JFActivist

Priced Out in 2010: Why We Can’t Find Housing

by Julia Feinberg, AAPD Policy Intern (8.4.11):

The Technical Assistance Collaborative (TAC) and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force recently released Priced Out in 2010 that shows the average national rent for a one bedroom apartment is more than the monthly payments received by people with disabilities on Social Security Income (SSI).  The average SSI monthly payment with state supplemental payments is $703 yet the national average rent is $785.  So even if a person spent all of their income on rent, most would not be able to afford it. 

 Priced Out in 2010 brings to the forefront terrifying realities that millions of people with disabilities face everyday.  It shows that people all over the country have no choice but to rent the cheapest housing they can find or live in an institution.  This fact alone has many large and looming consequences.  Finding the cheapest housing often means living in an unsafe and run-down neighborhood.  For people with disabilities, living in a dangerous environment is more risky and can have greater consequences such as difficulty finding a personal attendant who is willing to come at night. 

Studies have shown that low income housing is further from hospitals, public transit stops, and even grocery stores.  If a hospital is not close to where someone lives, it can have lasting medical costs.  Additionally, the quality of a hospital is often linked to the wealth of its surrounding areas.  For many people with disabilities, living near public transit is essential for becoming independent and holding a steady job.  Relying on ParaTransit for transportation is not a choice many want to make. 

Another side affect of living in a low income neighborhood is the quality of education in the school district.  Since public schools are largely funded by local taxes, poor neighborhoods often mean poor schools.  As we all know, when money is tight special education programs are severely underfunded and overall quality of education decreases.  As AAPD has said, education is the key to the future.  By living in neighborhoods with bad schools, we are continuing the cycle of relying on SSI instead of being able to get a good job to become self-sufficient.

When looking at the deeper meaning of Priced Out in 2010, we should think about how relying on an insufficient SSI payment affects people with disabilities, not only by being forced to live in low income housing but also the negative aspects of a poor neighborhood.

Advocacy Steps:

1. Conduct a review locally of average rents in your area and compare with the typical SSI check in your state.
2. Issue a report and demand more affordable housing!

Creative Budget Solutions: Invest in Medicaid Buy-In Programs

From AAPD (7.8.11):

AAPD-Boston University Research Project Reveals Medicaid Buy-In Programs' Strengths

This spring AAPD partnered with the Knowledge Dissemination Project at Boston University in an effort to synthesize and disseminate research on the effectiveness of state Medicaid Buy-In (MBI) programs.  MBI programs allow people with disabilities to “purchase” Medicaid health insurance with a monthly premium.  Research synthesized at Boston University indicates that not only do Medicaid Buy-In programs help people with disabilities transition into employment by giving them access to affordable health options while working, but the programs have measurable impacts on state budgets.   Medicaid Buy-In programs increase income tax revenue, stimulate local economies, reduce demand for social services, and reduce medical expenditures and health costs.

AAPD has launched web resource center to provide information on the Medicaid Buy-In program and the results of the research.   At www.aapd.com/medicaidbuyin activists can learn about the success of the programs in that MBI enrollees earn more money, work more hours, contribute more taxes and rely less on food stamps that those with disabilities who are not enrolled.  Activists can also learn how to take action to advocate for program improvements which include clarifying program logistics, coordinating with SSI work incentive programs and limiting grace periods for enrollees.

Take Action

AAPD believes that information from the success and challenges of MBI programs should inform policy considerations about how best to facilitate increased earnings and employment for people with disabilities. AAPD will be circulating more information on this topic through the Justice For All blog at www.jfactivist.com in the months to come.

Spread the Word

Download the below resources to share with family members, clients, policy makers and service providers.

>>> For a Fact Sheet Medicaid Buy-In (Word)

>>> For the Medicaid Buy-In Research Summary (Word)

>>> For a Medicaid Buy-In PowerPoint of Highlights

>>> For the Full Medicaid Buy-In Report (Word)

Study Reveals National Average Rents Higher than SSI Payments Received by PWD

via the Arc of Illinois (6.20.11):

New Study Reveals that National Average Rents are Higher than Supplemental Security Income Payments Received by People with Disabilities

Vulnerable People with Disabilities Completely Priced Out of Nation's Housing Market

Washington, D.C. -- The national average rent for a modestly priced one-bedroom apartment is more than the entire amount of Supplemental Security Income received by people with disabilities, according to a new study released today by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force and the Technical Assistance Collaborative.

