- Categories
- September, 2010
-
Florida makes it easier to adopt children with disabilities
September 30th, 2010
-
New Jersey claims to be “too broke” to move people out of institutions
September 27th, 2010
By Susan Livio, StateHouse Bureau
New Jersey is too broke to move 1,850 people with developmental disabilities out of institutions in the next five years, so a lawsuit demanding it do so should be dismissed, an attorney representing the state said today.
The case stems from a federal Supreme Court ruling that says federal law protects the right of disabled people to live in “the most integrated setting’’ safely possible.
“Making these placements would be financially devastating to the state,” said Deputy Attorney General Gerard Hughes, who represented the state Department of Human Services in federal court in Trenton.
But a lawyer for the other side said that’s no excuse.
-
Rosa’s Law up for vote in the House
September 22nd, 2010
Rosa’s Law was approved by the Senate in August and it is now up for vote this evening in the House of Representatives. Rosa’s Law proposes to eliminate the term “mental retardation” and replace it with “intellectual disability.” If approved, the terminology will be updated in federal health, labor and education policies.
For more information read Disability Scoop’s report on the upcoming vote.
-
Deaf diplomat had promotion revoked because of disability
September 20th, 2010
Even in the upper echelons of employment, disability issues continue to muddle the workplace. In England, a British foreign diplomat who is deaf recently had her promotion revoked after officials ruled that her deafness would make it too expensive to send her abroad.
Jane Cordell, who was to be Britain’s new deputy ambassador to Kazakhstan, is now suing the government for discrimination, saying that it’s the only way she can get clarity on her career. “We need answers to the question, ‘Can [people with disabilities] expect to have normal diplomatic careers, or not?’” she tells The Independent.
These days, more clarity on accommodations would be good, too. The Americans with Disabilities Act say an employer has discretion to choose among effective ‘reasonable accommodations’. Similarly, the U.K.’s Disabilities Discrimination Act requires employers to make so-called ‘reasonable adjustments,’ but the term is not defined in existing legislation.
Over and over, employers fail to see how hiring and accommodating an employee with a disability is good business. Perhaps nobody has taken the time to spell it out for the British Foreign Office, but accommodating Cordell will yield far more significant returns on investment that outweigh the costs.
While in Warsaw, Cordell also championed disability rights, though it wasn’t part of her job. She organized three disability conferences with the government, worked with Polish parliament to draft new disability legislation and helped with a bill to recognize Polish sign language.
-
Arc Action Alert: Virginia plans to execute woman with an IQ score of 70-72
September 15th, 2010
Action Alert by The Arc of Virginia
The Arc of Virginia joined several national and state organizations in calling for Governor McDonnell to commute the death sentence of Teresa Lewis, a woman whose IQ has been measured at 70 and 72 and who is scheduled to be executed by the Commonwealth on September 23, 2010, to a sentence of life without parole. The Arc of Virginia’s letter to Governor McDonnell can be accessed on our website, www.thearcofva.org
The Supreme Court decided in Atkins v. Virginia that executing a person with “mental retardation” is unconstitutional. As we understand it, forensic psychologists involved in the criminal case have commented regarding Ms. Lewis’s capacity but no competent professional assessment of her intellectual functioning – including an investigation and evaluation of her adaptive functioning as well as intelligence testing – has been made. The Arc of Virginia has asked Governor McDonnell to not to make any determination of Teresa’s eligibility for execution without first obtaining a thorough evaluation of her intellectual functioning made by a trained professional with extensive and current experience working with people with intellectual disabilities.
The Arc makes this urgent and most serious request in light of specific concerns we see in the Lewis case. For example, in an all-too-common error, the court found that one of Teresa’s IQ scores, which falls within the 70-72 range, was “not at or below the level of [an intellectual disability].” This is, in fact, an indisputably false statement. It is directly refuted by the universally recognized definition of intellectual disability and by Virginia law codifying this definition.
