Medical Assistance Renewals

Please be aware of new renewal deadlines for people who have Medical Assistance. Please forward where appropriate. instructions from Harrisburg concerning renewal for all MA recipients. Lourdes Padilla, Acting Director of the Bureau of Operations for DPW, has instructed all County Assistance Offices to review all Medical Assistance (MA) budgets, including Long-term Care and Home and Community-Based Services, with overdue renewals, by August 12, 2011. This requirement is necessary to: 1. Ensure compliance with MA eligibility requirements at renewal. 2. Determine continued eligibility or close budgets if ineligible at the time of the renewal. 3. Take appropriate action on all overdue MA renewals. If all verification has been received, the renewal will be processed. If the renewal was not returned by the recipient, the caseworker will IMMEDIATELY close the MA budget with a 15-day advance notice. If the packet and all verification is not received by the due date, the caseworker will close the MA budget with a 15-day advance notice. Please be aware that the clients who were previously sent renewal packets and did not complete the renewal will receive an advance notice that the case will be closed. As we are under the directive from Harrisburg, no extensions can be given. If the case is scheduled to close, the recipient has the right to appeal, but the timely appeal must be signed and received in order to schedule the appeal. Please advise your providers, social workers and all those in contact with the MA recipients that renewals are required annually and all verification needs to be included. We always need the most recent bank statement, cash value of life insurance and any other resources that may change, and the Authorization for Information (Pa-4) Please assist the clients in getting this information and completing the renewal form. Your assistance to the client will be vital in this project. Please share this e-mail with all the providers under your waiver umbrella to spread the message as fully as possible.

 

PA Legislature gives DPW green light for copays on services for children with disabilities.

PA Legislature gives DPW green light for copays on services for children with disabilities.

 

On June 30, the PA General Assembly enacted significant changes to the Public Welfare Code which governs many of DPW’s programs, including Medical Assistance.  These were signed into law by the Governor on June 30 as Act 22 of 2011.  Generally speaking, these changes grant DPW the authority to make significant changes to Medical Assistance benefits and provider reimbursement rates without the usual oversight by the General Assembly or the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.

 

Among the changes made, was the express grant of authority to DPW to charge copays for services to some children under 18 with disabilities that are covered under Medical Assistance.  DPW will be able to require providers to charge families a copay for services their children receive under Medical Assistance.  The copays would not apply to children on SSI or families whose children receive cash assistance.  The copays could apply to children whose family income is above 200% of the federal poverty level.  Those amounts, by family size, are below:

 

 

Household	Monthly income (200% of poverty)	Annual income (200% of poverty)
2	$2,452	$29,420
3	$3,090	$37,060
4	$3,725	$44,700
5	$4,362	$52,340
6	$5,000	$59,980
7	$5,635	$67,620
8	$6,272	$75,260

 

It will now be up to DPW to make a number of crucial policy decisions in developing these copays.  Below are a few of the critical issues DPW will need to address:

 

How much will the copays be? 

Will they vary based on income? 

How will income be determined?  Gross or take home?

Will out of pocket medical costs be deducted in determining family income for copay purposes?

On which services will copays be imposed? 

Will copays be imposed on each unit of service, each hour of service, each visit, per day?

Will there be a cap on the total amount of copays?

Will copays be imposed on services authorized but not delivered?  

Who collects the copays? 

What happens if the family can’t or doesn’t pay the copay?

Will there be any exemptions, say for example, children on waivers?

 

Unfortunately, DPW will be able to make these crucial policy decisions without oversight by the legislature or the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.  It appears that DPW can avoid the regulatory process and just publish a notice in the official state publication- the PA Bulletin- that will “set forth the copayment schedule”.

 

This means that it will be absolutely essential that there be an open and inclusive process to obtain input from affected families and providers to address the issues above and others. The Health Law Project looks forward to working with family and advocacy organizations as well as providers to advocate with DPW. 

 

 

Pennsylvania Autism Budget Alert

Pennsylvania Autism Budget Alert

May 31, 2011

Dear Friends in the Pennsylvania Autism Community:

The news about funding for autism programs and services in the state budget is concerning.   Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a budget that would make deep cuts in almost every part of the autism budget.

