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Shelby County quadriplegic pushing to live independently, needs Medicaid's help
Mon, Aug 2nd, 2010
Mary Orndorff of the Birmingham News writes about Paul Boyd's need for financial assistance from Medicaid to live independently.
To read article, click the link below.
More Info:
http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2010/08/shelby_county_quadraplegic_pus.html
To read article, click the link below.
More Info:
http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2010/08/shelby_county_quadraplegic_pus.html
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez at the National Council on Independent Living Annual Conference
Thu, Jul 29th, 2010
Washington D.C.
Thank you.
With the 20th anniversary approaching, I've been talking a lot about the ADA lately, its implications and the progress made since its passage, and the challenges that remain. Anniversaries such as this one are opportunities to celebrate our great accomplishments, to take a moment to congratulate the advocates who worked so hard for passage and who have since had their boots on the ground ensuring that the promise of the ADA is realized.
Upon its passage, Senator Ted Kennedy spoke on the Senate floor of its significance: he said "The act has the potential to become one of the great civil rights laws of our generation. Disabled citizens deserve the opportunity to work for a living, tide a bus, have access to public and commercial buildings, and do all the other things that the rest of us take for granted. Mindless physical barriers and outdated social attitudes have made them second class citizens for too long. This legislation is a bill of rights for the disabled, and America will be a better and fairer nation because of it."
Two decades later, because of the hard work of the people in this room and others like you, we know that he was right. The ADA has both literally and figuratively opened millions of doors for individuals with disabilities across this nation. Just as importantly, it has revolutionized the way the rest of society thinks about individuals with disabilities, and it has revolutionized the way that people with disabilities live in our communities.
We have much to celebrate.
But for all of the progress made, I continue to hear about people like Paul Boyd, who I had the opportunity to meet earlier this year while on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama. In 1995, while a sophomore at Troy State University, Paul was injured in an accident that left him paralyzed below the collar bone. Paul eventually returned to college in his hometown of Montevallo, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.
In December 2006, Paul entered a nursing home, and in his own words, it is "next to impossible" for him to find work that would allow him to live independently. Earlier this year, Paul was accepted to a graduate program at the University of Montevallo to seek his Master's Degree in community counseling. But his classes would be at night, and he is not sure that he will be able to begin the program because of lack of transportation from his facility, which is 13 miles from the University. Paul told us that if he could get out of the nursing facility and receive services in his community in Montevallo, he could easily make it to his classes. Montevallo is Paul's hometown, and while he has an extended support network of siblings and friends there, that is not enough, and the community-based services he needs to live independently simply are not available.
And as you all know too well, Paul's story is not an exception. As we prepare to celebrate the ADA anniversary next week, one of the greatest challenges that still stands in the way of full equality is unnecessary institutionalization. 11 years after the Olmstead decision, we have seen some progress, but far too many individuals in too many states continue to be illegally segregated from their communities.
I have said repeatedly that enforcing Olmstead is a top priority for the Civil Rights Division, and we have aggressively pursued opportunities to back this assertion up with action.
In January, the Division filed a motion for immediate relief in a case involving seven state-run psychiatric hospitals in Georgia, including the facility that was at the heart of the Olmstead case more than a decade ago. A year prior to our motion, the Division and the state entered into an agreement to ensure that individuals in the hospitals were served in the most appropriate integrated settings and that unlawful conditions in the hospitals were remedied, but the court had not yet approved the agreement. After monitoring conditions at the hospital, the Division found that hundreds of individuals who could and should be served in the community remained institutionalized. In addition to this unlawful segregation, individuals in the hospitals are exposed to often dangerous conditions.
In one of the most egregious examples, 14-year old Sarah Crider, three months after being admitted to Georigia Regional Hospital in Atlanta for mental illness, died after becoming "lethally constipated" while in the hospital. Sarah had been prescribed an assortment of psychotropic medications, many of which commonly caused constipation. One the day before her death, Sarah complained of stomach pain and had nausea and vomiting. An autopsy for that her colon was stretched almost to the point of bursting, and that she died of sepsis, an infection in her bloodstream. An investigation found that her impacted bowels had developed over time and could have been detected by more careful medical care.
