June 20, 2006
State won't stop funding shock therapy school
The state won't stop funding a school for disabled youths despite reports of "skin shocks" that sometimes injured students for minor offenses including sloppy appearance.
The decision means the state won't interrupt the $50 million a year in funding it provides to the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Mass., until its review is complete. The school cares for about 150 autistic and disabled children from New York.
But the state did take a step toward ending at least some shock treatments of New Yorkers at the school.
Read the rest of "State won't stop funding shock therapy school".Posted by Michelle at 07:09 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2006
Disabled man finds Medicare plan no help
The 55-year-old Albany man signed up early for Medicare Part D, excited that he had found a drug plan to help him pay for medication to keep his multiple sclerosis from worsening. He filled out every piece of paperwork and made every phone call.
But after months of dizzying denials and roadblocks, Copeland has discovered, months later, that the new Medicare drug program won't work for him. A co-pay that was supposed to be $3 is at least $211 -- way more than he can afford on his modest disability pay.
Read the rest of "Disabled man finds Medicare plan no help".Posted by Michelle at 01:27 AM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2006
Barriers still exist for disabled workers
People with disabilities are nearly three times more likely to live in poverty than people without disabilities; 26 percent of people with disabilities had an 2004 annual household income below $15,000, versus 9 percent of those without disabilities, the survey found.
"Employers still have fears and misconceptions about people with disabilities," said Nancy Starnes, vice president and chief of staff at the National Organization on Disability, a nonprofit focusing on the participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life.
Read the rest of "Barriers still exist for disabled workers".Posted by Michelle at 06:54 PM | Comments (0)
March 31, 2006
Tourette Syndrome - It's No Joke To The Kids Who Have It
Tourette is not one of the disabilities covered by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), but the TSA and other advocates are working to change that. In the meantime, some states, including New York, do include TS in the category of "other health impaired." Tourette-afflicted children can also get some accommodations in school via Section 504, a federal civil rights law requiring that impaired students receive special education services.
Read the rest of "Tourette Syndrome - It's No Joke To The Kids Who Have It".Posted by Michelle at 12:04 AM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2006
Audit: NYS-CARES Exceeds Goals In Helping Disabled
A five-year effort by the State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) to increase the number of spaces in community-based residences for individuals with developmental disabilities and thereby reduce waiting time for such placements has exceeded its goals, according to an audit released by State Comptroller Alan G.. Hevesi.
Read the rest of "Audit: NYS-CARES Exceeds Goals In Helping Disabled".Posted by Michelle at 01:43 AM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2006
State sending more disabled students away
New York is sending more disabled students beyond its borders for special services than any other state in the nation, the state Education Department said yesterday, a trend driven by inadequate facilities closer to the communities where the children live.
"We are significantly higher than other states in sending kids away," said Rebecca Cort, deputy commissioner of the department's Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities. "But we are significantly higher in our population of kids with disabilities."
Read the rest of "State sending more disabled students away".Posted by Michelle at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
March 21, 2006
N.Y. may ban youths' out-of-state shock therapy
The state Board of Regents yesterday began a process that could end electric shock therapy for disabled New York youths sent to a mental health facility in Massachusetts.
The state pays $50 million a year to the Massachusetts facility that cares for 150 disabled New York youths. For years the state has paid the facility, where disabled students wear backpack-like devices that provide shocks of varying length to correct behavior.
Read the rest of "N.Y. may ban youths' out-of-state shock therapy".Posted by Michelle at 04:22 PM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2006
Charity Leaders' Pay Soars Under Federal Jobs Program
Many of the biggest charities in Javits-Wagner-O'Day routinely use workers with modest disabilities. What matters, they say, is not the type of disability but whether it prevents them from holding a job outside the program.
One of the most successful is Fedcap Rehabilitation Services, a New York City charity that pays an average of $17.87 an hour to Javits-Wagner-O'Day workers. Fedcap, which supplies custodial crews for federal buildings, reports the program's third-highest average wage, mostly because the nonprofit pays union scale.
Like Skookum, the charity specialized in hiring workers with profound physical disabilities when it was founded 70 years ago. Now, Fedcap workers include many with learning disabilities, mental illness, alcoholism and substance abuse who are judged unemployable elsewhere, said Susan Fonfa, the charity's executive director.
"Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it's not real," Fonfa said. "We will get people with every disability possible, just about."
Critics of this hiring trend say it's less a balancing act than a cop-out. Some charities are cashing in on the government's largess, they say, while smaller nonprofits with workers who are far needier can't get in.
