More Medicaid Autism Waiver Info Sessions

For those unable to attend last month’s meeting to discuss the development of the Medicaid autism waiver, the Department of Health is hosting several more around the state to talk about the program and answer questions about how it will work. They are scheduled for:

• May 10th from 2-4 pm on the 3rd Floor of 237 26th Street in Ogden;
• May 17th from 1-3 pm at 375 S Carbon Ave in Price;
• May 24th from 4-6 pm at 1070 W 1600 South, Bldg. B. in St. George; and
• June 6th from 2-4 pm at 51 W Center Street in Provo.

To learn more, visit DOH’s waiver webpage.

DLC Urges Planning Processes to Continue Representing the Underrepresented

The Disability Law Center, or DLC, appreciates the complexity behind the Wasatch Choices for 2040 vision and the hard work now underway to implement it. At the same time, the Wasatch Front Regional Council is working with local governments to design streets, or networks of streets, to handle everything from pedestrians to trains safely and conveniently.

 

Read More . . .

DLC Promotes Fair Housing on KRCL’s RadioActive

Aaron Kinikini from the Disability Law Center joins us to discuss efforts to improve fair housing rights for people recovering from drug abuse. The interview begins about 24 minutes into the show.

Join Us for a Jane’s Walk

In partnership with the Wasatch Regional Coronation Council for Community Transportation, the DLC will be hosting a Jane’s Walk around Salt Lake City’s Central Station. The Walk will focus on how to successfully find your way through the station and transfer from buses to light rail or trains, especially for those with visual impairments. The Walk will take place on Saturday, May 5th. We will meet at the Intermodal Hub (340 S. 600 W.) at 4 PM.

 

 

The mission of the Jane Jacobs Walk organization is to help people walk, observe, and connect with their built environment. Think of a Jane Jacobs Walk as a moving conversation: a way to engage community members with the people and places that make your city great, or perhaps a way to observe what works and what doesn’t. The focus of a Walk can be anything (architecture, local culture and history, city planning, local cuisine, nature, etc.) as long as it gets people walking, observing their surroundings, and connecting with each other. The important thing is to showcase areas of your city, all the while getting people out of their cars, slowing down, and observing their surroundings.

 

For more details on these walks or to find one happening in your community, check out www.janejacobswalk.org/category/cities/saltlakecity or www.janejacobswalk.org/category/cities/provo2012.  Finally, please spread the word far and wide We’d love to walk with you!

 

 

 

For Disabled Utah Professor, There’s No Place Like Home

Wife and philosopher says it’s “unconscionable” not to have a choice.

 

By Mike Gorrell | The Salt Lake Tribune

 

Home is where retired University of Utah English professor Brooke Hopkins is, and wants to be, as he carries on with life 3½ years after a paralyzing bicycle accident.

 

Read More . . .

Salt Lake Tribune Article – Utah Needs Fair Fousing

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development defines “fair housing” as “all Americans hav[ing] equal access to the housing of their choice.” Sadly, especially for persons with disabilities, there is still a long way to go to realize this goal.

Read More . . .

Medicaid Autism Waiver Meeting

During its 2012 session, the Legislature passed House Bill 372 by Rep. Menlove. HB 372 created a 2-year pilot program to provide intensive behavioral supports to children from 2-6 with autism. Services will be available to a few hundred kids enrolled in private insurance, the Public Employees Health Plan, or Medicaid.

 

The Department of Health is holding a meeting to discuss the development of the Medicaid piece and answer questions about how it will work. The meeting will take place on April 26 from 1-3 PM at the Department of Human Services (195 N. 1950 W., Salt Lake City) in Room 1020 A, B, & C. For more information, call 801-538-6955.

UTA Special Services Hosts Open Houses

Stop by to learn about:

• The New Paratransit Rider’s Guide
• Paratransit ‘No Show’ Policy Changes
• Travel Training Program
• Vanpool Services
• Route Deviation Services
• Safety Training

See the flyer for details on dates, times, and locations.

Utah Teen Petitions X96 to End Hurtful Advertising Toward Disabled

-I am 13 years old. I have volunteered for the last 4 years helping kids with special needs. These kids are awesome and others should not make fun of them. I think that many people agree with me.
 
-Thousands of children actually ride similar buses to school, including my 12 year old brother! They are making fun of him and many other people with mental and physical disabilities.
 
-All people should be treated with respect and dignity.
 
-X96 also has the “Celebutard News Gallery”. It has photos of celebrities with distorted faces. The people working at X96 Radio are intentionally trying to hurt people with disabilities. As of 7:30 PM March 26, 2012 the photos of the distorted faces were removed. The goal is to have the whole “Celebutard News gallery” disappear.
 
-X96s advertisers are stereotyping people with disabilities. Stereotyping leads to distortions and lies about a particular group of people.
 
-Parents of children with disabilities are also hurt by this type of advertising.
 
-It is not funny.
 
-This bus degrades people. Many of whom literally do not have a voice.
 
-Please join me to fight to stop this abusive advertising.

Report Finds Government Dollars Used to Segregate and Exploit Workers with Disabilities

In a report released today, the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) outlined how federal funding is being used to shuttle people with disab ilities into sheltered workshops and deprive them of meaningful employment opportunities.

 

“There is a total disconnect between what governments say they want to accomplish in terms of employment for people with disabilities and how they are actually spending taxpayer dollars,” said Curt Decker, NDRN executive director.

 

The report, Beyond Segregated and Exploited is a follow up to a report released last year that examined the issue of segregating working people with disabilities in sheltered workshops and the use of the subminimum wage to exploit their disability for the financial gain of employers.  The new report is an update on progress to end those practices and move toward a system that encourages integrated employment options that pay competitive wages.< /span>

 

This report also provides additional insight into the complex and confusing system that pumps millions of dollars into sheltered work despite good national public policy meant to encourage integration and competitive employment.  The report follows money designated to be spent on integrated employment as it winds its way from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to the states, state agencies, and finally into sheltered workshops.

 

“Admirably the message we hear from federal agencies is about the importance of integrated employment,” continued Decker. “Yet the majority of the money allocated for this purpose actually ends up being spent in facilities that segregate people with disabilities and isolate s them from their communities.

 

“Worse, our investigations over the past year concluded most of these facilities do not teach marketable skills or prepare workers for any type of meaningful work outside of the sheltered workshop.  Instead, they trap workers in endless ‘training’ programs that pay little if anything, leaving the ‘trainee’ impoverished.”

 

The report calls for:

 

• Ending segregated employment and the subminimum wage by restricting all fe deral and state money that is spent on employers who segregate employees with disabilities from the general workforce.
• Strengthening current and create new tax incentives for employers to hire people with disabilities in integrated workplaces at comparable wages.
• Increasing labor protections and enforcement of existing law.

 

The report, found at www.ndrn.org, is called Beyond Segregated and Exploited: Update on the Employment of People with Disabilities.

 

Direct link: http://www.ndrn.org/images/Documents/Resources/Publications/Reports/Beyond_Segregated_and_Exploited.pdf

 

# # #

 

The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is the nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and the Client Assistance Programs (CAP) for individuals with disabilities. Collectively, the Network is the larges t provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.