Governor's IHSS cuts will shift demands for service to regional centers, according to CA Legislative Analyst's Office

A new LAO study of the impact of the Governor's proposed cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program finds that many demands for these services by people with developmental disabilities would be shifted to the regional centers. This is because the Lanterman Act says that if an Individual Program Plan requires these services for a client with developmental disability, the regional centers must provide them if they are not available from other sources. Read a summary of the study here.

Best Sellers of Disability Rights California Now available on CD

Basic information about the organization in several languages, together with our most frequently requested publications has been assembled on a CD for distribution at our outreaches and trainings. If you want a copy mailed to you, due to rising costs, we request a donation of $10 unless this is a financial hardship. Please contact us at Toll Free 800-776-5746 or TTY 800-719-5798 to request a copy. The publications on the CD:

Department of Justice and 3 advocacy groups support our lawsuit to stop IHSS cuts

As of March 2, 2010, four amicus (also called “friend of the court”) briefs were filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of IHSS recipients and providers in our class action lawsuit to stop the Governor’s cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS).  The lawsuit, V.L. et al v. Wagner, was filed on October 1, 2009, challenged IHSS terminations and reductions based on Functional Index (FI) rankings and scores, because these do not accurately measure need for IHSS. Read the complaint here. We and three other public interest law firms are counsel for the IHSS recipients.  The other plaintiffs are five SEIU locals and United Domestic Workers – AFSCME, which are representing the IHSS providers in the case. 

On October 19, 2009, the federal district court in Oakland issued a preliminary injunction order stopping the functional index cuts. The State defendants filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and we have filed our answering brief. No hearings have been scheduled at this time.

Read about groups that filed supporting briefs here.

Sacramento, March 17 & 18: important public meetings on IHSS, Olmstead

Among numerous public meetings and hearings on the budget taking place in Sacramento duing the week of the Ides of March are:

• March 17 (10am-12pm): Teleconference on In-Home Supportive Services program, integrity and fraud prevention stakeholder process; toll-free number 1-800-700-7414; organized by the Department of Social Services
• March 18 (starts at 9:30 or when the Senate floor session ends): Room 4203, budget hearing, held by budget subcomittee #3 of Department of Health & Human Services, covering IHSS, CalWORKS, Dept of Aging
• March 18 (10am-4pm): Olmstead Advisory Committee public hearing, Department of Rehab Building, Room 262 or toll-free phone participation 1-800-232-0362, passcode 785453; agenda includes proposed closing of Lanterman Developmental Center, expansion of Medicaid section 1115 waiver

Read many other details in this CDCAN News Release.

Learn about the U.S. Census: Children Count Too! campaign and Easy to Read Flyers

Children Count Too! is a new campaign about the importance of counting infants and young children in the 2010 Census. Watch the video, read about it in English or Spanish, and find out more about the census here.

Spread the word about Easy to Read Flyers in English and Spanish that were developed for people with developmental disabilities. They were developed by the California Department of Developmental Services and explain the importance of completing the census questionnaire.

For assistance with the questionnaire, Please call the U.S. Census toll free at 1-866-872-6868 or visit the U. S. Census web site for more information.

Children with mental health disabilities get lost in the system

Maggie Roberts, a Disability Rights California Associate Managing Attorney, reacts to an investigation by the California Department of Education which "found [that] several Monterey County agencies are violating state and federal laws in their handling of students with mental health problems." Read the Herald article here...

Another court decision blocks cuts of In-Home Supportive Service worker wages

On March 3, the U.S. 9th District Court of Appeals rejected arguments of the Schwarzenegger Administration and affirmed earlier findings that reducing wages of In Home Supportive Service workers would be likely to cause irreparable harm. Due to the budget crisis, the State proposed to cut its contribution to IHSS worker wages. The State claimed it was exempt from having to study the extent of harm caused by these cuts because it would be "virtually impossible" to obtain cost studies . Therefore, for now, Judge Claudia Wilken's injunction against reducing these wages remains in effect. Details about the case, Dominguez v. Schwarzenegger (formerly Martinez), can be found on the website, www.AltshulerBerzon.com, the firm that defended the IHSS workers, and in this ruling of Judge Milan D. Smith.

Contest on "What equality means to me" invites youth ages 14-18 to submit artistic or written entries by April 12

Disability rights is one of several areas for creative expression selected by the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights: see details here.

Judge stops governor's cuts to adult day health care for 15,000 Californians

Late afternoon on February 24, the anxiously awaited decision of Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong was emailed to Disability Rights California and other disability advocates and social justice groups. The order for the injunction of the cuts to Adult Day Health Care spelled out the judge's agreement with Harry Cota and other plaintiffs that their ADHC services were critical to avoid institutionalization. The court found that the new restrictive criteria for access to ADHC would likely violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court rejected the Administration's argument that they are "entitled to cut services at will to accommodate...budgetary constraints." See press release for details.

People First invites nominations for Sandra Jensen self-advocacy award

Nominate a self-advocate who made an important contribution to the self-advocacy movement or the developmental disability community by completing a nomination form which you may send or fax to People First of California at (916) 441-3434 or by completing this online form.

Events

The Second Annual Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Symposium - Friday, April 16, 2010, 9am-4pm at Southwestern Law School, Los Angeles

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ADA, this one-day MCLE program will address cutting-edge legal issues in fair housing and access to public accommodations for people with disabilities. For more information, visit www.calbar.org.

Law Review International Symposium on Significance of the United Nations Disability Rights Convention - March 19, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles

An array of speakers involved in developing the convention and other international disability programs. Check out agenda and register: www.lls.edu

Capitol Action Day Resource Fair - May 26, 2010

For more information, visit the website. Reserve your booth at the information fair now.

Find hundreds of events, trainings and conferences on our Meetings & Trainings pages, in English ... y también varios eventos, reuniones y entrenamientos en español

Recommended reading

Word of mouth brings deaf taxman brisk business, KPCC, 3/16/10

Paralympics: Second-class Games no more, Olympics - Vancouver 2010, 3/12/10

Story Of Woman's Disability Leads To Oscar Moment, CBS, 3/11/10

Sacramento County budget cuts change mental health treatment, Sacramento Bee, 3/14/10

Canadian activist has to use U.S. rails to get from Toronto to Vancouver, Vancouver Sun, 3/13/10

Court: Vaccines Don't Cause Autism, NPR, 3/12/10

UN sets up human rights group to look into situation of Haiti’s disabled, UN News Center, 3/5/10

Beyond Women’s Day, Kathmandu Post, 3/7/10

Summary of 3 recent legal setbacks for Schwarzenegger administration, benefiting disability population, CDCAN, 3/3/10

Federal appeals court rules against governor on cuts, Sacramento Bee, 3/3/10

Sutter program targets frequent emergency room visitors, Sacramento Bee, 3/5/10