Self Advocate Day At the Captitol

Yesterday, self advocates braved the cold and the rain to come speak to their legislators about the importance of home and community based services.Over 200 handout were distributed to legislators about the Unlock the Waiting Lists! Campaign. To watch an interview about the event, click here.

Unlock the Waiting Lists

This year is going to be rough one for funding for Unlock. A couple of things are happening that you need to know about.

First, the new Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities was the only department that got an increase in the state budget this year and for fiscal year 2011. However, we believe as of today, that most of this money will go to improving hospitals and not for community services. Secondly, the waiting list numbers have dropped to about 4600 for DD instead of 6300. The state purged its list of names of individuals that had moved, or could not find, or were both on the short term and long term waiting lists. This is a real under representation of the true need and it concerns me. I am hearing that parents are hesitant to put their children on the waiting lists because of they have been told there is no funding or the amount of the wait is too long. I am left wondering what is happening to the 700-1000 students each year who graduate high school. What are you all hearing? Are parents giving up?

If you all have stories of people who are waiting for services that you think we need to know about, please call me at 770-688-5487 or email me

We welcome and invite you to join us for Unlock Day at the Capitol on February 16 from 10am- 12pm. Please RSVP to linda@aadd.org if you are able to attend. You will need to find out who you legislator is prior to the event and to set an appointment with them. Contact Linda for all the details. Thanks,Rita

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!

Perdue Says Georgia is Morally Obligated

In his speech yesterday, out of all the issues he could have discusssed, Perdue did say that we are morally obligated to serve people with disabilites. With more than 6300 people waiting for services, and in a year where legislators will be looking at cutting $1.5 billion out of Georgia's budget, we can only speculate what kinds of supports he will be able to offer. Perdue's budget will be out for review tomorrow.

Follow me on Twitter. I will post things as they happen at the Capitol, and it will be sent to you. My twitter account is aaddritayoung. Enter that name on the first page comes up under “search”.

We'll be in touch.- Rita

Governor's State of the State

If you can catch it, watch tomorrow.
We are all anxious to get a look at the Governor's Budget for obvious reasons.
I'll be there and will report back. Rita

From the Press Office of Governor Perdue:
ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue will deliver the State of the State Address, TOMOROW, Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 11 a.m. Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) will simulcast the State of the State address LIVE on GPB Knowledge, GPB Radio and streamed online at www.gpb.org. The entirety of Governor Perdue's Address can also be seen in a special one hour edition of Lawmakers at 7 p.m. on GPB.

GET READY FOR A CHALLENGING 2010 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Bringing you up to speed: HB 228 restructured the Department of Human Resources, creating the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD).

Home and Community-based services for people with Developmental Disabilities will be funded in the DBHDD budget.

The ICWP home and community-based services will remain under the Department of Community Health.

The 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.

The FY 2010 cut to DBHDD was $118.6 million, a 14.7% reduction.

A higher federal Medicaid match rate from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds replaced $65.1 million, leaving a $53.5 million cut.

The Need:
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.

There are not enough state family support dollars to keep people stable at home while they wait.

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

The Request:
SUPPORT DBHDD’s request for 1500 NOW/COMP waiver services · $20,596,290 ·

Support DCH’s request for 100 ICWP waiver slots under MFP · $1,199,652 · and cover ICWP waiting list · $1,829,854 ·

Support an increase in state funded family support dollars. (NOT currently included in the budget, but we propose an additional $6,000,000 each year).

Support the Division of Developmental Disabilities’ request for a cost study on provider rates, and stabilize the rate structure so providers can stay in business.

Support the request for a new multi-year funding plan for Home and Community-based Services, effective FY 2011, for 5 years.

NOW is a good time to meet with your legislators in their home district,
attend their forums and meetings, and tell them what you need for a family member with a disability to be supported in your community.

http://www.unlockthewaitinglists.com/advocate.html
GCDD.gov

Your Attention Please!

As the holidays near, we are all gearing up for the legislative session. Please take some time to send your state legislators and Governor Perdue a personal holiday note asking them to support the requests below. This year looks to be a bleak one with deep budget cuts looming, so please help the campaign because we cannot do it without you! Our stories are powerful, so telling yours will help the greater good for everyone.
Happy Holidays,
Rita Young
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
GET READY FOR A CHALLENGING
2010 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Bringing you up to speed: HB 228 restructured the Department of Human Resources, creating the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD). Home and Community-based services for people with Developmental Disabilities will be funded in the DBHDD budget. The ICWP home and community-based services will remain under the Department of Community Health.

