Anyway, Happy Pi Day!!

ADAPT Steps It Up to Ask Congress to End the Institutional Bias

As we Defend Our Freedom at the state level and call on the
administration to enforce our rights established by the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision, we can’t let Congress off the hook.  After all, Congress has the power to end the institutional bias by passing the Community Choice Act (S683/HR1670).  So how are we going to step it up?

We’re going to take on FIVE of them at a time, together!

Right now, we have 121 co-sponsors in the House (at least until Eric
Massa’s resignation takes effect) and 25 co-sponsors in the Senate.
About one-quarter of each house has signed on as a co-sponsor of the
CCA!

The number of people signing on slowed down a bit while we focused on
health care reform legislation, so we are changing our approach.
Instead of asking everyone to contact their local Representatives or
Senators, ADAPT’s Community Choice Workgroup is identifying FIVE
specific members of Congress that we will ask everyone across the
country to work on.  We will do electronic action alerts that allow us
to fax and email the DC office, encourage local people to call the
office, and coordinate visits in the DC offices.

It’s really important that we all reach out to local folks as well.  Our elected officials do pay closer attention to the people who elect them. After doing an alert, everyone should try to identify people and groups we know are in the Representative’s district (or at least close). 

These may be family, friends, or that friend from high school long ago that you now have a reason to call or email.

When we release new targets, we will offer talking points that can be used.

It can be really frustrating if you think you’re the only one making
calls and contacts.  You don’t know what other people have been told.
When a staff person says, no one else has asked about this, you don’t
know what to say.  ADAPT, as part of the Coalition for Community
Integration, has set up a website, http://www.c4ci.org ,
where we can post information about our legislative advocacy and visits. This will allow everyone to share specific information about their work.

Also members of the Coalition are regularly in Washington, DC and set up appointments in the DC offices.  The DC advocates can take the
information you have shared online to those appointments and report back to you online about what they heard.

Take Five’s First Round: IT’S TIME TO FREE OUR SISTERS!

In recognition that we are starting this effort on International Women’s Day, we have identified five Congresswomen who we want to sign on as co-sponsors of the Community Choice Act (S683/HR1670).  All have been previous co-sponsors of the legislation, but haven’t signed on yet.

Judy Biggert, IL-13:  Her district includes the cities of Naperville,
Downers Grove, and Bolingbrook.

Nita Lowey, NY-18:  Her district is in southeastern corner of New York
State, just north of the Bronx, and includes parts of Westchester and
Rockland Counties.

Carolyn McCarthy, NY-4:  Her district is located in central Long Island
in west-central Nassau County and includes Mineola, the Five Towns, East Rockaway, Rockville Centre, Oceanside, Garden City, Hempstead,
Uniondale, East Meadow, Roosevelt, Franklin Square, Valley Stream, and
Elmont.

Gwen Moore, WI-4:  The Congresswoman is the first woman to represent the district which is based in Milwaukee and also includes South Milwaukee, Cudahy and St. Francis, and part of West Allis.

Loretta Sanchez, CA-47:  California’s 47th congressional district covers the cities of Garden Grove and Santa Ana and parts of Fullerton and Anaheim, in Orange County.  The 47th congressional district is one of the few districts in California that does not have an overwhelming majority of voters favoring one party.

TAKE ACTION!

START by doing this electronic Action Alert:  http://www.cdrnys.org/ccawomen

If the link does not work, please cut and paste it into your browser.

After you do the alert, forward it out to other folks, particularly
people and organizations from the districts these Congresswomen
represent.  Consider sending it out to women’s groups!  FREE OUR
SISTERS!

Some Talking Points: The Institutional Bias is a women’s issue!

According to the most recent data on the CMS website, 68.4% of nursing
facility residents are women.

Women typically live longer than men and, if married, tend to outlive
their husbands.  As they grow older, women are more likely than men to
live alone, without a spouse or other family member to provide
assistance.  In fact, by the time a woman reaches the age of 75, the
chances that she is living with a spouse have dropped below one in
three.

