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79th Legislative Session Update
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SILC
MEMBERS
OFFICERS MEMBERS EX-OFFICIO
MEMBERS ADMINISTRATION |
79th Legislative Session Update
By Ted Thayer
The 79th Legislative Session has come and gone and several bills enacted have significance for people with disabilities. Space limitations in this newsletter article preclude mentioning all of the bills affecting people with disabilities; however, the following are of particular significance:
SB 1: This legislation restored certain benefits for adult Medicaid clients (78% of whom are elderly or disabled) including eyeglasses, hearing aids, mental health professional services, and podiatry. This legislation did not, however, restore all of the 78th Legislature's Medicaid and CHIP cuts, including the 12 month coverage for Children's Medicaid or CHIP and the 2003 cuts to nursing home residents' personal needs allowance. SB 1 did restore vision and dental services to CHIP and mental health services to 2003 levels. Also, SB 1 provided for 97.9 million in General Revenue Funds for demographic growth and reduction of interest and waiting lists at the Department for Aging and Disability Services (DADS). This represents 76% of the Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) for demographic growth and 49% of the LAR for interest or waiting lists. This represents a plan to eliminate waiting lists in 20 years.
SB 627: This bill regarding funding following a child relocating from an ICFMR facility to a community-based service program did not pass; however, a DADS rider in SB 1 directs DADS to develop a pilot program for money to follow the child from an ICFMR facility to community-based services. It is projected that the pilot program will serve 50 children over the biennium as opposed to the projected 100 that would have been served by the original bill.
HB 1867: This legislation codified legacy DHS rider 28 regarding money following the person from nursing facilities into community-based supports and services. This bill did pass making money following the person "permanent".
A Medicaid Buy-In allows individuals to retain their Medicaid coverage and go to work. This is done because the individual will pay a portion of the monthly Medicaid premium as well as participate in cost-sharing activities just like a private health insurance policy. HB 1135 and SB 566 were identical bills which directed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to establish a Medicaid Buy-In. SB 566 was signed by Governor Perry on May 9, 2005, and takes effect on September 1, 2005. According to the legislation, the Buy-In must be established by December 2005. The legislation appropriated six million dollars for this project over the biennium.
HB 481: According to precedent set by the Texas Workforce Commission, a person must be seeking full-time work to receive partial unemployment benefits. As a result of this precedent, persons with disabilities that prevent them from working a full-time job are unable to receive partial unemployment benefits after being discharged from their part-time job. This legislation allows persons with disabilities who are seeking part-time work to be eligible to receive partial unemployment benefits. This applies to individuals currently receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
SB 376: This bill requires the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to establish a pilot program to provide recipients of Medicaid with oral, sign and written language interpreter services in accordance with Federal law and applicable publications of the Federal Centers Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. CMS and OCR require patients be given information and their treatment in their preferred language.
HB 3235: This legislation requires the Health and Human Services Commission to provide interpreter services to Medicaid program recipients who are deaf or hard of hearing or to the parent or guardian of a Medicaid program recipient if the parent or guardian is deaf or hard of hearing.
Note: This information was excerpted from a summary prepared by Jonas Schwartz, Program Manager, Advocacy, Inc.
Just Say "YES"
By Paula Margeson
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Marine First Sergeant, Ralph Kennon, visits with the YES group during their recent community service project where the participants compiled care packages to be sent to Iraq as a show of support for our troops. |
A new function of this periodical will be to feature innovative independent living projects implemented in the state. This edition
highlights Youth Encountering Success, (YES), a program of the Panhandle Center for Independent Living in Amarillo. Established three years ago as a summer project, the program proved so successful that students and parents requested it continue throughout the school year. YES is targeted to young people between the ages of twelve and twenty-one with most participants in the fourteen to nineteen age range. A cross-disability program, YES does not focus on the particular limitations or needs of specific individuals, but rather stresses the abilities and interests that the participants have in common. Group sessions are conducted twice monthly during the school year and two times per week in the summer. So meaningful is the program that some students travel two hours one way to participate. Valarie Robbins, the center's assistant executive director and the project coordinator for YES, emphasizes that the program belongs to the youth. Participants plan activities, determine topics for learning, and evaluate the success of each venture. Space in the program is limited to twenty participants and there is usually a waiting list. Young people receive a certificate of achievement upon completing eighty-five hours of participation. "Our goal is to reach young people as soon as possible, while they are eager to learn and to prove what they can do," says Robbins. Concepts that were introduced in the summer session included self advocacy, peer support, and problem-solving techniques.
