JFActivist

President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to Key Administration Positions

From AAPD (3.27.10):

AAPD Statement in Support of Today's Recess Appointments to
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 27, 2010 - The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the largest cross-disability membership organization in the U.S., released the following statement today upon learning of President Obama’s recess appointments to the U.S. Equal Employment Opporunity Commission (EEOC).

“We are delighted to have disability law and policy expert Chai Feldblum begin her term as a Commissioner of the EEOC along with her fellow Obama appointees,” said AAPD Chair Tony Coelho.  “I have worked with Chai Feldblum on the original Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and more recently on the ADA Amendments Act, and I know that she will bring a wealth of expertise and experience in workplace civil rights, an incredibly strong work ethic, and a capacity to work with diverse constituencies to achieve consensus,” Coelho added.

“The EEOC is poised to issue final regulations implementing the ADA Amendments Act, a critical law passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2008 that restores protections for millions of Americans whose rights had been compromised by a series of problematic Supreme Court decisions,” said AAPD President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Imparato.   “I am excited that President Obama’s appointees to the Commission will at long last be able to press forward with the ADA Amendment regulations and the other important business of the Commission.  Having worked closely with Chai Feldblum on the ADA Amendments Act and other legislation, I know that the Commission is getting an extraordinarily talented lawyer to help them carry out their important work,” Imparato added.

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, organizes the disability community to be a powerful voice for change – politically, economically, and socially.  AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more, visit the AAPD Web site:  www.aapd.com.

>>>For More Information

All Bank of America ATMS accessible to blind

All Bank of America ATMS Now Accessible to Blind People

On March 31, 2010, the Bank of America announced that every one of its 18,000 ATM machines in the United States is now a Talking ATM, used by people who are blind and others, to access cash and accounts independently. The 18,000 Talking ATM milestone is the result of a long collaboration between Bank of America and the blind community.

The bank was first approached in 1995 about ATM accessibility by the California Council of the Blind and several individuals. The bank agreed to engage in Structured Negotiations, and eventually signed three settlement agreements about Talking ATMs, the accessibility of its website and on-line banking platform, and alternative formats for print information. Bank of America Press Release at http://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/index.php?s=43&item=8666.

Notice from law firm, Lainey Feingold and Linda Darderian, who negotiated the settlement, at http://lflegal.com/2010/03/bank-of-america-atms.

Health Technology Improving Emergency Assistence for PWD

From AAPD (3.29.10):

     Study on Health Information Technology Points Way to How New Technology Assists People with Disabilities in Emergencies

This lengthy report describes innovative ways that state governments and local communities can use technologies to reach vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, during public health emergency situations. The authors conclude that electronic health records (EHRs), mobile phones, and other technologies can enhance “all-hazards” preparedness and response capabilities for first responders, improve situational awareness during emergencies, and reduce response time for reaching at-risk individuals during disease outbreaks, natural disasters, or other public health emergencies.

The study, authored by Booz Allen Hamilton, and written primarily by Anne Marie Rader, a person with disabilities, is entitled “Public Health Preparedness and Response for At-Risk Populations: Harnessing the Power of Health Information and Communication Technologies” and is available on the website at or go directly to (PDF). Item provided by AAPD’s Technology Initiative.

    For more information via email to policy@aapd.com

Health Reform Implementation: When, How and For Whom will this Make Change

From the Disability Policy Collaboration (3.25.10)

Health Care Reform
 
President Obama has signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (H.R. 4872). The Administration is now beginning the work of implementation of the various provisions of the health care law.  The DPC will work closely with other advocates and with the Administration on ensuring that implementation of this important new law will work well for people with disabilities and their families. Republicans have already launched a repeal and replace effort.
 
With enactment of this second of two pieces of legislation, the final health care reform law marks the attainment of several of The Arc and UCP's priority public policy goals.  People with intellectual and developmental disabilities will benefit greatly from the following provisions of the law:
 
Coverage

• Prohibiting private health insurance exclusions for pre-existing conditions.
• Eliminating annual and lifetime caps in private insurance policies.
• Restricting the consideration of health status in setting premiums.
• Expanding Medicaid to cover individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty line (approximately $29,000 per year for a family of four).

Benefits

• Ensuring that minimum covered benefits include products and services that enable people with disabilities to maintain and improve function, such as rehabilitation and habilitation services and devices.

