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Kaine to Build Institution – Arc Says “No!”

October 29th, 2009

A lawsuit filed today asks the court to stop the Commonwealth’s plan to build  a new 75-bed institution for people with intellectual disabilities in Chesapeake.  The suit, brought by the Arc of Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy, argues that the plan violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal laws.

According to the suit, Virginia plans to build and fully populate a segregated facility on the Southeastern Virginia Training Center (SEVTC) compound for a cost of more than $23 million.  Virginia will place 75 residents from SEVTC in the institution, regardless of whether any of them actually require institutionalization.  In fact, last spring, Virginia sponsored a review of the residents of Southeastern Virginia Training Center and concluded that each and every one of them can be served in the community.  The study found that none of the residents at SEVTC had needs that were any more complex than people already living in the community.

Under federal law, Virginia may not discriminate against people with disabilities.  In order to meet this obligation, the suit maintains, the Commonwealth must conduct an “individualized assessment” of the needs of people with disabilities and meet those needs in the “most integrated setting appropriate” to them.  These requirements led the Supreme Court, in the Olmstead case, to hold that “unjustified institutional isolation is a form of discrimination.”

Nevertheless, the plaintiffs allege, in defiance of the ADA and the Olmstead decision, Virginia has chosen to ignore the individualized assessments it secured just last year and segregate 74 individuals in an institution.

“People with intellectual disabilities, even those with the most complex needs, can live full and safe lives in Virginia’s community – and thousands do every day,” Jamie Trosclair, Executive Director of The Arc of Virginia, said.  “Yet Virginia is planning to spend millions and millions of precious state dollars to segregate people, to require them to live in isolation.  This is intolerable.”

The suit was filed against Governor Kain, Secretary of Administration Viola Baskerville, Secretary of Health and Human Services Marilyn Tavenner, and other state officials.

The Arc of Virginia is a state-wide organization with 21 chapters, advocating for the rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  The Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy is an independent state agency, with a mission to advance the rights of Virginians with disabilities.

Oregon Closes Last ICFMR

October 28th, 2009

This week the state of Oregon closed the last of its Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICFMR).  ICFMRs are places where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities receive services in a congregate care setting, such as a group home or institution. 

Oregon now operates 100% under the community based services waiver.  The waiver allows people to receive individualized supported living services in their own home, in their community.

Hope House Foundation follows the community based services model exemplified by the community based services waver.  Currently Hope House Foundation is the only organization in Virginia that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in their own home.

Justice for People with Disabilities

October 27th, 2009

Editorial in NYTimes.com

After eight years of the Bush administration using the power of the Justice Department to undermine civil rights laws, it is good to see the department applying one of those laws, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. It has started a timely new initiative aimed at full enforcement of that law, which forbids unjustified isolation of the mentally disabled and requires that they be integrated into the wider community where appropriate.

The initiative is having its coming-out party in New York, where Justice Department lawyers are seeking to intervene in a closely watched federal lawsuit involving thousands of mentally ill people being held in privately run adult homes. A federal judge recently described them as “even more restrictive or ‘institutional’ than psychiatric hospitals” that they were intended to replace.

In a ruling last month, the federal judge, Nicholas Garaufis, painted a dismaying picture of adult “homes” that in no way complied with federal law and that were more like jails than houses. In these places, mentally ill people who did not present a danger to themselves or to others had little of the privacy, freedom or enriching activities that would help them develop full, independent lives.

That thousands of New Yorkers were still confined in this way is striking since the state already knows the right way to do it. New York is known nationally for vibrant, innovative housing developments where mentally ill people live successfully and independently while receiving mental health and other services from community-based groups.

The judge has already required the state to produce a plan for correcting this egregious situation with the warehousing of the mentally disabled. But in the letter announcing its intent to intervene, the Justice Department said this matter was “a great concern” to the federal government. It said it wanted a role in the process because the remedy designed in New York might serve as a national model for dealing with this problem. The onus is now on the state to come up with that remedy.

