Anyone who deals with the disabled knows that there is more to them than meets the eye. They amaze us everyday and continue to amaze us with their insights and actions.
This is a great video that reminds us to never give up and to keep advocating for those who have special needs or are different.
Carly – Keep Squeaking Those Wheels. Way to go!
Mike Coonan is the President of Left Behind in the USA. He fights a very tough battle to help children and adults with disabilities receive the services necessary for them to live a full and rewarding life.
Unfortunately he fights a battle that may never end and that he may never win. However, despite this, he continues to fight on.
Currently nearly 400,000 disabled Americans live marginalized lives because they do not receive services that would help them live on their own, work or get out into the community.
His organizations opening statement is:
Left Behind in the USA is a non-profit organizations representing families whose child/loved one with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation/intellectual disability and related Developmental Disability is on Medicaid Waiver waiting lists. We are dedicated to educating and empowering families on the Medicaid Waiver waiting list.
Keep fighting the fight and keep providing a voice for those who have no voice. You are not alone.
Keep squeaking your wheels – they will have to pay attention.
The headline reads – “New Times exposé forces McKay scholarship reform”. This has prompted legislators here in Florida to take a look at the McKay scholarship. There has been fraud and misuse; there is no doubt about that.
The real question now is how will they respond? Will they increase oversight on the how the scholarship money is being used? Will they put so many restrictions on it, that it becomes worthless or so hard to qualify for that no one will use it?
The McKay scholarship is primarily for students in public schools who have a disability. The scholarship allows the parent to remove the student from public school and place the child in a more appropriate private school environment.
Florida public schools have failed miserably when it comes to educating children with disabilities. The abuse and misuse of seclusion and restraint results in these children being physically and emotionally harmed. There were over 10,000 incidents of restraint in Florida in class rooms during the last school year.
Public schools in Florida have failed to provide proper and appropriate education for students with special needs. They routinely place them on a track to receive a “Special Diploma”. Translate into a “Worthless Diploma.”
The purpose of education is to educate. Florida schools typically warehouse students with disabilities until they can legally pass them out into society. These children, now adults, are unprepared and have no job or life skills.
The McKay scholarship was the one hope for many families. It was the one chance that their child could get an appropriate education.
Now that hope is in jeopardy. Scandal and budget shortages do not make a good match. The fixes that the legislature enacts to prevent fraud should not prevent parents from being able to readily and easily access the scholarship.
Any restrictions on the scholarship should not affect the intent. That being to allow children with disabilities to take their matrix money with them and attend a private school that will provide them with the education they need to be productive and successful adults.
Parents speak up and keep squeaking those wheels.
This is the text of a letter from Philip Pearson, Vice Chairperson, FCC12
Families waiting for the Medicaid Waiver, You may or may not know this, but Disability Rights of Florida (previously known as the advocacy center) has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida on behalf of families on the waiting list for Medicaid Waiver services. Although there are named plaintiffs, we are all included, as this is a class action lawsuit. You do not need to sign up to be a part of the class.
While at a recent Family Care Council Florida meeting, the Disability Rights Senior Attorney, Amanda Heystek, talked about the need to have families contact Disability Rights Florida to provide contact information. We, FCC representatives suggested that we could send a letter to wait list families to ask them to do this. Here are Amanda’s words:
Disability Rights Florida is engaged in a lawsuit regarding the waitlist for home and community based services through the Developmental Disabilities Waiver. Disability Rights Florida would like to hear directly from those on the waitlist. Please fill out the survey on the link provided.
You can fax, mail or email your survey to Disability Rights Florida. By filling out the survey you are only agreeing to be contacted by our staff for further inquiry as to your needs and purpose for registering on the waitlist.
If you have computer and web access, please go fill out the questionnaire.
Download the short survey, fill it out and send it in to
Amanda Heystek
Disability Rights Florida
2728 Centerview Drive, Suite 102
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
If you don’t have access, please contact disability rights directly to provide them your information. If you would like more information about the lawsuit, please contact:
Sylvia W. Smith, Director of Legislative and Public Affairs
850-488-9071 ext 9725
SylviaS@DisabilityRightsFlorida.org
——————————————
We need to end the wait list and get our citizens with disabilities services.
Keep squeaking those wheels.
So in the scheme of things getting a good parking spot is not really important. There is just so much going on around us that who parks where is just not on the top of our list.
However, in South Florida law enforcement has been cracking down on drivers who misuse disabled parking tags or parking places.
Authorities ticketed 865 drivers in Palm Beach and Broward counties in 2010 for illegally parking in handicapped spaces. That is a lot of tickets and it is not cheap when you are caught.
