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Hem / Album / Washington DC, Feb. 2005 27
ADAPT bundled up and trundled off to DC in February 2005 to face off with the National Governor's Association again, this time at their winter Legislative Conference.
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[Headline] Congressional Proposal for Basic Access in All New Federally Assisted Homes Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) has re-introduced the Inclusive Home Design Act (HR 2353), the national Visitability bill. Visitability is the most basic level of access. In this and most local and state bills there are three main requirements: *at least one no-step entrance; *doors and hallways wider than usual; *and at least a half-bathroom on the first floor big enough to accommodate a person in a wheelchair and allow that person to close the door. You can think of it like a stair step, with Visitability being the most basic, adaptability (as in the Fair Housing Standards for new multifamily housing) being the lower middle level, accessibility (as required by Section 504 and UFAS) being the upper middle level and individually customized access being the top level of access. According to Schakowsky 95% of federally supported homes are not required to meet any standard of accessibility. Yet, architecture and design experts estimate the total average cost per dwell-ing is $98 (on a concrete slab) and $573 (for a dwelling with a basement or crawl space). Several of the communities that already have Visitability laws have found it even less expensive than these estimates. The concept of Visitability has been catching on in pockets around the country for the past decade or so. The first place to require Visitability features in single-family housing paid for with public money was Atlanta in 1992, and was largely as a result of the efforts of the grassroots group Concrete Change. Other cities were quick to follow, including Austin, Chicago, Champaign, Urbana and Bolingbrook, IL and some states have even enacted Visit-ability laws Arizona, Vermont, Texas, Kansas, and Oregon. Visitability improves livability for homeowners as well as their guests. It lasts the lifetime of the house, so even if the first occupants don't need it, it is there for future residents and guests. It supports lifetime living, so as people age and their needs change the house can change with them. It promotes integration through visiting. It makes housing safer as every-one can get in and out. It allows people who develop a disability to continue to enjoy basic access to their homes. In short, it really improves housing. Schakowsky's bill has been referred to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs' Subcommittee on Benefits. Supports of the bill want more co-sponsors. For more information on this and other Visitability initiatives check out Concrete Change's website www.concretechange.org Incitement - ADAPT (1565)
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{Pages in this section may be out of order. Transcriptions are available for each individual page, but they may appear in the wrong order} [Headline] MiCASSA and Money Follows the Person Introduced! MiCASSA (the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act) and Money Follows the Person have been re-introduced and have new bill numbers. MiCASSA is now S 401 and HR 910. The main cosponsors remain Senators Harkin of IA and Specter of PA, and Representatives Danny Davis and Shimkus of IL. MiCASSA gives individuals who are eligible for institutional services like nursing home services and ICF-MR services equal access to community-based attendant services and supports. The services are based on functional need and are consumer controlled; in fact, they provide a choice of ways to have consumer control. MiCASSA also creates a demonstration project to evaluate service coordination and cost sharing approaches for those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. Also included are funding and direction to the states to reform their long term care to level the playing field and increase home and community based services. The Federal Money Follows the Person bill S 528 is co-sponsored by Senators Harkin and Gordon Smith of OR. This bill sets up demonstration programs in the states to allow people in nursing homes and other institutions to move into the community on existing community service programs, instead of having to go on long waiting lists, etc. However, this bill allows the funds that were paying for their institutional service to be moved over to pay for the services in the community. This bill also allows the participating states to get 100% federal funds to cover the first year of community services for those who move out, and at the end of the year the funding returns to that states regular match (60% federal funds - 40% state funds or what-ever the state's regular match rate is.) We need more co-sponsors. Unfortunately, when a Congressional Session ends (every 2 years) all the bills that haven't passed die and that is why they need to be reintroduced; also, all the co-sponsors need to sign back on again. If your Senators and/ or Representative has signed on, thank them. If not, ask them to sign on again. To find out who is co-sponsoring the bill you can contact us at adapt@adapt.org (or 512/442-0252) or you can go to the Thomas website www.thomas.gov and type in the bill number. - ADAPT (1570)
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[Headline] Why Now is the Time to Renew Our Push for MiCASSA and Money Follows the Person Many people with significant disabilities cannot live without supports, like attendant services. Terri Schiavo's story brought into focus, in an extreme way, the reality of this need. It pointed a huge spotlight on this issue. Though it has quieted down for now, this issue is simmering in the background. The visceral /but reaction of many in the disability community to Terri's story was a feeling of being deeply threatened. The fear comes from their current need for this support, or anticipation that they will need such supports in the future, combined with a sense that the general mood is to diminish just these types of supports. As one past leader of our nation has said: the cheapest way to serve is euthanasia. Many politicians who spoke in sup-port for Terri's life have not shown the same support for the services that would allow people with disabilities to live with dignity in their communities. Others who failed to see the importance of the value of Terri's life, sometimes even life with a disability in general, have also not shown strong support for legislation supporting us in the community. The lack of understanding on both sides is chilling, to say the least. Congress is back in session but will be back in their [Subheading] MiCASSA S 401 and HR 910: Money Follows the Person - S 528 - ADAPT (1572)
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