Gentle Reminder - Macon RSVP

Conversations That Matter is coming to Macon on Tuesday, May 3rd, from 6pm-8pm at Disability Connections,170 College Street. It's not too late to RSVP, and we will keep spaces open until noon on Sunday, May 1st.

To RSVP call Margaret Spielman at 478-230-4446

See you soon!

Letter from Extraordinary Mom

Happy President's Day! 

I just got this email over the weekend from a parent who sent out emails in response to the action alert on Friday. I changed the city she lives in and her name to Extraordinary Mom. I will say that I  know her personally, and I promise she is!

Thanks for understanding that we need to move to a new level of advocacy and ask for increased revenue to fund services. The short personal story along with an action to take makes this a effective letter.

Have a great week. See you all Thursday at Disability Day at the Capitol. 


Best, 
Rita

State Representative, District 46

340 State Capitol Building

Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Dear Representative Jones:

My 23 year old son has Autism. I am 53 years old and don’t know what will happen to him after my husband and I are gone. I’ve been told over and over since he was just a little boy that there just isn’t enough funding available. All the while the waiting list for services continues to grow and grow. When will it by my son’s turn?

For my son and for thousands of others across Georgia, it is critical for the state to increase revenue in order to provide needed services for individuals with developmental disabilities. By updating our out dated tax system, please look for ways to increase revenues during this legislative session to fund individuals on the waiting list.

Please help us to help our kids. Thank you for any support that you can give us.

Sincerely,

Extraordinary Mom
Near Savannah, GA 

Senate Bill 22

Today, I testified in support of Senate Bill 22, the Rural and Human Services Transportation Coordinating Council, to the Rail and Transit Subcommittee. It easily passed and is headed to the full committee.

SB 22 would require that all six agencies that provide transportation to meet on a regular basis to best leverage federal funding and create efficiencies in the way they deliver and dispatch services for people who have disabilities and people who are aging. Transportation continues to be one of the biggest hurdles for folks ,and I think this is a step in the right direction.

The advocates for aging services have been great to work with. Collaboration is definitely the key to getting anything done!

Conversations Around Georgia

We have been super busy these days traveling around the state to do Conversations That Matter. We were in Fitzgerald earlier this month, and last week, we made it to Savannah. A big thank you to all who came out to talk about advocacy and especially to our hosts Jill Alexander in Fitzgerald and Jennifer McGee in Savannah. It was great to see old friends and make new ones.


One thing I know for sure is that there is so much energy around improving services and the lives of people with disabilities. This is the fifth year we have been traveling around Georgia, and I hear both the frustration and the possibilities around how we build community and resources for people. In Savannah,I met an aging mom and her 57 year old son who needed help connecting her son to friendships and meaningful activity, and in Fitzgerald I listened as a proud community described the transportation initiatives that they are working on that would benefit everyone in their town.

In a year when it appears that there will be no new services for people with disabilities for a while due to our rough economy, advocacy becomes more important than ever. At our meetings, we talked about the importance of telling your story to our state leaders so that they can put a face to the need and by doing so you can not only possibly help your family but others as well.



We are planning to convene another round of these smaller advocacy training gatherings for this fall. If you would like us to come to your town and you can host a meeting, send me a message.

Senate Bill 391 and 22

Today, I testified in support of Senate Bill 391 for AADD to the Senate Judiciary Committee. SB 391 would give youth who have developmental disabilities, have been charged with committing a crime,and are deemed incompetent to stand trial, an alternative and secure community based placement instead of a forensic setting.

The state is closing most of the forensic units for youth, and the Department of Behavioral Health is wanting to change to more community based type facilities to serve this small group of youth. The bill saves taxpayer dollars by keeping these kids out of more costly placements and provides treatment in the least restrictive environment.

The bill passed out of the Senate Judicial Committee today and will next go to the Senate Rules Committee.

Also, Senate Bill 22 made it out of the Senate Rules Committee and will go to the Senate Floor for a vote tomorrow. AADD supports SB 22 and believes that getting the state agencies together that provide transportation to people who are aging and people with disabilities would only serve to help create a more efficient system.

