Tuesday, March 24, 2009

The Center for Leadership in Disability invites you to a screening of the award-winning film MY LEFT FOOT.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 25 at 7 PM
WHERE: Cinefest at GSU (the corner of Collins St. & Decatur St.)

My Left Foot [R] (103 minutes) - Daniel Day-Lewis won a much-deserved Oscar for his wily, passionate performance of Irishman Christy Brown, who learned to use his one controllable extremity - his left foot - to become an accomplished artist and writer. Filmmaker Jim Sheridan (In the Name of the Father) adapts Brown's own autobiography for this spirited piece, focusing on the sometimes-difficult fellow's formative years in his large family and in love with sundry women.
With closed captioning.

Our guest will be MaryAnn Romski, Associate Dean for Social & Behavioral Sciences.

Need more information? Contact Jessica: jhowell@gsu.edu or 404-413-1287

ExceptionalOps Presents a Town Hall Forum


Featuring Dr. Steve Hall


Director of the Dept. of Developmental Disabilities of GA DHR

Tuesday, April 14th from 7:00-9:00PM

First Christian Church, 294 Jenkins Road, Tyrone, GA


Click here for a map.


This Forum will provide an overview of the two new federal Medicaid waivers and plans for implementing the changes in 2009:

· NOW: New Options Waiver for persons who live with family members or in their own home

· COMP: Comprehensive Supports Waiver Program for persons who need a full range of out-of-home services or intensive, in-home services who do not otherwise qualify for the NOW program

This seminar is designed to provide and clarify information for participants, families, and representatives about the “new” waivers which are designed to offer persons more control over how their service dollars are spent. The session will include overviews of both waivers and specific roles and responsibilities for participants, representatives, families, and support networks.

v If you have been following the efforts of Dr. Hall to revamp the Medicaid waiver program in GA
v If you have a loved one with a developmental disability who needs support services
v If you are on the short or long term Medicaid waiver waiting list
v If you are an educator who serves children with special needs
v If you are a provider of Medicaid waiver services or wish to become a service provider
v If you have a million questions about what to do next
v If you have questions or concerns about the transition process

Then this is the meeting for you! Come meet the expert, ask your questions and become part of the process of turning the tide for increased services for people with DD in GA.

For more information please contact ExOPS Executive Director Janet Smola 770 631-1035 or cell phone 770 639-9169
Email: janetsmola@numail.org

ExOPS Mailing Address: 256 Commerce Drive, Suite 447, Peachtree City, GA 30269

ExOPS Office Location: 100 Governor’s Trace, Suite 107, Fayetteville, GA 30214

Friday, March 20, 2009

Obama apologizes for Special Olympics gaffe

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bowling just isn't President Barack Obama's game.

Appearing on "The Tonight Show," the president told host Jay Leno he'd been practicing at the White House's bowling alley but wasn't happy with his score of 129. Then he rolled a gutter ball by quipping: "It was like the Special Olympics or something."

The audience laughed, but the White House quickly recognized the blunder.

On his way back to Washington on Air Force One, Obama called the chairman of the Special Olympics, Tim Shriver, to say he was sorry — even before the taped program aired late Thursday night.

"He expressed his disappointed and he apologized in a way that was very moving. He expressed that he did not intend to humiliate this population," Shriver said Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Obama, Shriver said, wants to have some Special Olympic athletes visit the White House to bowl or play basketball.

Still, Shriver said, "I think it's important to see that words hurt and words do matter. And these words that in some respect can be seem as humiliating or a put down to people with special needs do cause pain and they do result in stereotypes."

Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters traveling with Obama that the president's offhand remark was not meant to disparage the Special Olympics, only to poke some fun at the commander-in-chief's bowling skills.

"He thinks that the Special Olympics are a wonderful program that gives an opportunity to shine to people with disabilities from around the world," Burton said.

Despite making fun of his score, the president appears to be getting better the more he visits the White House lanes, which President Truman installed in 1947. During a campaign photo op a year ago at a bowling alley in Altoona, Pa., he rolled only a 37 in seven frames. The clip of the disastrous game was replayed on late night television shows such as Leno's — one of Obama's few campaign gaffes.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Olmstead Strategic Plan Draft

The revised draft of Georgia's Olmstead Plan has been posted on DHR's web site, and should also be on MHDDAD's web site. It has been posted for public comment and feedback. If you wish to offer comments/feedback, please do so by using the Olmstead Feedback Form that is also posted on the site. An email address has been set up to accept the feedback forms.

THANKS to all who have contributed to this work. It is not over yet. When finalized, the draft will be submitted to the Olmstead Planning Committee for approval.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DRAFT

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Governor Perdue Announces February Revenue Figures

Governor Sonny Perdue announced Monday that net revenue collections for the month of February 2009 (FY09) totaled $629,448,000 compared to $965,846,000 for February 2008 (FY08), a decrease of $336,398,000 or 34.8 percent.

The percentage decrease year-to-date for FY09 compared to FY08 is 7.3 percent.

Revenue numbers will be posted online shortly. Click here: georgia.gov March Press Releases.


Jack Hill’s take on the recent revenue numbers:

Increased Refunds Drive Sharp Drop in Revenues

The February state revenues continued a freefall, declining by $336M or 34.8%. State Revenue Department Officials stated that faster refunds were partially responsible for the drop, indicating that Georgians on unemployment might be filing income tax refund applications sooner in 2009 than they did in 2008.

Still the decline brought the year to date revenue decrease to $835M or -7.3%. The present revenue target is a minus 6.9% so the state is not even meeting the adjusted revenue goal. State income tax revenues were down $191M or a shocking 63.6%. Sales taxes were down 13.4% while the local sales tax distribution increased by 4.6%. Motor Fuel tax collections continued to decline to $21M or -25.4%. Year to date Income taxes have declined $463M or -8.0% while sales tax revenues are down 5.3% overall. Fuel taxes have declined $54M or -8.1% YTD.

Individual refund returns were up $127M in February. Individual withholding payments to the state were down $130M or -2.3% and estimated individual payments declined $155M or -21%.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

The Importance of Networking to Creating Change

Malcolm Gladwell explores why epidemics reach a tipping point -- a moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point -- and finds that changes in the messengers, the message, or the context of the message, often very small ones, have occurred. Gladwell's Law of the Few involves people and the personality traits of special individuals (connectors, mavens, and salesmen) who become the fulcrum of rapid change. The Stickiness Factor concerns the message or product itself, and how contagious and memorable and impactful it is. The Power of Context relates to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which the epidemics occur.

For more information, go to Malcolm Gladwell' website

Thursday, March 05, 2009

"The Future is Now" training for adult caregivers of persons w/ DD




The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) was awarded a grant to disseminate evidence based programs/interventions for caregivers throughout Georgia. One of the programs we will be sponsoring is The Future is Now. The Future is Now is a peer support intervention developed to support aging caregivers and adults with developmental disabilities in planning for the future.

This is one day train-the-trainer workshop. Learn how to train other professionals to support families and their adult relative with intellectual/developmental disabilities to make future plans using The Future is Now!

Click here for more information.

Heart of Gold Awards Event!


Wednesday, April 29, 2009
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.


Emory Conference Center Hotel
1615 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30329



Honoring people and organizations whose achievements – related to developmental disabilities – are consistent with the AADD mission and vision.


2009 Heart of Gold Honoree: Robyn Berger


Please think about the deserving people you know and do them the honor of submitting their names and info for the award category that best fits them. Click here for the Heart of Gold Awards 2009 Nominations form.

The deadline for nominations is March 16!

And please forward this link to friends and colleagues.