On Target is a monthly publication
of the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities.
We welcome your suggestions for newsletter content and
ideas concerning the actions of the Council. On Target is made available
in accessible formats upon request.
Suellen Jackson-Boner
Executive Director
Christine Dahlberg
Associate Director
Paul Shankland
Grants Manager |
Media Award encourages responsible reporting
The media play a pivotal role in American society: they tell people what issues to think about and how to think about them. Because the media help shape public attitudes and opinions about people with disabilities, the Council offers an annual media award to encourage excellence in reporting on disability issues. The Council honors media award winners during the annual Conference for People with Disabilities.
"The media award gives reporters and editors something to work toward - stories that increase awareness about disability issues while being respectful of the disability community," said Council Executive Director Suellen Jackson-Boner. Through stories that are readable, effective, accurate and complete, award winners set the standard for other media who report on disability issues. Reporters preparing stories about people with disabilities can look to award-winning articles and broadcasts for guidance.
The 2001 media award winners were Kevin Corcoran and Joe Fahy of the Indianapolis Star and Don Pratt and Bill Flint of Bloomington's WGCL-AM 1370. Corcoran and Fahy examined the "troubled move" in 1998 of people with disabilities from institutions to community-based settings, while Pratt and Flint covered PeoplePower and transportation issues.
Nominations are accepted throughout the year. To submit an entry, send the article/program title, date of publication/air date, name of reporter/news organization, reason for the nomination, and your name and contact information. Articles/programs nominated for this year's media award must have run/aired between April 1, 2001, and March 31, 2002.Award entries can be sent to
Jamy Schuler, Borshoff Johnson Matthews,
47 S. Pennsylvania St., Suite 500,
Indianapolis, IN 46204, or (317) 631-6499 (fax). For more information, call Jamy at
(317) 631-6400 (voice).
Court refuses graduation exam challenge
Students with cognitive and learning disabilities and their families were disappointed Feb. 1 when the Indiana Supreme Court refused to hear a case challenging the state's Grade 10 Graduation Qualifying Exam that prevents some students from obtaining a high school diploma.
Students are required to pass the exam to earn a diploma, regardless of their grades or activities. The Indiana Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) filed the class action lawsuit four years ago on behalf of a Wayne Township student with a learning disability who did not pass the test.
The justices voted 4-1 to refuse the case, with Justice Frank Sullivan Jr. voting to hear it.
The appellate court upheld the decision of Marion County Superior Court Judge Susan Macey Thompson, who wrote in her decision, "An injunction would disservice the public interest in ensuring that an Indiana high school diploma is worth more than the paper it is written on."
USA Today reported in June 2001 that 49 states have minimum standards for students, and half require students to pass a test to earn a diploma. Only six states base requirements on a sliding scale that considers a student's disability.Indiana's test, taken in 10th grade, is based on ninth-grade standards. Students are allowed five attempts.
Ticket to Work program gets to work
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has launched Ticket to Work - the cornerstone program of the 1999 Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA). In early February, Delaware residents with disabilities received the first "tickets," enabling them to receive vocational rehabilitation, job training and other employment services.
The SSA expects to issue 2.4 million tickets by mid-year, with 167,000 Hoosiers receiving tickets toward the end of 2002. Tickets will be issued to everyone who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI)."Today, only about one percent of the people who get Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits leave the rolls each year to go to work. We can do better, and we must do better," said Jo Anne Barnhart, SSA commissioner.People with disabilities can take their tickets to any participating employment service provider. Together, the ticket-holder and employment network will design an individual employment plan outlining services to be provided. The SSA, not ticket-holders, will pay employment networks for their services.
The Center on Community Living and Careers and the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community are conducting training workshops throughout 2002 for a fee of $65 for employment specialists, case managers, people with disabilities and others who are affected by this new program. These organizations also are offering free benefits counseling throughout the state to people with disabilities. SSI and SSDI recipients in Indiana are encouraged to speak with a Benefits counselor before their tickets arrive."Benefits counselors can help alleviate fears about losing cash benefits due to employment by providing information to SSI and SSDI recipients," said Teresa Grossi, director, Center on Community Living and Careers. "I would highly encourage any recipients who are employed, or are considering employment, to contact a counselor for a benefits analysis."The Ticket to Work program is voluntary. Employment networks are not required to accept tickets, and people with disabilities who receive tickets are not required to use them.
For more information about the Ticket to Work program or for a list of participating employment networks, visit www.ssa.gov/work or www.yourtickettowork.com, or call (866) 968-7842 (voice) or (866) 833-2967 (TT).For information about free benefits counseling, call (866) 646-8161 (voice) or (765) 641-8285 (TT) if you live in northern Indiana, and (800) 825-4733 (voice) or (812) 855-9396 (TT) if you live in southern Indiana (includes Marion County). A list of participating service providers will arrive with the tickets.
Study details Indiana's community-based care
Indiana was one of six states examined in a study of home and community-based care services for people with developmental disabilities. The Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Study results were released in March 2001. The study panel used interviews and site visits to develop an overview of Indiana's services, including eligibility, agencies involved, service history and more. The final portion of the report explains the challenges facing Indiana's home and community-based care, including collaboration with stakeholder groups, case management, the waiting list, quality assurance and enhancement, and direct support workforce issues.