Read the rest of "Charity Leaders' Pay Soars Under Federal Jobs Program".Posted by Michelle at 12:19 AM | Comments (0)
Mentally ill wrongfully sent to nursing homes, groups says
Mentally ill patients in New York state are wrongfully being housed in nursing homes where they are often improperly restrained and do not receive the type of care they need, according to a lawsuit to be filed Wednesday.
The lawsuit by groups that represent disabled people accuses the state of violating the federal Americans With Disabilities Act by preventing mental patients from gaining access to appropriate government services.
Read the rest of "Mentally ill wrongfully sent to nursing homes, groups says".Posted by Michelle at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)
Vote machine fiasco ripped
Despite the suit, state and federal officials are negotiating some interim compliance with the act. One proposed "quick fix" would require election officials throughout the state to provide new voting systems for disabled voters this year.
Ravitz said that option would force the city to buy 1,500 special machines that cost $5,000 each. One machine would be installed in each of the 1,360 polling sites, and others would be used for spares and training.
But starting next year, the city will still have to replace all of its 7,694 levered machines with electronic ones. And those machines must be accessible to disabled and nondisabled voters, making the special machines that might have to be bought this year useless.
Read the rest of "Vote machine fiasco ripped".Posted by Michelle at 12:09 AM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2006
New York State Sued for Failing to Meet New Voting Guidelines
New York State, which will not make the deadline for replacing all its aging voting machines by next fall's elections, was sued Wednesday by the federal Justice Department, making it the first state to be sued for failing to meet new voting guidelines imposed by Congress in 2002.
The new federal guidelines were designed to prevent the kind of electoral chaos that marred the 2000 presidential election in Florida and to make voting easier for disabled voters. But New York State's efforts to modernize its election system have fallen behind the rest of the nation, delayed by government gridlock and partisanship.
Read the rest of "New York State Sued for Failing to Meet New Voting Guidelines".Posted by Michelle at 07:04 PM | Comments (0)
Computer Technology Opens a World of Work to Disabled People
No one has statistics on just how many disabled people work from home as phone agents. But the market research firm IDC says that about 112,000 home agents--both disabled and not--were working for outsourcing firms like Willow, Alpine Access of Golden, Colo., and J. Lodge of Hammonton, N.J., at the end of 2005. That number is expected to climb to 300,000 by 2010. That does not count employees of companies that hire their own home agents. Many new jobs will go to people who are disabled or to people who care for them, several specialists said, because there are more programs to train them.
Read the rest of "Computer Technology Opens a World of Work to Disabled People".Posted by Michelle at 07:01 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2006
A vote for status quo: NY scraps updating voting machines, now faces scramble to save federal funds at risk after deadline passes
...area residents who vote in the Sept. 12 primary and Nov. 7 general elections will make their selections on the same antique lever machines that their great grandparents may have used, officials said. The lever technology was first demonstrated in 1892 in Lockport.
"In all likelihood, in the large jurisdictions of the state, we will still see lever voting machines in 2006 but this probably will be the last time," said Douglas A. Kellner, co-chairman of the elections board.
In a related move, the board plans in coming weeks to lay out options to the counties on how to ensure that the disabled can cast their ballots without asking for help, he said. With the old voting machines, some levers are beyond the reach of people in wheelchairs and the blind cannot read the ballot.
Read the rest of "A vote for status quo: NY scraps updating voting machines, now faces scramble to save federal funds at risk after deadline passes".Posted by Michelle at 02:39 AM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2006
Move aggressively
The more solid the numbers, the more clarity: When it comes to the dismal high school graduation rates, the fault, dear students, lies not in you but in your parents' generation.
For decades, New York's adults have tolerated inequity in education funding and priorities. That has bestowed on students who happened to be born white and nondisabled, and living in wealthier school districts, a far better shot at success in life than their nonwhite and disabled peers.
And adults continue to do so. We tolerate a governor who successfully stonewalled for most his 12-year tenure resolution of a court challenge to fairly fund New York City schools. We tolerate urban school districts across the state with such inferior facilities that teachers themselves refuse to enter them. Election after election we tolerate lawmakers who do little about it.
Read the rest of "Move aggressively".Posted by Michelle at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2006
Bill would require more training for transporting students
In the wake of alleged abuse and neglect of a disabled Huguenot youngster by a school bus driver and matron, state lawmakers today are set to unveil legislation that would require better training for the people who transport students.
The measure is named P.J.'s Law, after the 7-year-old P.J. Rossi, who is severely autistic. In the incident on Sept. 30, two Atlantic Express employees allegedly taunted him and ignored him as he wailed and beat his head against the side of the bus.