Several field trips were conducted to give participants the opportunity to apply newly acquired skills in "real world" settings. In one activity, Dress for Success, each participant was given a $75 clothing allowance and coached in how to budget for and select apparel to make the "right" impression. The highlight of the summer was a fifteen-hour sleep-over, complete with pizza, interactive games, and movies. Support for the project comes from in-kind contributions and through private donations. YES is an ideal method of introducing youth with disabilities to the philosophy and principles of the Independent Living Movement.
SILCBriefs
By Paula Margeson
Changes in SILC Ex-Officio Status
The State Independent Living Council has recently undergone changes in ex- officio membership. In the spring, Martha Bagley accepted a position as curriculum developer for the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) which resulted in her resignation from the council. Formerly, Ms. Bagley was a program specialist with the Division for Rehabilitation Services (DRS) and represented that entity on the SILC. The council members wish her well in her new position and lament the loss of her expertise, particularly regarding the provisions of the Rehabilitation Act. Ms. Bagley served as ex- officio member from 2002 to 2005. Doug Dittforth has also left the council. As the representative from the Commission on Deaf and Hard of Hearing, he was an ex officio member from 2001 to 2005. Mr. Dittforth's departure is the result of reassignment following the incorporation of the former commission's functions into the Division for Rehabilitation Services. His assistance as liaison to the deaf community will be greatly missed. Appointment of Larry Gardner, DRS, and Marc Gold, DADS, as new SILC ex-officio members is pending approval by the governor.
Wichita Falls Residents Speak Out
Each year, the SILC has one of its meetings in an area that is unserved by an independent living center in order to obtain input from local residents regarding the need for IL services. Such a meeting was recently held in Wichita Falls. The council conducted a hearing and invited public participation. Service needs identified included: transition programming for youth with disabilities, recreational opportunities for children, information and referral, advocacy, life skills training for persons who are deaf, and relocation from institutions. Testimony provided will be useful in planning for the expansion of the network of centers throughout Texas.
Regional IL Conference Held in Dallas
The semi-annual independent living conference for Region VI took place in Dallas, June 22 and 23. A pre-conference workshop occurred on the 21st and focused on youth. The theme of the conference was "Together We Can". Attendees included consumers, independent living center personnel, rehabilitation counselors, family members, and other interested parties. The event was sponsored by the Regional Rehabilitation Continuing Education Center, REACH of Dallas, the University of North Texas, and the State Independent Living council. Region VI includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
New Network announced
On the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the People with Disabilities Broadcasting Corporation (PWDBC) formally unveiled its web site launching a new disability media presence. This innovative corporation will create the first 24-hour, seven day a week, TV channel "of, by, and for persons with disabilities." Programming will include dramas, sports, news and other features. PWDBC founder, Howard Renensland, has an adult daughter with developmental disabilities. For further information, go to www.pwdbc.org or e-mail Howard Renensland at howard@pwdbc.org.
CILs Receive Funding For Special Projects
In response to a Request for Proposals issued by the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, and in conjunction with the SILC, Title VII Part B funds were awarded to two independent living centers for the purpose of initiating special projects. The recipients are the Houston Center for Independent Living, (HCIL), and Life/Run in Lubbock. The Housing Alliance Project will increase housing options for people with significant disabilities in Houston through consumer education and systems advocacy and by working with public/private providers to develop more accessible/affordable housing. The "Home for Life" program will offer detailed follow-up services to individuals in Lubbock and surrounding areas relocating from nursing facilities by providing a schedule of in-home visits, assessing current needs, and assisting to address potential obstacles to continued independence. The council extends its congratulations to HCIL and Life/Run and looks forward to the results of these projects.
ADA Victory Proclaimed
After a three-day trial, a 12-person jury in Denver returned an $8 million verdict in Federal court for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In a lawsuit, the EEOC alleged that EchoStar Communications Corp. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by refusing to provide a reasonable accommodation to Dale Alton, a qualified applicant who is blind. Following the favorable verdict, Joseph Mitchell, Regional Attorney of the EEOC's Denver District Office said, "Many individuals with disabilities, such as Dale Alton, are ready, eager and able to work. All they need is the opportunity to do the job without discriminatory barriers based on myths, fears and stereotypes. Employers must remember that disability does not mean inability."
SILC Participates in National Conference
Executive director Ted Thayer and SILC chair Paula Margeson attended the
National Independent Living Conference held in 
Washington D.C., July 11/15.
The event included informative workshops, an awards luncheon, the annual
meeting of NCIL, and a rally at the Capitol. Thayer and Margeson, along
with other Texans, took the opportunity to meet with the two Texas senators
and approximately 25 Texas representatives to discuss proposed and pending
legislation relevant to people with disabilities.