Acceptance Starts with “Hi”

October 26th, 2009

By Holly Miyasaki, Kelowna.com

If you said hello to Mayor Sharon Shepherd at Orchard Park shopping centre Saturday morning, she probably rewarded you with a green pin that said “Hi” on it.

The pin is a reminder that something as easy as saying “hi” can lessen the stigma for those considered “disabled” by society.

One of those people is Tracy-Jo Russell, of Kamloops. Russell made the trip to Kelowna to participate in Community Living B.C.’s informational kiosk at the mall over the weekend. The event was held in celebration of Community Living Month.

“Some people think that if you touch someone you can get their disability,” says Russell. “Labels belong on jars, not on people.”

Russell has had numerous challenges to overcome. She says she suffers from vision problems, issues with the length of one of her legs and is at a “Grade 5-8 level.”

But she hopes others can see past what may make her different in their eyes, and wants to encourage that through Community Living B.C.

The provincial Crown agency believes adults with developmental disabilities and their families have the right to pursue “good lives in welcoming communities.” Part of that is feeling safe where you live, go to school, work and play.

As a public awareness initiative, the organization is encouraging community members to say “Hi” to a person they see regularly who has a developmental disability.

Self advocacy is another important part of what Community Living B.C. promotes. For Russell this means rallying the government over issues that include common-law regulations, family support and make sure those with disabilities live the life they choose.

“We’re trying to get some things changed,” says Russell. “It’s going to take a while, but we’re going to get there.”

Community Living B.C. provides housing options that encourage independence while meeting a person’s unique needs; family support, including respite and homemaker services; connections with community services, including assessment and consultation to support individuals, families or caregivers; the Provincial Assessment Centre for people with mental illness and/or severe behavioural challenges that provide diagnosis,  assessments, support and planning; and community inclusion supports to help adults with developmental disabilities find work and build social and life skills.

Stockley Gardens Arts Festival Award Winners

October 22nd, 2009

Announcing the 2009 Annual Stockley Gardens Fall Arts Festival Award Winners

Hope House Foundation is pleased to announce the award winners of the 2009 Annual Stockley Gardens Fall Arts Festival, held in Norfolk on October 17-18, 2009.  During this festival, Hope House Foundation awarded over $5,000 in prizes thanks to the generosity of our sponsors.  Prizes were announced Saturday evening and awards were presented by festival judge Timothy VanLaar. Corporate Sponsors of the festival included Miller Oil Co & Miller Marts, Old Point National Bank, Target, Bath Fitter, The Ghent Business Association, Levin's Of Virginia, and Stihl.   Media Sponsors included WHRO, WNIS/WTAR/Bob-FM, and HR Monthly.

Best In Show $2500   Jenny Windsor, Virginia Beach, VA
sponsored by the Helen G. Gifford Foundation 

Second Prize $1000    Brian Murphy, Newport News, VA
sponsored by The Palace Shops, Ghent  

Third Prize $500    K. Dianne Hottenstein, Chesapeake, VA
sponsored by Friends of Stockley 

    
Norfolk Artist Award $300   Matthew Fine, Norfolk, VA
sponsored by The Norfolk Commission on the Arts & Humanities  

Edward G. Carson Memorial Award  $250  Kris Taylor, Richmond, VA
sponsored by Friends of Stockley  

The Mayor’s Award $500    Elizabeth Sawyer, Norfolk, VA
sponsored by Mayor Paul Fraim   

Award of Merit $150    David Bruner, Sarasota, FL  
sponsored by Christopher Hamlin, D.D.S.- Pediatric Dentistry  

Award of Merit $150    Daniel Robbins, Richmond, VA  
sponsored by Changes City Spa    
  

Futures Awards: College Student Exhibition

First Prize $150  Amanda Wagstaff, William and Mary                                                            sponsored by Dr. Ed & Shaunna Robey     

                                
Second Prize $100  Sonya Paclob, TCC                                                                                 sponsored by Dr. Ed & Shaunna Robey   

