Action Alert! ADAPT

Today (Friday, October 14th), groups from across the country are calling Congress and sending the message that My Medicaid Matters!

FamiliesUSA has provided a toll free phone number you can use to call your Congressional Representative.

This alert will take LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES but will make a BIG DIFFERENCE!

1. CALL 866-922-4970 and ask to be connected to your member's office.

2. TELL THEM:  "I'm calling because I want Representative ________ to contact the super committee and tell them that s/he opposes cuts to Medicaid. Medicaid is important because it pays for home and community-based services that support seniors and people with disabilities so they can live in the community.  Medicaid also funds jobs for direct care workers who provide these long term services and supports.  I want my representative to actively oppose Medicaid cuts because my Medicaid matters."

3. FORWARD THIS EMAIL to your family, friends, and other contacts asking them to take action too.

Thank you!

ADAPT

Autistic Man Arrested at Whole Foods for ‘Acting Odd

OCTOBER 4, 2011

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Blake Wimberly lives in the dark, gripped by paranoia.

The 28-year-old hides inside his small Dallas apartment because of fear that police will arrest him wherever he goes.

“I see a cop right there, so that tells me that I should not be going outside not for nothing.”

Wimberly is both autistic and schizophrenic, so he struggles with self-control.

Despite his condition, Blake has progressed enough to live on his own.  But his mother, Lori Lux, says a trip to a grocery store started a downward spiral.  “I see a man who has shut down,” she said.

The incident happened on April 28 at a Whole Foods store on Park Lane.

Police reports say Blake was ‘acting odd,’ leading to customer complaints.

Officers were called, and Blake was told to get out of an unauthorized area or be arrested.  His response to officers was: “No, I have to call my mom.”

That refusal led to Wimberly’s arrest for criminal trespassing even though he wore a medical alert bracelet and told officers about his condition.

“I told them I had autism and he told me basically I was a liar.”

“I asked them repeatedly, was he violent? Did he ever threaten? No, they all told me no he was just odd,” Lux said.

She says she was in the shower when police called her that morning, but no one answered when she called back.

It was more than 12 hours later when she was able to bring Blake home from jail.  “I was mistreated in jail,” Blake said.

“They have just totally turned our lives upside down for no reason,” added Lux.

In a statement, Whole Foods defended the store’s actions, saying Blake was quote, “Running up and down the aisles and repeatedly going into areas of the store that are employee-only.”

A spokesperson says Dallas police officers made the decision alone to take Blake to jail.  Department officials did not return our calls for comment.

Since the arrest, Blake relies on his mother for trips to grocery stores, but still has a compulsion to visit them.

But the experience has made him fearful and reclusive.  “I miss being welcome into places.”

In criminal trespassing cases, DPD officers have the discretion to either issue a citation or make an arrest.  Blake’s family says they are planning to file a lawsuit over what happened.

AADD's 1956 Like Us Campaign Update

Dear Valued Supporters and Friends,

Since the launch of our 1956 Facebook Campaign to celebrate our 55th year of service to the community, 137 people have "liked" us on Facebook. So far, 893 people like us, and we still have 1,063 to go! 

Will you help us reach our goal to get 1,956 people to "like" AADD? All you have to do is go to our Facebook Page and click the "Like" button at the top. Share our page and encourage your Facebook friends to like AADD as well!

Each week, we will feature contests and a chance to win prizes, so visit often to see what's new.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Seabaugh to exit state senate for job in Deal adminstration

By Aaron Gould Sheinin 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Seabaugh, who led the Senate's recent work to redraw the state's political maps, will report to new state treasurer Steve McCoy, who is being promoted from the deputy's position. Seabaugh leaves the Senate after serving 10 years. Gov. Nathan Deal announced Monday that state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, will be the next deputy state treasurer. Seabaugh has a bachelor's degree in Accounting from Southern Arkansas University and served as chief financial officer for a company in Newnan. Deal today will issue a writ to set a special election for Seabaugh's District 28 seat on Nov. 8. McCoy has been deputy treasurer since August. From 1997-2010 he ran an investment advisory firm that worked with state and local governments.