The battle is far from finished.   The budget talks move now to the Pennsylvania Senate and, after that, to negotiations among the House, the Senate and the Governor.

Our community must step up its efforts to be heard in the halls of the Capitol.   The next 30 days will be extraordinarily important in determining the future of autism programming in Pennsylvania.

Please contact your state senator and state representative again.   Tell them how important autism programs are to your family.   If you need the contact information, please go to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ and use the search box in the top right corner of the screen.

We must urge our legislators to support Governor Corbett’s proposed budget for autism programming. We must remind our legislators that we understand that the state budget will be painful across the board but that the budget passed by the House would be devastating to Pennsylvanians with autism and those who love and support them.   Pennsylvania has just begun to build a system to help with the flood of children and adults with autism we’ll see in the next decade, and those efforts have shown real success.   It is no time to step backwards.

Please act now.   We can make a difference, but only if we work together to make our voices heard.

Thank you,

Your Colleagues in the Autism Community

 

OVR Survey

You are important to Pennsylvania’s disability community.  The Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council wants to know what you think.  We are looking for ways to improve how we assist those with disabilities.  We have created five quick surveys.  Please take a few minutes, choose the appropriate survey and follow the link.  Don’t worry — this survey is confidential and won’t affect any of your services.  The results will be available in March of 2012 and will help OVR determine future programming and funding.

Thank you for taking the time to help us out.  You make the difference! 

Customers of Disability Services

Public Sector Service Providers

Private Sector Service Providers and Vendors

Employers

Advocates

If you know of others, who have information that we need, please feel free to forward this email to them, or give them my contact information.  In the near future, we will be sponsoring focus groups on the things we talk about in the surveys.  If you’d like to join, e-mail Lori Ann Jenkins at ljenkins@state.pa.us.   Remember, you make the difference!

 

 

SB627 Burden of Proof Legislation

Please contact your state senator and ask that he/she become a cosponsor of SB627.  

Cosponsors Needed for Burden of Proof Legislation	Take Action!
School Districts Hold Unfair Advantage Over Parents in Special Education Disputes
Before a recent U.S Supreme Court decision (Schaffer vs. Weast), the practice in Pennsylvania was for school districts to assume the burden of proof whenever disputes arose between them and parents regarding a child’s special education program.  However, the Supreme Court decision ruled that, unless state rules indicate otherwise, the party “seeking relief” has the burden of proof in IDEA due process proceedings.  Pennsylvania has no statute or regulation that assigns the burden of proof to school districts. The Court acknowledged that school districts have a natural advantage over parents in such disputes, particularly when it comes to resources.  Few parents go into this process with the resources or knowledge to properly present their child’s case against seasoned professionals and bureaucrats representing school districts. Legislation has been introduced by Senator Patrick Browne to assign the burden of proof onto school districts. (Senate Bill 627)  Cosponsors are needed.  Please contact your state senator and ask that he/she become a cosponsor of SB627.

 

 

PA Advocacy Alert!

With every new administration comes new worries that children with autism may not be protected.  With the change from Governor Rendell to Tom Corbett, this is no exception.  As an advocate, I am extremely concerned about recent actions taken by the new administration that lead me to believe that autism services are not important to Pennsylvanians.  We are, it seems, on the chopping block.  

 

Initially, when children came to the DPW for Medical Assistance, it was immediately determined that they needed early intervention services at a county level.  At the time, they did not have a category code for early intervention benefits, so they put these children under mental health/behavioral benefits (FFS and managed care).

 

In the mean time, families began receiving wraparound and other services, because they were covered under managed care/ FFS.  Recently, a category code (Waiver 16) has been created for the early 

intervention benefits.

 

What does this mean to you?  Since Waiver 16 has been put into place by the Corbett administration, children who are receiving early intervention services under the age of 3, are being denied or having to be re-evaluated for eligibility.

 

In addition, it is rumored that Gov. Corbett intends to take a look at the “loophole” in medical assistance that allows children with disabilities to receive services regardless of income.  

 

Corbett has already cut the Adult Basic Health Plan to low income Pennsylvanians as of February 28, 2011.  Our services are rumored to be next.

 

Let’s let the good Governor know WHO PUT HIM INTO OFFICE and how important these services are to our families.  