These tickets were not just for parking in a disabled spot with no disabled permit. There were tickets for individuals who used a friends or relatives parking permit. Most people do not know that the disabled permit is tied to a driver’s license or Florida ID.
Police and other law enforcement will routinely ask to see proof that the disabled person is present. Just having a parking permit is not enough – the disabled person has to be present.
Now that makes sense to most people, but not to all.
My experience has been that law enforcement in Ocala and Marion County are diligent in watching for those who misuse a disabled parking permit. On one occasion I observed an officer writing a ticket in a big box store parking lot. After the ticket recipient left, I engage him in conversation. My son was with me and we were parked in the adjacent spot.
He informed me that they pick parking lots at random and will occasionally monitor and verify disabled permits. Glad to hear it.
I have also had a personal experience with a permit. My son and I attended a charity breakfast and he had left his permit at home. I have his expired permit in my glove box and decided to use it.
Low and behold after breakfast we had a ticket. A trip to the local police station with the proper updated and current parking permit and the ticket was cancelled.
However, I was glad that our officers are out there watching for those who misuse disabled permits. Our disabled citizens and disabled drivers need those parking places.
Even though who parks where is not really life threatening in the great scheme of things. However, it is important to those who have mobility issues.
Keep squeaking those wheels.
The disabled are fair game for killing both inside and outside the womb. I know raising a child with a disability can be hard. I have one. I have many friends who have children with disabilities.
No matter how frustrating. No matter how hard. No matter how bad things have gotten. I have never had one of my friends say they wish their child was dead.
How could any mother want their child dead? How could any father want their child dead?
Recently a jury in South Florida – West Palm Beach – awarded $4.5 million to parents because they were not given the chance to kill (abort) their son. The child was born with no arms and one leg.
Wow – these parents are saying they wished their son was dead. They are saying that they (the couple) would prefer not to have their son. Even worse a jury decided the child would be better off dead and awarded the parents money as compensation.
Now the award is for money to care for their son. However, the message is clear – The Disabled Are Expendable.
What does this tell the rest of society? Yes it is OK to abuse or neglect the disabled; after all they are better off dead. Those parents and society by extension would be better served if the disabled had never been allowed to be born.
This does not allow that anyone with a disability can have a good quality life. This does not allow that anyone with a disability can contribute to society. This does not allow that anyone with a disability can have a family or people who love and care for them.
The Disabled Are Expendable
In the early years of Hitler’s rise to power he was a proponent of euthanasia. That is the killing off of the weak, unwanted and burdensome. He was in favor of killing them in and out of the womb. That is a horrible thought.
However, do you what he modeled his euthanasia legislation after? He modeled his euthanasia laws after the laws of Virginia and other states here in the US.
Our disregard for the disabled is not new. We are seeing it raising its ugly head again. Budgets are tight so now we can kill off the disabled; in fact we should not even let them be born.
Keep squeaking those wheels.
This was originally posted on The View From The Dark Side Of The Moon Blog.
Child In Florida School Being Restrained
From St Lucie County in Florida comes another story of inappropriate use of seclusion and restraint. Children with disabilities can be secluded and physically restrained in Florida public schools. This abuse of our children needs to stop.
A First grader was handcuffed and taken to a mental health facility. This is a First grader a child who is 7 or maybe 8 years old.
His hands were handcuffed behind him by the Sherriff and he was taken to the local mental health facility where he was baker acted.
The child was restrained after and incident with another student.
Realize that restraints can only be used if the child is a threat to self or others. The child has to pose a serious threat of bodily harm. How does a 7 or 8 year old who weighs less than 60 pounds create a life threatening incident?
The facts are still unclear. The parents are having a hard time finding what exactly happened. This despite the fact that new Florida legislation requires the school to file a detailed report with the State for all restraint incidents. Parents are also required to be notified.
A representative for the school district declined issued this statement: “The school district and school staff are continuing to work with the family for the best educational opportunity for the child and in his best interest.”
Translate that into – the school does not want to be sued but will really not do anything to help educate this child.
We need to stop abusing our children in our public schools. School is not supposed to hurt.
Keep squeaking those wheels. Do not put up with abuse of our children.
www.waiverprovider.com
Our friend Aaron Nangle of waiverprovider.com has provided information on the Draft Plan for APD’s HCBS Waiver – Home and Community Based Services Waiver Expenditure Reductions.
These will impact all persons with disabilities in Florida.
• Publish Standardized IB Rates for future with lower rates retained, expected savings $1,549,764 standardizing rates based on individual Rate Rule needs rather than negotiated contracts required. This Rate Matrix is in development. Savings dependent on effective date.
