Friday, July 31, 2009

URGENT: Kareem Dale and Obama Administration Seek PWDs Who've Gone Back to Work Because of Stimulus Plan

Kareem Dale, Special Assistant for Disability Policy to Barack Obama, is seeking stories from people with disabilities who were able to return to work or who were rehired because of the economic stimulus plan signed by Barack Obama this week. Many companies included in the stimulus are already hiring or rehiring.

This request is both important and time-sensitive. Mr. Dale is asking the disability community for your help in responding to this request, as it will assist him in facilitating full inclusion during the current administration.

If you are a person with a disability who went back to work or was rehired as a result of the economic stimulus package, please email
social@disaboom.com, and we will put you in touch with Kareem Dale.

http://www.disaboom.com/

,


Kareem Dale is the First Special Assistant for Disability Policy in the White House

When Vice President Joe Biden announced earlier this year that Kareem Dale would become the Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy it was the first time that a President had someone in his administration advising it on the many issues facing people with disabilities. Mr. Dale will be a strong advocate for the disabled at the highest levels of the Obama administration.

Dale, who is partially blind, will have direct access to the President in this role and he will coordinate the Administration´s efforts to see that people with disabilities are on a level playing field with all Americans.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Dale previously served as the National Disability Director for the Obama for America campaign. He also served on the Arts Policy Committee and the Disability Policy Committee for then-Senator Obama.

Dale graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor's degree in Advertising in May 1995. He received his JD/MBA in May 1999 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating Cum Laude. While attending law school, Dale was also active in community service, including serving as president of two organizations, the Black Law Students' Association and Open Forum.

Related links: www.whitehouse.gov/issues/disabilities

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Test Could Identify Autism, Other Disorders In Embryo

By Shaun Heasley
June 30, 2009


It could be possible to test embryos for nearly any inherited disorder using a single test within the next year, British researchers say.

The test uses a type of genetic mapping to identify sections of DNA or chromosomes with problematic genes. It could be used to search for the 15,000 known genetic defects.

Scientists have successfully identified embryos carrying cystic fibrosis using the test. Autism, Huntington’s disease and spinal muscular atrophy are other disorders that a test like this may help to identify in the future.

The new test is promising for couples using in vitro fertilization as it could help identify embryos with the greatest chance of making it through pregnancy and developing into a healthy child.

However, there are ethical concerns that the test could be unnecessarily used simply to ward off undesired aspects in children. Experts say regulation is the key to preventing concerns about so-called designer babies.

Clinical trials are expected to begin later this year, reports the BBC. To read more click here.

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

From: The Georgia Statewide Coalition on Blindness

News Alert
Legislative Caucus On Wednesday, August 19, 2009
GA State Capitol Room 307, Time: 11:00 am - 2 pm

The Georgia Statewide Coalition on Blindness is hosting a legislative caucus on Wednesday, August 19, 2009. The reasons are to give the state legislators a chance to hear from 1) Commissioner Kirby from South Carolina, 2) a gentleman who served on the Commission in New Mexico and now resides in Georgia and 3) Georgians who now live in Georgia, but have lived in states where there was a commission. They will share the differences in services from states that have a commission to their experiences in Georgia. We need all of you to call and invite your legislators from the House and Senate to attend this very important meeting. The time is 11:00 am - 2:00 pm in the Ga. State Capitol room 307.

If you do not see your legislators listed at the very bottom of this page, click here, then enter your address or you may click here for the full list of legislators, then search by name for complete contact information. You are welcomed to attend. If you know you and/or your legislator can attend, please email alice.ritchhart@comcast.net for a refreshment count.

Again please contact your legislators and request their presence for August 19th.

Thank you,
Alice Ritchhart, Chair
McArthur Jarrett, Co Chair
Adam

Movie Opened July 29, 2009 Runtime:1 hr. 37 min.

Adam Raki (Hugh Dancy), an electronics engineer, lives with a developmental disorder called Asperger syndrome. When a young woman named Beth (Rose Byrne) moves into his apartment building, Adam is quite taken with her. Beth does not know quite how to react to Adam's unconventional overtures, but decides to give him a chance nonetheless. But Beth's parents are apprehensive about their daughter's new romance, which could end the young lovers' relationship before it has a chance to grow.Read More

http://www.fandango.com/adam_123146/movieoverview?date=

Opens in Atlanta, Friday, August 14th, Buy tickets in advance!