The legislation seeks to "address school bus staffs' ignorance of disabilities [affecting] children and requires individuals to report suspected child abuse," said state Sen. Michael Cusick (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), who is co-sponsoring the bill.
Read the rest of "Bill would require more training for transporting students".Posted by Michelle at 01:34 AM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2006
Msgr. John T. Fagan, 79, Leader of Major Social Service Agency, Dies
Msgr. John T. Fagan, who retired in 2001 as director of Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, one of the largest social service agencies in the country, died on Thursday at his home in Wading River, N.Y. He was 79.
Read the rest of "Msgr. John T. Fagan, 79, Leader of Major Social Service Agency, Dies".Posted by Michelle at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2006
N.Y. Senators, Hospitals, Protest Budget
"This budget reforms Medicare without reducing benefits to seniors or the disabled," a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget, Alex Conant, said. "The proposal focuses most of the anticipated savings from Medicare by making sure doctors and hospitals pass on to American taxpayers the savings they enjoy from greater productivity and efficiency."
Yet Mr. Bush's plan to limit growth in the program, which now accounts for more than 10% of the entire federal budget, was met with grim pronouncements by Senators Schumer and Clinton. Hours after Mr. Bush released the budget, Mr. Schumer issued an analysis that zeroed in on health care spending. Mr. Schumer said the Medicare proposal endangers access to health care by seniors.
Read the rest of "N.Y. Senators, Hospitals, Protest Budget".Posted by Michelle at 04:51 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2006
New York Health Care Industry Says It Faces $1.2 Billion in Cutbacks Under Bush Plan
The Medicare cutbacks that President Bush proposed this week would eventually wring $1.2 billion a year from New York's troubled health care industry, cuts that would come as the state is already losing hospitals to wrenching changes in health care, industry officials said on Tuesday.
Health care spending is one of the driving engines of the economy of New York, which has some of the nation's premier teaching hospitals. But as Medicare and Medicaid costs have risen in recent years, federal and state officials have tried to rein in these costs, putting pressure on the local health care industry and helping result in the closings of several smaller hospitals.
Representatives of New York's health care industry say that the latest cutbacks, proposed in the budget that the president sent Congress on Monday, would force hospitals, nursing homes and home care providers to reduce services for elderly and disabled residents of the state.
Read the rest of "New York Health Care Industry Says It Faces $1.2 Billion in Cutbacks Under Bush Plan".Posted by Michelle at 06:39 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2006
Veterans conquer mountain, disabilities
[Windham Mountain]'s Adaptive Sports Foundation, Disabled Sports USA and the national Wounded Warrior Project sponsored the trips. They arranged special equipment and skiing and snowboarding lessons. The troops and their families will also snow tube, and members of the New York City Fire Department will transport them, even to evening ski parties.
Read the rest of "Veterans conquer mountain, disabilities".Posted by Michelle at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)
Medicaid Update Impacts on Community Based Care
February 1, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the FY 06 Budget Reconciliation Bill by a vote of 216 to 214.
The measure, as passed, makes significant changes to Medicaid:
- The Budget Reconciliation Conference Report allows states the option to force many low-income Medicaid recipients, with and without disabilities, to pay more for their care. If these individuals cannot shoulder the costs, states would be permitted to deny beneficiaries access to necessary medical care. Studies have found that when people cannot afford cost-sharing, they will forego necessary care, resulting in adverse health outcomes. These provisions are bad public health policy and inconsistent with valuing the lives of persons with disabilities.
- Many analysts report that due to drafting errors, the bill has no limits on cost sharing for Medicaid beneficiaries below 100 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately $800 per month for an individual). This means that SSI beneficiaries with disabilities could be required to pay any level of cost sharing their Governor chooses.
- The reconciliation package exacerbates the institutional bias through its application of premiums on Medicaid beneficiaries. Persons with disabilities living in the community can be charged substantial premiums while those in institutions are exempt. This is inconsistent with efforts to eliminate the institutional bias in Medicaid under President Bush's New Freedom Initiative.
- Unlike current Medicaid law, cost sharing is enforceable under this bill, meaning that the provision of a Medicaid service may be conditioned on the receipt of the co-pay. For example, a pharmacist can refuse to dispense a prescription drug if the beneficiary fails to pay the co-pay. In practice, this means a person could be forced into an institutional setting because he or she is denied medicines needed to remain in the community due to the inability to meet cost-sharing obligations.
WHAT DOES SECTION 6086 DO?
