Contact Your Members of Congress and Urge Them to Support the CLASS Act!

ACTION ALERT: Show some CLASS spirit! Help Secure Co-Sponsors of CLASS Act

Disability rights advocates and certain Members of Congress (led by Senator Kennedy and Representative Dingell) are ready to introduce some vital legislation that would help fund long-term services and supports for people with disabilities, but we need help to secure the right mix of co-sponsors to increase the bill's chances of success once it's introduced.

It's time to get excited about the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act)!

Show your CLASS spirit, and call your Members today!!

WHO: All Members of Congress, however, we have particular need to gain support from Senate Republicans, and we need lots of "CLASS spirit" from folks in Maine and Pennsylvania, as we're targeting Senators Snowe, Collins, and Specter specifically for co-sponsorship

WHAT: Contact your Members of Congress and urge them to support the CLASS Act. (Go to www.congress.org and enter in your zip code to find your Representatives and Senators)

Tell them that people with disabilities and their families want a way to invest in and plan for their own long-term care needs so they can maintain independence and live in the community, and that the CLASS Act will help this happen.

WHEN: We have a special need for a grassroots rumble now and next week during the Congressional recess, although showing grassroots support for the CLASS Act should be ongoing.

BACKGROUND: Today, there are approximately 10 million Americans who need long-term services and supports to maintain independence, employment, and remain in their communities. And that number is only going to rise as the population ages.

Most private-sector insurance plans are constrained in the protection they can offer at an affordable price, and neither Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) nor Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) programs take the extent and character of disability into consideration when providing benefits.

As a result, most Americans who have or develop significant functional limitations can only access coverage for the services they need to maintain their independence through Medicaid. Relying on Medicaid for critical supports means lots of people with disabilities have to "spend down" their assets and remain poor and unemployed to maintain their eligibility.

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act) will offer an alternative to Medicaid by creating a national insurance program through a voluntary payroll deduction to help adults who have or develop functional impairments to remain independent, employed, and stay a part of their communities. Those who are working and voluntarily contributing to the program will have access to benefits, on the basis of their ability to perform daily living activities or an equivalent cognitive impairment. The benefits received may be spent however the individual feels is most appropriate toward their long-term needs, be it a housing modification, transportation modification, assistive technology, or personal assistance services.

The large risk pool created by this program will make additional coverage much more affordable than it is today, which will give individuals a chance to invest in their own futures and gain access to supports without requiring them to become impoverished to qualify.

We hope that introduction of the CLASS Act will help generate a broad, national discussion on how to promote independence and dignity and keep people out of institutions.

Source: AAPD

On-line "Town Hall" Wednesday to Address Needs of Crime Victims with Disabilities

Breaking the Silence on Crime Victims with Disabilities
New Partnership to Combat Pervasive, Hidden Problem Announced On-line "Town Hall" to Be Held May 30 to Discuss Path Forward

Addressing the long-neglected needs of crime victims with disabilities is the focus of a new partnership announced today by the National Council on Disability, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, and the National Center for Victims of Crime.

The ultimate goal of this partnership is to foster greater public awareness about crime victims with disabilities and to forge a national commitment to better serve this particularly vulnerable population.

"For far too long, crime victims with disabilities have been virtually invisible in our nation. Greater understanding by the general public, elected officials and other policy makers, and those in the disability, judicial system, and victim services communities is foundational to addressing the unmet needs of this underserved population," said John Vaughn, chairperson of the National Council on Disability. "We join our esteemed partners today in calling for a comprehensive approach to turn this situation around."

Very little reliable national data exists on crimes against people with disabilities. Existing research suggests, however, that persons with disabilities are victimized at much higher rates when compared with the general population.

Advance Announcement: The media is invited to attend an on-line "town hall" meeting that will be held by the partnering organizations on Wednesday, May 30, 2007, at 3:00 p.m. (EDT). This meeting will connect victim service providers, disability activists, and others from across to country to discuss the joint statement in greater detail and identify specific strategies for addressing the needs of crime victims with disabilities. Please call Mary Rappaport at 202-467-8714 for more information. The Web cast is being donated and produced by Independent Living Research Utilization

House Speaker to Serve as Giuliani's Georgia Campaign Chairman.

"House Speaker goes for Giuliani"
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Despite Rudy Giuliani’s lead in the polls, there have been lots of questions about what kind of establishment Republican support he could muster in Georgia. Giuliani’s campaign sought to put that question to rest this morning by announcing that House Speaker Glenn Richardson would serve as Rudy’s Georgia campaign chairman.

In a conference call, Richardson praised Giuliani as a decisive leader “in a very stormy world, at a very difficult time.”