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) developed the definition of mental retardation that is used by Virginia. As stated in the Code of Virginia, “significantly subaverage intellectual functioning” is demonstrated by performance on a standardized measure of intellectual functioning that is at least two standard deviations below the mean. Using this definition, AAIDD identifies the upper boundary for mental retardation at IQ scores of approximately 70-75. This range also was expressly acknowledged in the Atkins decision.
Since Teresa’s IQ score falls within this 70-75 range and no professional assessment was made using the Code of Virginia’s definition of “mental retardation”, The Arc of Virginia is urging Governor McDonnell to use his power of clemency and commute Teresa’s sentence to life in prison without parole. At a minimum, we are asking that the execution not go forward without a comprehensive professional assessment of Ms. Lewis’s intellectual functioning.
What can you do ?
You can write to Governor McDonnell in support of The Arc’s letter, asking that he not allow the execution to go forward without a comprehensive professional assessment of Ms. Lewis’s intellectual functioning.
It is important to let the Governor know:
- That you are not seeking to excuse Teresa from punishment for her role in the killing of Julian and C.J. Lewis
- That Teresa’s IQ score measures in the 70-72 range, which falls within the AAIDD definition of an intellectual disability (also known as “mental retardation”)
- That you believe a decision to commute Teresa’s death sentence to life without parole is appropriate in this case and would support the Governor’s decision to do so.
Click here to send your letter to Governor McDonnell right away. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter your name and address. Sample letter can be edited if you wish.
-
Week to honor Direct Support Professional
September 13th, 2010
In a rare show of bipartisan agreement, the U.S. Senate has designated next week as “National Direct Support Professionals Week.” This begs the question, who are these direct support professionals, and why do they get their own week?
These professionals are the workers who provide in-home and community care to enable people with disabilities to live more independent lives. They provide essential and sometimes difficult services, many of which were not expected in the years when people with disabilities lived in institutional settings. In institutions, DSPs provided basic care – bathing, toiletry skills, feeding, behavioral management. Now we also expect them to work closely with families, communicate medical needs to physicians and provide follow-up care, teach independent living skills and develop meaningful community activities that will connect people with disabilities to the wider community.
With the breadth of services that these professionals provide, you would think they would be highly trained and compensated appropriately for the complexity of their job. However, most states and agencies have not developed comprehensive training programs for DSPs. Many agencies in Colorado require competency only in a few basic areas, such as CPR and first aid, human care and treatment, and medication administration.
-
Georgians sue the state for the right to continue to live in their own homes
September 10th, 2010
By Carrie Teegardin, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Six Georgians suffering from serious mental or developmental disabilities sued the state Thursday over the loss of benefits that have allowed them to live in homes instead of institutions.
The six people, with illnesses ranging from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, mental retardation and traumatic brain injury, have been living with family or in personal care homes.
A state program called SOURCE — Service Options Using Resources in a Community Environment — has helped cover the cost of caring for the people, who need close oversight. All six have lost benefits, or have been told they will lose them, because the state now allows only people with physical disabilities to be a part of the program, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.
The Georgia Department of Community Health, which administers the program, declined to comment Thursday on the allegations, saying it was not yet aware of the suit.
The department said eligibility requirements for the program have not changed since 2007, but declined to answer specific questions about whether people with mental and developmental disabilities were being removed. The department’s website says that 15,193 people were enrolled in SOURCE at the end of the 2009 fiscal year. Many of them are frail elderly people who are able to avoid placement in a nursing home through more active management of their medical problems and assistance at home. It’s unclear how many Georgians have been removed from the program.
-
Students stand up and demand equality for people with disabilities
September 9th, 2010
Free State High School is expanding its homecoming royalty this year, after a handful of seniors with disabilities had been excluded from the initial round of balloting — a practice that’s been going on for at least a decade.
Among students originally left out this year: Owen Phariss, a senior with Down syndrome, whose friends had lobbied classmates to vote for him only to discover that Phariss had been denied a spot on the ballot.