More tomorrow, as the Nurse Practice Act goes in front of a House Subcommittee. - Rita

Budget, Budget and More Budget

The 2010 legislative session is almost half over, and I wanted to give you an update on some happenings and the issues that AADD is following. I am at the Capitol on most days, and this year feels especially intense.


The budget continues to be the main topic at the Capitol. Hearings and rallies for a cigarette tax and against a hospital tax have made the Capitol a place of desperation in the last two weeks because everyone is looking for ideas on how to generate new revenue. And if you have seen the AJC these days, there is reason to be concerned with cuts proposed to key state agencies.


With Medicaid deficits alone reaching close to $600M and agencies looking at deep cuts, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities is the only department that has not seen suggested cuts in the budget for fiscal year 2011. The department is under investigation with the both the Department of Justice and the Office of Civil Rights and has been given the charge of fixing the hospital system especially for individuals with mental health issues. The federal authorities are watching the activities of the legislature and the appropriations decisions that are being made. Today, we think that most of the money in the BHDD budget that will be used to satisfy the agreement with Department of Justice will go to fix our state hospital system, although, we are continuing to hear that it will be used for a “continuum of care” that will bridge hospitals care to community care. Currently, 700 people with DD live in our state hospitals.

You are invited to Unlock Legislative Day at the Capitol

WHEN: February 16, 2010

TIME: 10am-12pm

WHERE: Georgia State Capitol, Room 122


You are invited to Unlock Legislative Day at the Capitol
This is your chance to make an appointment with your legislator and help strengthen the message of Unlock for the 2010 session. Your experiences and personal stories need to be heard.

We will brief you on the Unlock message before your appointment and be there to answer your questions and offer support.

The Current Situation:
Georgia’s revenue has been in decline for the last 10 months – a 14.2% average decrease

To date, $3.2 billion dollars have been cut from state agencies

Why you need to attend:
Over 6300 individuals are on the waiting list for the NOW / COMP waiver. Nearly 4,000 are on the SHORT TERM list.

187 individuals are on the waiting list for the ICWP waiver.

Over 800 people with developmental disabilities remain in state hospitals; more individuals with developmental disabilities and / or physical disabilities are in nursing facilities.

RSVP
This event requires an RSVP by February 1 to Linda@aadd.org.

For questions, please call Linda Anderson at 404-881-9777 x 217. We have a limited amount of scholarships for travel, personal supports and childcare that are available.

Please let us know your needs when you RSVP.

Conference Call
We will host a conference call on February 12 at 11:30am to answer your questions and to review the agenda for the morning of the 16th. Conference codes will be given out when you RSVP.

Sponsors
Sponsored by the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities and organized by All About Developmental Disabilities in support of the Unlock the Waiting List Campaign.

See you on the 16th!

Rita Young
Director of Public Policy, AADD
Grassroots Coordinator, Unlock the Waiting Lists!

Budget updates

Today’s conference by the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute was perfect timing given the press conference by Governor Perdue and the release of the his budget. House Appropriations Chairman Ben Harbin and Senate Appropriation Chair Jack Hill were introduced by Alan Essig as understanding that the budget is “more than just about the numbers”. Harbin compared our economy to a “piece of modern art with its nose of out of place”, and warned that there will be more cuts. Harbin doesn’t believe that taxes should be raised to balance the budget, and that the state will need to take a close look at its priorities and carefully choose what’s important. Senator Hill gave the expansion at Ft. Benning, the new Kia plant, and the recent move of NCR to Georgia, as reasons to be optimistic. He said that he wishes we had oil wells and natural gas in the state but that we are in a great position to recover. Leaders are looking for ways to save money, and he pointed to possible savings through more efficiency in the healthcare of our prison population as just one area to look at.

Commission Shelp of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities said his department is one without boundaries and that everyone is a stakeholder. The Department’s new Coordinating Council is looking for ways to partner with leaders and members of the community to look for areas where services overlap so they can leverage resources. He says people are more willing to invest in success than in failure and is looking to create ways to make service delivery more successful.

