California Budget Crisis

• Senate Budget Subcommittee Hearing Schedule
• Dec 10th – Health Issues (Medi-Cal, Regional Centers, etc)
• Dec 10th – Education Issues (including special education)
• Dec 11th – Human Services (IHSS, SSI/SSP, CalWORKS, etc)

SACRAMENTO (CDCAN) – As reported yesterday in a previous CDCAN Reports, an important budget subcommittee – the Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services, chaired by Sen. Alex Padilla (Democrat – Los Angeles) has scheduled two separate hearings this week to review proposals to close the over $11 billion budget deficit, with major permanent cuts and other changes to the current State budget that if approved – would go into effect March 1, 2009 or sooner:

• December 10th covering health related proposals including proposed mid-year budget reductions and changes to Medi-Cal and regional centers that were proposed by the Governor (on November 6th) and Legislative Democrats (November 25th). Any proposals for mid-year budget changes and reductions impacting these programs by Legislative Republican will also be reviewed.
• December 11th covering human service related proposals including mid-year budget reductions and changes to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS), SSI/SSP (Supplemental Security Income/State Supplemental Payment), CalWORKS, Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants that were proposed by the Governor (on November 6th), and Legislative Democrats (on November 25th). Like on December 10th, the subcommittee will also review any proposals for mid-year budget changes and reductions impacting these human service programs by Legislative Republicans.

(more…)

In an article written by a woman with a Broadcast Arts and Management degree, as well as Professional Disabled Woman of the Year 1990, she puts the heat on the broadcast industry.  She points the finger at the television industry saying that even though 20% of the population has some sort of disability, less than 1% of local and national news outreach is made.

After the ADA in 1990, it was assumed that the disability wall had been broken and equal employment opportunities were a reality, but the fact remains that the FCC ignores the age and disability discrimination.

And these hackneyed stories will continue until FCC regulatory faults are fixed and TV begins engaging qualified producers, consultants and writers with visible disabilities. Professionals able to contribute fixed disability lifestyle experience to the programming process.

Read the whole article here:  Broadcast industry must recognize reality of people with disabilities

The current limit on workers with disabilities’ income in North Carolina is $10,400 before earning too much to qualify for Medicaid. This will change November 1, 2009; the limit will be increased to $15,600 for a single person and earning more than $20,800 would require the recipient to start paying for co-pays and Medicaid premiums.

The idea behind the change in rules is that the eligibility factor and limits on income dissuade people with disabilities from obtaining employment and working to the fullest of their potential. While the changes allow a person to make more money, that in turn means the person is also paying more into the system.

In 1999, Bill Clinton signed into law the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act which allowed states to change certain eligibility requirements to enter the program. This was done to increase employment among people with disabilities as many decide employment is not in their best interest if their Medicaid benefits are stripped immediately after getting hired.

Read the whole story here: Pay limits raised for disabled workers

Non-Profit organizations in Kansas, such as Starkey Inc., are struggling to keep support workers in a demanding job with high turnover rates that at least one provider of support workers has turned to foreign workers in order to fill positions.  While pay being one of the major issues in finding and keeping support workers, a legislative proposal which would have addressed the wage issue, failed even with funding available.

Jerry Henry (D-Cummings) who worked on the bill said the issue is not one that can be ignored, also said the bill will be reintroduced at a later date.

“Young people out there… look at the job opportunities and say, ‘Oh, here’s McDonald’s, here’s QuikTrip, and gosh, they’re making a dollar more an hour than they make here. We’ll go work there,’ ” she [a local support worker] said.

“This job, if you are in it for the money, you’re not going to last,” she said.

Read the whole story here:  Nonprofits scramble to find, keep workers to assist people with developmental disabilities

I stumbled across an article aimed at dealing with the interpersonal relationships with coworkers at a place of employment while having an “invisible disability.” Invisible disabilities are those that are not outwardly apparent, such as diabetes or migraine headaches, that may require accommodations in the work place.

The question comes from a frustrated employee feeling like a poster child for “difficult” employees asking how to go about educating coworkers about an invisible disability.

The response was to the effect that one should look at their own behavior and how a condition may affect their lives. Even going deeper to set boundaries about how comfortable one feels about sharing information about a condition, noting that the more open an employee is the greater the ability of coworkers to empathize.

The other great suggestion was that one should be willing to be a teacher informing in manageable pieces as not to overwhelm those receiving the information. As well to add a personal touch to the information as perhaps sharing a personal experience supporting the information being provided. Finally, to be willing to work with coworkers in a give and take relationship as they should be applauded for their efforts to help make accommodations.