The 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
- The FY 2010 cut to DBHDD was $118.6 million, a 14.7% reduction
- A higher federal Medicaid match rate from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds replaced $65.1 million, leaving a $53.5 million cut

The Need:
- 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.
- There are not enough state family support dollars to keep people stable at home while they wait
- Over 800 people with developmental disabilities remain in state hospitals; more individuals with developmental disabilities and / or physical disabilities are in nursing facilities.

The Request:
SUPPORT DBHDD’s request for 1500 NOW/COMP waiver services · $20,596,290 ·
- Support DCH’s request for 100 ICWP waiver slots under MFP · $1,199,652 · and cover ICWP waiting list · $1,829,854 ·
- Support an increase in state funded family support dollars (NOT currently included in the budget, but we propose an additional $6,000,000 each year)
- Support the Division of Developmental Disabilities’ request for a cost study on provider rates, and stabilize the rate structure so providers can stay in business
- Support the request for a new multi-year funding plan for Home and Community-based Services, effective FY 2011, for 5 years.

NOW is a good time to meet with your legislators in their home district,
attend their forums and meetings, and tell them what you need for a family member with a disability to be supported in your community.

More than 300 organizations statewide support the Unlock the Waiting Lists! Campaign
Legislative Leadership: GCDD · Two Peachtree Street NW · Atlanta, Georgia 30303 · 404.657.2126
Grassroots Coordination: AADD · 1440 Dutch Valley Place, Suite 200 · Atlanta, Georgia 30324 · 404.881.9777 x 220

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.

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/

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

Senator Jack Hill's analysis of the Quality Assessment Fees

Medicaid currently relies on around $90M from a 5.5% CMO “Quality Assessment Fee” that provides funds to the Medicaid population. These fees are used to “draw down” enhanced federal funds and do not have a negative impact on the CMOs. The Federal Agency with Medicaid responsibility has ruled that states like Georgia cannot assess a fee on one Medicaid provider without assessing the same fee on all health care providers. You can’t treat a Medicaid provider differently from other providers like insurance companies. So Georgia is faced with a choice which must be made and implemented by October 1, 2009. Either stop taxing the care management companies and create a $90M hole in the 2010 budget or start assessing insurance companies the same amount. Governor Perdue has proposed to lower the assessment fee from 5.5% to 1.6% but to apply the fee to insurance companies and to the net revenue of hospitals. In other words, all health care providers will be subject to this fee. The total produced by the fee would continue the $90M presently collected as well as plug a Medicaid shortfall created by the prior use of one-time reserve funds. This amount is $204.9M. The total of $217M would also pay for increased Medicaid demand and fund $60M towards a Trauma fund for hospitals. The Hospital piece of the funding, $259M has been met with strong objections by hospitals around the state. Rural hospitals particularly say they would be hard hit and that the fee has the potential to put some out of business. This is one of the crucial issues before this General Assembly. The Governor’s proposal does not appear to have widespread legislative support.

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

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.

Legislator's Responses

Throughout this year's session, I will post legislator's responses to your emails and letters. Keep checking back here to see what they are saying about our issue.Here is a fantastic letter from one of Georgia's Partner in Policymaking graduates (Note that Jackie put "I live in your district" in her email's subject line):

Dear Rep. Walker,

Subject: Re: I live within District 107
RE: Unlock the Waiting List
I live within your district and have also had the privilege of hearing you speak at a Town Hall meeting that was held at Gwinnett County School's Instructional Support Building. Our 13 year old daughter, is currently on the waiting list for a MRWP (Mental Retardation Waiver Program) and has been waiting for a little over 2 years. She has autism and is totally nonverbal. She has severe learning disabilities and requires lots of care and support. Since she turned 13, her behaviors have become more challenging. Our family is in need of support on how to guide her and help her.

Since she has the mental capacity of someone much younger, we are not able to leave her alone. It requires that I be at home to see her off to school and meet her bus in the afternoon. Needless to say, I am not able to work fulltime and that further inhibits us from being able to afford needed services. She requires help with her personal care and all other activities, even going to bed. My husband works many hours to support us and I am She's primary caretaker. We do not get to spend any time together as a couple and our son is also asked to make sacrifices no child should have to make. I dread to think of
what single parents are doing to survive and take proper care of their child with disabilities.