The bill creates a new state option that purports to expand access to
community services for Medicaid beneficiaries with income up to 150% of the poverty level without requiring individuals to need an institutional level of care. However, it allows for enrollment caps and waiting lists that could actually limit access to services individuals need to maintain their independence; it renders obsolete Medicaid's existing protections that ensure personal care, rehabilitation and certain other optional services are provided to all Medicaid beneficiaries who need them; it aggravates the already untenable institutional bias in Medicaid; and it would operate without the additional oversight and protections for consumers afforded by waivers under current law.
Section 6086 is regressive for the following reasons:
- Caps Eligibility and Permits Waiting Lists. Section 6068 grants states new authority to cap a state plan service and maintain waiting lists - a dangerous precedent that weakens Medicaid's
protections without even the minimal federal oversight provided through waivers. - Weakens Existing Benefit Protections. This bill effectively removes the existing entitlement to personal care (currently offered in 30 states plus DC) and rehabilitation services (currently offered in 46 states plus DC) for individuals with disabilities by permitting states to shift the delivery of personal care and rehabilitation services to the new state option. The new option would permit enrollment caps and allow states to provide community services only in certain parts of a state.
- Increases Medicaid's Institutional Bias. Section 6086 does nothing to increase eligibility for Medicaid, but instead gives states expanded tools for limiting access to cost-effective community services. Further, it permits stricter income and resource eligibility rules for community services than for institutional services. Since this does nothing to reduce the need for long-term services it could only lead to more people being forced into costly institutions.
- No Meaningful Grandfathering Provision. Although the Senate passed bill would have permitted states to tighten eligibility for new enrollees, but maintain eligibility for beneficiaries already receiving services if participation was greater than the state expected, the Senate bill did not permit enrollment caps. The Senate bill's so-called adjustment authority was intended as an explicit alternative to enrollment caps as a way for states to manage their financial risk. The conference report does not include this policy. Section 6086 permits enrollment caps and permits states to grandfather recipients for only 12 months, negating any benefit of this new policy approach.
- Does Nothing to Help States Comply with Olmstead. More than six years ago, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in the case of Olmstead v. L.C. that interpreted a state's obligations under Medicaid to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court found that unjustified isolation in nursing homes was illegal discrimination and called for states to provide access to community services when appropriate and when it can be reasonably accommodated to help move people out of institutions. If states maintain waiting lists, they are still supposed to move at a "reasonable pace". The latest data show that in some states, people with disabilities have to wait two or more years to receive the community services they need. Section 6086 does nothing to shorten the length of the waiting period for services.
Posted by Michelle at 12:03 PM | Comments (0)
January 31, 2006
Faculty unionists call for disability rights funding
NYSUT's Higher Education Council is joining a statewide movement pressing for serious funding for college students with disabilities, along with the faculty and staff who serve them.
Funding now is so limited that some college-bound students with disabilities cannot attend college because institutions cannot afford to meet their needs, a State Education Department official recently told the council.
Read the rest of "Faculty unionists call for disability rights funding".Posted by Michelle at 05:08 PM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
Nursing Home Residents May Head Home Soon
It may not be turning back the clock, but senior citizens living in nursing homes could start moving back into the community under a new state program this spring.
The state Department of Health last month applied for a waiver to let nursing home residents on Medicaid apply to receive care at home, in adult day care or assisted living facilities. Up to 5,000 seniors statewide over a three-year period would be shifted out of nursing homes under the program.
Read the rest of "Nursing Home Residents May Head Home Soon".Posted by Michelle at 05:20 PM | Comments (0)
January 20, 2006
Seniors struggle through Medicare drug changes
After struggling to get her 11 prescriptions filled through the new Medicare prescription drug plan, Bronx resident Joanne Carleucci needed an aspirin.
"It was such a bad experience, I went to the pharmacy to get my medication and I couldn't, so I had to go home without it," said Carleucci, 55.
Carleucci was eventually able to get her drugs after her doctor intervened. She is one of millions of seniors around New York and the rest of the country adjusting to the plan called Medicare Part D, which went into effect this month.
Read the rest of "Seniors struggle through Medicare drug changes".Posted by Michelle at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)
January 15, 2006
Election reform must include state's disabled
Governor Pataki's recent State of the State address discussed a wide range of topics, but the issue of election reform was conspicuously absent. This is because New York has been in violation of the full implementation deadline of the federal Help America Vote Act since Jan. 1.
New Yorkers with disabilities have the most to lose because of this. They still are being denied full access to voting machines, the ballot and polling places after more than 200 years in the history of our state and country.