 

Please go to http://www.tomcorbettforgovernor.com/contact/ and tell Gov. Corbett — NO CUTS FOR AUTISM!!!!!!!    Flood the phone lines (717) 787-2500   with your thoughts!  Or fax to your heart’s content:  (717) 772-8284 

 

This is clearly a strike across the bow to the autism community.

 listserv@autismlink.com

 

Education Updates

EPLC EDUCATION NOTEBOOK

Friday, February 4, 2011

 

Content in this edition:

Office of the Governor

Pennsylvania Policymakers

-       Senate

-       House

Pennsylvania Bulletin

US Department of Education

Research and Reports

EPLC News

Announcements

 

The EPLC Education Notebook (current and past editions) also is available by visiting the EPLC website at www.eplc.org/publications_wpn.shtml

 

 

2010-2011 EDUCATION FUNDING

 

On January 28, Pennsylvania’s Budget Secretary Charles Zogby sent a letter to the Republican and Democratic House and Senate Appropriations Chairs announcing important changes to state funding to school districts for the current 2010-2011 budget year.  The letter acknowledges the priority of the Administration to produce a balanced 2011-12 budget and to avoid a deficit for the current year.  Secretary Zogby wrote that due to a projected shortfall, Governor Corbett has directed him (Secretary Zogby) to place $364.3 million of current year (10-11) appropriations into budgetary reserve.  The three budget line items being reduced are Community and Economic Development ($25,771,000); Basic Education Subsidy ($337,816,000); and Environmental Protection ($669,000).

The reduction in the state Basic Education Funding appropriation will be offset by federal Education Jobs Fund monies that the Administration asks the General Assembly to appropriate before the end of the fiscal year.  With this action, no school district would receive less funding than was originally included in the enacted budget signed by Governor Rendell on July 6, 2010, including the restoration of $50 million in Basic Subsidy funding that was placed into budgetary reserve in August 2010.  It will make the current year’s funding for school districts dependent on approximately $1 billion of federal funds that are unlikely to be available in future years.  Read the letter in its entirety. 

 

 

PENNSYLVANIA POLICYMAKERS

Senate

 

On January 26, Senate Bill 1 was introduced by Senator Jeff Piccola (R-15).  SB 1 amends the Public School Code to add the Opportunity Scholarship and Educational Improvement Tax Credit Act. 

The opportunity scholarship program will be established to provide scholarships (vouchers) to help low-income children pay tuition to attend a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school, and will be phased in over three academic years.  The amount of the opportunity scholarship shall equal 100% of the Commonwealth’s share of the student’s resident school district’s total revenue per average daily membership of the prior school year.  

The opportunity scholarship program will be phased in as follows:

• During the 2011-2012 school year, the opportunity scholarship will be available to low-income children who attend a persistently lowest achieving school during the 2011-2012 school year or low-income children who reside within the attendance boundary of a persistently lowest achieving school during the 2011-2012 school year.

 

• During the 2012-2013 school year, the opportunity scholarship will be available to low-income children who qualified for the program during the 2011-2012 school year and also to low-income children who attended a nonpublic school during the 2010-2011 school year and who will reside within the attendance boundary of a persistently lowest achieving school during the 2012-2013 school year.

 

• During the 2013-2014 school year and each school year after, the opportunity scholarship program will be available to all low-income children residing in Pennsylvania.

 

An Education Opportunity Board will be created and will establish guidelines that meet the standards outlined in the legislation.  The guidelines shall not be subject to review, regulation or approval by the State Board of Education.  Beginning in the second consecutive school year of enrollment in a nonresident public school or a participating nonpublic school by an opportunity scholarship recipient who was enrolled in the recipient’s resident school district when the recipient first received an opportunity scholarship, the amount of Commonwealth basic education funding paid by the state to the resident school district shall be reduced by an amount equal to the Commonwealth’s share of the school district’s total revenue per average daily membership.  Following the 2014-2015 school year, the Education Opportunity Board will conduct a study of the effectiveness of the opportunity scholarship program and will deliver a written report of its findings, including any recommendations for changes, to the Governor and the chairmen of the House and Senate Education Committees. 