Please do not cut support to families like ours, who are in desperate need of help. Ask them to do all they can to find funds to offer support for those who are on the waiting lists for waivers.

If you have any questions or wish to contact me, I can be reached at [phone number]

Thank you,
Jackie McNair

Len Walker wrote back:

From: Len Walker
To: "Jackie McNair"
Subject: Re: I live within District 107
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:13:02 +0000

Jackie,
Thank you for this reminder. This, as you know, is an issue of enormous
importance. I will certainly do all I can.
Sincerely,
Len Walker
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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/

2008 Partner Grad Makes the AJC

Recent graduate, Debra Gibson made the Gwinnett AJC with her comments on the trip that several Partners took to Central State. This story keeps going on and on…… Way to go Debra!!

Unlock the Waiting List Information

The Senate and House approved their budget recommendations, sending to the Governor a budget that includes 500 Mental Retardation Waiver Program (MRWP) services, 175 Independent Care Waiver Programs (ICWP) slots and a 3% rate increase for providers of DD and ICWP supports!

Click here for a complete list of budget items with dollar amounts.

Given the uncertainty in the economy, this additional funding for community supports is good news! We are thankful to the General Assembly for their support. We also know that the reality is that at the current level of funding, Georgia's waiting list for these supports will be more next year than today – not less.

There are currently 5,542 people on the MRWP community waiting list with this list growing by over 1,000 people annually. Also, while there are more than 129 individuals officially waiting for ICWP supports, we know that there are thousands living right now in nursing homes and other facilities that could benefit from the ICWP support.

The budget now goes to Governor Perdue for his signature. The Governor has until May 14th to sign the FY2009 budget into law. He can also decide to veto any specific funding item while approving the remainder of the bill.

Governor Perdue Cuts Revenue Estimates

Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that net revenue collections for the month of February 2008 (FY08) totaled $965,846,000 compared to $961,225,000 for February 2007 (FY07), an increase of only 0.5 percent. The percentage increase year-to-date for FY08 compared to FY07 is 1.9 percent.

Governor Perdue met with the leadership of both the House and Senate to discuss the revenue figures and his revised budget recommendations this morning.

For FY08, Governor Perdue is reducing the revenue estimate by $65 million from his original proposal. The original AFY08 recommendation was $332.6 million. In order to achieve a balanced budget, Governor Perdue identified an equivalent amount of spending to eliminate from his AFY08 recommendation. The reductions recommended include $40 million originally allocated for one-time equipment and technology infrastructure upgrades and $25 million in funding for school buses.

“All of these programs are worthy of funding and provide good value to the citizens, but we have to make difficult decisions on how to spend our limited resources,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “I have proposed reducing funding across state agencies, even reducing programs that I have championed, because everyone and every program must share our collective burden.”

The Governor has made recomendations to cut the proposed 150 ICWP slots and the MRWP services in the FY09 budget.

The impact of the Governor's cut in revenue projections is yet to be fully understood. It will depend even more so on your advocacy for Unlocking Georgia's waiting lists for supports for people with disabilities is as important as ever.

For FY09, Governor Perdue reduced the revenue estimate by $245 million. The original FY09 recommendation was $21.425 billion. The equivalent reduction in spending recommended by Governor Perdue would be derived from programs across state agencies.

Other spending reductions Governor Perdue recommended are:

• Eliminating $16.9 million for funding the Governor’s Health Insurance Partnership.


• Reducing $47.2 million in Major Repairs and Renovations (MRR) for the University System of Georgia and the Department of Technical and Adult Education. These projects would instead be funded through a bond package.


• Reducing the proposed raise for state employees, teachers and faculty at the Board of Regents and the Department of Technical and Adult Education from 2.5 percent to 2 percent. This would save $46.1 million.


• Reducing $44.1 million in additional funds into the Other Post Employee Benefits (OPEB) fund.


• Reducing $5.5 million in the Governor’s Very Important Parent (VIP) Recruiter Program from the original $14 million proposal.

In addition to the recommended reductions, Governor Perdue has asked agency heads to maximize savings by avoiding unnecessary travel, restricting hiring for non-critical positions and any other reductions identified by agencies. The Governor is also encouraging each agency head to enact strict approval processes for new expenditures, and has asked the Office of Planning & Budget to closely monitor budgets. These limitations on discretionary spending are intended to mitigate the potential impact of reductions in revenue collections for Fiscal Year 2008.