During the conference, the governor’s budget was released. Right now on the DD side, it looks like there are 150 services for transitioning individuals out of institutions. We will verify the details and let you all know as soon as we can what action steps to take. The legislature is adjourned next week but will hold Appropriation meetings and departments will give their presentations to the committees.

We'll keep you posted.- Rita

Advocacy Tool Kit

Just in time for the 2010 Legislative session, AADD has published a Tool Kit for Advocates. In it you will find sample letters and tips for engaging your legislators and the media.

Let me know what you think. Please share!

Happy New Year! Rita

AADD's "Conversations That Matter: The Art of Adovacy" Held in Gwinnett County on November 16

What kind of advocate do you want to be?

This was the question posed to attendees at AADD’s (All About Developmental Disabilities) "Conversations That Matter: The Art of Advocacy", November 16, at the Busbee Center in Gwinnett County.

More than 75 parents of children with disabilities and professionals working in the field, learned directly from their legislators about the budget challenges for this upcoming session as well as how best to approach legislators about issues of importance to them.

Thanks to Senator Renee Unterman, Senator Curt Thompson and Representative Melvin Everson for their active participation in the meetings.

Rita Young, Director of Public Policy for AADD, provided information on the Unlock The Waiting List campaign and provided training on how to advocate. She challenged attendees to connect with each other, discuss effective ways to advocate for individual issues to strengthen the communities of support for individuals with disabilities and encouraged participants to get involved during the upcoming legislative session.

The programs were made possible thanks to support and partnership with GCDD (Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities), Community Action Pioneers of Gwinnett, and the Unlock the Waiting List campaign.

Be on the look out for similar events in Savannah and Ben Hill this winter.

WORKSHOP for Parents of Students with Disabilities

Behavior Management Techniques Learned in the Classroom, Strengthened at Home

This workshop will provide parents with the tools to be consistent and effective with behavior management techniques at home by presenting concepts and methods teachers use in the classroom.

The agenda includes a Meet & Greet from 6:30 – 7:00 p.m. and an overview of behavior management techniques from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

There will be a breakout session based on age group for more specific practices and for parents to ask questions from 8:15 to 9:00 p.m.

Presenting:
• Ms. Karen Barineau, Autism Specialist, DCSS
• Dr. Kent Logan, Autism Specialist,DCSS
• Dr. AJ Nkosi BCBA-D, Southern Behavioral Group
• Ms. Holly Steinkamp BCBA, DCSS

Due to budget constraints, refreshments will not be served.
Please plan accordingly.

• Date: October 27, 2009
• Time: 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM
• Location: Coralwood School
(2477 Coralwood Drive Decatur, GA 30033)

Sponsored by:

· Metro GLSR

· Developmental Disabilities
Council Of DeKalb County

· All About Developmental Disabilities

POWERFUL TOOLS for Caregivers

A free 6-week class that focuses on supporting caregivers of individuals with developmental disabilities. This highly successful national program will give caregivers tools to increase self-care and confidence.

Thursdays
October 29 – December 10
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM at
AADD, Inc.
1440 Dutch Valley Place, Suite 200
Atlanta, 30324

Please register by October 15 with Riki Bolster at
riki@aadd.org or 404-881-9777x223

In the six 1½ hour classes, caregivers will develop a wealth of self-care tools to: reduce personal stress; change negative self-talk; communicate their needs to family members and healthcare/ service providers; communicate more effectively in challenging situations; recognize the messages in their emotions, deal with difficult feelings; and make tough care giving decisions. Class participants will also receive a copy of The Caregiver Helpbook, developed specifically for the class.

Note: Class size is limited.

Are You Raising a Child with FAS or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders?

NOFAS Georgia announces Training for Parents!

