Print Friendly VersionDecember 2007, Issue 120
ADVOCACY ACTION NEWS
December 2007, Issue 120
Monthly News Bulletin Published by IndependenceFirst
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
WISCONSIN
LOCAL
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
RESOURCES ON THE WEB
ANNOUNCEMENTS
PROFESSOR FRANK BOWE,
DISABILITY HERO
Disability leader Frank Bowe recently passed away. Frank was the Dr. Mervin Livingston Schloss Distinguished Professor for Disability Studies at Hofstra University, in Long Island, New York. Frank, who was Deaf, was an important leader who played a prominent role in highlighting the need to ensure accessible telecommunications.
Frank was always prompt, willing and knowledgeable with his contributions to efforts of the National Council on Independent Living's (NCIL) Assistive Technology Advisory Committee, as well as to the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living's (APRIL) advocacy efforts. He served as guru on issues of telecommunication & IT accessibility issues. We miss him.¨
- John Nousaine, NCIL AT subcommittee chair, APRIL board member, Executive Director, North Country Independent Living Center, Superior, WI
As a disability rights activist, author, and teacher, Frank Bowe was the first executive director of the first national cross-disability consumer advocacy organization, the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities (ACCD). The Coalition's signature achievement was securing the long-delayed implementation of Section 504, the world's first civil-rights provision for persons with disabilities. Bowe conceived and led the nationwide protest that led to issuance of landmark regulations for Section 504 in 1977.
Section 504 led, in 1990, to the Americans with Disabilities Act. That same year, Dr. Bowe was the principal architect of the Television Decoder Circuitry Act, which was sponsored in the Senate by Tom Harkin (D-IA) and in the House by Ed Markey (D-MA). The act requires that TV sets receive and display closed captions. The 1996 Telecommunications Act took it a step further, mandating that broadcast and cable programs themselves be captioned. Frank earned his doctorate at New York University, his master's degree at Gallaudet University, and bachelor's degree at Western Maryland College. He was selected as an Outstanding Scholar of the 20th Century and received a Distinguished Service Award from President George H.W. Bush in 1992.
SOURCE: John Nousaine (edited)
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FORUM ON NATIONAL DISABILITY POLICIES
More than 600 people participated in the Presidential Candidates Forum: A National Forum on Equality, Opportunity and Access in Manchester, NH, hosted by Granite State Independent Living, the National Council on Independent Living, and some 28 organizations on behalf of Americans with disabilities. Candidates who participated in the Forum included: Senators Clinton (D-NY), Biden (D-DE), Dodd, and Gravel (R-AK), Representative David Bonior (D-MI) on behalf of Senator John Edwards (D-NC), and Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH). Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) participated in the Forum by phone from the campaign trail.
A transcript is available on the website of the American Association of People with Disabilities (www.aapd.com).
ADA RESTORATION ACT
On Thursday, November 15th, a large crowd attended a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on the ADA Restoration Act of 2007, S. 1881, legislation that would that would restore civil right protections for children and adults with all types of disabilities.
Under the direction of Senator Harkin, the Senate HELP Committee heard testimony about a number of Supreme Court decisions that have significantly reduced the protections available to people with disabilities in employment settings.
Long time disability rights leader John Kemp spoke of his personal experience with a significant disability and stated that disability discrimination is "un-American.¨ Dick Thornburgh, Attorney General under Former President George H.W. Bush, spoke of his role in the passage of the original ADA and what he understood Congress' intent to be. Steven Orr, a pharmacist with diabetes from South Dakota, spoke of his experience of discrimination by his employer (WalMart), who told him he was being fired because of his diabetes. Orr nonetheless lost his case when the Courts determined that he was not "disabled enough" for the ADA's protections.
Georgetown Law Professor Chai Feldblum testified, that indeed, the ADA was meant to cover all people with disabilities, regardless of a functional assessment and that the ADA addresses discrimination based on disability, especially in cases in which a false assumption based on prejudice is the root of the discrimination. In this understanding of the ADA, actual severity of disability is of no consequence.
SOURCE: WhAM, NCIL publication (edited)
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.¨
~ Audre Lord
WISCONSIN
STATE PLAN FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING APPROVED
The U.S. Dept of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration recently approved Wisconsin's State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL).