In May, the Division filed suit against the state of Arkansas for systematically violating the ADA by segregating residents in six state run institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities. While confined in the Arkansas Human Development Centers, the 1,100 residents of the facilities have extremely limited access to community activities and amenities, as well as limited opportunities to interact with people without disabilities. The current wait list in Arkansas for home and community-based waiver service for individuals with developmental disabilities who are seeking community alternatives to institutionalization totals approximately 1,400 people. This wait list moves at an extremely slow pace, with most people waiting several years for community services. Individuals currently at the bottom of the list will likely wait more than a decade to receive community services. Yet, the state is actively expanding its HDC institutions at the cost of developing community alternatives.
Also in May, in Florida, the department filed a statement of interest to support Michele Haddad's lawsuit against the state. Ms. Haddad, a 49-year-old woman with a spinal cord injury resulting from a motorcycle accident with a drunk driver, had quadriplegia. After a change in her caregiver situation, Ms. Haddad alerted the state that she would need community-based services. But the state informed her that it would fund services only after she entered a nursing home for 60 days first. Ms. Haddad, who has successfully resided in the community since 2007, has been on the waiting list for services for two year. The United States' filing supported her complaint and declaration for a preliminary injunction against Florida. Last month, the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville ruled that the state must provide Ms. Haddad with services that will allow her to remain in her home.
In New York, the Justice Department intervened in Disability Advocates Inc. v. David A. Paterson, et al., a case brought by a protection and advocacy organization to challenge the state's placement of persons with mental disabilities, in Adult Homes. The Department filed a brief in support of the advocates' proposed remedial plan to require that state to create 6,000 new community-based placements, and against the state's proposed plan to create approximately 1,000 new placements.
President Obama made clear his commitment to making the promise of Olmstead a reality when he announced last year the Year of Community Living. In the Civil Rights Division, as well as in our sister agencies, we are committed to carrying out this vision, and we will continue to pursue cases that ensure that promise is realized.
In addition to Olmstead enforcement, accessible technology is another priority as we enter the third decade of ADA enforcement. In the 21st century, technology drives so much of our work and our lives. Technology has revolutionized our economy and culture. It has made obtaining information, entertainment, education and goods easier and more efficient. Technology has been in many circumstances, and should be in all circumstances, an ally for people with disabilities. But many of these technologies, from Web sites to cell phones, from ticket kiosks to TV set-top devices, are either in whole or in part inaccessible to persons who are blind and other people with disabilities.
We know that as much as technology can enhance the lives of people with disabilities, inaccessible technologies can pose significant challenges to those same individuals, and we must remain vigilant to ensure new technologies don't leave individuals with disabilities in their wake. We acted swiftly on the complaints about the use of the Amazon Kindle at universities, and we reaches agreements with five major universities: Princeton; the University of Arizona, Case Western; and Reed College. Those universities have agreed not to use inaccessible electronic readers, and we will continue to make sure other institutions nationwide are aware of their accessibility obligations.
And though we have seen some voluntary efforts by companies once the matter in brought to their attention, far too many companies choose to forgo making their products and services accessible to all consumers.
Let me be clear. It is and has been the position of the Department of Justice since the late 1990s that Title III of the ADA applies to Web sites. We intend to issue regulations under our Title III authority in this regard to help companies comply with their obligations to provide equal access.
The progress made in 20 years is remarkable. But in the Civil Right Division, we are celebrating this anniversary by turning our attention to the next 20 years so that we can continue to create a nation where every individual has access to equal opportunity and equal justice.
Thank you.
With the 20th anniversary approaching, I've been talking a lot about the ADA lately, its implications and the progress made since its passage, and the challenges that remain. Anniversaries such as this one are opportunities to celebrate our great accomplishments, to take a moment to congratulate the advocates who worked so hard for passage and who have since had their boots on the ground ensuring that the promise of the ADA is realized.
Upon its passage, Senator Ted Kennedy spoke on the Senate floor of its significance: he said "The act has the potential to become one of the great civil rights laws of our generation. Disabled citizens deserve the opportunity to work for a living, tide a bus, have access to public and commercial buildings, and do all the other things that the rest of us take for granted. Mindless physical barriers and outdated social attitudes have made them second class citizens for too long. This legislation is a bill of rights for the disabled, and America will be a better and fairer nation because of it."
Two decades later, because of the hard work of the people in this room and others like you, we know that he was right. The ADA has both literally and figuratively opened millions of doors for individuals with disabilities across this nation. Just as importantly, it has revolutionized the way the rest of society thinks about individuals with disabilities, and it has revolutionized the way that people with disabilities live in our communities.