Access to Quality Care

• Improving training of physicians, dentists, and allied health professionals on how to treat persons with disabilities.
• Requiring the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to collect data on beneficiaries with disabilities access to primary care services and the level to which primary care service providers have been trained on disability issues. Ensuring prevention programs include a focus on individuals with disabilities.

Long Term Services and Supports
Strengthening long-term services and supports through a two pronged approach:

1) Taking pressure off of the Medicaid program: The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act will create a national long term services insurance program which assists eligible individuals and their families to meet long term needs with a cash benefit and without forcing them into poverty to receive Medicaid benefits.

2) Improving the Medicaid program:

• The Community First Choice Option will help to eliminate the institutional bias by encouraging states to cover personal attendant services under the state's optional service plan instead of through the waiver system by offering a 6% increase in the federal share of Medicaid for these services.
• Increasing the federal share of Medicaid for under-performing states trying to rebalance their Medicaid plans to increase the use of home and community based services (HCBS).
• Allowing states to offer additional services under the 1915(i) Medicaid HCBS Waivers State Plan Option.
• Providing spousal impoverishment protections for HCBS Beneficiaries.

>>> For the Disability Coalition on Healthcare Reform Summary

>>> For the Senate Summary of Provisions that will Affect People with Disabilities

From the Kaiser Family Foundation (3.26.10):

Kaiser Issues Implementation Timeline for Health Reform Law And Other Reform Resources

With the enactment of a comprehensive health reform law Tuesday, the Kaiser Family Foundation has prepared a new timeline detailing when specific provisions of the legislation are scheduled to take effect. For More Information about specific provisions.

The implementation timeline reflects the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which President Obama signed Tuesday, as well as provisions of the House-passed Health Care & Education Reconciliation Act, which is being considered in the Senate this week.

It includes more than a dozen key provisions scheduled to take effect this year, including the creation of a national high-risk pool for people with pre-existing conditions that can’t buy insurance on their own, tax credits for some small businesses that provide health coverage for their workers and assistance for Medicare beneficiaries with high drug costs who reach the drug benefit’s coverage gap or “doughnut hole.” The timeline continues through 2014, when the major reforms to expand access to health coverage are fully implemented, and beyond.

The Kaiser Family Foundation has updated its interactive side-by-side health reform comparison tool to reflect the reforms both as signed into law Tuesday (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and as they would be amended by the House-passed reconciliation bill now under consideration in the Senate. The online tool allows users to quickly compare the provisions of those two versions of the bills along with the previously House-passed bill from last year. For More Information about the update, Go here.

In addition, the Foundation has issued several other new and updated resources that explain key elements of the new law. These include:

• A summary of health coverage provisions in the new health reform law as amended by the House-passed Health Care and Educational Reconciliation Act. (An existing summary examines the law’s coverage provisions, without the modifications.
• A brief on the Medicare drug benefit’s coverage gap and how the reconciliation provisions now being considered in Congress would help Medicare beneficiaries with drug spending high enough to reach the Part D coverage gap.
• An interactive calculator that helps illustrate the financial assistance that people would be eligible for, based on their income, if they do not have employer coverage and are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare and instead purchase coverage on their own through an exchange. The calculator can compare the reconciliation changes with the law signed Tuesday, as well as the earlier House bill.

Kaiser's March Health Tracking Poll, which finds the public still divided on health reform legislation but shows signs of rising support in the Democratic base. The share of Democrats who say they "strongly support" the proposals climbed to 52 percent in March, up from 30 percent in January. The series of polls are designed and analyzed by the Foundation's public opinion survey research team.

These resources are available through the Foundation’s health reform gateway page, which also includes all the Foundation’s research, analysis and polling on health reform issues; columns by Kaiser President and CEO Drew Altman; and news summaries from Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service established by the Foundation.

  

Join Us in Celebrating 20 Years of the ADA

From AAPD (3/24/10):

 

Tuesday evening, July 20, 2010 • 7 pm-11 pm
Grand Hyatt Washington, 1000 H Street NW, Washington, DC

Join us as we celebrate 20 years of the ADA!  Dance to the music of Flame, a rock band from New York and enjoy a barbecue supper.  Flame is made up of 11 people with disabilities and performs across the USA and in Europe with a song list of over 100 classic rock, country and blues songs from the past five decades.