Nurse Practice Act

Partner graduate and Advocate of the Year, Dave Zilles, became an advocate of modifying the Nurse Practice Act this past legislative session.

In today’s world of people with disabilities, there are times when individuals that are on the Medicaid Waiver programs need medical assistance with health maintenance activities like catheter irrigation, trach/vent care, bowel/bladder control or feeding tubes and blood sugar testing/insulin. These are tasks that require a License Nurse to available to perform and yet family members can be trained to perform this tasks without any concern from the Medical Community. Within Georgia along it is projects that 163,000 individuals with physical or developmental disabilities are being cared for by family members. Today, paid personal assistants are not allowed to perform these tasks even if they are trained and qualified.

During the 2009 Legislative session, a Bill (SB 244) was introduced to modify the Nurse Practice Act so that trained unlicensed assistive personnel (Certified Nursing Assistants/Direct Support Staff) could provide these services in home and community based settings to individuals that were on the Medicaid Waivers. The bill passed the Senate and was stopped in the House. Dave Zilles, Graduate of Partners in Policy Making and also Board member of the State Independent Living Council was very involved with this legislation and recently presented to the Georgia Board of Nursing the rationale for this legislation and requested their assistance to find a way to provide this type of support for people in Georgia with Disabilities. He is also a member of an Acuity Task force run by the Governor's office that is working to address this same issue. Dave was recently recognized at the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, Making a Difference Annual Appreciation Ceremony, as Advocate of the Year for his work on the Nurse Practice Act.

If you are interested in knowing more about the Nurse Practice Act or supporting Dave’s work, contact him at:

Dave Zilles
dzilles@earthlink.net
678-596-6751 Cell

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

iPod-Based Tutorials Teach Teens With Asperger’s How To Interact

By Shaun Heasley
July 27, 2009


When struggling with social situations, some Minnesota teens with Asperger’s syndrome have a new tool at their disposal: their iPods.

Through an enterprising program, the teens have short videos loaded on their iPods that they can turn to for guidance. The 30-second shorts tackle issues like how to have a conversation or maintain personal space.

The program builds on the fact that many people with Asperger’s already listen to music on their iPods to calm themselves in stressful situations.

The videos go beyond that, however, giving teens a tool they can replay over and over to address difficulties and hammer home concepts. Plus, the iPods can go everywhere with the teens without making them stand out, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. To read more click here.

Copyright © 2009 Disability Scoop, LLC. All Rights Reserved. For reprints and permissions click here.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Ala. Police: Taser Use On Disabled Man Justified

The Associated Press

MOBILE, Ala. — Officers who used pepper spray and a Taser to remove a man from a store bathroom found out only later he was deaf and mentally disabled and didn't understand they wanted him to open the door, police said Tuesday.

A spokesman for the Mobile Police Department said the officers' actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon — an umbrella.

But relatives of Antonio Love, 37, have asked for a formal investigation and said they plan to sue both the police and the store.

"I want justice," Love's mother, Phyllis Love, said Tuesday.

The woman said her son hears only faintly, has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old and didn't realize that it was the police who were trying enter the bathroom.

"He thought the devil was out there trying to get in to get him," she said.

Antonio Love, in a written statement and in a television interview given in sign language about the confrontation, said he had a badly upset stomach last Friday and went into a Dollar General store to use the restroom.

Police spokesman Christopher Levy said Tuesday store workers called officers complaining that a man had been in the bathroom for more than an hour with the door locked. Officers knocked on the door and identified themselves, but the person didn't respond.

Officers used a tire iron to open the door, but the man pushed back to keep it shut. Officers saw the umbrella and sprayed pepper spray through a crack trying to subdue the man, Levy said. They shot the man with a Taser when they finally got inside, he said.

Officers didn't realize Love was deaf or had mental problems until he showed them a card he carries in his wallet, Levy said. He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, but officers released him and took him home after a magistrate refused to issue a warrant.

Levy said officers were justified in using force against Love since he had an umbrella.

"The officers really worked within the limits of our level-of-force policy," he said. "We had no information about who this guy was."

Phyllis Love said her son, who has worked in the garden department at a Lowe's store for several years, was scared when he realized someone was trying to get into the bathroom with him. He put water on his face and on the floor after being hit with pepper spray, she said.