Free State High School seniors, from left, Audrey Hughes, Bailey Knowlton and Connor Caldwell were instrumental in a petition drive to get some students added to the Homecoming Court ballot. Knowlton holds one of the signed petitions Tuesday at Free State.
Now — after senior school administrators were alerted about policies against discrimination — all seniors will be given another chance to vote today. They’ll seat another four girls and four boys on the Homecoming Court, joining the eight girls and eight boys who already received the most votes in last week’s nominating election.
“Anybody with a disability wasn’t included,” said Nancy Holmes, Phariss’ mother. “It’s very disturbing. In this day and age, it’s very disturbing.”
Homecoming is Oct. 1, when the Firebirds play Shawnee Mission East.
Wednesday’s additional balloting will come after students had started a petition drive, one that collected at least 800 signatures backing the belief that “ALL seniors should have an equal opportunity” to be on the Homecoming Court.
-
Facebook is a great equalizer for people with disabilities
September 8th, 2010
Sally Harrison is developmentally disabled, but on Facebook the 35-year-old woman is just like anyone else.
Victor Tsaran scours the Web at lightning speeds and loves his touch-screen iPhone in seeming contradiction to the fact that he is blind.
Internet gadgets and software are creating a virtual world of equality and opportunity for a large segment of the population once marginalized due to physical or mental impairments.
“It is not about being able to do everything; it is about being able to do what you possibly can given your condition and the technology available,” said Tsaran, a project manager at Yahoo! ‘accessibility lab.’
For Harrison, Facebook was part of transition that took her from highly-supervised confines of a group home to getting a job and moving into her own apartment.
“She started to blossom after that,” said Lisa Giraldi, executive director of Pacific Diversified Services (PDS), an organization devoted to ‘true community inclusion for adults with developmental disabilities.’
“For Sally, it has been fantastic.”
Facebook privacy controls were set tightly and Harrison’s family signed on as “friends” and watch over her at the online social networking service.
Harrison told AFP on Friday that she has 83 Facebook friends and tries to check her online profile daily.
“It has helped me a lot,” said Harrison, who grappled with low self esteem when she was first taken on as a client by PDS.
“It is important to me because I get to connect with friends I haven’t seen in a long time.”
-
Virginia Beach Economic Development donates to Hope House
September 3rd, 2010
The Virginia Beach Development Authority (VBDA) and the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development (VBDED) hosted the third annual Virginia Beach Business Appreciation Charity Golf Classic at Virginia Beach National Golf Club. The annual event coincides with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Business Appreciation Month, which recognizes the contributions Virginia Beach businesses make to support the City’s excellent economy and quality of life.
Virginia Beach business and industry executives, real estate agents, developers, brokers, architects, engineers and consultants were joined by members of the VBDA and VBDED in the tournament that raised more than $15,000. Proceeds were donated to three local charities: Grow Smart, that promotes and improves healthy development and school readiness for the prenatal to five population in Virginia Beach; the Virginia Beach Education Foundation’s Building Futures Grants, that fund innovative and creative learning programs for students; and Hope House Foundation, the only organization in the Commonwealth that supports adults with developmental disabilities living in their own homes. The donations are given in the name of the Virginia Beach Business Community.
“We’re very pleased to support these worthwhile organizations that do so much for our community,” says Warren Harris, director of Economic Development. “It’s also a way for businesses to network with each other and enjoy an afternoon of golf.”
The mission of the City of Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development is to attract and retain national and international business and industry that results in the creation of new capital investment and jobs that increase the per capita income in the community. The City of Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia with a population of 440,908 and is the 42nd largest city in the United States. Virginia Beach has been recognized as having one of the 10 best economic development groups in the nation by Site Selection magazine. In 2006, Virginia Beach was named one of the 10 best big cities in America by Money magazine. In 2008, the Department of Economic Development received re-accreditation through the International Economic Development Council, one of only 25 economic development organizations in the world to have this recognition. For more information, visit yesvirginiabeach.com.
###