We have much to celebrate.
But for all of the progress made, I continue to hear about people like Paul Boyd, who I had the opportunity to meet earlier this year while on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama. In 1995, while a sophomore at Troy State University, Paul was injured in an accident that left him paralyzed below the collar bone. Paul eventually returned to college in his hometown of Montevallo, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.
In December 2006, Paul entered a nursing home, and in his own words, it is "next to impossible" for him to find work that would allow him to live independently. Earlier this year, Paul was accepted to a graduate program at the University of Montevallo to seek his Master's Degree in community counseling. But his classes would be at night, and he is not sure that he will be able to begin the program because of lack of transportation from his facility, which is 13 miles from the University. Paul told us that if he could get out of the nursing facility and receive services in his community in Montevallo, he could easily make it to his classes. Montevallo is Paul's hometown, and while he has an extended support network of siblings and friends there, that is not enough, and the community-based services he needs to live independently simply are not available.
And as you all know too well, Paul's story is not an exception. As we prepare to celebrate the ADA anniversary next week, one of the greatest challenges that still stands in the way of full equality is unnecessary institutionalization. 11 years after the Olmstead decision, we have seen some progress, but far too many individuals in too many states continue to be illegally segregated from their communities.
I have said repeatedly that enforcing Olmstead is a top priority for the Civil Rights Division, and we have aggressively pursued opportunities to back this assertion up with action.
In January, the Division filed a motion for immediate relief in a case involving seven state-run psychiatric hospitals in Georgia, including the facility that was at the heart of the Olmstead case more than a decade ago. A year prior to our motion, the Division and the state entered into an agreement to ensure that individuals in the hospitals were served in the most appropriate integrated settings and that unlawful conditions in the hospitals were remedied, but the court had not yet approved the agreement. After monitoring conditions at the hospital, the Division found that hundreds of individuals who could and should be served in the community remained institutionalized. In addition to this unlawful segregation, individuals in the hospitals are exposed to often dangerous conditions.
In one of the most egregious examples, 14-year old Sarah Crider, three months after being admitted to Georigia Regional Hospital in Atlanta for mental illness, died after becoming "lethally constipated" while in the hospital. Sarah had been prescribed an assortment of psychotropic medications, many of which commonly caused constipation. One the day before her death, Sarah complained of stomach pain and had nausea and vomiting. An autopsy for that her colon was stretched almost to the point of bursting, and that she died of sepsis, an infection in her bloodstream. An investigation found that her impacted bowels had developed over time and could have been detected by more careful medical care.
In May, the Division filed suit against the state of Arkansas for systematically violating the ADA by segregating residents in six state run institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities. While confined in the Arkansas Human Development Centers, the 1,100 residents of the facilities have extremely limited access to community activities and amenities, as well as limited opportunities to interact with people without disabilities. The current wait list in Arkansas for home and community-based waiver service for individuals with developmental disabilities who are seeking community alternatives to institutionalization totals approximately 1,400 people. This wait list moves at an extremely slow pace, with most people waiting several years for community services. Individuals currently at the bottom of the list will likely wait more than a decade to receive community services. Yet, the state is actively expanding its HDC institutions at the cost of developing community alternatives.
Also in May, in Florida, the department filed a statement of interest to support Michele Haddad's lawsuit against the state. Ms. Haddad, a 49-year-old woman with a spinal cord injury resulting from a motorcycle accident with a drunk driver, had quadriplegia. After a change in her caregiver situation, Ms. Haddad alerted the state that she would need community-based services. But the state informed her that it would fund services only after she entered a nursing home for 60 days first. Ms. Haddad, who has successfully resided in the community since 2007, has been on the waiting list for services for two year. The United States' filing supported her complaint and declaration for a preliminary injunction against Florida. Last month, the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville ruled that the state must provide Ms. Haddad with services that will allow her to remain in her home.
In New York, the Justice Department intervened in Disability Advocates Inc. v. David A. Paterson, et al., a case brought by a protection and advocacy organization to challenge the state's placement of persons with mental disabilities, in Adult Homes. The Department filed a brief in support of the advocates' proposed remedial plan to require that state to create 6,000 new community-based placements, and against the state's proposed plan to create approximately 1,000 new placements.
