Judith Stein The Commission on Long-Term Care has issued its recommendations for reforming the way long-term care services are funded and delivered to seniors and people with disabilities. Unable to agree on changes to the fragmented and frayed system of financing long-term care, the Commission left that crucial area largely untouched. But five Commission members who voted against the majority’s proposals confronted the question of financing head on, calling for a public insurance program to cover long-term care needs. Created as a substitute for the canceled CLASS Act in the “fiscal cliff” budget deal, the bi-partisan Commission was charged with…
On June 13, 2013, the United States entered a court-enforceable interim settlement agreement with the State of Rhode Island and the City of Providence which resolved the Civil Rights Division's findings, as part of an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Olmstead investigation, that the State and City have unnecessarily segregated individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in a sheltered workshop and segregated day activity service program, and have placed public school students with I/DD at risk of unnecessary segregation in that same program. The first-of-its-kind agreement will provide relief to approximately 200 Rhode Islanders with I/DD who have…
Many disability organizations are participating in an important call to action to support the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Read this call to action from the U.S. International Council on Disabilities to learn more about how to get involved.
"Priced Out in 2012" is a new study conducted by the Technical Assistance Collaborative and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force. The report shows the severe housing affordability problems experienced by individuals with disabilities.
The U.S. EEOC issued four revised documents on protection against disability discrimination, pursuant to the goal of the agency's Strategic Plan to provide up-to-date guidance on the requirements of anti-discrimination laws. The documents address how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to applicants and employees with cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities. In plain, easy-to-understand language, the revised documents reflect the changes to the definition of disability made by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) that make it easier to conclude that individuals with a wide range of impairments, including cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities, are protected by the…
The 2012 Report of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID) was transmitted to the White House earlier this month, and is now available on the ACL website. The report provides recommendations regarding Managed Long-Term Services and Supports (MLTSS) for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The report contains 15 recommendations in the following areas: · Disability stakeholder engagement, · Choice and self-determination, · Consumer protections and rights, and · Quality measurement, data collection, and research. It also recommends that states and the federal government engage disability stakeholders in the design, implementation, and oversight of MLTSS program to…
Faced with significantly falling tax revenues, states are also contending with increasing service demands, forcing many states to impose new limits on non-Medicaid long-term services and supports
The Congressional Research Service outlines the differences between Veterans Disability Compensation program (VDC) and the Social Security Disability Insurance program under the Title II of the Social Security Act (SSDI). According to the report, these are the primary differences: SSDI is an insurance program that replaces earnings for a person whose illness or injury, which is not necessarily work-related, results in an inability to perform any substantial gainful activity. VDC is not insurance, but a compensation program that pays benefits to veterans who develop medical conditions that are related to their military service. SSDI provides both civilians and military persons…
Senior Life Care Planning works with seniors and their families as advocates for their quality of life, whether at home, assisted living facility or nursing home.
To become a more effective advocate for your loved one with special needs: v Follow through on your instincts and investigate anything that you think may not be on the up and up. v Put it in writing and save a signed copy for your records, specifically lay out what is bothering you or your family member. The more focused you are in your letter it’s easier for the caregiver or supervisor to resolve it. v Whether your loved one lives with you, in a group home, or in a long-term care facility, you must be physically present in order…
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