"He didn't know it was a policeman until they busted the door in on him," she said. "He had a knot on his head from where it hit him."

Levy said police wish the confrontation had never occurred. The internal investigation will include a review of Love's complaints that officers laughed at him after realizing he was deaf, he said.

"We'll make whatever efforts we can to resolve this situation, hopefully so this man will be able to trust police in the future so we can help him. Obviously, it's going to be a rough road," he said.

___

July 28, 2009 11:55 AM EDT

Copyright 2009, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.ajc.com

United Healthcare Children's Foundation



The United Healthcare Children's Foundation (UHCCF) is accepting grant applications for families who need help paying for their child’s healthcare services such as speech therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy sessions, prescriptions, and medical equipment such as wheel chairs, orthotics, and eyeglasses. Deadline to apply is open.

What are the grants?

The grants provide financial relief for families who have children with medical needs not covered or not fully covered by their commercial health benefit plan. The Foundation aims to fill the gap between what medical services/items your child needs and what your commercial health benefit
plan will pay for.

How does the grant work?

If a grant is approved by the Regional Board of Directors for your child, the grant will help pay for approved medical services/items after your commercial health benefit plan submits payment, if any. The grant funds are not paid to you or the child outright - you work with the Foundation on submitting invoices/bills for approved medical services/items after your
commercial health benefit plan submits initial payment (if any) to the health care provider

(see graphic to the right).

How do I apply for a grant for my child?

First, review the information contained on this page to make sure you understand what the grant is and how it works. Then, review our application criteria and application checklist. If you meet the Foundation's criteria and have all the items listed in the checklist, then you can apply for a grant online by clicking on the button below. Note: When you click on the button below, you will see an animation. You must go through the entire animation. After the animation you will be asked some automated pre-screening questions. If you pass the pre-screening questions, you will be offered the full online grant application.

http://www.uhccf.org/apply_applicant.html

Death Highlights Lack of Regulation at 'Psychoeducational' Schools

By Alan Judd
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Tina King always asked her son Jonathan about his day at the Alpine Program, a public school in Gainesville for students with behavioral problems. Jonathan would answer with the indifferent shrug of adolescence. “It was school,” he would say.

The Alpine Program in Gainesville serves children with severe behavior disorders, autism and brain injuries. It is one of the 24 psychoeducational schools in Georgia.

Jonathan, 13, never mentioned the stark 8-by-8 concrete-block room where he spent hours alone, locked up for misbehaving. Alpine called it the time-out room, and it offered neither distraction nor stimulation. No windows. No furniture. No bathroom. No food. No water.

Teachers placed Jonathan there 19 times over 29 days in the fall of 2004. His average confinement: 94 minutes.

On Nov. 15, 2004, as was his habit, Jonathan came to school not wearing a belt. A teacher gave him a multicolored rope to keep his pants from drooping. Soon, teachers placed Jonathan in the time-out room and, although he had twice threatened suicide, allowed him to keep the rope — the rope he then used to hang himself.

Jonathan’s death called attention to a little-known component of Georgia’s public school system: “psychoeducational” facilities such as Alpine that teach only students who are emotionally disturbed, autistic or so brain-injured that regular schools can’t control their behavior.

Nationally, more and more such children are being taught in regular classrooms, educators say. Georgia, however, continues to provide a separate education to about 5,600 students with disabilities through its network of 24 psychoeducational schools.

State education officials describe the psychoeducational schools as one of many programs that provide services to students with behavioral disorders and other disabilities. The schools, officials said, offer an alternative to far more expensive residential treatment institutions.

“It allows these students to be educated in their communities,” said Kim Hartsell, director of special education supports for the Georgia Department of Education. “It also is a cost-effective way of educating students with severe emotional disorders.”

But some parents and the Education Department’s own inspectors have questioned the schools’ disciplinary tactics, especially physical restraint and seclusion. Georgia is one of 19 states that do not regulate restraint and seclusion in schools, a recent federal study found. Unlike jails, for instance, or psychiatric hospitals, Georgia schools don’t have to report when they subject students to those techniques, or why.

“As isolated centers, they’re just archaic,” said Jonathan Zimring, an Atlanta lawyer who has represented families of students at psychoeducational schools. “They’re essentially lawless.”

And, as Jonathan King’s parents have learned, no one seems to be accountable for how the schools treat students.