Eliminate Res Hab quarter hour as other options available for in home supports. $917,290 Eliminates the quarter hour unit, as it is usually used in their own home, Would need Rate rule change. This may increase IHSS use, reducing service array.
• Fee Collection by Residential providers, estimate $8,401,147 Form would be created to calculate recipient responsibility to be deducted from Waiver service bills, monthly surplus frozen or swept by service, Would need method developed and procedures to monitor, would be late in year before implementation.
• 12.5% required match as State share, savings not determined, This would leverage current spending to decrease GR effort and would need long term research with AHCA and CMMS and unknown if local effort applicable.
• Core Service models– savings not determined, would limit waiver services to only those services considered core to prevent institutionalization, Would need Waiver amendment.
Service Limits-not determined, would reduce service limits for each Waiver service and would be limited to only essential elements within the budget.
• Limit individual cost plan to not greater than average ICF/DD estimate of $3,300,000 savings and some thought it could be up to as much as a possible 17 million realized if limited, Alternative supports would be necessary for adversely impacted clients. Would need Waiver Amendment.
Three days of blogging just listing the cuts. And who knows if they are done.
Keep squeaking those wheels on your wheelchairs. We need to draw attention to the cuts and to those who receive no services and are left behind.
www.waiverprovider.com
Our friend Aaron Nangle of waiverprovider.com has provided information on the Draft Plan for APD’s HCBS Waiver – Home and Community Based Services Waiver Expenditure Reductions.
These will impact all persons with disabilities in Florida.
• Collapse Behavior Analyst rate from level 1-2, estimate of $2,580,874 Rate for level 2 is $50 per hour for solo and agency is 20% above on an average, this would need a Handbook and Rate Rule change. Currently behavior analyst rates are based solely on years of experience not client need or outcomes.
• Rate reductions to Medicaid State Plan nursing and therapies assessments. savings with an estimate of $ 1,530,476 Would need a Rate rule change that is currently being sought.
Res Hab reduction of rate levels from 9-4 with savings expected of $21,113,087 This would need redefinition of level of supports and associated rates as well as revision of staffing levels in the handbook, Would need Handbook and Rate Rule change- APD is seeking provider input for alternative savings.
• Collapse IHSS quarter hour above live in rate, expected savings $2,714,937 Would delete use of quarter hour above the day rate and use QSI 1,2,3 and eliminate IHSS 1/4 hr. above day rate. Rationale is that Individuals with level of need 1,2,3, do not require additional supports beyond a daily rate for IHSS.
• Utilization management of behavioral services possible ? $3,000,000 6 month increment with reapplication and approval required after each increment: declining hours based on matrix scores and the Implementing of on site reviews for continued stay in intensive behavioral programs. Additional utilization reviews ongoing to match services to level of need of client.
More reductions on our next blog. Remember to keep squeaking those wheelchairs.
www.waiverprovider.com
Our friend Aaron Nangle of waiverprovider.com has provided information on the Draft Plan for APD’s HCBS Waiver – Home and Community Based Services Waiver Expenditure Reductions.
These will impact all persons with disabilities in Florida.
Consideration to Move Specialized Mental Health Therapy to Medicaid State Plan (adults) Detail: remove expenditure from waiver through
amendment for the long term because service is provided by DCF/AHCA Savings Expected would be about $1,395,703 This would need Handbook change, Rate Rule change, Waiver Amendment. While waiting for waiver amendment, case by case transition of services to Medicaid State Plan. Waiver would be amended this Fiscal Year
• Moving Skilled nursing to Medicaid State Plan(adults) Savings expected would be $1,615,650Remove expenditure from waiver and do waiver amendment for the long term because skilled nursing is provided by MSP Would need Handbook change, Rate Rule change, Waiver Amendment. While waiting for waiver amendment, case by case transition of services to MSP. Waiver will be amended this FY.
• Rate adjustment for all ADT recipients and reduce burdensome regulations. Savings TBD Would need Handbook change, Rate Rule change with reduced paperwork and regulation, looking for alternative savings in this category.
• Eliminate Behavior Assistant services with ResHab and ADT ? $5,000,000. savings, Would need Handbook change for clarifying policy, Rationale: Behavior Assistance services are duplicative of the services and training provided in Res Hab and ADT.
• Agency Rate premium set to a maximum of 20% above solo rates for all services with agency rates, Savings expected $3,712,169 Currently there is a range of 5% to 45% over solo rates as agency premium. This would need a Rate rule change. currently rate premiums vary fro 5% to 42% depending on the service category.
More proposed reductions in our next blog. Remember the squeaky wheelchair gets noticed.