If you would like a copy, contact Mike Bachhuber, Executive Director
Independent Living Council of Wisconsin
Phone: (608) 256-9257
TTY: (608) 256-9316
Consumers outside of the Madison area call toll-free at: 866-656-4010 (voice) or 866-656-4011 (TTY)
Web: www.ilcw.org
STATE COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston) announced the following committee changes:
Senator Mark Miller (D-Monona) will be the new Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Finance. Miller has served on the committee since January of this year and has experience bringing members of both parties together on compromise solutions.
Joining Miller on the Joint Committee on Finance will be Senator Judy Robson (D-Beloit) and Senator Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point). Both will be serving on the committee for the first time and will make the Senate membership fifty percent female legislators.
A new committee will be also be created to focus on tax issues and making sure working families have the resources they need to climb the economic ladder of success. Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar) will chair the new Committee on Tax Fairness and Family Prosperity.
Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee), chair of the Judiciary and Corrections Committee, will add housing issues to her committee assignments. Insurance, economic development and job creation issues will move to the Health and Human Services Committee chaired by Senator Jon Erpenbach.
STATE BUDGET
On October 26, the Governor signed the long-overdue state budget bill for the 2007-09 biennium. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) prepared a comprehensive summary of the final budget bill. You can get that document at:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/Misc/2007_10_23_School%20Aids.pdf
The final budget did include a very small rate increase for community-based providers of long-term care services. Watch for a summary specific to disability-related issues at: http://dawninfo.org/ (not yet available at time of this printing)
SELF-DIRECTED SUPPORTS WAIVER
The Department of Health & Family Services (DHFS) submitted a self-directed supports (SDS) waiver application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) because CMS directed Wisconsin to provide choice in order to expand Family Care. This waiver will provide consumers with the option to fully direct their services outside of Family Care. People in the SDS waiver must self-direct ALL of their services. Because of this requirement, it is expected that people who will choose this waiver will be those who fully understand the services they need and have sufficient experience with the system to be able to navigate without much assistance or who have highly involved guardians or family members who have this level of knowledge and experience.
Participants in the SDS waiver will accept a fixed individual budget amount, developed from the results of their Long Term Care Functional Screen. This budget will be used to plan for and self-direct all of their waiver services. They will also be able to use their Medicaid card for other Medicaid covered services. This will allow for maximum flexibility for a participant to coordinate services and supports. It also assumes significant involvement and responsibility for self-direction on the part of the participant and/or his or her representative. Persons who are not prepared to assume the level of self-direction in this waiver will still be able to self-direct services on a selective basis based on their preferences within Family Care.
DHFS will contract with two agencies to support the participants in the SDS waiver. The Independent Consultant Agency (ICA) will provide limited case management services, assist the participant in developing the service plan, provide limited ongoing contacts with the participant to monitor implementation of the service plan, and review monthly expenditure reports to assure appropriate use of the authorized budget, following up with the participant as needed. The Financial Services Agency will assure that providers meet appropriate requirements, process claims, do required data reporting to the Department, and provide monthly expenditure reports to the ICA and the participant.
IndependenceFirst is intending to actively promote SDS in our service area. If you have questions, please contact Michelle Martini at 414-291-7520 (v/tty) or mmartini@independencefirst.org.
LOCAL
MILWAUKEE-AREA BUDGETS SET
After a number of changes back and forth between the County administrators, the Board of Supervisors, and the County Executive, Milwaukee County now has a final budget - a budget which preserves the safety net services which are so important to the people of Milwaukee County. Due to the advocacy efforts of many members of the community, the budget approved on November 5th restored funding for paratransit and transit services, disability services, 2-1-1 @ IMPACT's help line, AODA prevention and treatment services, and restored additional funding for mental health services.
The City of Milwaukee has also passed its 2008 budget, which includes $400,000 for the Milwaukee Housing Trust Fund, money intended to assist in the development or rehabilitation of affordable housing.
For more information on either of these budgets, see:
Milwaukee County
http://www.milwaukeecounty.org/Budget7826.htm
City of Milwaukee
http://www.city.milwaukee.gov/
WANT TO RUN FOR OFFICE?
Three Milwaukee County Supervisors are not seeking reelection. Candidates are needed to run for these seats so spread the word - or run yourself! (Note that you must be a resident of the district you are running in.)
Candidates need to register with the Milwaukee County Election Commission. Nominating papers can be circulated beginning December 1, 2007. The deadline for filing completed nomination forms is January 2, 2008. A primary election, if necessary, will be held February 19th and the spring election is April 1st.