“Triumph Through the Challenges of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome”

A 12-hour course offering parents - birth, adoptive, foster, grandparents - the information and tools needed to work more effectively with their children living with FASD

Come learn how to better:

Cope with challenges faced by families living with FASD
Deal with melt-downs

Work with sensory integration disorders
Practice social skills training

Advcate for the rights of your child
Set realistic expectations for your child

Connect with other parents

This same course will be offered in 2 different locations at 2 different times.

MIDTOWN
When: Four Saturday mornings

Time: 9:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. (3 hrs.)
September 12th * September 19th * September 26th * October 3rd

Where: AADD –All About Developmental Disabilities

1440 Dutch Valley Place
Suite 200 Atlanta, Ga. 30324-5371

Deadline for registration is September 5th, 2009
######

NORTH METRO
When: Six Monday evenings

Time: 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. (2 hrs.)

October 5th * October 12th * October 19th

October 26th * November 2nd * November 9th
Where: Temple Kehillat Chaim

1145 Green Street, Roswell, Ga. 30075

Cost: $108 per person for the 12 hour series, including workbook

Deadline for registration is September 26th, 2009
######

Professional Childcare is provided at no additional cost. Space is limited; please register early.
Classes are taught by certified facilitators who have been trained in the
“Triumph Through the Challenges” Curriculum

For more information or to register
Call: NOFAS Georgia 404 207-1068
Please leave your email address and phone number when you call.

Thanks!

2009 Money Follows the Person Conference

This conference, scheduled for March 2-4, 2009 in Baltimore, MD, will address subjects such as community inclusion for persons living with disabilities, innovative ways to increase housing capacity, Medicaid rebalancing, self direction and quality management systems. The Money Follows the Person (MFP) program is designed to help states move individuals enrolled in Medicaid from institutions back to the community, where they will keep their Medicaid coverage.

For more information, go to CMS website on Money Follows the Person

DisabilityInfo.gov provides quick and easy access to comprehensive information about disability programs, services, laws and benefits. You can begin your search by visiting any of the nine subject areas at the top of this page. To find disability resources in your state just click on the Find State and Local Resources map located in each of these subject areas.

Some of the many topics you will find information about on DisabilityInfo.gov include:

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Autism and other Developmental Disabilities
Fair Housing Rights
Social Security Disability Benefits
Vocational Rehabilitation

University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service
The Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) funds University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UCEDDs) in every state and territory. UCEDD programs are designed to increase the independence, productivity and community integration of individuals with developmental disabilities. For a complete list of Centers visit ADD's Web site or the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.

Atlanta Journal Constitution letter to the editor

Thank you to Joni Pelta for writing this letter and sharing with us that it was printed.

READERS WRITE
By Joni Pelta, Robert W. Keeler, A. Jean Richardson

For the Journal-Constitution

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Perdue needs to get hooked on special-needs kids

Every January brings the same rituals to Georgia. There’s a cold snap and a hard freeze. The Legislature resumes work under the Gold Dome. Special-needs parents and supporters must lobby hard to get funding for their loved ones’ programs.

I realize this year that state sales tax and other revenues are down as the economy stagnates. If the pie that all government programs feed from has shrunk, all worthy groups have to work even harder to grab their meager crumbs. That I can accept.

What rankles this parent of a special-needs child is that while Gov. Sonny Perdue and his staff nibble yearly to cut the crumbs of funding from special-needs programs, somehow there is $23 million for Perdue’s Go Fish project in Perry. Fishing is a fun, worthy hobby. However, why is building fishing facilities a bigger priority than those with special needs? Why is there never enough money to get the more than 6,700 people with special needs off the state waiting list and receive the services they need to become active, contributing members of society?

JONI PELTA

Atlanta

What do you think? Go to www.unlockthewaitinglists.com to learn more.

6,812 Georgians with Developmental Disabilities Wait for Help

This story came out last thursday on Savannah's WSAV-TV.

To see the video clip that went with this online story, click here.

I want to thank the Arc of Effingham's Nina Dasher for her help in making this story happen at the last minute. To learn more about the Arc of Georgia's efforts, click here. Also thank you to all those families on the waiting list who had very important stories to tell as well that I called throughout the afternoon. Note that they got the number of waiting wrong - they were using numbers from December - it is now 6,812 for people with DD and 138 for people with physical disabilities. For a list of cuts, go to the Unlock website.