The study, titled Priced Out in 2010, reveals that as a national average, people with disabilities living on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) needed to pay 112 percent of their income to rent a modest one-bedroom unit priced at the fair market rent. Rents for smaller studio/efficiency apartments, were 99 percent of SSI.. 

SSI is a federal program that provides income to people with significant and long term disabilities who are unable to work and have no other source of income and virtually no assets. According to Priced Out, in 2010, a single person SSI household received an average monthly SSI payment of $703 to cover all their basic needs, including housing.

This study makes it crystal clear why vulnerable people with disabilities become homeless or are unable to move out of high-cost institutional settings, said Ann OHara of the Technical Assistance Collaborative, who co-authored the study. As this study shows, a monthly income of only $703 is less than the rent for most apartments, particularly in higher cost housing markets...

 

>>>For the Full Report...

 

Have you struggled to make rent on SSI? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

A System in Disarray: Mistreatment and Mismanagement at NY Institutions for People with Developmental Disabilities

via the NY Times (6.5.11):
  

A Disabled Boy’s Death, and a System in Disarray

by Danny Hakim

...On a February afternoon in 2007, Jonathan, a skinny, autistic 13-year-old, was asphyxiated, slowly crushed to death in the back seat of a van by a state employee who had worked nearly 200 hours without a day off over 15 days. The employee, a ninth-grade dropout with a criminal conviction for selling marijuana, had been on duty during at least one previous episode of alleged abuse involving Jonathan...

In the front seat of the van, the driver, another state worker at Oswald D. Heck Developmental Center, watched through the rear-view mirror but said little. He had been fired from four different private providers of services to the developmentally disabled before the state hired him to care for the same vulnerable population.

O. D. Heck is one of nine large institutions in New York that house the developmentally disabled, those with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and other conditions.

These institutions spend two and a half times as much money, per resident, as the thousands of smaller group homes that care for far more of the 135,000 developmentally disabled New Yorkers receiving services.

But the institutions are hardly a model: Those who run them have tolerated physical and psychological abuse, knowingly hired unqualified workers, ignored complaints by whistle-blowers and failed to credibly investigate cases of abuse and neglect, according to a review by The New York Times of thousands of state records and court documents, along with interviews of current and former employees...

>>>For the Full Article...

 

How can recorded accounts of these institutions' mistreatment of residents and irresponsible management of funding be used to advocate for quality living situations for people with developmental disabilities? Please share your thoughts in comments below. 

National Ranking of Disability Services Released: Where Does Your State Stand?

via DisabilityScoop.com (4.28.11):
  

Vermont Tops National Ranking Of Disability Services

Vermont offers the best Medicaid services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities while Mississippi provides the worst, according to an annual ranking released Thursday.

The 50-state analysis from United Cerebral Palsy compares services offered across the country, giving preference to states where more individuals are served in the community as opposed to institutions.

Vermont, Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire and California fare best in the ranking. Meanwhile, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi round out the bottom of the list. (Find out where your state stands >>)...

>>>For the Full Article

How do you feel this study relates to your personal experiences in your own state? Please share your thoughts in comments below.

Action Alert -- Tell U.S. Congress "Don't Slash Medicaid!"

From AAPD (6.2.11):                                                             

                     

Action Alert

  Tell U.S. Congress: “Don't Slash Medicaid!”

Contact your Representatives and Senators to advocate against more proposals to slash funding for Medicaid.

It is critically important that Congress be made aware of our strong opposition to large cuts in the federal funding for Medicaid. These cuts are under serious consideration in on-going discussions in a current legislative package. The discussion involves linking an increase in the total amount of debt the federal government can incur with cuts in annual federal spending. The deadline for this legislative package is now set at August 3.  This is the date on which the federal government believes it will be unable to pay existing debt if the debt ceiling is not increased. Our voices must be heard before then!

