areas near the shrinking bus routes. Even worse times could be ahead. The proposed cuts would reduce service by 13%. But without new state or local funding, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has warned the bus system could face a 35% service cut by 2010, when it exhausts a pool of federal aid for major maintenance on buses. Milwaukee County is one of the only places in the nation where property taxes pay for buses, keeping the transit system in competition with other county agencies for tax dollars.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article by LARRY SANDLER (edited)
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
STARBUCKS SETTLES DISCRIMINATION SUIT
A Seattle woman who claimed she was berated in front of customers and had her hours reduced because of her disability will receive $75,000 from Starbucks Corp., after the coffee company settled a lawsuit with the government.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed the case on behalf of Christine Drake, said that as part of the settlement Starbucks also would give $10,000 to the Disability Rights Legal Center, which represents low-income people with disabilities. Seattle-based Starbucks neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.
Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/319668_starbuckseeoc14.html
ACCESSIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS WILL AID BLIND
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Executive Director and CEO Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr. and City Attorney Dennis Herrera announced a comprehensive agreement with representatives for the blind and visually disabled community, in which the City will commit at least $1.6 million over the next two and a half years to install accessible pedestrian signals. The state-of-the art signaling devices will emit a rapid ticking sound in tandem with the familiar WALK symbol displayed for sighted pedestrians. Other accessibility features include locator tones and vibrating pushbuttons to help locate the devices, and the ability to provide helpful audible information such as street names when pedestrians press the pushbutton for one second or longer
Source: City of San Francisco Press Release
METRO SETTLES CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT
All 17,000 customers registered with Washington, D.C.’s Metro service for riders with disabilities will receive 10 free rides, as part of a $2.2 million settlement announced in a class action lawsuit claiming the transit agency provided shoddy, unreliable service. MetroAccess will also expand, offering riders door-to-door service, rather than just curbside pick up and drop off, under terms of the settlement.
The tentative settlement calls for Metro to hire consultants to monitor its oversight of the company that provides the MetroAccess service. The 14 plaintiffs named in the suit will each receive $5,000. The value of the free rides is about $2.50 each. Metro maintains it complied with the Americans With Disabilities Act. But General Manager John Catoe thanked the plaintiffs for helping to improve the service. The nonprofit Equal Rights Center brought the lawsuit in 2004 with help from the Washington Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, initially asking for more than $14 million under the ADA. The lawsuit cited late and unpredictable service for MetroAccess customers, many of whom are blind or use wheelchairs. In some cases, drivers didn't show up at all or took long routes, denying their riders food, water, medication and bathrooms for long periods, according to the complaint.
Source: http://www.examiner.com/a-804433~Metro_settles_class_action_lawsuit_over_disabled_riders_service.html
INN SHOULD NOT HAVE FIRED BLIND MAN
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges that The Inn at Bay Harbor violated federal law by refusing to accommodate a blind employee and firing him about three years ago because of his disability. In a press release, the EEOC notes that the hotel had employed Petoskey resident Peter Gillard for five years as a PBX/switchboard operator. The EEOC alleges that the hotel failed to provide an effective accommodation for Gillard, and fired him prior to the property's spring shutdown. in April 2004 - violating an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provision which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities.
Source: http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2007/07/03/news/news08.txt
POSTAL SERVICE SETTLES SUIT
More than 7,000 postal workers will be notified within that the U.S. Postal Service has agreed to pay $61 million in what lawyers say is the country's largest disability discrimination class-action settlement. The settlement reached late last month, if approved by a judge, could break new ground under the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, which require employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for disabled employees. The plaintiffs claim that the postal service - the second-largest employer in the U.S. after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. - routinely moved workers injured on the job to menial positions that gave them no chance of advancement. In the financial settlement agreement, the postal service said it would make payments to the 7,500 class members mostly in the range of $5,000 to $10,000 each, Seligman said, with some settlements of $30,000 and up. The postal service currently employs 796,200 workers.
Source:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-postal12jun12,1,3592971.story?coll=la--
headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true
HOTELS.COM SUED
Hotels.com, one of the world's largest online travel agencies, is discriminating against people with disabilities by refusing to guarantee reservations for wheelchair-accessible rooms, according to a California class action lawsuit. The lawsuit is one of the first of its kind in the country. Because of the substantial size of the California market, the case has national implications.
Source: http://www.publicjustice.net/pr/hotelscom2_052207.htm
WOMAN & AMTRAK REACH SETTLEMENT
Amtrak has agreed to post signs at its Grand Forks station welcoming people with disabilities, under a settlement agreement.
Debra Ericson, 52, of Grand Forks, sued Amtrak in 2005, alleging the company violated the federal Americans With Disabilities Act by not providing assistance to passengers with disabilities. Ericson, who has a neurological disease, said she took a train trip in 2003 from Grand Forks to Williston, but Amtrak workers balked at helping her.In addition to the signs, Ericson was awarded an undisclosed amount of money in the settlement reached with Amtrak last month.
Source: http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm
page=view&id=D8OQVFJO2&forumcomm_check_return
COURT TO RECONSIDER DEAF UPS DRIVERS LAWSUIT
A federal appeals court agreed to reconsider an earlier ruling that UPS Inc. discriminated against deaf employees by automatically barring them from driving parcel delivery trucks.Federal rules mandate that drivers of trucks exceeding 10,000 pounds be able to hear a whisper from five feet away. The government leaves it up to companies to decide who is qualified to operate lighter vehicles.The U.S. Postal Service and FedEx Corp. allow some deaf drivers to operate delivery vehicles under 10,000 pounds. In 2003, under a $10 million settlement, UPS agreed to track promotions and ensure that employees and job applicants with hearing disabilities have access to certified interpreters. The company also agreed to provide text telephones and vibrating pagers to alert poor-hearing employees to emergency evacuations.
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_5741051?nclick_check=
ON THE WEB
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ACTION CENTER
Stay up-to-date on candidate and campaign news, get-out-the-vote initiatives, action alerts, and all things related to the 2008 presidential election through Presidential Election Action Center. By visiting the Presidential Election Action Center, one can easily do the following:
* Peruse the candidate responses to the disability questionnaire sent to each of the presidential candidates * Download a copy of the questions sent to candidates to encourage the rest of the candidates to respond
* View an election timeline of important dates for debates and events
* Link to every official presidential candidate's campaign website
* Learn how to register to vote in your state
Go to: http://www.aapd.com/News/election/peac2008.php
Source: American Association of Persons with Disabilities
Advocacy Action News is published by IndependenceFirst on or about the 1st of each month. Submissions of articles are due by the 15th of each month prior to publication. For consideration, send your articles or announcements to the Editor, Karen Avery, via e-mail to kavery@independencefirst.org.
Advocacy Action News is available by request in alternative formats such as Braille, large print, on disk or audiotape. It is also made available via our website.
You may also receive Advocacy Action News via email instead of print copy. Contact Karen at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY) or kavery@independencefirst.org.
If you do not have access to the internet, and would like assistance in obtaining any of the internet-based items described in this news bulletin, please contact Karen at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY).
IndependenceFirst
The Resource for People with Disabilities…
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414-291-7520 (V/TTY)
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www.independencefirst.org