An Expensive Fight Over a Boy With Autism

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

By Alan Judd 

When the police came, Stefan Ferrari’s teacher described Oct. 21, 2008, in her classroom for autistic children as “a regular, ordinary day.”

Perhaps it was, except for the tiny digital recorder sewn into the collar of Stefan’s shirt.

The device, planted by Stefan’s mother, collected eight hours and 19 minutes of sound, much of it the banality of yet another school day for a non-verbal 10-year-old. It also captured the teacher and her colleagues talking about sex and martinis. It picked up the teacher’s teasing Stefan after he ate pizza from the trash. And it chronicled the threat of a “be-quiet hit” to a crying child, followed by the repeated slaps of an adult’s hand against Stefan’s bottom.

That single day in an Atlanta classroom led to lawsuits in state and federal courts, to the teacher’s firing, to threats of criminal charges — against Stefan’s parents — and, finally, to what may have been the inevitable fracture of the boy’s family. Atlanta Public Schools spent $1.1 million of taxpayers’ money fighting Stefan’s family in court before agreeing this summer to pay private school tuition and therapeutic expenses into his adulthood.

For more on this story, click here

AADD's 1956 Like Us Campaign Update

Since the launch of our 1956 Facebook Campaign to celebrate our 55th year of service to the community, 

124 people have "liked" us on Facebook.  Our goal is to get 1,956 people to "like" AADD and reach as many people as we can in order to continuously educate the community about our services and events.

If you haven't liked AADD already, it's quick and very easy!  All you have to do is go to our Facebook Page and click the "Like" button at the top. Share our page and encourage your Facebook "friends" to like AADD!

Each week, we will feature contests and a chance to win prizes, so visit often to see what's new.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Partners in Policymaking Reunion

I wanted to extend to you a friendly reminder that the deadline to apply for the Partners in Policymaking Reunion is quickly approaching. We are excited to bring the best advocates in Georgia together to continue our learning and to celebrate our many successes. We have developed an agenda that we feel will continue to strengthen our advocacy skills and an early evening reception to celebrate all that you do to advocate for people with disabilities.

We have planned an All Star Conversations That Matter discussion which will include Beverley Rollins. Also included will be sessions on Social Media and how to use it to better leverage our advocacy efforts, Hot Issues for the 2012 Legislative Session, and a Wellness for Advocates segment that will help us to live strong as an advocate.

Friday, November 4, 2011

9:30am-5:30pm Training

5:30pm-7:30pm Reception

  

Peachtree Christian Church

1580 Peachtree St. NW

Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Please register by October 7, 2011 at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/798CRB7.  The registration fee is $25.00. Limited scholarships are available for Childcare, Personal Support, Registration, Mileage and Transportation. We have limited space, so please sign up early. If you have any questions, please email Ryan Johnson at rjohnson@aadd.org or call 404-881-9777 x 217.

Don’t miss out. Register today!

Georgia Senate Majority

Invite you to attend

"Georgia Solutions Summit"

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Country Club of Roswell

2500 Club Springs Dr.

Roswell, GA 30076

Senate Republicans believe the best ideas and solutions begin at home, not in Atlanta. With this in mind, we invite you to attend "Georgia Solutions Summits" across Georgia this summer and fall. Georgians are encouraged to meet informally with Senators and share positive solutions for Georgia's challenges.


Please join your state Senator John Albers, Senate Leadership and other Senators from around the state to share your ideas and issues facing your districts. Together we can make Georgia the most prosperous state in America.

Security Guard Removes Woman Over Seeing-Eye Dog

WINDER, Ga. -- A Barrow County woman said she suffered bruises and a minor shoulder injury after a guard at a Social Security office tried to remove her because of her service dog.

"He provides my independence. He basically serves as my eyes," Melissa McMann said, of the yellow lab named Hurbie, her trained service dog.

McMann suffers from a degenerative retinal condition.

"In places like dark buildings, I virtually have no sight," McMann told Channel 2 Action News reporter Manuel Bojorquez.