Background: There is a consensus that a failure to increase the debt ceiling by August 3 would have catastrophic consequences for the United States and global economies. At the same time, it is believed that it will not be possible to pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling without accompanying legislation to reduce the annual federal budget deficit.

In discussions about reducing federal spending, Medicaid is a natural target. In fiscal 2011, Medicaid cost $275 billion, about 7.6% of all federal spending. The cost will increase significantly over the next decade due to an aging population and increases in medical costs. The pressure to cut Medicaid will intensify because it will be difficult to make substantial cuts in the other large entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare, because they have larger constituencies than Medicaid.

Proposals:  There are a number of pending concepts for reducing Medicaid, and it may not be clear until close to August 3 which proposals will be seriously considered. In these circumstances the best approach for supporters of Medicaid is to make every Member of Congress (and the Administration) aware of our strong opposition to any proposals which would make major cuts. Our opposition needs to be expressed early and often.

Ryan Plan: The most prominent proposal is the Ryan plan that passed the House in May. The Ryan plan would reduce Medicaid funding by about $772 billion (about 35%) over the next decade compared to a status quo program. It would be left to the states to limit their programs to deal with reduced federal support. They are likely to curtail the services they cover and limit eligibility. The Ryan plan is unlikely to be accepted by the Senate.

Other proposals: These are generally less specific than Ryan’s plan. Most would also lead to major cuts and consequential changes at the state level. These include proposals to limit all federal spending to a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or to impose this type of limit on all health care programs, or all entitlement programs. It would be difficult to meet these limits without major cuts in Medicaid.

Suggested Disability Talking Points:

• Medicaid is critical for the health care of 8 million people with disabilities.
• Medicaid pays for wheelchairs and prosthetic devices for people with disabilities such as spinal chord injury, cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
• Medicaid pays for prescription drugs for persons with mental illnesses and epilepsy and other medical conditions.
• Medicaid pays for programs to enable people with intellectual disabilities to live and work in the community.
• Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening Diagnosis & Treatment program helps identify children’s disabilities early and gets them the care they need.

Pending proposals for “block grants” and “global spending caps” would undermine these important programs by reducing funding for Medicaid.  They would deny health and long term care to millions of vulnerable Americans.

The Ryan block grant plan would reduce funding over the next 10 years by $772 billion (35%) compared to continuation of the status quo. Global spending cap proposals would also lead to substantial reductions in Medicaid funding.

Reduced federal funding would compel the states -- that have serious financial problems of their own -- to sharply restrict enrollment, eligibility and benefits for the populations they now serve.  These changes could impact many of the current waivers that support community-based living for people with disabilities. The changes could have a disproportionate impact on people with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to enhance their ability to live and work in their communities and to avoid costly and unnecessary institutionalizations.

Ten Advocacy Steps

1. Write or e-mail your Representatives and Senators today.  
2. Call your two U.S. Senators and U.S. House Representative in their local state offices to set up a time to meet when they are home next. Under the current schedule:
   1. U.S. House Members are expected to be in their districts June 4-12, June 25-July 5, and July 16-24. Make an appointment today!
   2. To determine who is your U.S. Congressional Representative, please go to the official site at https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml 
   3. To find out your U.S. Congressional Representative’s local address and phone numbers, go to http://www.house.gov/
   4. Senators are scheduled for a recess July 2-10. To find your U.S. Senator, go to http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
   5. This list includes their Senate address and phone numbers. If you can only get a meeting with a staff person, do that too.
3. If you or someone you know with a disability benefits from Medicaid directly, be sure to mention that at the meeting.
4. Be sure to write a letter (send snail mail) using the Talking Points above; organize a “Save Medicaid for Us” Letter Writing event.
5. Go to Members’ websites and write them Emails or fill out the online form and let your opinion be heard. Organize an “Email to Save Medicaid” party.
6. If Members hold Town Meetings, show up, sit at the front and make the points above. If you have facts and figures about your state Medicaid program, be sure to mention that at the meeting. Tell ‘em what the cuts would really mean to you! Remember, personal stories stick in Members’ minds.
7. Be sure to state that you are a “registered voter” in any letter or at any Town Meeting.
8. If you are not a registered voter, go to your state election website at http://tinyurl.com/29x7g5a and register today!
9. If you see letters to the editor or op eds or TV news items decrying wasteful Medicaid spending, be sure to respond quickly using the Talking Points above.
10. Let AAPD know what you hear or learn in your meetings, via email to [email protected]  We can take your information – without your name -- with us when we meet any Congressional Members or Administration officials.