House

 

On January 26, Rep. Jim Christiana (R-15) introduced House Bill 240.  HB 240 would allow any pupil to attend public school in a non-resident school district.  In order to be eligible for the open enrollment, a child must be enrolled in and attending a public school in Pennsylvania.  If a parent or guardian is not satisfied with the non-resident school district, they may return the pupil to the resident school district.  The board of school directors may not deny a transfer application if the mandatory class size has not been reached.  Specifications to deal with students with Individualized Education Plans are provided in HB 240 as well as funding and the disbursement of funds.  The responsibility for transportation to and from the school district shall be borne by the parents.  The bill provides for credits toward graduation and rules for athletic participation.

 

 

PENNSYLVANIA BULLETIN

By executive order, all agencies under the jurisdiction of the Governor are required to submit for publication an agenda of regulations under development or consideration.  The following regulatory agenda for the Department of Education was published on January 29 in the PA Bulletin (41 Pa. B. 679):

• Standards for Approved Private Schools (22 Pa. Code, Chapter 171, Subchapter C) Fall 2011, as final.
• Regulations of the State Board of Private Academic Schools (22 Pa. Code, Chapters 51, 53, 55, 57, 61 and 63) Fall 2011, as proposed.
• Higher Education – College and University Security (22 Pa. Code Chapter 33) July 2011, as proposed.

 

 

US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

• After President Obama’s State of the Union Address on January 25, the US Department of Education noted that President Obama dedicated a significant portion of his speech to education.  The Department released excerpts from the speech dealing strictly with education.  Read the education passages here.  Read the President’s entire speech here.

 

• US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan teamed up with John Hill, director of the National Rural Education Association, for a call to journalists from rural communities and education writers who cover rural schools on Wednesday, January 26.  The Secretary and Hill discussed the importance of fixing the federal mandates of No Child Left Behind that do not work for rural schools and answered questions from the media about the challenges and opportunities that rural schools have.  Read the call transcript here.

 

 

RESEARCH AND REPORTS

The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia with NAACP State Conference and its Lebanon County Authorized Committee has released a detailed review of truancy fines sought by the Lebanon School District over the past six years.  The report examines the school district and local courts implementation of state policies pertaining to truancy.  According to the Center, the Lebanon School District “took parents and students to court more than 8,000 times and was awarded $1.5 million in fines.  Fines and court costs in one school year alone (2008-2009) totaled $498,000 and were ten times higher than for other comparable districts in the state on a per student basis. The system has enforced those fines with jail terms, including one for 85 days.”  Read the full report here. 

 

 

EPLC NEWS

EPLC will again conduct a series of regional workshops for school board candidates and other voters interested in education issues.  The all-day workshops will be held on Saturdays during February and March (Montgomery County – 2/26; Lehigh Valley 3/5; Monroeville 3/12; and Harrisburg 3/19).  Look for agenda and registration details at www.eplc.org.

 

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• On January 27, the Schott Foundation for Public Education released its response to the State of the Union Address.  Read the response here.

 

• The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia is holding the next segment in its Hot Topics in Special Education Law.  The seminar Children with Emotional Needs and Behavioral Problems: Counseling, Juvenile Justice & the IEP System will be held on February 8, 2011 from 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Register for the session here.

 

• The Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) is holding a 2011 Minority Leadership Training Conference March 4 – 6, 2011 at the Marriott Lancaster at Penn Square in Lancaster.  The registration deadline is February 7.

 

For information on upcoming events, please visit www.eplc.org and click on “Events Calendar”.

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -

EPLC Education Notebook is published by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC).  Permission to reprint or electronically redistribute the Notebook in whole or in part is granted provided attribution to EPLC is provided.

 

The Education Policy and Leadership Center is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit organization. The Mission of EPLC is to encourage and support the enactment and implementation of effective state-level education policies in order to improve student learning in grades P-12, increase the effective operation of schools, and enhance educational opportunities for citizens of all ages.

 

2011 Bureau of Autism Services Mini Grants

Bureau of Autism Services 2011 Family and Individual Mini-Grants

The Bureau of Autism Services of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is pleased to announce the availability of mini-grants to support children and adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and families that include an individual with ASD.