Women are more likely to need assistance than men of the same age.
Among people age 75 or older, women are 60 percent more likely than men to need help with one or more activities of daily living, such as
eating, bathing, dressing, or getting around inside the home. One in
nine women age 75 or older, and one in five age 85 or older, needs
assistance with daily activities.

Women are 60 percent more likely than men to go into a nursing facility at some point in their lives.

According to a 2003 National Alliance for Caregiving/AARP survey, six
out of ten informal caregivers were women.  Among caregivers providing
high levels of care, the proportion of women was even greater.

The 2003 survey reported that the “typical” caregiver is a 46-year-old
woman, who has some college education, works, and spends more than 20
hours per week providing care to her mother.

More than 60 percent of female caregivers who were employed had to make sacrifices at work to accommodate caregiving, including going in late or leaving early, working fewer hours, turning down a promotion, losing some benefits, taking a leave of absence, or choosing early retirement or giving up working entirely.

I submitted the article last Friday evening, and on Monday, I got a notice saying that the article was declined for upfront payment because they couldn’t tell what city was the focus of the article. I didn’t understand that, as I mentioned the city several times.

All wasn’t lost though. In the notice, the Content Manager suggested that I insert the city name in the title, or create a subtitle, and re-submit the article. I added a quick subtitle, and re-submitted it.

I didn’t hear anything from AC for the rest of the week. When I got home from work yesterday, I was checking my account, and happened to glance at a small note. I took a closer look and saw that it was a notice that Associated Content had made a payment offer for my article! I quickly accepted the offer, which wasn’t bad, and the article was immediately published.

I am excited because this is the first time that I have been paid actual money for something that I wrote. I’ll definitely continue to ask for upfront payment for my new articles!

Nathaniel’s Pub: My Favorite Watering Hole

As usual, I added my unique twist on this review, but you’ll have to read it to find out what that twist is.

Urge Him to Co-sponsor the Community Choice Act!

Disability rights advocates must send a message to Representative Steny Hoyer.  He helped to lead the passage of the ADA. Previously, he co-sponsored MiCASSA. But he is not yet a co-sponsor of the Community Choice Act (CCA). This must change, and NOW is the critical time!

Seniors and people with disabilities overwhelmingly prefer to live in the
community with supports rather than being forced into a nursing facility or
other institution. CCA gives people real choice in long term services and
supports. This legislation ends the institutional bias in Medicaid by giving
individuals who are eligible for a nursing facility or other institutional
“care” equal access to community-based services and supports, like attendant services.

Contact Representative Steny Hoyer to ask that he end the institutional bias and become a co-sponsor of the Community Choice Act. Click on
http://www.tinyurl.com/hoyer-alert This will take you to a letter that you
may personalize. Enter your contact information, then, click once on the Send button.

It’s that easy! Afterwards, please send this Alert to your friends so
that they can urge Representative Hoyer to co-sponsor the Community Chouce Act!

If the link does not work, please cut and paste it into your browser.

Wade Blank 1940-1993

It has been 17 years to the day since we lost Wade, and I still miss him! I know that he is with the Ancestors watching over us because sometimes, I feel his presence guiding us in ADAPT. I loved him dearly; he was like a father to me.

I wrote an article about Wade for Associated Content. Here it is:

Wade Blank: Memories of a Friend and Mentor

See the article announcing the five winners of the Rising Star Award for January, 2010! I’m the second from the last entry.

Check out my new badge, new Clout level, and of course, my new articles on my Profile page at Associated Content!

As the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities
Act draws near, the disability community is not busy celebrating because
we are literally in a fight for our lives and our most basic freedoms.

Eleven years ago, in the Olmstead decision, the Supreme Court said that
Americans with disabilities have the right to live in the most integrated
setting.  Yet today, states are responding to budget shortfalls by
drastically cutting home and community-based services.  These Draconian
cuts are forcing seniors and people with disabilities into nursing
facilities and other institutional settings because they don’t have the
services they need in the community to remain independent.

As states cut vital services, the federal government, which is charged
with protecting our civil rights and enforcing the law, is simply standing
by – silent – while Americans with disabilities have their most basic
freedoms taken away by the states.