The Kings, who live in Murrayville, sued the Education Department and the Pioneer Regional Educational Service Agency, a government body that operates Alpine for 14 Northeast Georgia school districts, alleging they violated Jonathan’s civil rights by failing to protect him during his confinement. Through its lawyer, Phil Hartley, Pioneer contends it was “not responsible or negligent in any way.” In court papers, both the state and regional agencies denied liability, asserting they had no “affirmative duty” to prevent Jonathan’s suicide.

A judge in Hall County Superior Court agreed. But even as he dismissed the lawsuit, the judge suggested school employees acted with negligence. The Kings have asked the state Court of Appeals to overturn the dismissal. “Apparently, they don’t care,” said Don King, Jonathan’s father. “They locked that child up in that room for hours at a time and didn’t tell us. It’s hard to tell how many other kids are getting the same treatment.” ‘A be-quiet hit’

In the Georgia of the 1960s, emotionally disturbed children who acted up in class often were simply expelled, even from special education programs. A group of University of Georgia professors came up with an alternative: a special school that would mix therapy with instruction while using innovative methods to suppress severe behavioral disorders. The first sychoeducational school in Georgia opened in Athens in 1970.

Two years later, the General Assembly created the Georgia Psychoeducational Network, which would grow to two dozen facilities across the state. (The state discarded the original name in 2007 in favor of the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support.) “They were created from a good place, to fill a gap in the system,” said Zimring, who represents disabled people but has no role in the King case. “The problem is that was 1972. This is 37 years later. They have been maintained without a clear definition of who should be in there.”

The schools endure in Georgia even as many states de-emphasize special education programs that segregate students, according to educators, child psychologists and children’s advocates.

“The trend definitely is toward more and more inclusive placements,” said Mary Beth Klotz, a projects director with the National Association of School Psychologists. Many educators, she said, now recognize that children with disabilities or behavioral problems benefit from “having an opportunity to better access the general education curriculum.”

Federal law requires schools to educate students with disabilities in the “least restrictive environment,” preferrably a classroom with students who are not disabled. The law considers a separate school, or even a separate classroom, appropriate only in extreme circumstances.

Complaints about Georgia’s psychoeducational schools emerge from reports of inspections by the Education Department and legal challenges filed by parents: inadequate classroom instruction, abusive treatment by teachers and other school employees, and an over-reliance on restraint and seclusion as disciplinary techniques.

In April, state inspectors visited Harrell Learning Program, the psychoeducational school in Waycross. The school’s policies, inspectors reported, call for placing students in seclusion only for physical attacks, self-injury or property destruction. In reality, inspectors said, Harrell locked up students for “far less severe” behaviors, such as “throwing milk and spitting” and “avoiding work.” One student was placed in seclusion for two days, records show, “until he decides he is ready to try and change his behaviors that got him in trouble.”

In Atlanta, Zimring represented the parents of a 10-year-old with autism who attended the North Metro psychoeducational school. Suspecting that their son, who can’t speak, was receiving little instruction and was being mistreated, the parents sewed a tape recorder into his shirt one day last October. The boy came home with torn pants and marks from an apparent spanking. He also had a recording that confirmed his parents’ fears.

At one point, an unidentified adult asked the boy, “Do you want a hit, a be-quiet hit?”

An adult told another student, “Sit down, stupid.” The classroom teacher could be heard on the tape — now part of a court record — discussing how to mix martinis, describing her boyfriend’s penis, and ridiculing the boy for eating pizza out of the trash. A judge ordered the Atlanta Public Schools to pay the boy’s tuition at a private school.

‘Utterly unregulated’ Jonathan King’s behavioral problems began early. In kindergarten, he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and began a regimen of prescription medications. “They couldn’t keep him in his desk,” Tina King, his mother, said. “He would talk out in class. He would get in fights.” By the sixth grade, Jonathan’s teachers and counselors decided it was time for another approach: the Alpine school.

At Alpine, school officials told Tina that classes were small, meaning fewer distractions to tempt Jonathan from completing his work and more one-on-one time with teachers.

Disruptive students, Tina says she was told, went to a “time-out room.” She thought of the time-outs she imposed at home, making Jonathan sit still for five or 10 minutes when he misbehaved.

“I had no idea,” she said recently, “that it meant being locked in a room, hours on end, where you can’t get out. I never could have dreamed that.”