Read the rest of "Election reform must include state's disabled".Posted by Michelle at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2006
Help for elderly on Medicare drug plan
"This new Medicare program and the ensuing wrongful denial of prescription drugs to thousands of elderly and disabled New Yorkers is creating what could soon become one of our state's greatest public health disasters," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said.Since the federal program began Jan. 1, local, state and federal health officials have been inundated with reports of logistical problems.
Read the rest of "Help for elderly on Medicare drug plan".Posted by Michelle at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2006
Medicaid-increase cap to cost state $1.1. billion
It will cost the state $1.1 billion next year to make good on a pledge to cap the increase in Medicaid expenses for New York City and county governments, Gov. George Pataki announced yesterday.
Read the rest of "Medicaid-increase cap to cost state $1.1. billion".Posted by Michelle at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)
Suit seeks affordable housing for disabled
A well-known disability advocate has filed suit against the Long Island Housing Partnership and others for not constructing accessible affordable homes.
Read the rest of "Suit seeks affordable housing for disabled".Posted by Michelle at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2006
Bee Line Buses To Accept MetroCards
Westchester's Bee Line buses will soon accept MetroCards allowing riders to take longer trips for less money.
Also Bee Line buses this year will have 104 new 60-seat buses, all of which should be on the road by October. Those additions will make the entire 357-bus fleet wheelchair-accessible, apart from the Bx-M-4-C express buses to Manhattan, which are scheduled to be replaced with accessible buses in 2007. The system also has 50 paratransit buses for the disabled.
Read the rest of "Bee Line Buses To Accept MetroCards".Posted by Michelle at 05:06 PM | Comments (0)
January 01, 2006
Medicare changes also affecting low-income, disabled people
A coalition of health advocacy groups went to court to force the federal government to keep Medicaid in the prescription drug business for these individuals, known as dual eligibles. The groups say there should be a backup plan since the transition is not likely to go perfectly.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan turned down that bid (PDF link), though the head of one of the organizations, the Medicare Rights Center, on Friday predicted an appeal.
Read the rest of "Medicare changes also affecting low-income, disabled people".Posted by Michelle at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2005
Truckin' to Pass Christian: Handicapped driver joins effort for hurricane relief
Today, Cascio owns a trucking company, based in South Salem, N.Y., with a distribution center in Danbury - Taconic Transfer Inc. He has used his trucks to meet the needs of many people over the years.
The year 1992 found him donating two drivers and trucks to haul medical supplies for the World Committee for the U.N. Decade of Disabled Persons. They picked up medical supplies from hospitals throughout Connecticut and delivered them to New York airports for flights to Russia.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, AmeriCares contacted Cascio. Again, he donated drivers and trucks to bring supplies from Connecticut to Ground Zero in New York City.
Read the rest of "Truckin' to Pass Christian: Handicapped driver joins effort for hurricane relief".Posted by Michelle at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2005
New York Medicaid spends most among 10 most populous states
Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat, said about 75 percent of Medicaid spending in the state is for the elderly and disabled.
Read the rest of "New York Medicaid spends most among 10 most populous states".Posted by Michelle at 11:36 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2005
New Medicare drug plan options confuse many
As the Jan. 1 deadline for the biggest change in Medicare in 40 years approaches, it is not only seniors who are worried: Pharmacists, local officials, politicians and advocates say they are finding too many glitches in a program that could mean some seniors - especially the oldest and frailest - will fall through the cracks, finding themselves without a drug plan or assigned to a plan that doesn't include their drugs.
...The first phase of the new Medicare prescription drug plan kicks in New Year's Day for the more than 6 million "dual eligibles"--those now getting Medicaid as well as Medicare who are typically low-income elderly or disabled--who will begin getting drug coverage from one of the new Medicare plans.
Read the rest of "New Medicare drug plan options confuse many".Posted by Michelle at 06:23 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2005
Yellow Brick Road: Camp Anchor
7 p.m. Wednesday on Cinemax, Yellow Brick Road: Camp Anchor, a suburban New York City program for physically and mentally disabled children and adults, is the setting for this documentary.
The film follows members of the group, from casting to opening night, as they prepare to stage a production of The Wizard of Oz.
At dress rehearsal, it seems the whole production is about to fall apart--but come opening night, the group gives its audience plenty to cheer about.