Read the whole article here: Education on disability may ease friction

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski’s 2009-2011 budget proposal avoids any cuts to K-12 and post secondary education at the expense of community-based care services to elderly and people with disabilities. The cuts to in-home care provisions will affect some 6,500 seniors and people with disabilities as well as slashing some health benefits such as vision and dental from the state’s health plan. The cuts would also affect drug and alcohol treatment programs and child care for low-income families.

The Governor defended his position stating that a well-educated workforce is required for when the economy recovers.

Kulongoski’s 2009-2011 budget proposal is a starting point, and legislative leaders on Monday immediately signaled it could be open to major revisions.

Senate President Peter Courtney said he’s concerned that Kulongoski’s social services cuts go too deep, especially since the most recent monthly unemployment report showed 14,000 Oregonians joining the jobless ranks.

Read the whole story here: Education wins state budget clash

In a story out of Malaysia, the Society of the Blind held a press conference on how to interview those with visual impairments. The focus of the conference was to raise awareness for employers, employees and providing proper contact information to the relevant organizations. According to Dr. Wong Huey Siew, 1% of the public sector employment must be allocated to people with visual impairments to ensure they have equal employment opportunities.

“Many people do not know how to interact with disabled people. At an interview, it’s wrong for interviewers to keep quiet just because they have no experience in interacting with PWDs,” said Wong.

“Get to know the candidate. Some interviewers tend to focus on the interviewee’s disabilities instead of their capabilities and strengths. They should access the candidate’s skills, motivation level, past working experiences as well as ask them how they can contribute to the company,” he said in the interview at the society’s headquarters in Brickfields, KL.

Read the whole story here: Don’t turn a blind eye to them

In a related story, this was also posted:  Working beyond their limitations

The Vietnam Association of Business Enterprises of People with Disabilities, comprised of more than 300 businesses, has created more than 10,000 jobs and 70% of those have gone to people with disabilities.  In three training centers based in Hanoi, Ha Tinh and Ho Chi Minh City have provided training for more than 1,600 war invalids and people with disabilities, 80% of which have obtained stable employment.

The association has not only contributed to a number of policy decisions regarding businesses owned by people with disabilities including tax exemptions, and levies imposed on land and water surface use.  The association also holds yearly job fairs to promote gainful employment.

Read the whole VABED story here:  Vietnamese disabled businessmen create 10,000 jobs

The Sacramento Bee recently posted an opinion/editorial piece about the proposed state budget cuts and the special session called by Governor Schwarzenegger. Even though the budget has not been finalized, many fear services will be cut and taxes will be raised which will place undue burden on those most in need.

The story of one person (Dena Wright) within the piece says that she lived with her parents until they were no longer able to care for her, then she moved into a nursing home. The resident now lives independently with the help of a caregiver. Wright also noted that life in an institution is no life at all, rather an existence.

While in nursing homes, Wright says, she “only existed” and felt as if she were among people who “were just waiting to die.”

“I finally have my freedom and independence,” she told me in a written message.

The Governor’s proposed cuts would remove much of the funding allowing many people to live independently thus forcing them to return to nursing homes. The cuts of the budget would bring the SSI/SSP payments from $870 a month down to $830 on top of a rise in taxes and cut Medi-Cal which many rely on for health care. The cuts would also affect IHSS, which help those with disabilities and aged live independently; which would place more burden on counties throughout the state to make up the cost in order to have skilled people within the program.

Read the whole Sac Bee Op/Ed piece here: The Conversation: Proposed cuts would hit disabled too hard

Another related story was posted by the Press Enterprise also discussing cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger.  That article can be found here: State in-home aid to disabled on cutting block

In an effort to make the “No Child Left Behind Act” a reality, Duneland schools are implementing a new program called “Response to Intervention” or RTI. The program aims to initially determine possible learning disabilities and work with the student to provide the best possible education program. The students will also receive additional help if their disabilities get more severe and inhibit the learning process. While Indiana is a little behind the nation after revising its special education laws in July, it is now in a rushed state to implement the program with haste.

Up until now, the practice that’s been in place since the 1970s has involved comparing a student’s achievement with their IQ. But Hensley said many educators have been frustrated by this method: They can tell that students are having difficulties, but they can’t place the students in programs for the learning disabled because there isn’t enough of a gap between their testing scores. The result has been that many students haven’t been referred to LD programs until they are much older, and by that time, it’s even more difficult for them to catch up.

Read the whole article here: Duneland Schools being new program for learning disabled students

Next page »

NorCal Disability

Northern California Disability News.

Categories All Uncategorized Activities Advocacy Business Civil Liberties Education Employment Fund Raisers Funding Health Housing Legal Legislation Media Meeting Recreation Relationships Reminder Website Information International

Archives December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006

Meta Register Log in Valid XHTML

Feeds Posts Comments

XHTML | CSS | RSS