ADAPT FREE OUR PEOPLE

The Honorable Bill Clinton
President of the United States
White House
Washington, D C. 20000

June 13, 1997

Dear Mr. President:

With over 2 million Americans with disabilities locked away in nursing homes and other institutions, ADAPT must take a stand. ADAPT, and many of these millions of Americans have waited through a first term and now well into a second term for the institutional bias in the nation's long term care system to be dealt with. ADAPT knows that you deal with many critical issues, but with millions of lives on the line this issue is no less critical than many you have chosen to address.

In the 1992 Presidential Campaign you committed to ADAPT that you would create a Personal Assistance Services Task Force. You also said "... I support efforts to make affordable personal assistance services available to Americans with disabilities."

It hasn't happened.

In May 1995, because of demands made by ADAPT, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala affirmed the Administration's support for principles of "...emphasizing home and community based services and offering consumers the maximum amount of choice, control and flexibility in how those services are organized and delivered."

Since this endorsement, the Administration has done little to bring these words into reality.

In May of 1996 HCFA Administrator Bruce Vladeck sent out a memo to all HCFA Regional Administrators. The subject was "promotion of home and community based services in the most integrated setting."

The words were encouraging but the actual policies to allow consumers real long term care choices have not happened.

On October 8, 1996 you sent a letter to the disability rights community during the Presidential Campaign. In it you said "We will not rest until all Americans with disabilities in institutions have the choice of living in their homes and communities with community services."

It hasn't happened.

On November 4, 1996 Alexis Herman signed a letter on White House Stationary committing that you would meet with ADAPT in the first quarter of 1997.

It hasn't happened.

Alexis Herman and your office have ignored phone calls and ADAPT's letters of February 12, 1997, March 13, 1997 and March 26, 1997 asking for a time frame and agenda for the promised meeting.

We are now currently half way through 1997.

On Friday afternoon June 13, 1997 at 4:00 p.m. eastern daylight time ADAPT member Mike Oxford received a phone call from Bill White stating that ADAPT should now begin to meet with HCFA representatives and members of the Domestic Policy Council before a September meeting with you.

Why has your Administration waited until ADAPT has come to town, almost three months after the meeting was supposed to take place, to bring up preparations that will take months?

Given the history of the White House and its dealings with ADAPT, we cannot accept this phone call as a formal, serious invitation. Considering the previous promises detailed above, ADAPT must have a written commitment signed by you stating your commitment to the principles of CASA as well as your commitment to the process and date for our meeting. If we do not receive this written commitment by 5:00 PM eastern daylight time June 16, 1997 ADAPT, sadly, will have to consider Bill White's call another delay tactic by the White House.

We are waiting for your written commitment.

For An Institution Free America

Members of ADAPT

Created on

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Posted on

Thursday 26 September 2019

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• Washington DC, Spring 1997 Two week action

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