Read the rest of "Yellow Brick Road: Camp Anchor".Posted by Michelle at 11:46 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2005
Poor in New York, part 3: Insufficient insurance
Though the state plan has largely focused on cutting benefits as a means to reduce expenditures, a large factor in Medicaid costs is the way that coverage is delivered. The vast majority of Medicaid care is provided institutionally, particularly for the elderly and disabled. Though in some cases necessary, this can also be a costly alternative to in-home care. According to the United Hospital Fund, long-term care accounts for nearly 40 percent of Medicaid costs for the disabled and 75 percent of costs for the elderly. The average per capita cost for each of these groups is 12 times greater than the average cost for children, and seven times that of non-elderly adults.
Read the rest of "Poor in New York, part 3: Insufficient insurance".Posted by Michelle at 05:58 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2005
State Seeks Renewal of Medicaid Exemption
New York is the only state that allows H.M.O.'s, community groups and clinics to help people fill out applications for Medicaid, the government health plan for the poor. That practice has helped increase Medicaid enrollment statewide by more than a million people.
Federal law generally prohibits anyone but a government employee from working on Medicaid enrollments, but the Clinton administration waived the rule for New York five years ago. That exemption expires on March 31, and the state had until Dec. 1 to ask for a new one, but as recently as two weeks ago, the Pataki administration had not made a decision.
Read the rest of "State Seeks Renewal of Medicaid Exemption".Posted by Michelle at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
December 04, 2005
Theaters agree to help blind, deaf get access to movies
...That would change under a deal with eight national theater chains to make it easier for visually and hearing impaired people to enjoy movies in 140 theaters statewide, according to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
"Movies are an important part of popular culture," Spitzer said. "Every adult and child should be able to enjoy a film with family and friends, especially during the holiday season."
The agreement will include "rear window captioning," in which hearing disabled customers would use an acrylic panel to read captioning projected in reverse to the back of the theater. Thirty-eight theaters under the agreement would also provide on-screen captioning of some movies and headsets that offer descriptive narration of films.
Currently, just two theaters in western New York, one in Central New York, one in Albany and five in metro New York City offer captioned or narrated movies.
Read the rest of "Theaters agree to help blind, deaf get access to movies".Posted by Michelle at 06:38 PM | Comments (0)
November 29, 2005
Vote of No Confidence
New York's 2006 primary elections are only 10 months away, but it's still a mystery what machines the state's 11.6 million registered voters will use to cast their ballots that day. A federal law passed after the 2000 debacle in Florida requires that the state's old-fashioned lever machines be scrapped by New Year's, and failing that, by primary day. But a state law passed this summer demands only that disabled voters get new machines by next fall, and the rest of us by 2007.
Read the rest of "Vote of No Confidence".Posted by Michelle at 05:38 PM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2005
Seniors Seethe at Medifarce: Just who stands to gain? The insurance companies, for one
Part D was created when Congress voted the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) into lumbering life. Ostensibly, it enabled seniors, the disabled and low-income people, to buy prescription drugs cheaply. Actually, it doesn’t cover that much, and Part D has essentially turned over what it does cover to private insurers.
Read the rest of "Seniors Seethe at Medifarce: Just who stands to gain? The insurance companies, for one".Posted by Michelle at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)
November 20, 2005
A sledding adventure
The former New York City police officer, built like a guy who had multiple Division I scholarship offers, will put a blue Rangers shirt over his gear before he gets on the ice. The rest of his equipment has been adapted so that he can compete with one leg.
"It's a good way for disabled people to get out there," said Strezenec, who lives on Long Island. "There's nothing like hockey if you're aggressive."
Read the rest of "A sledding adventure".Posted by Michelle at 06:21 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2005
Special Education Ruling's Effects Unclear
It may take years to assess fully the impact of the Supreme Court ruling on Monday on disputes between school districts and the parents of special education students, experts across the country have said.
The decision gives parents who disagree with the individualized education plans the burden of proving that the plans are inadequate.
Read the rest of "Special Education Ruling's Effects Unclear".Posted by Michelle at 02:56 AM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2005
Keeping an eye on aides' backgrounds
"There needs to be a central reporting system on the state level where the consumer can get information about these paraprofessionals," said Dennis L. Kodner, executive director of Hunter College's Brookdale Center on Aging in Manhattan.
"The same model that applies to physicians and nurses should apply to home health aides," Kodner said.
The state Department of Public Health introduced reforms on April 1, requiring criminal background checks and fingerprinting of all newly hired aides. Those already working were, in many cases, exempted.
The public health department's listing of "findings and convictions" for home health aides, which lists about 1,000 aides with criminal convictions, has not been updated since Dec. 5, 2002. Even after the reforms, the state agency's oversight is considered by many to be incomplete and inefficient, said Vivian Torres Suarez, director of the nonprofit Selfhelp Community Services Inc. of Manhattan, which employs more than 400 home health aides.
