As a community we must recognize the hard work that has to be done in order to advance Independent Living and achieve the status it deserves. Invite your Representative or Senator to your CIL or events within the community. The more they know the more they can help. Our grassroots advocacy is working. Keep up the hard work!
Act Now: Ask Congress to keep Independent Living in the Stimulus Bill!
Update: Both the Senate Stimulus Bill and the Nelson Amendment now include Independent Living! Our advocacy efforts are working! As of now funding for Independent Living stands $110 million. There are still amendments to be considered, but Senate leaders hope to complete action on HR 1 very soon.
The Senate is currently debating amendments. Last week we asked you to call members of Congress and ask them to vote against the Nelson-Collins Amendment (PDF), which would have eliminated all stimulus funding for Independent Living. Late Friday night, advocates learned funding for VR, IL & IDEA was kept in the amendment! We no longer need to encourage Senators to vote against this amendment. See page 146 in the link above for details.
Act Now: Persuade your Senators and Representatives to keep IL funding in the stimulus bill. The funding is listed under “Rehabilitation and Disability Research,” but is not research related. Tell them your Center will use the funds to hire critically needed employees to help people with disabilities gain employment opportunities.
Targets
- Contact all Senators
- Contact all Representatives
You must communicate the following to your Senators and Representatives in order to secure this funding:
- CILs need employees. They can make immediate hires. Centers work with people with disabilities to help them become employed, and provide the support needed so that people are job ready and can find good jobs that are sustainable.
- Centers help people to remain independent in their own homes and communities, and help prevent people from being institutionalized. From 2004-2006 CILs transitioned over 8,000 people from nursing homes and institutions into the community, saving state and federal government well over $160 million. Centers help ease the financial burden that states have to bear on institutional expenses by keeping people OUT of institutions.
- Ask them to keep the funding for the Independent Living Program in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Ask for the legislative aide handling the Economic Recovery package and tell them about your state and the services CILs provide.
Both the House and Senate will have to go to conference to reconcile the differences between the two bills. Call your Representative and Senators to ensure members who may be in the Conference Committee understand the importance of Independent Living! Text of the bills is available at http://thomas.loc.gov/.
For more information: Contact NCIL Policy Analyst Elizabeth Leef by email, Elizabeth@ncil.org, phone: (202) 207-0334, ext 1015 or fax: (202) 207-0341.
Governor Bredesen of Tennessee and TennCare Being Vetted for HHS
Source: Politico, by Mike Allen (Sebelius, Bredesen up for HHS spot)
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is the leading contender to replace Tom Daschle as President Obama's choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, with Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen also remaining under consideration, administration officials told Politico. The officials said others might be in the mix and that a decision was likely soon.
Sebelius, 60, is seen as a leading contender because of her close relationship Obama—she backed his candidacy over Hillary Rodham Clinton and was a top surrogate to women's groups during the campaign. She has been on the short list for several Cabinet posts, yet said in December that she was staying in Kansas to deal with budget problems.
On the other hand, the possible choice of Bredesen has sparked an outcry from some advocates. His past job as a managed-care executive and continued ties to the health insurance industry haven't won him many admirers within the progressive health reform community, a key group that Obama would need to pass universal health care. Health care advocates also haven't forgotten Bredesen's decision to cut about 170,000 adults from Tennessee's expanded Medicaid program.
Opposition research has been circulated that outline that 2005 decision, and also highlights the fact that BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, a company with major state dealings, donated $150,000 to the renovation of the governor's mansion.
In contrast, advocacy groups see Sebelius' eight year tenure as insurance commissioner as a significant asset to her candidacy.
Daschle's withdrawal last week after paying $100,000 in back taxes for a limo service given to him by a friend and Democratic donor left Obama with no clear backup plan. Daschle had already installed much of his staff. He was going to wear two hats: He was also named director of a new White House Office of Health Reform, and planned to shuttle between his two offices. Now that his nomination has been withdrawn, the White House half of the job could go to someone else if it is retained.
Jerry Lewis “Humanitarian” Award Update, and How Harriet McBryde Johnson is Still Part of the Action
Source: www.thetroublewithjerry.net
Petition: Over 2500 individuals have signed the petition calling on the Motion Picture Academy to cancel its plans to give Jerry Lewis a humanitarian award. Read and sign the petition.