Supervisors not running for re-election:
Supervisor Richard Nyklewicz, Jr. - 14th district on the south side, Supervisor Roger Quindel, 18th district on the northwest side and Supervisor Dan Devine, 17th district in West Allis, some of Greenfield and Greendale.
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
ACCESS IMPROVES IN D.C.
Visitors and staffers with disabilities now have ways to evacuate Congressional offices, after years of living with insufficient exits and undeveloped plans, according to a new report. The report, written by the Office of Compliance, examines the accessibility and emergency procedures of the Capitol and all House and Senate office buildings. The improvements were made after a report on the 108th Congress outlined the lack of a workable emergency procedure for most Congressional buildings, leaving some visitors without a way to safely evacuate.
The development of evacuation plans for persons with disabilities marks one of the biggest changes for Congressional buildings. While such plans varied from building to building before, now Capitol Police officers are trained to use elevators in emergencies to evacuate those who otherwise can't quickly exit the building. This focus on evacuation procedures is a relatively new development, and it was pushed in the OOC's 2005 ADA report. The OOC has written Congressional ADA reports since it was founded in 1995, but after its first assessment, officials simply checked up on the previous report's recommendations. However, heightened concerns about terrorist attacks, development of new technologies and a longer-living public changed some expectations and needs for access.
SOURCE: Roll Call article (edited)
JUSTICE DEPT SETTLES LAWSUIT ALLEGING HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GUIDE DOG USERS
The U.S. Justice Department announced that it reached a settlement with the owners and managers of the Hickory Plantation and Willow Way Apartments, both located in Camden County, Ga., resolving a lawsuit filed by the Department alleging discrimination against persons with disabilities. According to the complaint, Defendants Herbert Bolt, Betty Bolt, and Herbert Bolt, Jr. violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to rent an apartment at Hickory Plantation to an individual with a vision disability who used a guide dog.
Under the agreement, which must still be approved by the court, the defendants will pay $35,000 to compensate victims at Hickory Plantation and Willow Way, pay a $20,000 civil penalty to the U.S. government, establish and follow non-discriminatory tenancy procedures, undergo fair housing training, and file reports with the government.
Since Jan. 1, 2001, the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has filed 238 cases to enforce the Fair Housing Act, 112 of which have alleged discrimination based on disability. http://www.usdoj.gov/crt.
Individuals who believe that they may have been the victim of housing discrimination can call the Justice Department's Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at 1-800-896-7743 (option number 93), or send an email to fairhousing@usdoj.gov.
RESOURCES ON THE WEB
MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA
SAMHSA's redesigned Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma Associated with Mental Illness has debuted with a new library of more than 600 resources. The improved web site features information and advice to help individuals and organizations counter discrimination and stigma associated with mental illness.
The ADS Center web site includes:
-Information on upcoming training teleconferences that are free of charge and open to the public.
-Descriptions of effective campaigns and programs working in communities across the country and around the world.
-Resources that meet the needs of specific audiences such as consumers, health care providers, older adults, faith leaders, policymakers and the media.
For more information, visit: www.stopstigma.samhsa.gov.
*SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health services delivery systems.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONSUMERS BEWARE!
by Michael Hineberg
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If someone tells you there are unused government grants out there waiting to be used for people to meet their daily needs - it is a lie. The other day someone walked into my office to redeem such a grant. A few phone calls revealed it was a misrepresentation. This person paid $65 to get this useless grant information, only to be disappointed that he was taken for a ride by those who made the bogus promise. DO NOT send your money to anyone who promises to send you a grant application. Do not send your money to anyone until you confirmed they are a reliable honest resource. If you are uncertain call IndependenceFirst with your questions and we can try to assist you in determining the authenticity of the information. (414-291-7520 v/tty)
WANTED! People who want to make a difference!
Join one of our Consumer Advocacy Teams and/or the Advocacy Subcommittee of our Board of Directors. These groups work together on advocacy issues of importance to them.
For example, our ADA Consumer Advocacy Team successfully raised the penalties for persons abusing parking permits for persons with disabilities!
Something bugging you that needs to be fixed? Tired of your needs being overlooked? Need support from others to tackle these issues?
If so, please contact Deb Langham at 414-291-7520 (v/tty) or dlangham@independencefirst.org
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
600 W. Virginia Street, 4th Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-291-7520 (V/TTY)
414-291-7525 (FAX)
www.independencefirst.org