The full application packet including directions, frequently asked questions and answers, and the application will be made available for downloading and printing off of our web site at the close of business on February 18, 2011. If you do not have Internet access or printing capabilities, requests for paper applications to be mailed to you can be made after 5:00pm on February 18, 2011 by calling our toll free number at 1-866-539-7689 (select option # 2) or email DPW-Autism Office@…. Please include and spell your name, complete mailing address and a phone number with area code. Additionally, this year we will be posting a web cast regarding the mini grant application process, please visit http://bastraining.acrobat.com/p53796987/ after February 18, 2011 to view this informative webcast.

Bureau of Autism Services, Office of Developmental Programs
Department of Public Welfare
605Health & Welfare Building, Harrisburg PA 17120
Toll-Free: 866.539.7689| Fax: 717.265.7761
http://www.autisminpa.org
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us

 

Action alert: Save budget for MR and early intervention programs

Pennsylvania’s funding for community mental retardation (MR) and early intervention programs is on the chopping block. The budget for fiscal year 09-10 is still not in place, as the Senate waivers on whether to cut these programs from the budget or not. We need your help in urging your Senator to maintain the budget for these programs.

Click over to The Arc’s Web site, where you’ll find a pre-composed message to send to your Senator. All you have to do is enter your contact info and hit send!

Balancing the state budget requires tough choices. But community MR and early intervention programs for infants and toddlers are publicly funded. The waiting lists for services are very long. The last thing these programs need is a budget cut.

More importantly, Pennsylvanians with developmental disabilities and their families depend on these programs. Please ask your Senator to find another way to balance budget. Learn more about the issue and write in today.

 

Action alert: Support positive measures to correct bad student behavior

If you have a child in school, you might want to pay attention to a new federal bill called the Positive Behavior for Safe and Effective Schools Act (H.R. 2597). It would let state and local education agencies use federal education funds to increase the use of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) for all students — including those with developmental disabilities.

What’s PBS? It’s a positive approach to promote good behavior among all students. Almost every K-12 classroom has its share of misbehaved kids. Schools typically take punitive measures to correct students’ misconduct (detention, etc.). But that can often ignite the rebel inside, and cause kids to continue misbehaving.

PBS, on the other hand, creates and maintains a safe and effective learning environment by clearly teaching students what behavior is expected of them. They are rewarded for good behavior and making good decision. PBS has been shown to decrease the number of discipline referrals, increase academic performance, raise student attendance, and improve school climate.

U.S. Rep. Phil Hare introduced the Positive Behavior for Safe and Effective Schools Act in the House of Representatives. The bill doesn’t require schools to use PBS. But many schools want to implement it, and don’t have the funds to do so. This bill is a step in the right direction. But now, we need your support too!

No Pennsylvania representatives are co-sponsoring the bill. Please, call your federal representative and tell them you want them to support and co-sponsor the Positive Behavior for Safe and Effective Schools Act. It can mean a more positive, healthy, and productive learning environment for your child.

You can find out who your representative is and how to contact them by visiting the House’s Web site.

You can read the full text of the bill at the Library of Congress’s Web site.

Thank you for your support!

 

SB 850 passes: Disabled at risk of losing services

Senate Bill 850 was passed last week and could pose major shortcomings for the developmentally disabled across the state. The bill’s proposed budget cuts nearly $88 million from Pennsylvania’s mental retardation system.

It terminates services for up to 3,550 people currently receiving care. It also completely eliminates the Emergency Waiting List initiative, which was to serve 793 developmentally disabled people next year.

The Arc is urging people to contact their senator or representative and let them know how their family will be affected if their son or daughter loses services.

More details on the budget cuts and how to contact you senator or representative can be found at The Arc’s Web site and the Disability Rights of Pennsylvania’s Web site.

 

Funding for those on waiting list in danger again

The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to vote on a bill as early as this week that would cut new funding to serve people on the emergency waiting list. It would also cut funding for those already being served.

Please call, write, fax, or email your elected officials in Harrisburg immediately and urge them to oppose SB 850′s budget cuts for programs serving people with disabilities.

More details on the bill and how to take action can be found on The Arc’s Web site.

 

Help disabled students get higher education

The Arc is asking for your help right away to support funding to provide post-secondary education to disabled students. Take action by writing in to your representative by this Wednesday, April 1, and urge them to support higher education funding provisions.

