Partners and Voices - March 2006

Graduates:

February was a real whirlwind of advocacy activity here in Atlanta and around the state.
Our first Legislative Day at the Capitol on the 7th was a great success with over 40 advocates and 45 8th grade girls from the Atlanta Girl's School working the Capitol for Unlock the Waiting Lists. Since this was our first year holding this event, we wanted to keep it small in order to be able to support advocates. We hope to grow this event next year to include all advocates that want to attend.


We recruited for this event from the Town Hall Meetings around the state, and our goal is to double the amount of advocates attending next year.

February 14th was a celebration at the Capitol for House Resolution 144, a resolution honoring the work of caregivers, especially mothers, of children with disabilities and was supported by Representative Sharon Cooper. This was another first time event sponsored by the Atlanta Alliance on Developmental Disabilities. We hope this will be an annual event to celebrate all of the great advocacy work you all are doing across the state. If you have any thoughts on corporate sponsors that would be interested in underwriting a lunch for moms for next year, please email Rita.

February 20th was a Town Hall Meeting in Savannah organized by Mary Poncy, Vicki Sumner, and Johnnie Moore Douglas. Around 200 people attended the meeting in White Bluffs Elementary School, and it received both television and newspaper coverage. The meeting centered around the new waiver that Georgia has applied for and Unlock the Waiting Lists!
Thank you ladies for your hospitality!

Dave Blanchard is following the budget, focused on the Unlock the Waiting Lists agenda. Everything is stalled due to the uncertainty of PeachCare funding (see previous posts). The Governor has recommended 1,500 new services - with the multiple year funding plan calling for 2,000. Please make sure that you are calling your state legislators, letting them know how important this issue is to so many who are waiting for help.

I am continuing to follow SB10 on private school vouchers. Last week during the House subcommittee meeting, two Partners grads, Rachel Barron and Paula Krone, gave testimony. Representative David Casas and Senator Eric Johnson worked together to offer some changes to the bill. It looks like it will most likely pass out of committee and then be voted on the House floor before the end of the session.

Also, the Deaf community in Georgia is actively working with the current Georgia legislature to pass legislation recognizing American Sign Language (ASL) as one of the languages that can be used to fulfill the foreign language requirements of college students in Georgia through the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. One of our current Partners, Henrietta Bellows is involved in this effort. The bills are SB 206 and SB 170.

To submit ideas for future Partners/ Voices events, if you want to host an event in your area, or to give us an update on what advocacy you have been involved in lately, click here.

Babies Can't Wait is asking graduates to please fill out a survey on their services that will provide feedback needed to shape services in the future. The survey is 10 minutes and your responses are anonymous. http://surveybcw.caresolutions.com/

Disability Day on February 22 was a huge success! Please give the DD Council your feedback at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=181193386114

Be sure to sign up to receive the blog automatically by entering your email in the box on this page. Notice the information on our last Partners weekend with new resources on employment and housing along with the ability to order reference books through Amazon.com.

What are your recommendations for books that you found helpful in your advocacy work?

We will take your reviews and post them with the book and a link on how to purchase it.