                                          
Third Prize $50  Louis Fisher, TCC                                                                                        sponsored by McCormack & Puryear Jewelers      

Judge halts cuts to in-home services in California

October 22nd, 2009

Posted By Patricia Bauer On October 20, 2009
http://www.patriciaebauer.com

A federal judge on Monday halted a California budget plan to cut or reduce caregiver services for 130,000 seniors and people with disabilities.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken sided with plaintiffs in a class action suit who had argued that the state had not developed a fair method for determining whose services were to be cut.  She issued a temporary injunction against the plan, which was intended to cut $82.1 million from in-home support services, and ordered the state to send out notices reassuring people that their services will not be cut on Nov. 1.

Under the judge’s order, the cuts are halted pending future hearings on the lawsuit filed by groups representing senior citizens, people with disabilities, and members of caregivers’ union. The decision is seen as a victory for disability advocates and unions that represent in-home workers.

People With Developmental Disabilities: Just Say Something!

October 21st, 2009

People With Developmental Disabilities: Just Say Something!
by Martin Steinberg

Nearly two decades after the passage of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people of all ages with developmental disabilities in New Jersey continue to lack jobs, health care, housing, and access to public venues.

To address this, the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) has launched JustSaySomething.org, an online forum that squarely tackles the issues that people really care about.

"Too many people with developmental disabilities continue to live in outdated state institutions," said Dr. Alison Lozano, executive director of the Council. "Thousands more are waiting for housing.  Many sit for years on state waiting lists for support services they are qualified to receive. The public needs to recognize that people with developmental disabilities are equal members of the community and need to be treated fairly."

The premise for the online forum is simple: New Jerseyans are urged to report situations that speak positively or negatively to the issue of full inclusion of people with developmental and other disabilities in New Jersey.

Researchers estimate that nearly 20 percent of New Jersey's population has a disability. Yet issues related to people with developmental disabilities and their families receive precious little attention in the mainstream media and the halls of the Statehouse. They are under-represented in advertising campaigns and often "are not considered by elected officials, business leaders and community leaders to have a relevant voice in public debates and discussions," Lozano said.

That ends with Just Say Something. With only one month to go before election day, the Council is calling on people to use the gubernatorial election cycle to post real issues affecting and influencing the lives of people with disabilities.

"For too many years, ensuring that people with developmental disabilities are fully included in their communities has been an afterthought," Lozano said. "This online forum is a step to ending that injustice, encouraging thousands of New Jerseyans to speak up. I encourage everyone to post their ideas, comments and thoughts. New Jersey needs to hear your voice."

Last fall, the Council polled its constituents on this issue. The responses confirmed what they and many others with developmental disabilities, their families and colleagues have been saying for years.

People with developmental disabilities do not have full access to public events, such as street fairs, parks and concerts (86%).

People with developmental disabilities do not have full access to public buildings (more than 88%).

People with developmental disabilities do not receive fair and balanced news coverage (98%).

Most Americans without disabilities do not consider people with developmental disabilities to be productive members of society (more than 92%)

To lay the groundwork for the "Just Say Something" forum, the Council hosted a series of coffeehouse meetings this spring across the state, including people with developmental disabilities, family members and professionals they work with. There was candid discussion about public perceptions of people with disabilities, as a first step towards encouraging full community participation. 

Guidelines for the "Just Say Something" Campaign came directly from what was learned in the Community Conversations.

For example:

When leafing through a sales circular, if it's noticed that people with developmental disabilities are portrayed in a positive way, write a letter or pick up the phone and share favorable impressions with the business owner. Urge others to shop in that business and tell them why.

If a TV show or movie portrays people with disabilities in stereotypical ways, or in a negative way, people should share their views with the producer and with others. Talk about impressions with friends and neighbors. Use blogging or Twittering to share concerns; write letters to the editor or write to the production company. If it is a movie, post an online review on prominent websites.

If a news article in which "people first" language is used, reach out to the editor or publisher. Let them know how important it is. And, when this language is not used, they also need to know.