Richardson was joined by House GOP whip Barry Fleming, Reps. Jeff May, David Ralston and Jay Roberts, Sen. Ronnie Chance, former Augusta Mayor Bob Young and former state GOP chairs Bob Shaw and Rusty Paul.

In putting one question to rest, the Giuliani endorsement raised a few more. Giuliani’s campaign manager, Michael DuHaime, denied there was any connection between today’s announcement, which he said had been months in the making, and the appeal by a group of legislators, headed by Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, to former Sen. Fred Thompson to jump in the GOP ring.

FAS Track Walk/Run--September 9th

The 2ND Annual Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Day Run-Walk is coming up! Check it out on Atlanta's About.com calendar of events!

FAS is the leading known cause of birth defects and mental retardation in the U.S. Many societal ills – violence, learning disorders, school drop-out rates, mental health disorders – can be traced to prenatal exposure to alcohol. FAS is 100% PREVENTABLE and 0% Curable.

Come and participate to raise awareness and support for the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Education & Awareness Program.

Click for more information

Department of Human Resources to Hold Strategic Roundtables

The Board of Human Resources, which oversees and sets policy for the Georgia Department of Human Resources, will seek public input as the agency and its board plan for the SFY 2009 budget.

The Department of Human Resources is the state’s agency that manages programs that protect children from abuse and neglect, assist Georgia’s senior living communities, assist people with mental or physical disabilities, and control the spread of disease. In an effort to become more effective in its delivery of services, the Board of the Georgia Department of Human Resources will hold a series of strategic roundtable discussions to solicit community involvement statewide during the months of May and June.

These roundtables are designed to engage the public in the strategic policy and prioritization of the Department and help improve its decisions by involving those most affected. This is an opportunity for members of the public to provide the Board of Human Resources with comments on the services they feel are important for DHR to provide in Fiscal Year 2009.

The strategic roundtables will be held in the following cities:

May 29, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
New Horizons Community Service Board Columbus
2100 Comer Avenue
Columbus, GA 31904

June 6, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Serenity Behavioral Health Systems Augusta
3421 Mike Padget Hwy
Augusta, Georgia 30906

June 12, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital Rome
1305 Redmond Circle, 3rd Floor
Rome, Georgia 30165

June 14, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
The Armstrong Center Savannah
13040 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia, 31419

June 18, 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Helene S. Mills Senior Multipurpose Facility Atlanta
515 John Wesley Dobbs Ave. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312

June 20, 2:30 - 4:30 pm
Waycross College Waycross
Administration Building, Room 227-A
Immediately following board mtg.
2001 S. Georgia Pkwy
Waycross, GA 31503

Because space is limited in each facility, it is important to register for the Strategic Public Roundtable. To register, simply send an email by clicking on the location where you will be attending.

If the roundtable is filled, strategy recommendations can be communicated to Commissioner B.J. Walker and her staff. Those who are not able to attend may mail strategic recommendations to:

Maria Pitts, DHR Office of Planning and Budget Services,
Suite 30.270
Two Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30303.

All recommendations must be received by June 20.

For information, contact:
Camille Cunningham, 404/463-5027

Recent Disability Litigation from Around the Country

We periodically receive updates on litigation from around the country related to disability supports and issues from Gary Smith, the Senior Project Director with the Human Services Research Institute. His most recent email included:

Among the developments covered in this report are:

• A new lawsuit that has been filed in Massachusetts by people who have experienced a brain injury contending that the state’s policies are at odds with the Olmstead decision by denying them the opportunity to receive services in the most integrated setting


• Court approval of the several settlement agreement in the long-running Ohio Martin litigation

The status of several other cases has been updated as well.

The most recent update of the litigation status report can be found by going to the Human Services Research Institute's website.

Police Training and Partners Graduation

In conjunction with the National Association on Mental Illness (NAMI), AADD has been training police officers on issues related to Developmental Disabilities . We are looking for additional trainers to be able to reach more officers around the metro area. I know this issue is of great importance to our families and communities and that many of you have expressed interest in getting involved. We will be holding a training here at our office next month. At this time, it is a volunteer opportunity, so please email me if you want more details.


The Partners graduation was a great success last weekend! I remember when I graduated and how bittersweet it was. I really missed seeing everyone on a regular basis but I am fortunate that 9 years later, I still know quite a few of my Partners classmates!
Many thanks to graduates Sue Joe, Saundra Brown, Anne Ladd,and Susan Berch for being a part of a panel that discussed how to get involved in advocacy post graduation. Also, thank you to Scott Bales and Peggy Thomas for coming out to support the new graduates. Kathie Snow presented a motivational keynote address. Check out the scrapbook of pictures.