Sponsored by: The National Council on Independent Living, ADA National Network-DBTACs, American Association of People with Disabilities, Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Bender Consulting Services, Inc., Committee on Disability Power & Pride, Epilepsy Foundation, Hearing Loss Association of America, National Association of the Deaf, National Federation of the Blind, National Industries for the Blind, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Shepherd Center, United Spinal Association (as of 3/19/10).

RESERVATION FORM
(Deadline for reservations: Friday, July 9, 2010)

PLEASE NOTE: The organizers of the Spirit of ADA…Lead On! event are aware that a series of events are being planned in Washington, DC and around the country to celebrate the ADA Anniversary, including a large Disability Pride Parade in Chicago on July 24 and a Disability Power & Pride 20th ADA Anniversary Gala in Washington on July 26. We plan to coordinate and collaborate on events wherever possible, and encourage folks to let us know your plans to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Please send details of your event to Sarah Peterson at jfaan@aapd.com and we will maintain a central listing of all the events we know about.

>>> Download ADA FLYER, HERE!

>>>Download THE SPIRIT OF ADA FLIER (Text Only)

Researchers Look at Captioning Quality

From NCAM (3.25.10):

Researchers Look at Quality of TV News Captioning: Survey Participants Needed
TV viewers who use closed captioning are invited to participate in an anonymous online survey to give their opinions about caption errors.

The survey is at http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/201454/caption-accuracy-metrics-survey  and will accept responses until Monday April 12, 2010.  It takes about 15-20 minutes to complete, and can be filled out in multiple visits.  The survey is being conducted as part of the Caption Accuracy Metrics project at  WGBH Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) (http://ncam.wgbh.org)  http://ncam.wgbh.org and is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. This project explores automated methods to assess closed caption quality on live news programming.  

This survey  collects information from television news caption viewers about the impact of errors that appear in live closed captioning (for example, mistakes, word deletions or substitutions) and the information provided by TV viewers who use captions will shed light on the types of caption errors that make the dialogue in a live television news program hard to follow. Survey results will be posted on the website afterwards.

For more information, contact Marcia Brooks and Tom Apone, Project Directors, WGBH – Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National Center for Accessible Media, Email access@wgbh.org. Please encourage any TV viewers who use captions that you know to participate.  As you may know already, the NCAM is an affiliate of the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT), which AAPD co-founded and helps to steer. More at http://www.coataccess.org

Deadline Tomorrow: Last Day to Register for the April Federal Hiring Expo

From HHS (3.23.10):

Hiring Expo Registration Deadline is Wednesday, March 24

The last day for posting resumes and registering for the upcoming Office of Personnel Management & Department of Labor sponsored Disability Hiring Exposition on April 26th is March 24th – tomorrow!  Individuals who have not registered for the event will not be interviewed on the day of the event.

To Register go to http://www.usajobs.gov/DisabilityHiringEvent.asp

Below is the timeline leading up to this One-of-a-Kind Hiring Event: 
March 24, 2010  Last day OPM will accept resumes                                            
March 29, 2010  OPM Completes resume review and posts on MAX portal for agency review           
April 9, 2010      Agency/Department notification to OPM with interview preferences/decision           
April 19, 2010    OPM finalizes all invitations to applicants and notifies Departments                       
April 22, 2010    Department POC notify HCDI of hiring official names for interview slots                  
April 26, 2010    Disability Hiring Fair

Victory!! Obama Signs Health Reform Into Law, Call Senators to Pass Final Segment

