On Target

 Informing Indiana About Disability Issues

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

Is third time a charm for MiCASSA?

Since 1997, disability advocates have heard about the Medicaid Community Supports and Services Act (MiCASSA, S. 1935), an effort to change the Medicaid bias from nursing homes to community-based services. It’s gone before Congress twice before and is expected to be reintroduced in June 2001. But will it go far? Some say yes.

Many proponents for MiCASSA are hopeful that the recent Olmstead decision by the Supreme Court will necessitate changes in federal funding from Medicaid. Olmstead mandates that states offer community-based services to people with disabilities. While the Olmstead decision does not point directly to Medicaid as the answer to funding ommunity-based services, many feel that it’s the logical answer. A study by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid showed that about 75 percent of Medicaid funding is directed to nursing homes, and only 25 percent is directed to providing community-based services.

“Supporting MiCASSA is the right thing for all Americans,” said Ed Bell, Council member. “Personally, I do not want bureaucrats from Indianapolis or Washington choosing for me and forcing me into an expensive nursing home – with my own tax money – against my will when I could easily and less expensively live in the community of my own choice.”

The long-term care industry, particularly nursing homes, is a strong opponent to MiCASSA because the legislation would create a large shift in dollars away from institutional care. As stated by the group American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT), MiCASSA would allow “[Medicaid dollars] to follow the person and allow eligible individuals, or their representatives, to choose where they would receive services and supports.” Currently, Medicaid dollars go directly to agencies or institutions.

Other factors besides the nursing home industry work against MiCASSA. A fear exists that MiCASSA would create a “woodwork effect”: people who would not normally seek nursing home care would “come out of the woodwork” for community-based services. Advocates for MiCASSA disagree, saying there can’t be too many individuals refusing life-sustaining services simply because they do not want to enter a nursing home.

Indiana’s own closing of the New Castle State Developmental Center and Muscatatuck State Developmental Center has created some success stories about those with disabilities moving from an institutional setting into a community-based setting. The May 18 Indianapolis Star highlights the story of Dee Dee Bond, 36, who moved from the New Castle facility. Her mother, Deola Bond, told the Star that since her daughter moved into a house with two other former New Castle residents three years ago, she has become more independent. “This is the best thing that could’ve happened to Dee Dee,” said Bond, despite her initial concerns about the new living arrangement. Dee Dee’s housemates have similar success stories.

To follow MiCASSA or to learn more about it, visit www.adapt.org or www.ican.com, or contact the Council at (317) 232-7770 (voice) or (317) 232-7771 (TT). Sponsors of S. 1935 are Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

(PULLQUOTE) "Supporting MiCASSA is the right thing for all Americans. Personally, I do not want bureaucrats from Indianapolis or Washington choosing for me and forcing me into an expensive nursing home – with my own tax money – against my will when I could easily and less expensively live in the community of my own choice."

Talking ATMs

To benefit its customers with disabilities, Bank One announced in April that it will install “talking” automated teller machines at locations throughout the Midwest.

With earphones, customers can listen to voice prompts that take them through their transactions step by step. Bank One offers these earphones free to customers at locations where the talking ATMs are available.

Bank One plans to install 10 of the machines in Indiana by the end of the year – eight in Indianapolis, one in Lafayette and one in Whiting. The bank has already installed 30 of the machines in Ohio and the Chicago area, and plans to install 100 more by the end of the year.

“This effort reflects our focus on delivering service, convenience and choice to all of our customers,” said Michael Welborn, Bank One’s head of retail banking.

Talking ATMs will allow people with visual disabilities more banking freedom and privacy. The machines also will be helpful to people who use wheelchairs because ATM screens are sometimes difficult to see from a seated position.

For more information about Bank One’s talking ATMs, including instructions, locations and information about how to receive free headphones, call toll-free (877) 241-8665 (voice). Bank One is also accepting suggestions for machine locations, so call to suggest one near you.

President’s plan builds on ADA

President George W. Bush’s New Freedom Initiative (NFI) could make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities. Announced February 1, the plan includes expanded funding for assistive technologies, education, workforce integration and community access.

Assistive technology research and development
Bush’s plan includes $20 million to fund assistive technology research at the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers. Three million dollars is allotted to better coordinate research efforts between the public and private sectors so new technologies reach the market quickly. To help small businesses develop these technologies, the plan includes $5 million for an Assistive Technology Development Fund. In addition, states would receive $40 million to create low-interest loan programs for assistive technology purchases.

Education
Strong education in the early years increases a person’s chances for success later in life. Reading programs are integral to the plan; $900 million is slotted for the Reading First initiative (to teach children to read by third grade) and $75 million would go toward pre-school reading programs. The NFI would also increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and give states and schools more flexibility in spending the money.

Workforce integration
The cornerstones of this section are transportation solutions and telecommuting. It establishes an Access to Telework Fund, which would let states create low-interest loans to help people with disabilities buy telecommuting equipment. It would also exempt home offices from Occupational Health and Safety Administration guidelines so businesses would be more willing to agree to work-from-home arrangements.

Transportation issues are sometimes significant barriers to workforce integration for people with disabilities. The plan would provide $45 million for transportation pilot programs for people with disabilities. These programs would be evaluated after three years and expanded if successful. The plan would also provide $100 million in competitive matching grants for alternative forms of transportation, such as specialty vans and accessible vehicles.