These provisions are part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act, signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2008. The law includes student aid programs, teacher training programs, and other important initiatives to help students with intellectual disabilities access, participate, and succeed in post-secondary education.

But these provisions need funding. Rep. John Yarmuth is circulating this “Dear Colleague” letter asking the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee to provide $70 million for the disability provisions

The deadline for the House of Representatives to sign on to the letter is this Wednesday, April 1. That’s why we need your help right away!

How to take action:
Send an e-mail to your representative to ask him/her to support these higher education provisions for students with intellectual disabilities. Need help? See a sample message and send your e-mail on The Arc’s Web site.

 

Help protect vulnerable adults from abuse

It could be your parent. Your sibling. Your aunt, uncle, or friend, even yourself. If you or someone you know is a vulnerable adult with disabilities, and aged 18 and 59, Pennsylvania provides no protective services. There is no law that would enable local authorities to respond to reports of abuse or neglect, step in, and protect vulnerable adults when there is a need to do so.

Sen. Pat Vance plans to introduce protective services legislation in the Pennsylvania Senate very soon. But we need your help. The Arc is asking Pennsylvanians to contact their state senator and urge them to be an original co-sponsor of adult protective services legislation.

To take action, simply send a message to your senator using The Arc’s Web site.

 

Waiting list funding should be off limits to budget cuts

Marc’s advocacy program isn’t the only thing getting squeezed lately by the Department of Public Welfare (DPW). As this action alert from The Arc of PA details, another round of state government budget cuts are being planned. DPW said cuts to the emergency waiting list initiative are not off the table.

We urge the community to take action by contacting their state reps, senators, and Gov. Rendell to insist that state protect community-based services from further budget cuts. Don’t know what to say? Check out our pre-written e-mail, and see the action alert below for more information.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

PA Action Alert — Protect Community Funding From Budget Cuts

Community-Based Service Funding In Jeopardy

Already this year, the PA Department of Public Welfare has cut funding for 464 individuals slated to finally get off the emergency waiting list for community services, and has cut over $1 million from the “money-follows-the-person” initiative which would have helped 30 individuals get out of state institutions so they could return to their communities with supports and services.

These cuts are part of government-wide budget reductions being imposed due to lower-than-expected tax revenues resulting from a slowing economy. On November 19th, Governor Rendell announced yet another round of state government budget cuts are being planned. DPW has said that cuts to the Waiting List initiative are not off the table.

When it comes to budget cuts, The Arc of PA believes that funding for community-based services should be off limits since serving Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities is a core responsibility of state government. Budget making is about establishing priorities and protecting those priorities.

Members of The Arc are urged to communicate with their state reps and senators and Governor Rendell to insist that state government prioritize and protect community-based services from further budget cuts.

 

More ways to take action against advocacy services termination

After losing the $103,000 in state funding for our advocacy services, your help is needed now more than ever. The community must rally together to persuade the Department of Public Welfare to reinstate the funding for next year’s fiscal budget.

We already informed you that Estelle Richman, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare; and Gov. Rendell should be contacted. But you can also reach out to Michael Masch, Secretary of the Budget; and Kevin Casey, Deputy Secretary Office of Mental Retardation. Their contact info is below.

Michael Masch

Secretary of the Budget

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

238 Main Capitol

Harrisburg, PA 17120

E-mail: mmasch@state.pa.us

Kevin Casey

Deputy Secretary Office of Mental Retardation

Department of Public Welfare

P.O. Box 2675

Harrisburg PA 17105-2675

Phone: 717-787-3700

E-mail: kecasey@state.pa.us

 

Harrisburg cuts funding for Arc Advocacy Services

The Arc’s Advocacy Services are in danger!

The Department of Public Welfare has pulled its $103,000 allocation for our Arc chapter, starting countdown to termination of all advocacy services.

We are asking all members and the community to please send a letter to Estelle Richman, Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare, asking her to reinstate funding for our advocacy services. (Her address and contact information are listed below.)

If these funds are not reinstated in Gov. Rendell’s budget for fiscal year 2008-2009, The Arc’s advocacy services will be curtailed and then terminated. This means you and your family will no longer be served.