President Obama made clear his commitment to making the promise of Olmstead a reality when he announced last year the Year of Community Living. In the Civil Rights Division, as well as in our sister agencies, we are committed to carrying out this vision, and we will continue to pursue cases that ensure that promise is realized.
In addition to Olmstead enforcement, accessible technology is another priority as we enter the third decade of ADA enforcement. In the 21st century, technology drives so much of our work and our lives. Technology has revolutionized our economy and culture. It has made obtaining information, entertainment, education and goods easier and more efficient. Technology has been in many circumstances, and should be in all circumstances, an ally for people with disabilities. But many of these technologies, from Web sites to cell phones, from ticket kiosks to TV set-top devices, are either in whole or in part inaccessible to persons who are blind and other people with disabilities.
We know that as much as technology can enhance the lives of people with disabilities, inaccessible technologies can pose significant challenges to those same individuals, and we must remain vigilant to ensure new technologies don't leave individuals with disabilities in their wake. We acted swiftly on the complaints about the use of the Amazon Kindle at universities, and we reaches agreements with five major universities: Princeton; the University of Arizona, Case Western; and Reed College. Those universities have agreed not to use inaccessible electronic readers, and we will continue to make sure other institutions nationwide are aware of their accessibility obligations.
And though we have seen some voluntary efforts by companies once the matter in brought to their attention, far too many companies choose to forgo making their products and services accessible to all consumers.
Let me be clear. It is and has been the position of the Department of Justice since the late 1990s that Title III of the ADA applies to Web sites. We intend to issue regulations under our Title III authority in this regard to help companies comply with their obligations to provide equal access.
The progress made in 20 years is remarkable. But in the Civil Right Division, we are celebrating this anniversary by turning our attention to the next 20 years so that we can continue to create a nation where every individual has access to equal opportunity and equal justice.
Alabama's Lack of Olmstead Progress
Wed, Jun 23rd, 2010
The following is testimony by Assistant Attorney General Tom Perez before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) on June 22, 2010:
Eleven years after the Supreme Court recognized that institutionalization of individuals who are capable of living in and would benefit from community settings is discrimination that deprives those individuals of their freedom, many states have made great strides in expanding treatment options.
But for all of the progress made, I continue to hear about people like Paul Boyd, who I had the opportunity to meet earlier this year while on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama. In 1995, while a sophomore at Troy State University, Paul was injured in an accident that left him paralyzed below the collar bone. Paul eventually returned to college in his hometown on Montevallo, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In December 2006, Paul entered in a nursing home, and in his own words, it was "next to impossible" for him to find work that would allow him to live independently. Earlier this year, Paul was accepted to a graduate program at the University of Montevallo to seek his Master's degree in community counseling. However, his classes would be at night, and he is not sure that he will be able to begin the program because of lack of transportation from his facility, which is 13 miles from the University. Paul told us that if he could get out of the nursing facility and receive services in his community in Montevallo, he could easily make it to his classes. In order to live independently, he would need assistance of healthcare workers to help him bathe and dress and get into his wheelchair. He would also need assistance with some basic household chores. Montevallo is Paul's hometown, and while he has an extended support network of siblings and friends there, that is not enough, and the community-based services he needs to live independently simply are not available.
Sadly, Paul's story is not an exception. According to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, more than 393,000 people sat on waiting lists for home and community-based services in 2008, the most recent year for which figures are available. That number represents an increase of more than 200,000 since 2002.
We should celebrate progress made since the Olmstead ruling, but as long as people like Paul and the many others waiting for a chance to live in the community are segregated in institutions, there is clearly more work to be done. The real reason I am here on the anniversary of Olmstead is to discuss the work that still lies ahead and the efforts of the Justice Department and the Obama Administration to address the challenges that still remain.
To read the full text, click the link below:
More Info:
http://www.justice.gov/crt/opa/pr/testimony/2010/crt-testimony-100622.html
Eleven years after the Supreme Court recognized that institutionalization of individuals who are capable of living in and would benefit from community settings is discrimination that deprives those individuals of their freedom, many states have made great strides in expanding treatment options.