The disability community cannot sit by as our freedom is negotiated away
in back room budget deals.  We must take action!

DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM is a three-prong national campaign initiated by ADAPT to organize the disability community to:

*        Demand that the Obama administration fulfill its duty to
  aggressively protect the civil rights of disabled Americans and enforce
  the Americans with Disabilities Act/Olmstead decision;

*        File complaints with the Health and Human Services Office for
  Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice that document the
  violation of rights of individuals who have been forced into
  institutional settings, denied community services, or have had their
  community services reduced as well as complaints that document the state
  policies and budget cuts that violate our rights; and

*        Document the disability community’s efforts to fight back against
  state cuts so that we can learn from each other’s efforts, rally others
  to join our fight, and hold public officials accountable when they do
  not support our freedom.
           

I. DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM: Demanding action by the Obama administration

The federal government is responsible for enforcing federal law and
assuring that states comply with the Americans with Disabilities
Act/Olmstead decision.  ADAPT is demanding that the federal government
affirmatively and aggressively enforce the Olmstead decision.  To do this,
the Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and the U.S.
Department of Justice, must:

1.      Accept, investigate and resolve individual and systemic complaints
   which document state policies and budget cuts that threaten the freedom
   of Americans with disabilities;

2.      Develop specific benchmarks/criteria for assessing state
   compliance, and holding them accountable. with the Olmstead decision,
   assess the states and publicly release this assessment on an annual
   basis;

3.      Conduct regular, on-going compliance reviews of states for
   compliance with the Olmstead decision;

4.      Develop “most integrated setting” criteria for determining when
   DOJ will step in and affirmatively enforce the Olmstead decision
   whether or not there has been a complaint filed ;

5.      With CMS, review state submissions for modifying their Medicaid
   State Plan and HCBS waiver services for the impact that these changes
   will have on the state’s ability to comply with the Olmstead decision
   so that those changes which limit the freedom of Americans with
   disabilities are not approved by CMS;

6.      With CMS, modify Section Q of the Minimum Data Set so that people
   who indicate they want to return to community living are actively
   assisted to do so;

7.      Publicly report on the progress that has been made so that these
   results can be discussed in a potential meeting between Georgina
   Verdugo, the HHS/OCR Director, and ADAPT representatives.

ACTION TO TAKE: ADAPT is urging organizations across the country to sign on in support of these demands.  If your organization would like to
support this campaign, email DOF.signon@gmail.com
II. DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM: Filing complaints to protect our freedom

The Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and Department of
Justice are charged with protecting the civil rights of Americans with
disabilities who want to live in the most integrated setting. Although
they are able to affirmatively enforce the law without specific
complaints, these agencies typically take action only when complaints are
filed.  We need to file complaints that document the violation of rights
of individuals who have been forced into institutional settings, denied
community services, or have had their community services reduced.  We must also file complaints that document the state policies and budget cuts that steal the freedom to we are entitled under the Olmstead decision.

ACTION TO TAKE:  ADAPT has prepared a form you can download and fax to us toll free at 1-888-324-0787.  We will forward your complaint to the Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, the appropriate HHS/OCR
Regional office, and the Department of Justice.  If you choose to file
your complaint yourself, please notify us at DOF.complaint@gmail.com that
you have filed a complaint and, if possible, send ADAPT a copy.

III. DEFENDING OUR FREEDOM: Fighting back and sharing our stories

Even though there are different battles in individual states, we are
fighting the same fight.  To strengthen these efforts across the country,
our campaign will collect personal and state stories about the effects of
budget cuts and the efforts to fight back against them.  ADAPT has created
a website (www.defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com where we can post information and pictures of your advocacy.  This will create a public
record of the disability community’s efforts to stop cuts and hopefully
inspire others across the country to speak up and speak out, too. State
advocates can also submit individual calls to action so that we can
support each other’s efforts.

ACTION TO TAKE: Send submissions to defendingourfreedom@gmail.com .  And
remember to keep up on what groups are doing by reading the blog:
www.defendingourfreedom2010.blogspot.com.

RA’s Note: Sorry for the bad formatting. Wordpress is acting up.

Here is my profile.