Monday Morning Resources

Anniversary of the Olmstead decision

Feds judge states on special ed law

Wednesday, June 20, 2007, By Pauline Vu, Stateline.org Staff Writer

Grading states on how well they're educating children with physical and mental disabilities, the U.S. Education Department Wednesday (June 20) announced that nine states are on track, five are lacking, and the rest lie somewhere in between.

The evaluations, mailed to states June 18, are the first to judge compliance with the federal Individual with Disabilities Education Act since Congress amended the law in 2004. The landmark law, originally enacted in 1975, established the nation's first rules for educating disabled students.
Housing Vouchers Used for Home Ownership. Information Bulletin # 214 (6/07)

Even though Congress and HUD have authorized and encouraged Housing Authorities throughout the country to work with and assist low income persons in purchasing their homes, less than 800 Housing Authorities out of nearly 3,000 have used this program, and less than 10,000 eligible low-income families and individuals have purchased their own homes.

When we inquired into why so few Housing Authorities are participating in the home ownership program, we were told, for example, that the federal regulations are "too cumbersome" and the down payments are difficult to put together.

Nevertheless and even with these "barriers," of the 10,000 low-income families and individuals, nearly 7,000 have purchased their homes with Section 8 / Housing Choice Vouchers. (The remaining 3,000 are under either the Moving to Work or Family Self-Sufficiency programs).

Below are the Housing Authorities that participate in the Home Ownership Program, and the number of families who have used their Section 8/ Housing Choice vouchers to purchase a home.

We do not know how many of these families include people with disabilities. However, we have always thought that home ownership for people with disabilities should be pursued. For example, if two people, who are disabled on SSI and who each had a housing voucher, jointly purchased a home, the economics could work. Same goes for a married couple.

If your Housing Authority is not listed below, then it has chosen not to participate in a HUD Home Ownership program. Advocates might want to talk with your Housing Authority and ask why it does not participate.

If your Housing Authority is listed below, but has a zero listed next to its name, it means that the Housing Authority does participate in a HUD Home Ownership program, but it has not used any Housing Choice/Section 8 vouchers to purchase homes. Again, advocates should explore why not.

To read how your state is doing go to: www.stevegoldada.com

Guidelines for Reporting and Writing about People with Disabilities
This is a good set of guidelines for preferred terms and how to portray disability in words. It's from the Research and Training Center on Independent Living from the University of Kansas.

How to Write - and Talk - about Disability
This article in Access Press summarizes the guidelines linked above.