Jonathan was in eighth grade in the fall of 2004. He never complained about school, his parents say, never told them anything other than he had occasionally gone to “time out.”

The Kings’ lawyers, though, eventually learned the extent of Jonathan’s understatement.

A log book for Alpine’s seclusion room showed Jonathan was confined part or all of 15 school days between August and November, sometimes twice in one day. Over two consecutive days in October, Jonathan spent 15 hours in seclusion. The first day, Jonathan ripped the hem from his shirt and wrapped it around his neck in a suicidal gesture. The next day, the log says, he was “threatening to kill himself.”

Rather than using the seclusion room only as a last resort to get the boy under control, the log suggests it became a place where teachers sometimes placed Jonathan for minor infractions. On Oct. 26, 2004, for instance, Jonathan was “cussing, argumentative and disruptive during testing; demanding water bottle be filled; swearing; [and refusing] to follow instructions,” the log says. He spent seven hours, 10 minutes in the seclusion room that day. Ten days later, on Nov. 5, Jonathan was locked up for five hours, 50 minutes after he “refused to accept feedback.”

Alpine never told Jonathan’s parents about any of the seclusions. It didn’t have to.

In court papers, Alpine contends the state’s lack of regulation gave it implicit authority to use seclusion as it saw fit.

While Georgia has no laws or rules governing seclusion and restraint in public schools, 31 states and the District of Columbia have restricted the practices, according to the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. Arkansas and Maryland, for example, require a school employee to watch a student in seclusion at all times. Illinois and Tennessee ban locking doors to seclusion rooms.

To Read the Whole Article: http://www.ajc.com/

Monday, July 27, 2009

Pennsylvanians With Disabilities Call for an End to Institution-Only Options

Less Expensive In-Home Care Best Option for Disabled and Budget

PHILADELPHIA, July 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, Disabled In Action of PA, the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumer Association, Liberty Resources and numerous advocacy and disability rights organizations held a press conference and rally today at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, site of the National Conference of State Legislators' summer meeting.

The groups represent people of all ages, gender and disabilities -- including wounded veterans, people with physical disabilities, the elderly, those with developmental and intellectual challenges and other health issues. The groups demanded access to better alternatives than just institutionalization -- something that the groups say would greatly benefit not only those with disabilities, but taxpayers, too.

"Any budget cut to services for the disabled will result in fewer people with disabilities and family members being able to work and pay taxes, and more people will be institutionalized at a much higher taxpayer expense. We want the in-home assistance we need to live productive lives," says Linda Anthony, Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania. "Delivering those same services in our homes is typically less than half the cost of placing a person in an institutional care facility. Limiting our options is morally wrong and fiscally irresponsible."

Right now, Medicaid only requires states to provide funding for costly nursing homes and institutions for older people and people with disabilities, but funding for less expensive community-based or home-based services is optional. Pennsylvania already has limited funding and lengthy waiting lists, forcing many to wait years for services.

Pennsylvania's final budget must include at least the amounts that the Governor originally recommended in February 09 for mental retardation, autism, attendant care, services to people with disabilities and long term care -- and at least level funding for other key programs. There should be no budget cuts to the mental health system and the $3 million decrease recommended by the Governor should be restored.

Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania works to advance, protect, and advocate for the human, civil, and legal rights of Pennsylvanians with disabilities.

For more information, visit
http://www.drnpa.org/
SOURCE: Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania

AJC article highlights on budget

More Budget cuts in store for Georgia?
“We’re going to get a couple of months into this fiscal year and if we’re still not hitting the bottom, then it’s probably time for us to call a special session and have all of us come in and work on this together,” House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin (R-Evans)said.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Hill (R-Reidsville) is less optimistic. He wrote recently that the state could “easily face a $1.5 billion shortfall” this year,” if tax collections continue to show double-digit declines.

The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, an Atlanta budget think tank, has recommended the General Assembly consider raising cigarette taxes, hire more auditors, temporarily impose a 1 tax percent surcharge on family income of more than $400,000 and/or reinstate an estate tax. The last two recommendations, institute officials say, would affect less than 1 percent of Georgians.

“There is one thing everyone is united on,” said House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island). “We don’t raise taxes on citizens and businesses during a recession. Nothing would hinder a recovery more than raising taxes.”
To read the complete article, click here.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

University of South Florida Caregiver Study Needs Your Voices!