"This campaign encourages and supports positive dialogue," Lozano said. "Good advocacy is not only about changing those things that are not working, it is about noticing and supporting those things that are. Community leaders, business leaders and lawmakers need to know that we are here, we are paying attention, and we have a lot to say."

Submitted by Martin Steinberg of Jaffe Communications

Legislators Seek Remedy for Fernald Abuse

October 15th, 2009

By Glen Johnson/Associated Press

WALTHAM – In the dark past of the Fernald School for the disabled, the nation’s oldest publicly funded facility for those with developmental disabilities, some children were subject to Cold War experiments including being fed radioactive cereal while other patients allegedly were tagged as “morons” even as tests showed them to be normal.

Now two Massachusetts lawmakers want the state to do right by the former residents of the controversial Fernald School, which opened in 1848 and is slated to closed next year.

State Rep. Thomas Sannicandro, D-Ashland, has filed a bill that would require the state to apologize for alleged civil rights violations among patients at the Waltham facility. And state Rep. Thomas Stanley, D-Waltham, has filed a bill calling for a formal investigation of the misclassification of patients there.

Both bills will be heard during a hearing Tuesday before the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities.

“I have little doubt that these things occurred,” Stanley said. “But if anything is to be done about it, doesn’t there have to be some sort of formal review? You can’t just take a person’s word for it or read the book and automatically say the state should give certain financial benefits for it.”

He proposes a panel of three representatives, three senators, the commissioner of mental retardation and four members appointed by the governor. One of them must be a member of the Fernald League, which has been fighting the facility’s scheduled closing next June.

Sannicandro, meanwhile, noted President Bill Clinton apologized in 1995 on behalf of the federal government for the tests, conducted in the 1940s and 1950s, in which students were fed breakfast cereals laced with minute amounts of radioactive iron and calcium tracers.

“Everybody there was abused, and we should be all-encompassing as a commonwealth and say we made a mistake,” said the lawmaker, whose own son has Down syndrome.

While some have feared an apology could create a financial liability for the state, the representative dismissed that fear.

“President Clinton already formally apologized and I’m not sure what problems that caused,” he said.

In the aftermath of that apology, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Quaker Oats Co. agreed to pay $1.85 million to children involved in the cereal experiments.

What is now the Fernald Developmental Center was founded in 1848 and is the Western Hemisphere’s oldest publicly funded institution serving people with developmental disabilities.

The school was the site of experiments by MIT and Harvard University from 1946 to 1953 in which young men were given tracer doses of radioactive isotopes.

The experiments were sponsored by Quaker Oats to study the absorption of iron-enriched cereals and calcium-enriched milk.

The school also was the scene of alleged sexual and physical abuse, as well as of forced child labor.

Conditions improved dramatically in the 1970s, first through a class-action lawsuit, then the stewardship of U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro.

More recently, former Gov. Mitt Romney ordered the facility closed. In February 2006, Tauro halted patient transfers from Fernald and asked then-U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan to investigate whether the state followed rules on transfers.

Gov. Deval Patrick opted to stay with plans to close Fernald, and the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in October 2008 that shutdown plans could continue.

Patrick has said the facility needed between $14 million and $20 million in capital improvements, and the state’s Department of Health and Human Services has said Fernald is the most expensive of the state’s six facilities for people with mental retardation.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the order. The school is slated to close June 30, 2010.

David Kassel, a spokesman for the Fernald League, said he could understand the representatives’ efforts, but hoped they didn’t confuse the public about the current conditions at Fernald. He said they are vastly improved and there is no patient “warehousing.”

“We don’t want this to be seen as a reason for saying Fernald should be shut, because (the representatives) are talking about a different era and a different institution,” Kassel said. “You really can’t compare it to what it is today.”

Ability Does Not Limit the Right to Live in the Community

October 14th, 2009

The Daily News-Record reported last month on a plan to open a group home for people with developmental disabilities in New Market and covered the angry response of the home’s future neighbors (“Deed Restrictions Vs. Fair Housing,” Sept. 28; “A Chance To Live The Good Life,” Sept. 28).