But for all of the progress made, I continue to hear about people like Paul Boyd, who I had the opportunity to meet earlier this year while on a trip to Birmingham, Alabama. In 1995, while a sophomore at Troy State University, Paul was injured in an accident that left him paralyzed below the collar bone. Paul eventually returned to college in his hometown on Montevallo, graduating in 2007 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In December 2006, Paul entered in a nursing home, and in his own words, it was "next to impossible" for him to find work that would allow him to live independently. Earlier this year, Paul was accepted to a graduate program at the University of Montevallo to seek his Master's degree in community counseling. However, his classes would be at night, and he is not sure that he will be able to begin the program because of lack of transportation from his facility, which is 13 miles from the University. Paul told us that if he could get out of the nursing facility and receive services in his community in Montevallo, he could easily make it to his classes. In order to live independently, he would need assistance of healthcare workers to help him bathe and dress and get into his wheelchair. He would also need assistance with some basic household chores. Montevallo is Paul's hometown, and while he has an extended support network of siblings and friends there, that is not enough, and the community-based services he needs to live independently simply are not available.
Sadly, Paul's story is not an exception. According to the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, more than 393,000 people sat on waiting lists for home and community-based services in 2008, the most recent year for which figures are available. That number represents an increase of more than 200,000 since 2002.
We should celebrate progress made since the Olmstead ruling, but as long as people like Paul and the many others waiting for a chance to live in the community are segregated in institutions, there is clearly more work to be done. The real reason I am here on the anniversary of Olmstead is to discuss the work that still lies ahead and the efforts of the Justice Department and the Obama Administration to address the challenges that still remain.
To read the full text, click the link below:
More Info:
http://www.justice.gov/crt/opa/pr/testimony/2010/crt-testimony-100622.html
Nursing Home vs. Community Based Care
Wed, Apr 28th, 2010
Results of a new Harris Poll shows that 89% of all Americans, and 94% of retirees support legislation like the Community Choice Act which would provide home and community-based supports and services instead of older and disabled Americans being forces by the current Medicaid law into nursing homes. Medicaid is the nation's major sources of financing for long term care services, covering services for both elderly and non-elderly persons in institutional settings. (Medicaid was established at the same time as Title IX of the 1965 Amendment to the Social Security Act while Medicare was established at the same time as Title VIII of the Act.) States have authority to establish eligibility standards, determine what benefits and services to cover, and set up payment rates. All states, however, must cover nursing home services while home and community services are optional.
The Harris Poll showed overwhelming support for the Community Choice Act, across age groups and all regions of the country, with that support increasing to a high of 94% in the baby-boomer/retiree age group.
Even more striking was the fact that supporters said "yes, I would pay an extra $6 a year in taxes to fund this community-based option."
The $6 figure was calculated via 3 different methodologies, by the Coalition for Community Integration and two universities, using IRS numbers, and the result was the same each time. In addition, the $6 represents the cost to middle-class tax-payers in the "worst-case" scenario.
The Harris Poll showed overwhelming support for the Community Choice Act, across age groups and all regions of the country, with that support increasing to a high of 94% in the baby-boomer/retiree age group.
Even more striking was the fact that supporters said "yes, I would pay an extra $6 a year in taxes to fund this community-based option."
The $6 figure was calculated via 3 different methodologies, by the Coalition for Community Integration and two universities, using IRS numbers, and the result was the same each time. In addition, the $6 represents the cost to middle-class tax-payers in the "worst-case" scenario.
Birmingham City Council Approves Partnership to Locate Independent Living Office Dowtown
Tue, Mar 9th, 2010
By Joseph Bryant-The Birmingham News
The Birmingham City Council today unanimously agreed to partner with a disabilities advocacy organization to build the group's offices downtown including a small museum dedicated to rights for the disabled.
In the agreement with Independent Living Resources of Greater Birmingham the city will provide up to $248,000 to buy land along 15th St. N. and 6th Ave. N. to build an 8,000 square foot office.
The new building will be in the civil rights district and near the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Officials with Independent Living Resources have called the location fitting and within the theme of the district dedicated to equal opportunities.
The Birmingham City Council today unanimously agreed to partner with a disabilities advocacy organization to build the group's offices downtown including a small museum dedicated to rights for the disabled.
In the agreement with Independent Living Resources of Greater Birmingham the city will provide up to $248,000 to buy land along 15th St. N. and 6th Ave. N. to build an 8,000 square foot office.
The new building will be in the civil rights district and near the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Officials with Independent Living Resources have called the location fitting and within the theme of the district dedicated to equal opportunities.