Supporting Organizations: Many national and state organizations, including the American AAPD and DREDF, have endorsed the letter from The Trouble with Jerry campaign to the Motion Picture Academy. See the complete list of organizational supporters. If your organization wants to endorse the letter and the campaign, please send an e-mail to info@TheTroubleWithJerry.com.
Protests: Hollywood will see protests during the days leading up to the February 22 Oscar Awards ceremony. For more information, e-mail info@thetroublewithjerry.com.
Editor’s Note: I was reviewing the signatories of the petition last week and was stopped dead in my tracks by # 1220. The name: Peter Singer; Princeton, NJ. Peter Singer is a philosopher at Princeton who advocates “mercy killing” for babies with disabilities. Harriet McBryde Johnson, a hero of our movement, went toe-to-toe with him on this issue for several years. Singer’s comment read only “For Harriet McBryde Johnson”. I’d like to take this opportunity to remember Harriet McBryde Johnson’s work and thank all of the advocates carrying the torch. This should serve as a reminder that the work we do every day has larger consequences than we can sometimes see. - Eleanor
Findings of Most Extensive Employer Survey on People with Disabilities Released
Source: Environment, Health, and Safety Today
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has released the Survey of Employer Perspectives on the Employment of People with Disabilities, the most extensive survey in history of employers’ actions and attitudes toward employing people with disabilities.
The report, available at http://www.dol.gov/odep, also makes a “business case” for the value of hiring and retaining employees with disabilities.
The survey of 3,797 companies statistically represents more than 2.4 million companies nationwide was conducted by CESSI, a division of Axiom Resource Management Inc. It found that a majority of large businesses are hiring people with disabilities and discovering that costs for accommodations differ very little from those for the general employee population. Additionally, the survey showed that once an employer hires one person with a disability, it is much more likely that employer will hire other people with disabilities.
“This research shows us the pathway for workers with disabilities to enter and succeed in the workplace,” said ODEP Assistant Secretary Neil Romano. “Employers consistently discover that hiring and retaining people with disabilities helps their bottom line, and our efforts at the Department of Labor to educate businesses on this fact are paying off for workers.”
The survey did reveal some resistance among businesses to viewing people with disabilities as able to advance up the corporate ladder.
Micah Fialka-Feldman’s Fight to Live in the Oakland University Dorms Denied by Court, His Struggle Continues
Source: Micah Fialka-Feldman, Andrew Bashi, and OU Friends for Inclusive Education
On February 5, 2009, District Federal Court Judge Duggan denied Micah Fialka-Feldman’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. The Judge ruled in favor of Oakland University. This is only a set back but not the end. As Micah says: "If I give up, most things won't change here. The spirit of Harriet Tubman encourages me to ‘keep going’.”
Micah plans to continue to fight within the legal system and also plans to creatively urge the university administration to create a dormitory opportunity for students in the Options Program. It makes no sense that there are currently empty dormitory rooms, and the university continues with an outdated and discriminatory policy. The Judge is currently stating that the University does not have the responsibility to modify its housing policy based upon Micah’s cognitive disability. We continue to disagree.
The University has hired Butzel Long Law firm and currently spending tens of thousands of dollars of tax payer money to exclude Micah and people with intellectual disabilities. Is this how Oakland University should spend our tax money?
Please join us at the next Board of Trustee meeting on April 1, 2009 and spread the word to your friends, websites, email lists and blogs. For continued updates go to www.throughthesamedoor.com. We welcome your ideas to get national media coverage.
Send comments and letters to:
Detroit Free Press: ZLATI MEYER at 313-223-4439 or meyer@freepress.com
The Detroit News: Marisa Schultz at (313) 222-2310 or mschultz@detnews.com.
The Oakland Press: Alan Adler at allan.adler@oakpress.com
Governor Jennifer M Granholm: P.O. Box 30013 / Lansing, Michigan 48909; 517.373.3400.
Texas SILC to Ask Legislature for More Centers for Independent Living
Through the Legislative Appropriations Request prepared by DARS, (the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services), the State Independent Living Council has paved the way to request funding for the establishment of three additional Centers for Independent Living, (CILs), in Texas. DARS has included an Exceptional Item in its proposed budget that would provide $1,500,000 over the two-year biennium for this purpose. The SILC has identified five priority areas that are currently unserved by a CIL and has conducted public hearings in each to obtain input from the community regarding unmet needs of residents with disabilities. These areas are: Collin County, Galveston County, College Station, Tom Green County, and Sherman/Dennison.