Victory!! Obama Signs Health Reform into Law From the JFA Moderator: As I'm sure you have all heard, the House passed H.R. 4872, The Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 which included both the Senate Health Reform Bill and a package of "fixes" put forward as reconciliation.  This morning President Obama signed the historic Senate Health Reform bill into law, but before the process is complete, the Senate must also pass the House-passed reconciliation bill. This is a day to celebrate an enormous victory.  Join us in rejoicing over this victory for our community, supporting this legislation as it moves forward and advocating for adequate health care and coverage for all Americans. For the Washington Post Report (3.22.10): Obama to sign health-care bill into law Tuesday By Shailagh Murray, Lori Montgomery and Scott Wilson   >>> For the Full Article From Barbara Kornblau: We need calls. Please activate your grass roots.... Call Your Senators and Urge them to Pass the House Reconciliation Bill   >>> To Find Your Senator's Contact Info Here is where we stand as a community of people with disabilities under H.R. 4872, The Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010:   1.      The health disparities provisions in the Senate health reform bill are left intact.   2.      The reconciliation bill adds language to strengthen those provisions in the Senate health reform bill, including funding for the territories for Medicaid and health insurance exchanges, increased funding for disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) (which provides money for hospitals that care for the poor) and community health centers, and increased funding to minority universities and colleges to train more scientists, etc. >>>To review the text and summaries of the reconciliation bill   3. It eliminates pre-existing conditions as a reason to deny people insurance coverage.   4. There are many other specific provisions that we, as a disability community, have worked long and hard to get in this bill such as the CLASS Act, provisions from the Community Choice Act, and including people with disabilities in many benefits now available to other groups that historically faced the health disparities that we also face.     Opponents of health reform have been casting it in a false light and have been advising their listeners to kill health reform. On the floor of the House, Republicans were criticizing the CLASS Act and arguing to take it out of the bill.   According to Roll Call, “House administrators estimate that Capitol switchboard operators are fielding roughly 40,000 calls per hour from constituents and that perhaps twice as many callers are experiencing busy signals a full day after radio host Rush Limbaugh gave his listening audience the Capitol switchboard phone number and encouraged them to call it.”   Before this email gets buried in your inbox I urge you to take the following action immediately - before it’s too late. We need to make sure that our [Senators] know the truth about health reform and vote in support of the health reform bill so that we can ensure that people suffering from health and health care disparities will be given the necessary services, programs, and supports they need...   This is the time that disability advocates have been waiting for! I know many of you have been sending in your letters and e-mails and making numerous calls to encourage your Representative to vote in support, but we must continue to advocate and keep our voices loud and clear. As a nation, we have come too far and have reached too many areas of consensus to accept inaction. Now is the time to move beyond discussions of process, partisanship, or political philosophy to enact health reforms that will create system-wide sustainability and equity, increase access, improve quality of care, increase the freedom for people with disabilities to live in the community, and improve health outcomes for people with disabilities.   Barbara L. Kornblau (With some language "borrowed" from Daniel Dawes)

Bullying of People with Disabilities: Resources and Stories of Strength

From Stevens Johnson Syndrome Foundation (3.19.10):

Children who have experienced SJS/TEN are often left with disabilities that make them particularly vulnerable to bullying.

Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional and that involves an imbalance of power or strength. Often, it is repeated over time. Bullying can take many forms, such as hitting, kicking, or shoving (physical bullying), teasing or name-calling (verbal bullying), intimidation through gestures or social exclusion (nonverbal bullying or emotional bullying), and sending insulting messages by text messaging or e-mail (cyberbullying).

There is a small but growing amount of research literature on bullying among children with disabilities and special needs. This research indicates that these children may be at particular risk of being bullied by their peers. Bullying leaves lasting scars that impede learning and development...The resources gathered for this site are intended to help those with SJS/TEN, who may be experiencing or have experienced bullying, access support and advice in a comprehensive manner. Our thanks to Sarah Boxer, student advocate, who gathered these resources and designed this site, and whose sister Liz recovered from SJS several years ago.

We hope you find these sites useful. Please feel free to share the link to teachers or administrators looking to sensitize youngsters at their schools to the impact of bullying on those with disabilities.

>>>For More Information

Comment: Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you felt any kind of physical or mental abuse from someone and felt the need to defend yourself from it? Did you ever felt defenseless to something outside your control?

Disability Community Engages in Education Reform Efforts

From Forum on Educational Accountability (3.22.10):

 

Forum on Educational Accountability

c/o FairTest, 15 Court Sq, Ste 820, Boston, MA 02108 ; 857-350-8207

FEA@fairtest.orghttp://www.edaccountability.org
Transforming ESEA to Meet the Needs of All Learners
Please Join Us for a Free Public Discussion

Featured Speaker:
U.S. Representative Judy Chu, Ph.D., Member, House of Representatives
Committee on Education and Labor
Featured Panelists:
Douglas Fuchs, Professor, Nicholas Hobbs Chair in Special Education and
Human Development, Vanderbilt University
Jim Lyons, Esq., Legislative Counsel, Alliance for Multilingual, Multicultural Education
Moderated By:
Myrna Mandlawitz, President, MRM Associates
Lindsay E. Jones, Senior Director for Policy and Advocacy, Council for Exceptional Children