She said she is accustomed to questions about where the dog can and cannot go. So she's researched the law and said, as a service dog, Hurbie is entitled to go where most of the public is allowed.

That was challenged Sept. 15, when her husband drove her to the Social Security office in Winder and, she said, a guard asked for the dog's papers.


"I proceeded to tell him that he doesn't have papers but that he's wearing his harness and he's a certified seeing-eye dog," she said.

The dog's harness is marked with the name of the school where he trained and the message, "Ignore me. I'm a working dog."

McMann said the law does not require a need to provide documentation. So, she asked the guard to provide in writing to her and her husband the law he was citing. That's when the disagreement escalated.

McMann said the guard grabbed her wrist, then her upper arm and forced her from the chair in which she was sitting.

"When he started to grab my wife, that is when I called the police," said McMann’s husband, Chris.

According to a Winder police report, the incident left her with bruises and a minor shoulder injury.

The guard involved in the incident, Leroy Huff, told Bojorquez he was simply following orders and acted based on training but that he could not say more because the case is under investigation.

Winder police said there is an arrest warrant for battery against Huff and that he plans to turn himself in.

A Social Security representative provided the following statement: "Service animals are allowed in Social Security field offices. We have apologized to Ms. McMann for the unfortunate incident that occurred with the contract security guard in our Winder field Office.”

"The guard is a contracted worker from a security company used by the Department of Homeland Security. We referred this matter to the Federal Protective Service of the Department of Homeland Security for appropriate action," the statement said.

Mr. McMann said they're speaking out to bring awareness to the issues of those who must use service animals.

"The laws are very clear, if you know them but even if they're not, you would think that common sense would prevail," he said.

Disabled Activists Protest Medicaid Cuts at White House

For Immediate Release Contact: Janine Bertram (503) 622-6387

September 19, 2011  Bruce Darling (585) 370-6690

Marsha Katz (406) 544-9504

MEDICAID DISABILITY ACTIVISTS AT WHITE HOUSE GATES

AS PRESIDENT PRESENTS DEBT PLAN

Washington, DC---As the President unveiled his debt plan this morning, hundreds of activists with disabilities stormed the White House to demand a voice in the structuring of Medicaid reform.  ADAPT, the national disability rights direct action group, is asking the administration to work with them to ensure that Medicaid dollars are invested in cost-saving community supports.

“The President says that he expects all Americans to share the burden of controlling the budget, but Medicaid recipients are already shouldering the burden for balancing budgets at the state level,” said Randy Alexander of Memphis ADAPT. “States have already made significant cuts to Medicaid. How many more people with disabilities and seniors must lose our basic freedoms and lives in order to have done our share?” 

Bruce Darling, an ADAPT organizer from Rochester, New York, pointed out that states have already reduced or eliminated vital home care services and forced seniors and people with disabilities into nursing facilities against their will. “People are already experiencing reduced or eliminated access to basic healthcare, including medications.  Jobs have already been eliminated for home care and direct care workers.”

ADAPT recognizes the need for new tax revenue and supports the President’s proposed so-called “millionaire’s tax.” Unlike Congressional Republicans who believe the burden of deficit reduction should only come from spending cuts to critical programs like Medicaid, the President has called for $1.5 trillion in new tax revenue.

ADAPT has reached out to the White House and Congress to offer proposals on how we can contain Medicaid spending that wouldn’t negatively impact on Medicaid beneficiaries.  The ADAPT Community has identified four principles for real Medicaid reform:

• Expand the use of community-based services

• Demedicalize services

• Expand consumer directed service options

• Reorganize Medicaid services to eliminate wasteful bureaucracy

“We are calling on the administration to work with us to promote the inclusion of these reforms,” said Cassie James Holdsworth of Philadelphia ADAPT.  “People have suffered enough in institutional settings.  We want the President to invest in consumer-directed community based services as part of his deficit plan.”

Details of ADAPT’s REAL Medicaid Reform proposals can be found on the ADAPT website at www.adapt.org.