As more Texans with disabilities are leaving nursing facilities and state schools, the need for community-based services has become increasingly essential. Centers for Independent Living are designed to aid consumers in developing a personal infrastructure for independence. The SILC will represent this request before the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees. Stakeholders, consumers, family members and all others recognizing the importance of adding to the network of CILs in Texas are urged to contact legislators and request support for this funding request. For additional information, contact SILC executive director, Regina Blye, by phone at (877) 371-7353 or by email at: admin@txsilc.org.
ABIL’s Disability Empowerment Center Hosts Grand Opening
Join the Arizona Bridge to Independent Living for the Grand Opening of the Disability Empowerment Center Thursday, February 19, 2009; 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The event will feature an Opening Ceremony and Hosted Reception.
The center is a universally designed, accessible, and transit-oriented non-profit resource to serve the disability community. It features fully accessible administrative office space, meeting rooms, event space, a cafeteria and kitchen, computer lab and resource center.
The 62,000-square-foot facility is home to ABIL, Arizona Center for Disability Law, Raising Special Kids, Arizona Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Joni & Friends, Statewide Independent Living Council, Arizona Autism United, Arizona Spinal Cord Injury Association, Valley Center of the Deaf, and PRN Medical Services Inc.
RSVP to 602-443-0735 by February 12, 2009. Address: 5025 East Washington Street; Phoenix, Arizona 85034-2005.
MTV Launches “News” Program Hosted by People with Disabilities
Source: Washington Post
“How's Your News?” lets reporters with Down syndrome, Williams syndrome and other mental and physical challenges josh around with Hollywood stars. Groups once stigmatized can try to shed the stigma by morphing into a subculture or a “community,” or, if politically oriented, a movement.
It's happening or has happened with old people, fat people, transsexuals and countless others. In that spirit, MTV's new “"How's Your News?” show can be seen not as exploitation of people who have mental disabilities but rather as the expression of a subculture that has much to contribute to the mainstream but never had much of an opportunity.
“Can be” is the operative phrase, because some people might still see the half-hour program -premiering Sunday night - as some sort of condescending abuse, especially because the executive producers are Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the smart-alecky pair who turned children into foulmouthed cynics with their callous “South Park” cartoon. But “How's Your News?” is clearly not in the “South Park” vein; it's upbeat and moving and the disabled or disadvantaged people who star in the program appear to exert enough control over the content to dispel charges that they're being used. Read More.
Editor’s Note: I watched the program last night and enjoyed most of the humor, which seemed to be developed by the hosts themselves. The cast was very likeable and could help dispel negative stereotypes. The content, however, is more focused on entertainment than actual news. I would like to see the cast cover disability politics! - Eleanor
Weekly Advocacy Monitor (WhAM!) Advertising Now Available
The National Council on Independent Living is excited to announce a new advertising opportunity for your organization or business to show your support for NCIL and market your programs, products and services to thousands of NCIL members, employers, disability leaders, Independent Living advocates, and members of Congress.
NCIL has begun accepting advertisements for our Weekly Advocacy Monitor (WhAM!). The WhAM! is an e-newsletter sent to all NCIL members, which focuses on national and statewide news, events, and public policy priorities of the Independent Living and Disability Rights Movements.
The NCIL Member rate to be the sole sponsor of the WhAM! is $500 per issue, or just $250 per issue when sponsoring four or more. The non-member rate is $1000 per issue, or $500 per issue when sponsoring four or more. Benefits include:
- 3 x 3.75” advertisement (approximate) in WhAM! email announcement
- 3 x 3.75” advertisement in WhAM!, archived on ncil.org website
- Link from advertisements to your website
Copy ready art (.JPG, .GIF or .TIF format) for the WhAM! must be submitted by 12:00 noon, the Wednesday before publication. Word, Publisher, or PDF files will also be accepted. However, files in these formats must be submitted by 12:00 noon, the Monday before publication and may be charged an extra design fee. Contact Eleanor at eleanor@ncil.org for suggestions on the best way to submit your advertisement.
Advertisements are accepted on a space available, first-come, first-served basis. Sponsorship is subject to NCIL's gift acceptance policy. To advertise in the WhAM!, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Justin Chappell by email at justin@ncil.org. |
February 9, 2009 