Are you a parent and caregiver of an adult with intellectual disabilities (also known as mental retardation) who lives at home with you?

Are you aged 50 or above, and your child is 18 years or older?

Then please consider participating in a research study to determine your health and well-being, and to investigate your long-term experiences as a caregiver to a person with special needs.

Participation involves completion of a telephone interview (or a face-to-face interview wherever possible), with questions regarding your caregiving experiences, as well as questions regarding your daily activities with your son/daughter with intellectual disabilities.

Participation is completely confidential, and our information is used for research purposes only.

For more information, please visit the following websites:
USF: School of Aging Studies
About Elizabeth Perkins, RNMH BA
Caregiver Study Flyer

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Jonathan King case

Partners grad, Sharon Capers sent this to me yesterday.Read it and let us know what you think.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I attended the Oral Argument in the Jonathan King case in the Court of Appeals on Monday, July 6, 2009. Jonathan King was a student in the school facility called Alpine where he was placed in a seclusion room after previously threatening suicide; he hung himself and died in the time out room. More information about the case can be found in the CNN news story: Children forced into cell-like school seclusion rooms - CNN.com. This article contains pictures and video of his parents speaking of events prior to his death.

The school system won on the lower level and this was the argument for the appeal. I was interested in the case as an advocate and parent. The attorney representing the King family, Wyc Orr, felt it was important to fill the courtroom to let it be known that students should be safe in schools. There were many attendants from the Georgia Advocacy Office. There were two prior court cases and it was a good legal learning experience. I felt the three judges seemed more sympathetic towards the King family from the questions they asked of the attorneys representing both sides.

I was told the judges generally take 2 to 3 months to make a final decision. However, they did allow additional time for the attorneys to present more information (within 10 days) and this could be a positive sign. I do not understand how this incident happened without any consequences. As a nurse, I know there would be serious penalties if this happened in a health care setting. During the oral argument before the judges there was mention of "sovereign immunity" by the attorneys on both sides. In a nutshell, sovereign immunity is the legal privilege by which the American federal and state governments cannot be sued. This child had repeatedly been placed in the time out room and for up to 7 hours at a time. This raises many questions such as if this procedure was not effective, why was it continued and why weren't other interventions attempted?

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) published a paper in January, 2009 reporting on the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. NDRN collected information from Protection and Advocacy organizations around the country, including the Georgia Advocacy Office. Many states have laws and regulations concerning the use of restraint and seclusion in educational settings. Georgia currently does not have any such regulations (GAO website).

Restraint and seclusion has been a hot topic in Georgia and it is long past the time for needed change. Please do not let this child's death be in vain. I would like to open discussion as to how we as advocates can make effective change happen. As a Partners in Policymaking graduate whom do we need to approach? Who are the key policymakers? The Georgia Department of Education has made it clear that their role is to monitor but not regulate. The GA DOE can encourage counties to adopt Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (http://www.pbis.org/) but not mandate. Does change need to occur at the state or federal level? How do we prevent similar incidents from reoccurring? Attending the oral argument made me angry regarding the injustice that occurred and great sadness for the parents who sat in the back of the courtroom quietly sobbing. Laws and rules need to be changed to prevent future harm and death to children.

Sharon Capers
sharoncapers@yahoo.com

Friday, July 10, 2009

Survey: Barriers to Wheeled Mobility Users in the Community

Beginning April 1, 2009, researchers at CATEA (Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access), Georgia Tech are contacting people who use a wheelchair or scooter. We invite you to participate in an on-line survey about barriers in your communities that may hinder you as you go about your daily activities. The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Results are intended to help both researchers and social policy experts better understand the significance of barriers to community participation for wheeled mobility users.

If you would like to take this survey please go to the following link:

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/110379/mobilitybarriers

Please do not hesitate to email Dr. Yang at hsiang-yu.yang@coa.gatech.edu or call at 404-385-8589 if you have any questions.

Thank you for your participation. We appreciate your time!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

MHDDAD Transition to DBHDD

On July 1, 2009, the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Diseases and Addictive Diseases (DMHDDAD) transitioned to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD)

The new website address for the new state agency is http://dbhdd.georgia.gov

[Please note that the old address (http://mhddad.dhr.georgia.gov) will still work for the next few months, but, will eventually be taken off-line.]