State lawmakers continue looking for ways to cut two billion dollars in spending, as Georgia faces a historic budget shortfall.

The Governor’s proposed budget includes cutting $428 million to lower property taxes, $350 million dollars in cuts to education, plus cuts to transportation, prisons, and healthcare.

One area facing critical cuts is special needs service programs for the developmentally disabled, specifically developmental disability waivers. The waivers help families with providing special services and care—like mental health benefits, wheelchair ramps, and at-home caretakers— for their loved ones.

Jennifer Lanier, 37, lives with disabilities most of us can’t imagine. “Mental health status, and disability status… I had back surgery, and I suffer with schizophrenia… a developmental disability also,“ says Jennifer. Jennifer lives with a family friend but spends most of her time confined indoors.

“Either go to doctor’s appointments, or stay at home and put puzzles together,“ she says. Jennifer has qualified for a developmental disability waiver from the state that would help her in a number of ways. “Transportation, that’s a big thing I have a big problem with, because you have to call 3 days in advance to get the Medicaid van,“ she explains.

But advocate Nina Dasher says Jennifer is one of 6,700 hundred Georgians and their families on a waiting list for this assistance.“When you have a developmental disability, your functioning is that of a child most of the time, and that takes constant care for a lifetime,“ says Dasher, who herself cares for an 18 year-old granddaughter with developmental disabilities.

Dasher says Governor Perdue’s current budget includes no money for the program.

“It’ll be at least 18 months before anybody else with a developmental disability will get on that waiver, and as the population that has the waivers when they die, that money is not being left in the budget,“ she says.Joyce Arnsdorff says she’s happy to open her home to Jennifer but wishes the government could do more to help.

“It’s like they say, ‘Well, you know you need to be taken care of, so we’re going to take care of you, but we’re not going to do as much as you need,‘“ she says.

Advocates for Georgians with developmental disabilities have started a campaign called Unlock the Waiting Lists to try to reduce the number of people waiting for these services.

To see the video clip that went with this online story, click here.

Last week's Legislative Round Up

Last week, in a joint session of House and Senate Appropriations committees, legislators questioned agency heads about their budgets. The Departments of Human Resources and Community Health presented their FY09 and FY10 state budget proposals. For a list of budget cuts that will impact people with disabilities, go to the Unlock the Waiting Lists Action Alert page. There will be no new community supports for people with disabilities waiting in community for help for at least 18 months if the House and Senate accept this budget proposal.

The Department of Human Resources has proposed FY2009 budget cuts to the Governor that will leave our most vulnerable families and individuals even more at risk. While there supports for 150 DD services and 100 persons with physical disabilities to transition from institutions to the community, there are no disability supports for the over 6,900 people current on Georgia’s waiting list. We are afraid that with no new supports for these community waiting lists, we will be cutting Georgia's ability to support our most vulnerable.

We are asking Governor Perdue and our legislators to not cut funds for existing disability supports or contracts, rate increases, or developmental disability waiver slots in the Department of Human Resources or Community Health Budgets. Please help to protect these much needed supports for people with disabilities by encouraging Georgia’s General Assembly to look for revenue solutions to serve our most vulnerable citizens during these hard economic times.

Lawmakers also heard troubling state tax revenue forecasts. Economist Kenneth Heaghney projected that even if Georgia cuts its budget by $2 B (about 10%), tax revenues will still produce $600 M less than is needed in FY 2011 (beginning July 2010). He believes such shortfalls will continue for at least three years and says officials could have to decide whether to cut further or raise revenues. Georgia Budget and Policy Institute experts point to structural deficiencies in the taxation system they say must be addressed. See The Georgia Budget and Policy Insitute.