Read the rest of "Keeping an eye on aides' backgrounds".Posted by Michelle at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2005
November is National Home Care Month
Nearly 400,000 disabled, frail or elderly New Yorkers are able to remain at home, avoiding placement in a nursing home or other institutional care setting, thanks to the highly-trained corps of home care professional and para-professional workers throughout New York State. November is National Home Care Month, and the Home Care Association of New York State would like to honor these valued home care workers that make staying at home possible. What home care workers do makes a difference.
Read the rest of "November is National Home Care Month".Posted by Michelle at 01:24 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2005
Report of Disabled Boy's Abduction Was Hoax, L.I. Police Say
When a distraught woman told the police in the Long Island village of Floral Park yesterday that two armed men had driven off with her disabled 7-year-old son, it seemed to be an emergency tailor-made for an Amber Alert, which notifies the police, media outlets and motorists that a child has been abducted.
Read the rest of "Report of Disabled Boy's Abduction Was Hoax, L.I. Police Say".Posted by Michelle at 05:40 PM | Comments (0)
Report: Wide disparity exists in teaching disabled kids
A state Education Department report shows students with disabilities are more prevalent in traditional public schools than in charter schools, which are publicly funded schools operated by private enterprises.
Read the rest of "Report: Wide disparity exists in teaching disabled kids".Posted by Michelle at 05:36 PM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2005
New York bans online hunting
It is now illegal to kill game through online hunting sites, or to create a click-and-shoot site in New York....
Several sites are on the Internet that provide remote target shooting, often appealing to disabled computer users who might have difficulty shooting weapons or getting to a shooting range. These sites are included in the law because of the potential danger at the shooting site where weapons are controlled by computer users miles away, Constantakes said.
Read the rest of "New York bans online hunting".Posted by Michelle at 12:16 AM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2005
It's decision time for Medicare Part D
It's time to decide whether to sign up for the new Medicare Part D drug benefit.
Despite its flaws and costs, it will provide moderate drug coverage for beneficiaries who have none, cheap coverage for the low-income elderly, and catastrophic coverage for beneficiaries whose yearly drug bills exceed $5,100.
The initial enrollment period (you must be 65 or disabled to qualify) runs from Nov. 15 through May 15.
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September 23, 2005
Current Threats to Ventilator Users in Cost-Cutting Proposals from Medicaid and Other Medical Insurance: A Resolution
WHEREAS many people with significant disabilities are living longer, healthier, more productive lives with the help of ventilators and other devices that assist breathing; and
WHEREAS advances in technology are making ventilators more portable, reliable, efficient, and easy to use, thus enabling many more ventilator users to live active lives in the community; and
WHEREAS some states, under pressure to reduce Medicaid costs, are formulating or adopting policies that would either deny payment for ventilation devices or would require ventilator users to enter nursing facilities in order to keep or obtain such equipment; and...
[Please visit the International Ventilator Users Network and sign on to support the resolution. -Editor]
Read the rest of "Current Threats to Ventilator Users in Cost-Cutting Proposals from Medicaid and Other Medical Insurance: A Resolution".Posted by Michelle at 11:46 PM | Comments (0)
Grade school math test results mixed, disabled students make key gains
State Education Commissioner Richard Mills said the steady improvement in performance for disabled students in wealthier schools "is a powerful argument for (increased) state aid... it's a worthy investment." He noted that many critics of the state's efforts since 1995 to raise all students' performance predicted disabled children couldn't meet higher standards.
"When suburban students with disabilities outperform the general education students in urban schools, the enormity of just how broken our urban public school systems are becomes evident," said B. Jason Brooks of the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability. "It doesn't matter how much you spend as long as you still aren't taking a different approach to education."
Students with physical and learning disabilities reached another plateau. In fourth grade test results, more than 55 percent of students with disabilities met the math standard. It was the first time more than half the students met the standard, Mills said.
"Some people would say that youngsters with disabilities cannot perform," Mills said. "They can."
Read the rest of "Grade school math test results mixed, disabled students make key gains".Posted by Michelle at 11:25 PM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2005
Study: State Could Save On Special Education
New York could serve special education students better and save $220 million a year if it adopted some new methods already in place in other states, according to a study released by a think tank Thursday.
New York's enrollment of special education students has grown because of an abused "bounty" system that began in the 1990s, according to the study by The Empire Center for New York State Policy at the conservative-leaning Manhattan Institute.