Community integration
People with disabilities sometimes encounter barriers in voting, attending worship services and meetings, and participating in community activities. The NFI attempts to address these barriers. It would provide grants to help ADA-exempt organizations comply with ADA standards, as these organizations often cannot afford to make facilities accessible on their own. The plan supports the recently passed “American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000,” which allows people with disabilities to use a year’s worth of Section 8 rental vouchers to make a down payment on a home. Bush also pledges in the plan to work to break down voting barriers and to encourage community-based care.

For more information, visit www.whitehouse.gov.

Hamilton to be new Secretary of FSSA

Governor Frank O’Bannon announced in May that John Hamilton will serve as the next Secretary of the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).

Hamilton will replace Katie Humphreys, who has headed the agency since last July.

Humphreys plans to return to the private sector in her hometown of South Bend.

She will continue in her position until Hamilton assumes his new post July 1.

Hamilton said his first goal in his new position is to listen – to clients and their famlies, legislators, advocates and FSSA employees – and to help set clear objectives for the agency.

Bill could benefit middle-class families

According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 64 percent of parents of children with disabilities turn down jobs, raises, promotions or overtime so they can stay in their income bracket. Exceeding that income bracket could make their children ineligible for Medicaid services and supports they need. Private insurance often is too expensive, is not available through an employer, or offers limited coverage. Thus, less than one in 25 families leaves the Medicaid program because of increased prosperity.

The FOA would allow states to change that, allowing parents to contribute up to 5 percent of their income to buy into the Medicaid program for their children. The bill also would allow states to extend coverage to children whose disabilities might become severe without early health care intervention. Family health information centers, which would provide health information and assistance to families, would also receive funding.

The FOA is similar to the Medicaid buy-in legislation recently signed into law by Gov. Frank O’Bannon at the conclusion of the 2001 General Assembly. Medicaid buy-in allows people with disabilities to work without losing their own Medicaid benefits,while the FOA, if passed, would allow parents of children with disabilities to work and accept promotions without fear of losing their child’s Medicaid benefits.

The FOA failed when it was introduced in 2000, despite having many cosponsors. Now it has bipartisan support, as 69 senators and 177 representatives have become cosponsors of the bill.

Indiana Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar are cosponsoring the bill, but Indiana’s 10 House representatives have not followed suit. Our representatives need to know the FOA is an important issue for voters in Indiana. Mail, fax or e-mail your representative, telling him or her why the FOA is an important issue and deserves support. (For contact information on your representative, visit www.house.gov and click on “Member Offices.”) A grassroots effort to encourage the FOA can help ensure it becomes law.

Passage of the FOA does not guarantee that the Medicaid buy-in and other services will be available to everyone. The bill allows states to establish such programs, but it does not force them to do so. The first step is passage in the U.S. Congress. After that, advocates and parents must turn their attention to the state legislature, encouraging those elected officials to follow the federal government’s lead, much like the efforts put forth to pass the Medicaid buy-in legislation.

Victory on and off the course

The ruling affects a similar case brought by Ford Olinger, a Warsaw, Indiana, man who has a degenerative hip. He sued the U.S. Golf Association for the right to use a cart in U.S. Open qualifying. Both men claimed the no-cart rule was a violation of the ADA. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court in Chicago ruled against Olinger in March 2000. Now, the Supreme Court has ordered the case be reexamined in light of the Martin case, making it almost certain Olinger will win. These victories mean that instead of making blanket rules about carts, golf organizations must accept requests for accommodations on a case-by-case basis.

These cases are part of a string of ADA-related issues before the Supreme Court. Advocates have been monitoring these cases, hopeful the ADA will withstand the recent scrutiny.

Moniquella Adell,
East Chicago Public Library

Laurie Custer,
Home Health Services - Respite Care, Valparaiso

Lynn Kimble,
Highland Middle School

Beth Lauer,
People First of Fort Wayne

Sandra K. Lund,
Deaf Community Services,
Indianapolis

Natalie Peck,
East Central Special Services, Connersville

Laura Peters,
West Lake Special Education Cooperative, Schererville

Jane Smidebush,
Bona Vista Programs,
Kokomo

David Vohlken,
City of Rensselaer

Keely Weldon,
Carl J. Polk Elementary School, Lake Station

T-shirts will be mailed directly to these winners. More than 900 advocates ordered Disability Awareness Month materials and planned events in 2001, allowing the Council to reach tens of thousands of Hoosiers.

of note

Council toll-free line ready
The Council’s toll-free Automated Resource Information and Referral Line is ready for action. Call (866) 234-1635 (voice) to order a Council publication, information offered in the On Target newsletter, Council publications list, or to add or change an address on the mailing list. You can also hear a listing of other toll-free numbers that provide information and referral services.

Seeking Media Award nominations
The Council is sponsoring the fourth annual Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability Issues. The award recognizes a news organization and/or reporter for stories relating to people with disabilities or disability issues that result in change. The story must have run/aired between April 1, 2000, and March 31, 2001. Submit your entry with article/program title, date, reporter/news organization, and reason for the nomination. Also include your name and contact information. Mail entries by July 20, 2001, c/o Heather Shirk, Borshoff Johnson Matthews, 47 S. Pennsylvania Street, Ste. 500, Indianapolis, IN 46204; or fax (317) 631-6499. Call (317) 631-6400 (voice) with questions.

Recognize Indiana’s outstanding employers Do you know an Indiana business that deserves recognition for its efforts in hiring, promoting and valuing people with disabilities? If so, nominate them for the 2001 Profit From Our Ability Awards (PFOA). These awards recognize and thank Indiana employers who have gone above and beyond the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and who believe in the value of employing people with disabilities.

To nominate a deserving Indiana business or organization, complete the application enclosed in this issue of On Target. Applications should be postmarked on or before Aug. 15.