Action Alert: Strengthen Social Security for Those That Serve our Nation

via StrengthenSocialSecurity.org (5.30.11):  

Action Alert

Strengthen Social Security for Those that Serve our Nation!

Memorial Day is more than a three-day weekend to celebrate the unofficial start of summer with a BBQ.  It’s a day when we remember the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have served in our nation’s military.  

Military men and women contribute to Social Security just like other working Americans, from their first paycheck at boot camp, to their last paycheck at the end of their career. As for any other working American who contributes, Social Security needs to be there for veterans and their families. For example:

● More than 771,000 veterans receive Social Security disability benefits.

● Most of the more than 4,000 children who lost a parent since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars now receive Social Security survivors benefits.   

● Social Security currently pays benefits to over 9 million veterans—about 4 in 10 veterans today—and the vast majority of veterans will become Social Security beneficiaries in the future.

Take Action Here! Strengthen Social Security Now!

Veterans and military families gave their all for our country.  It is our obligation to fight to ensure that they receive every benefit they deserve.  This means reminding Congress that those who serve our nation, should never have to worry about any benefit cuts. After all, Social Security belongs to them – and to all of us.

>>>To See a Copy of the Veteran's Report

 

Democratic-led Senate Votes Down Ryan Budget

via The National Journal (5.26.11):

Democratic-led Senate Votes Down Ryan Budget

The Senate on Wednesday voted down House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan’s controversial budget blueprint, 57 to 40, in a Democratic effort to win advantage in continuing deficit talks and in the 2012 election season.

The vote marked an effort by Democrats to exploit public opposition to the Wisconsin Republican’s plan to shift Medicare to a subsidy system. A special election in New York’s 26th Congressional District on Tuesday, won by a Democratic underdog, became something of a referendum on the Ryan plan, and Democrats see opposition to it as a potent political weapon in 2012.

Democrats have yet to offer their fiscal 2012 budget resolution. In forcing a vote on Ryan’s plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., took what Republicans called an unprecedented step of forcing a vote on a budget that he opposes without offering one he supports. The maneuver highlighted Senate Democrats’ decision to mostly abandon an affirmative legislative agenda and instead highlight opposition to GOP plans. Democrats can argue they are acting out of necessity because they cannot pass—in either the Senate or the House—most of their preferred legislation.

>>>To Read the Full Article

For more coverage on the Senate's Budget Resolution vote...

Republican Debt-Reduction Plan Fails in Senate

Senate Republicans Get 40 Votes for Paul Ryan Medicare Plan

 

Action Alert: Tell Your Senators to Vote NO on the House-passed Budget Resolution

via AAPD (5.26.11): 

Action Alert

The Senate may vote on the Budget Resolution tonight.

Please call!

 Dial the Capitol Switchboard 1-888-245-0215 [toll-free] or 202-224-3121 and ask for the office of your Senators. Message to Senators:

• Please vote NO on the House-passed Budget Resolution.

• People with disabilities disproportionately rely on government services to live, learn and work in their communities. These services assist many people with disabilities to live independently in the community avoiding costly institutional care and increasing the opportunities to work and pay taxes.
• This budget proposal would set rigid limits on Medicaid and food stamps/SNAP, resulting in a 35 percent cut for Medicaid by 2022 and an almost 20 percent cut in food stamps. 
• Starting in the second decade, the House budget would turn Medicare into a voucher program, doubling the burden of payment for its beneficiaries. 
• Over 10 years, it would slash $4.3 trillion in needed services, about two-thirds of which help low-income people.

What is at stake?

Medicaid - The proposed plan shifts the cost of Medicaid to low-income consumers, including people with disabilities, and cuts the program by a third over the next 10 years.  The proposed plan converts Medicaid to a block grant which will cap funding regardless of health care cost inflation over time. 