Why is this happening? Here’s the background:

In the governor’s budget for fiscal year 2008/2009, the legislature allocated $309,000 to be evenly split between The Arc of Delaware, The Arc of Montgomery, and The Arc of Philadelphia Counties. Although The Arc of Montgomery County has not received official notification, these funds were retroactively cut in August of 2008.

We have learned recently that The Arc of Delaware County has had $95,000 of this funding reinstated. The reason for this, given by the department, was The Arc of Delaware County’s budget was so small (approximately $500,000) that the cut would be devastating for The Arc of Delaware County.

The retroactive cut of $103,000 reduces this year’s Montgomery County advocacy budget by 23 percent. It will destroy its advocacy program because it will reduce its funds for advocates to provide support to Montgomery County citizens from $148,000 per year to $45,000 per year.

CALL TO ACTION: Contact the Secretary of the Department of Public Welfare and the governor’s office to reinstate the $103,000 allocation for The Arc of Montgomery County. Let them know that this support is vitally important to your or your family member’s life.

HOW TO MAKE CONTACT:

For Secretary Estelle Richman:

By e-mail: erichman@state.pa.us

By mail:

The Honorable Estelle B. Richman

Department of Public Welfare

Box 2675

Harrisburg, PA 17110-2675

Fax: 1-717-772-2062

For Governor Edward Rendell:

By mail:

Governor Edward Rendell

225 Main Capitol

Harrisburg, PA 17120

Fax: 717-772-8284

 

Urge legislators to restore waiting list funding

In July, Pennsylvania announced its new state budget, which called for a 1.3 percent cut in funding for the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP). No details were provided on what exactly would be reduced. Only a couple of weeks ago did state officials at the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) finally announce how they are applying the reduction.

Most of it will cut into funding for the emergency waiting list. This means 464 Pennsylvanians on the waiting list who were slated to get services will be cut out.

In a separate decision, the DPW said it will save $4 million by reducing staff in state-run centers. This brings into question the quality of care these centers are now able to provide. It’s also unclear why the DPW wouldn’t just close one or two of the old state-run centers to save money.

The Arc believes these changes were not the ones state legislators had in mind when they voted to cut ODP funding. Urge your senators and representatives to restore waiting list funding as originally proposed by Governor Rendell. And instead of cutting back on care at state-run centers, the DPW ought to close one or two of them to redirect the savings into the community system.

Take action by clicking here.

 

What to ask your political candidates

We’ve been urging the community to reach out to their political candidates and ask about their game plans for supporting the intellectually disabled. Its important everyone do this.

By bringing your questions to their attention, you bring weight to the issues that matter most to you. And when enough people raise their voice, candidates are more likely to respond and take action.

You’ll also become more informed on each candidate’s policies, and be able to make a better decision come election day.

But if you’re confused about what to ask exactly, look no further. We’re providing a suggested questionnaire you can send to your candidates to get the answers you need.

We urge you to send your questions by the end of August, to give candidates enough time to stew on the issues and circulate your questions through their camp.

1) Please describe a personal or professional relationship you have with a person with an intellectual or developmental disability.

2) The community-based service system is nearly 100 percent reliant on public funding. When the system does not receive additional funding to account for increases in the cost to run a program, service quality and capacity are jeopardized.

What is your position on legislation that would require the governor to propose a funding increase in his/her budget annually to mitigate inflation in community-based services for people with intellectual disabilities (HB 2241, SB 1373)?

3) What is your position on ending the emergency waiting list for services and critical needs waiting list in the adult service system, which have 4,545 and 9,573 individuals waiting statewide respectively (as of June 2008)? Do you support using savings from the closure of one or more state MR institutions to help fund elimination of the community-based services waiting list?

4) Pennsylvania is one of only six states that have no adult protective services law in place to protect vulnerable adults with disabilities ages 18 to 59. Will you support passage of such legislation and the funding necessary to implement it? (SB 1049, HB 361)

5) The U.S. Supreme Court Atkins decision banned the use of capital punishment on people with mental retardation in 2002, yet it left it to the states how to implement their decision. The Arc supports determining a defendant’s mental retardation by a qualified judge before the trial commences.

The Arc believes a person who is not eligible for capital punishment should not have to go through a capital trial, especially given the cost of a capital trial to taxpayers. Do you support pre-trial determination of mental-retardation?