The report states that one critically important challenge facing the Indiana HCBS program is the ability of provider agencies to find, keep and train qualified people to provide supports for people who receive HCBS. Simplification of the case management process is urged in the report. It also criticizes the lack of information about crisis support services for home and community-based care recipients, and the growing waiting list of people with developmental disabilities. For more information or to obtain a copy of the study, visit www.hcbs.org/medicaid_study/medicaid_study.htm or call Darlene O' Connor, (617) 552-2809 (voice).
Councils streamline service delivery
Statewide Step Ahead councils are working to improve delivery of social services to people with and without disabilities. The goal is to help families achieve self-sufficiency.
"Step Ahead is trying to provide families the opportunity to reach their full potential," said Judy Tonk, community planning consultant with the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA). "Too often our children and families have to go from agency to agency, from application to application, and they are intimidated."Each Step Ahead council conducts its own needs assessment and sets its own agenda, including housing, transportation, child care, health care and other issues. "Each county tailors its Step Ahead process to its own unique resources," said Tonk. "That's the beauty of this program."
Councils focus on many initiatives simultaneously, addressing the big picture of social services in their communities."When the councils look at any issue - housing, transportation, anything - they know it's for all children and families, with and without disabilities," Tonk said.
So far, councils have leveraged $30 million in services, with state funding of only $2.9 million.
Tonk encourages everyone to be represented on their local councils. To get involved, contact your local Step Ahead Council at the phone number listed in your local phone directory, or visit http://ai.org/fssa/stepahead.
New visitability standards
ADA standards have improved the accessibility of public buildings, but a person with a disability visiting a friend's home might encounter the same old problems - narrow doorways, stairways and other obstacles.
Officials in Naperville, Ill., and Pima County, Ariz., say such barriers could someday affect any person. In response, both cities adopted "visitability standards" in February for new homes. The new standards require wider inside doorways, reinforced bathroom walls (to accommodate grab-bars) and electrical switches/outlets within reach of a person in a wheelchair.
Pima County also will require at least one step-free entrance, a regulation Naperville is still studying.
Not everyone favors the new standards. Builders say the requirements will increase costs and limit the variety of floor plans available because plans must be redrawn to incorporate wider doors. But disability advocates argue that creating more accessible housing options will lead to higher home ownership rates among people with disabilities.
Vaughn leads Count Us IN
Julia Vaughn is the new project director of the Council's Count Us IN voting reform initiative.
As project director, Vaughn will tackle issues such as polling place accessibility and voter turnout. But her primary goals are getting people with disabilities registered to vote - and then getting them to vote on Election Day.
"The political process is all about who shows up," Vaughn said, adding that she hopes people with disabilities will soon rival "soccer moms" in terms of their political clout.
Vaughn also emphasizes the importance of voting in tough fiscal times, when program budgets are cut. "Our officials need to know what these cuts are going to mean in real, human terms," she said.
Vaughn, who is also policy director for Common Cause Indiana, has more than 15 years of experience in grassroots organizing through the Citizens Action Coalition. She also assisted in implementing the Motor Voter law in Indiana.
"Reaching out to the disability community is critical," Vaughn said. "It's one of the few areas where voting participation is actually increasing, but we still have a long way to go."
If you want to participate in or would like more information about Count Us IN, contact the Council at (317) 232-7770 (voice),
(317) 232-7771 (TT) or gpcpd@gpcpd.org for an informational packet.2002 Social Security and
Benefits Planning Trainings
Workshop times: 8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
May 8-9
Clifty Falls State Park
1501 Green Rd.
Madison, IN 47250
July 8-9
Farmstead Inn
370 S. Van Buren St.
Shipshewana, IN 46565
Sept. 23-24
Crossroads Rehabilitation Center
4740 Kingsway Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46205
Nov. 4-5
Abe Martin Lodge
Brown Co. State Park
State Road 46 East
Nashville, IN 47448
Of Note
Riding center plans new facility
Plainfield resident Debbie Anderson is developing another Agape Therapeutic Riding Center, giving people with disabilities a chance to ride and connect with horses. The organization, which already has a facility in Cicero, is in the midst of a $1 million capital campaign and plans to complete the new facility by 2003.
New CIF applications
The application form for the Consumer Investment Fund (CIF) has been revised to incorporate changes made to the eligibility requirements. The CIF provides partial funding for people with disabilities and their families to participate in events such as conferences, public hearings and workshops that reflect the community inclusion mission of the Council. To apply for assistance, contact the Council for a new application form: (317) 232-7770 (voice), (317) 232-7771 (TT) or GPCPD@gpcpd.org. You can also print or fill out the form at http://www.in.gov/gpcpd/.
City's accessibility honored
Bloomington was one of 10 finalists in the National Organization on Disability's first Accessible America Awards. The winner, disability-friendly Venice, Fla., received $25,000 to further the inclusion of people with disabilities in community life. For information about the competition, contact Nancy Starnes at (202) 293-5960 (voice) or starnes@nod.org. The deadline for next year's competition is Dec. 31, 2002.Americans well represented at ParalympicsAthletes began Paralympics competitions March 7 in Salt Lake City. The United States sent 53 athletes, more than any other country, to participate in Alpine and Nordic skiing events and ice sledge hockey.
Save the Date!
The annual Conference for People with Disabilities - Nov. 19 & 20 at the downtown Indianapolis Westin
Indiana Governor’s Planning
Council for People with Disabilities
150 West Market Street, Suite 628
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
(317) 232-7770 voice
(317) 232-7771 TT
E-mail: GPCPD@gpcpd.org
Web site: www.state.in.us/gpcpd
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