Legislation Meets Real Life

So many of you have called asking about details of SB 10 in the last few days. Since this is so brand new, there are many more questions than answers. From a trusted source, this document came to me from the Department of Education yesterday.

I hope this is helpful.

Thank you all again for your thoughtful responses.

Graduation Time!

AADD
Cordially invites you to attend
The Graduation Ceremony of the

Partners in Policymaking
Class of 2006-2007
Saturday May 12, 2:30pm – 4:00pm

Doubletree Club Hotel at the Atlanta Airport
3400 Norman Berry Drive
Atlanta, GA 30344
404-763-1600

SB 10-Your Opinions

I worked at the Emory Autism Resource Center for years, and I think the Walden Programs is exceptional. I have mixed emotions about the private schools because there are too many of students in special education not getting appropriate instruction. My one major concern is that these schools may become just special education schools and may not have the resources necessary to provide equal or better support/instruction than public schools. Dr. Gail McGee, told me a long time ago that separate is not equal and that has always stuck with me. She was speaking about inclusion. It is good to have options though.

Rene Demery, Ellenwood
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Yes, it is difficult for parents to get the education that they need for their children, even though there is an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), as mandated by law. But there is little evidence that private schools could do a better job of educating our son, or other children with disabilities. When the IEP is followed, public schools can and should do the best job of educating all children.

First, the estimated voucher of $6,000 - $9,000 would barely cover the expenses for private education. Private education for special needs children ranges from $12,000 to $24,000. We researched sending our son to a regular Atlanta private school. We would have had to pay $14,000 in tuition, plus another $20,000 for support staff. Middle to lower income families will not be able to send their children with disabilities to private schools. So who will the bill really benefit? Also, there will be extra administrative costs to the state just to administer the program.

Judith Moen Stanley, Atlanta
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I have very mixed feelings about the bill, and need to read the final version carefully. For now though, here are my thoughts:

On my republican, conservative hand, I think that anything which causes competition has to improve ALL services, eventually. The public schools will have to wake up and take notice if they lose many of their students. It will supposedly force them to improve their services so they can compete for those tax dollars that follow the child. The problem is that it might take forever, like turning the Titanic.

On my democratic, socially aware hand, I am a little worried that the most engaged parents, of the kids with some of the lesser needs on their IEP’s, will be the first to pull their kids out of public school and flee to private schools. That will leave the kids with the most needs left at public school, having to split funding from what remains. It’s already getting hard to recruit special ed teachers and now they will have even less money and more requirements.

Personally, this will be good for me. I am on the board of a fledgling new school (!), The Phoenix Academy. We are going to open with 15 middle school students in the fall of 2008. We’re going to be a non-profit school, serving kids with above average intelligence but specific learning disabilities or social issues that make it impossible for them to thrive in the public school setting. This money will help our parents considerably.

On the other hand though, I have seen some pretty terrible things happen in the tutoring industry once government got their hands and dollars involved. Many flaky tutoring companies sprung up overnight to chase those government contracts, and not all of them offer good services that serve the child. I am worried about people opening very low quality schools just to chase this new money. Parents will have to very careful, and research the schools very deeply. Which is hard to do when your child and your family are in emotional upheaval because of a terrible public school placement….

Peggy Thomas, Fayetteville

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My child could be one of the kids who might take advantage of this scholarship, but I have very mixed feelings about it.
I see this scholarship helping some children--but very few children.

Those children would be children who lived in a large enough city to support a private school that might serve their needs and have parents who could pay the difference between what the tuition was and what the scholarship covered. That eliminates most of the state outside of the metropolitan Atlanta area. It also eliminates many families in the metro Atlanta area that couldn't afford to pay the difference in tuition.

I'm concerned that children in rural areas and smaller Georgia towns may never be able to take advantage of this scholarship. I notice in the final version that students must be in a Georgia public school for a year before applying for a scholarship--not just a semester.

I know 4 families who might want to use this scholarship but can't because they've already taken their child out of the public system. I don't think they're prepared to waste a year of their child's life to take advantage of this offer.

Many of their concerns are related to their public school's inability to use best practice methods for teaching their children or using an old paradigm about teaching their children. Instead of taking money out of the public school system, maybe more should be going in to better train teachers & staff.
These children will not be protected under some provisions of I.D.E.A.. The parents will very much be in a "buyer beware" situation.

Myself, I cannot abide that my child has in the past been put in a completely segregated situation at school and would be very reluctant to intentionally do this in a private setting. If we truly value Life we must welcome all are fellow humans, especially the one's with "special needs", into our regular community; and children's regular community is school.

It will be interesting to see how many families take advantage of the scholarship next academic year, and the kinds of "special needs"these kids will be bringing into their new schools.

Rita Haggerty, Atlanta