6) Despite IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act) protections, students with disabilities can find themselves the subject of disciplinary action because of behavior resulting from their disability. State and national education data has proven that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) can dramatically reduce disciplinary issues in schools.

Would you support a state plan that requires every student with documented discipline and behavior needs to have a PBSI Plan and an independent monitoring system to ensure compliance? Would you support a state plan to reward schools for developing school-wide PBSI Plans that improve the disciplinary and behavioral climate of the entire school?

7) For many years, the “burden of proof” in special education disputes between schools and families was on the school district. A 2005 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Schaffer v. Weast) changed things by saying, unless state law says otherwise, the burden falls to the party seeking relief. (This burden almost always falls on the parent.)

Parents of children with disabilities are at a significant financial, legal, and practical disadvantage against career bureaucrats and seasoned school district lawyers if the burden of proving the inappropriateness of an education program falls on them. Do you support passing legislation that places the burden of proof onto the school district instead of parents (SB 1414, HB 2438)?

8) Federal special education law requires each state to have an Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR) to provide an unbiased means to resolve disputes between parents and schools. Pennsylvania ODR is funded and overseen by the Pa. Education Department.

This causes — at the very least — a perceived conflict of interest. Do you support passing legislation to make ODR independent from the Education Department (SB 1415)?

9) Pennsylvania ranks 46th in the nation when it comes to how often students with a disability are included in general education settings with their peers without disabilities.

Describe your views on the value of inclusive practices to both students with and without disabilities. Do you believe the General Assembly should tie increases in special education funding to a school district’s inclusion performance?

10) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1999 Olmstead decision that the unnecessary institutionalization of a person with a disability is unconstitutional, yet nearly 10 years later Pennsylvania still operates five state-run institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities.

No person “needs” to be segregated and isolated in a state-run institution, but 1,300 Pennsylvanians remain in one. If elected, would you work to close the five remaining state MR centers?

Please return answers to The Arc chapter in your district.

 

How to reach out to your political candidates

With elections approaching, it’s crucial to ask candidates about their plans for supporting people with intellectual disabilities. But often, people don’t know what to ask, or how to ask it. Well, we’re here to help!

The Arc of Pennsylvania sent a memo around all state chapters containing questions to ask their state senator and representative (both challengers and incumbents). Take a look at the memo below for more information about reaching out to the candidates. I’ll be publishing the suggested questionnaire in a separate post shortly!

MEMORANDUM

An important component of The Arc mission is public policy advocacy. Therefore, it is very important that your local chapter of The Arc use the upcoming election as an opportunity to ask candidates about issues impacting citizens with intellectual and developmental disabilities and hold them accountable for their positions.

The Arc of PA is urging local chapters to contact candidates for state senator and state representative (both challengers and incumbents). The Arc of Pennsylvania’s Systems Advocacy & Government Affairs Committee has developed questions your chapter may use to send to the candidates (attached).

We urge you to send the questions by the end of August. This will allow the candidate a reasonable amount of time to reply with thoughtful answers. It will also give your chapter some time to disseminate the candidates’ replies to your members several weeks before the election so that your members’ have the benefit of knowing the replies before they cast their votes.

Give the candidates a reasonable deadline to have answers returned to you. If the candidate does not reply by that date, then it is reasonable in our view to inform your members (in an objective manner) that the candidate failed to respond to The Arc’s questions.

Finally, we stress that using questionnaires is a perfectly legal and common practice amongst organizations like The Arc as long as it is done in a non-partisan manner and it is not biased toward either candidate.

For a list of candidates by district number:
http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bcel/lib/bcel/elections/petition_filers.pdf

If you do not know the district number(s) for your county, then go to the following link and in the upper right corner use the district locator by typing either a zip code or county:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/

Once you have the names of the candidates, typically the mailing address or email for their campaign headquarters will be shown on their campaign website.

Please remember that these questions are for state representative and state senators. Should you wish to send a similar questionnaire to your federal Congressional candidates, we suggest that you contact The Arc of the U.S. and/or its public policy arm, the “Disability Policy Collaboration”, and solicit questions from them for use in your questionnaire.

Please contact either one of us or staff at The Arc of Pennsylvania office in Harrisburg should you have any questions about this opportunity.