The federal stimulus package could bring Georgia $5.6 Billion. President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan could bring some near-term relief, and experts say it could create 143,000 jobs here. Now being marked up in the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the plan includes such measures as tax cuts, spending on infrastructure projects, unemployment insurance, fiscal relief for Medicaid, and help with COBRA coverage for people losing jobs. The President wants a bill by mid-February, although it is drawing opposition in some quarters, including from some of Georgia’s delegation.

The General Assembly reconvenes today, January 26th. The House opens at 10:00 a.m. and the Senate begins at 1:00 p.m.

The Governor's Budget Address

Governor Perdue delivered his State of the State Address yesterday. Included in this address was his budget proposals for amended budget for Fiscal Year 2009 and his full budget for Fiscal Year 2010.

His speech can be found at on his website. Some highlights include:

The Governor thanked the legislature for working with his administration to help replenish the Rainy Day Fund, which now stands at $1.2 billion. In these budgets, Governor Perdue recommended using the maximum amount available for appropriation from the reserves, appropriating $187 million for the education midyear adjustment, $50 million in 2009 and $408 million in 2010. In 2009, a number of one-time strategies unavailable in 2010 will be implemented to balance the budget. Therefore, Governor Perdue recommended the largest portion of available reserve funds be committed to the 2010 budget.

Governor Perdue also outlined a proposal to restructure the Department of Human Resources. Currently, $3.8 billion is spent within DHR every year. The plan calls for the creation of a new Department of Behavioral Health which will include all mental health and addictive disease programs. The bill also establishes a Department of Health, a combination of the public health and oversight programs in DHR and the current functions of DHR. Remaining social services, such as Developmental Disabilities, Aging, DFCS and Child Support, will come together under a reconstituted Department of Human Services.

Governor Perdue will also introduce legislation to ask those who receive Medicaid payments to help fund the system. This proposal takes advantage of the fact that every dollar used toward Medicaid purposes draws down almost two additional dollars from the federal government. The budget will reflect, and an accompanying bill will propose, a 1.6 percent fee on hospitals and health insurance plans to, not only fill the hole in Medicaid, but also to do what the healthcare community has asked of Governor Perdue’s administration. This proposal will significantly raise Medicaid rates, particularly for hospitals; and in conjunction with the SuperSpeeder legislation, provide $60 million for trauma to sustain and expand the state’s trauma hospitals, EMS and trauma physician infrastructure.

Video of the Governor's Speech can be found here.

To see an update on the budget, go to http://www.unlockthewaitinglists.com/

Opening - Advocacy Events Coordinator

AADD is current hiring a part time Advocacy Events Coordinator. Please contact Rita Young at rita@aadd.org to apply. This position would be 20-25 hours per week and based in the AADD offices in Midtown Atlanta.

PURPOSE
• Coordinate events within the Division of Public Policy
• Provide clerical and secretarial support
• Support the mission, vision, and goals of AADD

ESSENTIAL DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
•Provides event support, onsite support, and evaluation.
•Arranges travel and lodging for staff, program participates and/or speakers.
•Plans, coordinates and attends a series of two three-day training seminars. Provides assistance and information as needed to participants during and between sessions. Prepares agenda for each session, which includes arrangements for speakers and presenters.
•Negotiates fees and charges for presenters, speakers, transportation, personal assistance and other childcare.
•Develops and prepares homework assignments and evaluation forms for each session.
•Oversees support staff in the collection of evaluation forms and compilation of information.
•Maintains all program documents.
•Assists with recruitment of future participants of leadership programs.
•Updates participant database with current contact information and activities
•Coordinates at least two learning trips for leadership program participants.

QUALIFICATIONS
Education and Experience

•High School Diploma or GED
•Secretarial certification; or equivalent experience
•Three years secretarial experience

Skills
•Excellent general computer software skills (MSWindows, MSOutlook, MS Frontpage, MS PowerPoint, MSWord, and MSExcel). Knowledge of web publishing preferred.
•Excellent grammatical, spelling, writing, editing, organizational and communications skills
•Ability to use personal computer, typewriter, facsimile machine, labeling machine, folding machine, postage machine and other common office equipment