When: April 15, 2010, from 1:00 PM until 3:00 PM
Where: U.S. House of Representatives, TBD
What: Join us for a discussion about the supports and services needed in public schools to appropriately include and serve students with disabilities and English language learners. Our featured speaker and panelists will consider the many opportunities to better serve these groups in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Representative Chu is a lifelong advocate for education, having served as a school board member and worked as a Community College professor for over 20 years. Professor Fuchs is a nationally-known author and researcher focusing on serving students with disabilities, and a leading expert on Response to Intervention. Jim Lyons helped author of the Bilingual Education Act of 1984, and has worked as an attorney for over 40 years in civil rights policy and legislation, with a special focus on equal educational opportunity. Myrna Mandlawitz and Lindsay Jones will present FEA's ideas for capacity needs and appropriate integration of students with disabilities and English language learners (see

www.edaccountability.org for FEA materials).
Please RSVP at http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2t3ujro109f22f6

Transforming ESEA: Helping Public Schools Improve

Transforming ESEA is a series of public discussions sponsored by FEA. Forthcoming forums will address how the federal government can help schools, districts and states build their capacity to serve all students well. FEA ideas for the new ESEA can be found at www.edaccountability.org.

You can download this flyer here: Download FEA diverse learners forum Flyer 3.

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From Council for Exceptional Children (3.15.10):

CEC pleased that ESEA blueprint addresses enhanced inclusion of students with disabilities, gifts & talents

More details needed on implementation;
concerns about incentivizing decisions based on assessments

The following is a statement from Bruce A. Ramirez, executive director of the Council for Exceptional Children, regarding the Obama Administration’s Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

The release of the Obama Administration’s Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is a step forward in encouraging congressional action. 

As the largest organization of professionals dedicated to improving the academic achievement of students with disabilities and gifts and talents, CEC is encouraged that the blueprint enhances inclusion of students with disabilities and increases access to gifted and talented education programs, acknowledging the need to expand programs for this underserved population.

While the administration’s blueprint generally addresses many issues of importance to CEC and its members, it falls short on providing critical details needed to guide implementation. CEC is pleased that the administration has proposed to enhance inclusion of students with disabilities in the accountability system, including proposing alternative measures of student growth; support the creation of high-quality assessments; and address recruitment and retention challenges in special education. However, CEC is concerned that certain proposals incentivize high-stakes decision making based on assessments.

CEC believes reauthorization of ESEA provides a unique opportunity to enhance collaboration between special and general education. As we move forward, CEC is committed to working with Congress and the Obama Administration to ensure that the needs of children and youth with disabilities and gifts and talents and the professionals who work on their behalf are appropriately addressed.

For more information about CEC, visit www.cec.sped.org. You can also contact Diane Shinn, 703-264-9478, dianes@cec.sped.org.

CEC is an international community of educators who are the voice and vision of special and gifted education. CEC’s mission is to improve the quality of life for individuals with exceptionalities and their families through professional excellence and advocacy.

You can download here: Download ESEA reauthorization

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From National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc. (3.16.10):

NASDSE STATEMENT ON THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S RELEASE
OF ‘A BLUEPRINT FOR REFORM’ FOR THE REAUTHORIZATION OF
THE ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT

Bill East, Executive Director of the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, released the following statement on A Blueprint for Reform, the Obama Administration's proposal for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA):

“NASDSE applauds the Administration for releasing a Blueprint for reauthorizing the ESEA that will help get the ball rolling on the long-overdue reauthorization of this important legislation. We are glad that the Blueprint recognizes the importance of ESEA working together with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that students with disabilities are held to the same high standards as their peers without disabilities...For example, it is not clear what is meant by the statement that ‘districts and schools (will) implement …locally determined curricula’ and how this would differ from ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the core curriculum that is encouraged elsewhere in the Blueprint. In addition, while we are pleased that the Administration is supportive of the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), we want to encourage the Administration and Congress to incorporate these principles into the law and make them available for all students, not just students with disabilities."

You can get this statement here: Download Statement on Admin Blueprint 3 10.

Also for more information you can contact Nancy Reder (703) 519-3800, ext. 334