Read the rest of "Study: State Could Save On Special Education".Posted by Michelle at 03:56 PM | Comments (0)
August 25, 2005
Death at a group home
Police are probing how developmentally disabled man came to die in a parked car on a stifling summer day.
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Mentally disabled man missing in Uniondale
Cops are asking the public's help in locating a mentally disabled Uniondale man who went missing last Thursday. Stephen Taggart, 52, is described as white with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds.... Taggart lived in New York City before moving to Uniondale, and he was previously on subway trains and at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Pennsylvania Station.
Read the rest of "Mentally disabled man missing in Uniondale".Posted by Michelle at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)
August 15, 2005
Medicare's new plan may bring confusion
At least two drug plans must be offered in each state, although state officials estimate 15 to 20 plans may be offered in Illinois. At least two drugs from each type of drug class will be offered per plan, but over-the-counter medications and some drugs for anxiety will not be covered. The plan providers also may change their list of covered drugs but must notify enrollees 60 days in advance.
"The drug plans can look like anything down the road, frankly," said Deane Beebe of the New York City-based Medicare Rights Center.
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August 09, 2005
Christopher Reeve's Wife Has Lung Cancer
Christopher Reeve's widow, facing a battle with lung cancer, said Tuesday that she's looking to her husband "as the ultimate example of defying the odds with strength, courage and hope."
"I hope before too long to be sharing news of my good health and recovery," said Dana Reeve, who won worldwide admiration for the steadfast support of her husband during his nine years as a quadriplegic.
Read the rest of "Christopher Reeve's Wife Has Lung Cancer".Posted by Michelle at 05:44 PM | Comments (0)
August 05, 2005
Jim Kelly's 8-Year-Old Son Hunter Dies
Duffner credited the Kelly family for Hunter living well beyond the initial prognosis and for its help in Krabbe research.
"He was such a brave little boy. ... He was a tough kid, like his dad," Duffner said. "It's really quite remarkable how one family has changed the course of a disease."
She noted that New York will begin screening newborns for the disease, something which the foundation has long favored. If caught just after birth, an umbilical cord blood transplant can halt its effects.
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August 03, 2005
Determination Without Boundaries: A Story of Resilience in the Face of Injustice
Terrence Stevens, 38, is paralyzed from the neck down as a result of muscular dystrophy. The 32-year-old Rockefeller Drug Laws ensured that a quadriplegic Stevens would face imprisonment at a maximum security prison for a decade of his life. The basis of his arrest--5 ounces of cocaine found inside the bag of a traveling companion in a Greyhound bus he was on--underscores just how unjust these laws are.
When Stevens, confined to a wheelchair, entered the system in October 1992, the conditions to accommodate disabled persons were atrocious. Even if the cocaine had been Stevens', the mandatory 15-to-life sentence was as merciless as it could get for someone who would need to be bathed, dressed and turned over in his bed every two hours. For the first eight years of his sentence, Stevens received inadequate medical attention, and as a result, his spine curved, creating respiratory complications. Despite the severity of his disability, he became involved in and eventually became president of the Handicapped Educational Assistance Project, where he represented the disabled prison population. It was in this capacity that Stevens began his career of helping people affected by incarceration, and became an outspoken advocate for reform of substandard conditions for the disabled.
Read the rest of "Determination Without Boundaries: A Story of Resilience in the Face of Injustice".Posted by Michelle at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)
July 20, 2005
Official defends medical equipment program
Despite testimony by disabled New Yorkers who said they had to wait months for crucial medical equipment, the state deputy health commissioner in charge of managing Medicaid yesterday defended her office's performance.
"Overall, I believe the durable medical equipment program is a highly successful program that is providing thousands of Medicaid recipients each year with needed medical equipment," Kathryn Kuhmerker, deputy commissioner in the state Health Department's Office of Medicaid Management, told a packed hearing room in Manhattan.
Read the rest of "Official defends medical equipment program".Posted by Michelle at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)
July 04, 2005
State OKs 36 bills from Rockland lawmakers
Morahan, the senior member of the Rockland delegation, had 21 bills pass both houses. One bill requires caseworkers to report abuse of people with developmental disabilities to the state.
Morahan, chairman of the Senate's Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Committee, also convinced both houses to extend "Kendra's Law" for five more years, to June 30, 2010.
That law permits the courts to order mentally ill people to take their prescribed medication and follow outpatient treatment guidelines or be hospitalized. It was created after Kendra Webdale was pushed in front of a New York City subway train by a mentally ill man who had refused treatment....
Of all the bills from Rockland's delegation, Gov. George Pataki has signed only one--a tax exemption for volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers in Orange County.
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