>>>For More on How the Proposed Medicaid Block Grants Will Hurt People with Disabilities

Medicare - The proposed plan eliminates the current Medicare structure and transforms the program into a voucher system.  It shifts the cost of services to the beneficiaries, almost doubling amount that individuals pay out of pocket for their ongoing health care.

>>> For More from the Congressional Budget Office on the effect on Medicare

 Health Reform - The proposed plan repeals and defunds the Affordable Care Act (ACA) including programs that are vital for people with disabilities.  For example, the CLASS Program and and the Community First Choice Option are two ACA provisions targeted at expanding home and community based options for people with disabilities.

>>> For More on the ACA provisions for PWDs that are at risk

 Call toll free: 1-888-245-0215 [toll-free] or 202-224-3121 and ask for your Senator's office.

What Should You Say?

• I am a constituent with a disability or parent/caregiver of a person with a disability.  (Briefly describe your situation, if you like.)
• The House-passed budget plan will take funding from programs that are critical to people with disabilities and will hurt me and/or my family.
• Please vote against the House-passed budget proposal.

Disability in the Budget: Why it Matters

via AAPD (5.26.11):

Disability in the Budget: Why It Matters

By David Heymsfeld, Policy Advisor, AAPD

On May 12, 2011, AAPD staff attended a field hearing of the National Council on Disability (NCD) focusing on how the projected deficits in the federal budget will affect people with disabilities.  NCD is a small independent federal government agency that advises the Congress and the President about federal disabilities policies, programs, practices and procedures.  In his opening statement, NCD Chairman Jonathan Young said that the federal government’s current fiscal path is unsustainable, and that a failure to deal with the problem now will ultimately force draconian actions that will harm all Americans, including people with disabilities. The focus of the hearing was maintaining supports for the independent living of people with disabilities in the community.

 Disability Community Testimony

 The first was Kelly Stuart Woodall, Executive Director, Association of Self-Advocates of North Carolina. She testified about her personal experiences with the Medicaid program known as Community Alternatives Program (CAP) for Developmental Disabilities. CAP workers come to her home to help her dress, eat and get to work, medical appointments, and community and social activities. Without these services she would have to live in an institution, and would not be able to get to a job. The CAP services cost $27,000 a year, while an intermediate care facility would cost $75,000.

Also speaking was Bonnie Miller, Coordinator of the Pennsylvania Self-Determination Consumer and Family Group. She spoke about her experience with CAP services for her daughter who has intellectual disabilities. Her daughter was not thriving under programs that required her to live or spend days in confined settings. Ms. Miller has insisted upon exercising her right to direct services for her daughter, including hiring, managing and training support staff.  She reported that these services cost less than a sheltered workshop or group home.

 Federal Testimonies

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, emphasized that having a disability should not mean automatic confinement or institutionalization, or a life of government dependence. She stated that government policies should enhance help for people with disabilities to enhance their abilities and ambitions to the fullest extent possible.

 Rep. James Langevin (D-RI), co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, emphasized that the recession has had a severe impact on people with disabilities. As of April 2011, the percentage of persons with disabilities in the work force was 20.6%, as compared to 69.6% for persons without disabilities. He urged that budget cutting measures not cut programs that will enable individuals with disabilities to achieve a higher level of independence, productivity and inclusion within society.  He supports reforms in Social Security and Medicaid to relieve concerns of individuals that if they return to work they will lose their health coverage.

The final government witness was Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, U.S. Department of Agriculture. He emphasized the importance to people with disabilities of the fifteen government nutrition assistance programs. He discussed the Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP-formerly known as food stamps), which is currently utilized by 3.2 million households that have at least one person with a disability.

 For copies of the witnesses’ full statements, please contact Anne Sommers via E-mail [email protected].  Read NCD press release about the event at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/05112011

 Advocacy Measures

1. Write to the National Council on Disability urging them to oppose actively any reductions in funding for Medicaid that will result in limitations in eligibility or the services provided.
2. Monitor the Council’s website for future field hearings at www.cd.gov and for other events at which you may want to appear.
3. Be ready for the next round of Action Alerts in regard to Medicaid proposals.
4. To respond, please comment below or send email to [email protected]