While the New Market town council recognized the rights of people with disabilities to live in the community of their choice, residents of the Pleasant View subdivision continued to voice their opposition. The town council correctly noted that state law protects group homes from the discriminatory conduct advocated by some Pleasant View neighbors. They should know that federal law protects the group home, as well.

Since 1988, people with disabilities have been protected under the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). The federal law was originally designed to address discrimination based on race, national origin and other protected classes that have long been the subject of threats and prejudice when attempting to live in communities of their own choosing.

In 1988, the law was expanded, recognizing that people with disabilities face the same kinds of discriminatory behaviors and unjustified fears as do people in the other protected classes. The behaviors and fears expressed by some of the residents of Pleasant View are precisely the kinds of discriminatory conduct barred by the FHA.

The FHA states that any person or group who interferes with the right of a person with a disability to live in an area of his or her choosing is guilty of violating the law, if the interference is because of the person’s disability. The actions by some of the residents of Pleasant View are clearly violations of the FHA.

Some of those residents argued that their deed restrictions would prevent a group home from being in the neighborhood, but those restrictions, too, are specifically invalidated by the FHA. Likewise, under the FHA, it is unlawful to take action against a home because of the disability of the people who would live there. Therefore, even the lawsuit threatened by the angry residents may be barred under the federal law.

Protests and threats by neighbors of the group home could be viewed as coercive or intimidating, and federal law states:

“It shall be unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of his having exercised or enjoyed, or on account of his having aided or encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected by [the Fair Housing Act]. 42 U.S.C. 3817.”

The arguments made by the opponents of this home are old and patently false. Homes for people with disabilities have existed in communities just like Pleasant View, for many decades, with no negative effect on property values, no increase in crime, and no increase in traffic. These false fears arise from the fact that people with intellectual disabilities have been segregated from society for too long. Simply put, it is a fear borne of the unfamiliar.

The law is unambiguous that individuals with disabilities have the right to live in the community, but awareness of the law alone will not resolve the protests of those who have preconceived notions of individuals with disabilities. Only time, experience and knowledge will overcome those notions. Individuals with intellectual disabilities have been denied their rights for too long. We must continue to break down the barriers between them and their right to freedom and inclusion.

If you or someone you know thinks your rights under the Fair Housing Act have been violated, you may file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or the Virginia Fair Housing Office. The complaint can be filed by mail, phone, fax or e-mail. For more information or to file a complaint by phone, call HUD at (800) 669-9777 or the Virginia Fair Housing Office at (888) 551-3247.

You can also contact us at (800) 552-3962. The Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy works to advance the rights of all people with disabilities to live fully integrated lives in the community. We hope that these new residents of Pleasant View will be able to enjoy their home, without prejudice and with the support of the town. The law demands it, and the individuals deserve it.

Written by Collen Miller.  Colleen Miller is director of the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy in Richmond.

Report on Crimes against People with Disabilities

October 13th, 2009

The Bureau of Justice Statistics presents the first findings about nonfatal violent and property crime experienced by persons with disabilities, based on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

The report includes data on nonfatal violent victimization (rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated and simple assault) and property crime (burglary, motor vehicle theft, theft) against persons with disabilities in 2007. It compares the victimization experience of persons with and without disabilities, using population estimates based on the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). Data are presented on victim and crime characteristics of persons with and without disabilities, including age, race and gender distribution; offender weapon use; victim injuries; and reporting to the police.

Highlights include the following:

• Persons with disabilities were victims of about 47,000 rapes, 79,000 robberies, 114,000 aggravated assaults, and 476,000 simple assaults.
• Age-adjusted rate of nonfatal violent crime against persons with disabilities was 1.5 times higher than the rate for persons without disabilities.
• Females with a disability had a higher victimization rate than males with a disability; males had a higher rate than females among those without a disability.

The complete report can be viewed at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/capd07.pdf