On the merits -- Don't let extremists color bill for disabled

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[Headline] On the merits -- Don't let extremists color bill for disabled

Sunday, November 14, 1999

The monetary cost of the damages caused by activists who stormed state office buildings this month is being tallied. So far, the bill is upward of $60,000, much of it for State Highway Patrol overtime to maintain security. Locks and other items damaged when demonstrators blocked access to elevators and other public areas in the Riffe Center must be replaced.

This group should reimburse the taxpayers of Ohio for such costs and apologize for disrupting state workers and impeding their safety.

But far more troubling, and not just in financial terms, would be for a largely out-of- state group's misguided and potentially dangerous actions to harm the chances of thorough debate and analysis of the legislation it supports.

State lawmakers have a duty to consider the needs of their constituents: the people of Ohio. Many of the protesters in town last week came from other states as part of a national disability-rights group known for its obstructive, in-your-face tactics. The demonstrators, members of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, did no favor for those in Ohio's disabled community who have worked hard to create this legislation by legitimate and civil means Like extremists in any movement, from abortion-clinic bombers to Black Panthers, ADAPT does more harm than good for its cause.

The measure at hand, House Bill 215, sponsored by Rep. George E. Terwilleger, R- Maineville, should be considered on its merits. Subject to approval of a federal waiver, the bill would create a program using Medicaid funds to provide many disabled people with personal assistants, thereby increasing their alternatives to living in nursing homes. It would redirect Medicaid dollars into home- and community-based services and away from institutions.
The Dispatch is not ready to endorse such legislation but does believe the measure deserves to be thoroughly examined.

Among other provisions, the bill would give people who are disabled more say in planning their care. It largely minors proposed federal legislation that would require states to expand community-based options and give people with disabilities choice in where and when they receive services. Similar legislation has received bipartisan congressional support.

Independent living may not be the best choice for every individual. But for many, it is. In such cases, this measure has the potential to save taxpayers' money while improving the quality of life for people who are disabled.

Former state Rep. Joan W. Lawrence, director of the Ohio Department of Aging, wrote much of Terwilleger's bill while she served in the House; when she changed positions, she asked Terwilleger to carry the measure.

"It's not the kind of bill that would go flying through the legislature, because it's hard to grasp the details," she said. "But I think its time has come. It's sweeping the nation, this self-directed care."

Lawmakers would be unfair to the many people who have worked hard and long on measures intended to help the disabled if they allowed a group of outsiders to sabotage these efforts.

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11/15/99

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