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 |
Celebrate Disability Awareness Month
This month, join thousands of advocates and people with disabilities across the state to participate in Disability Awareness Month, increasing acceptance and inclusion of people with disabilities in the community.
The 2003 theme is "Ability: No matter how you spell it," reminding us that people with disabilities are making use of their abilities to live independently and to create positive changes in our communities.
Each year, the Council's awareness campaign reaches millions of Hoosiers through radio and television public service announcements, newspaper articles, and a variety of grassroots awareness activities in schools, businesses, human services organizations and places of worship.
Free campaign materials are available while supplies last by contacting Kim Dennison,
Borshoff Johnson Matthews, at (317) 631-6400 (voice), (317) 631-6499 (fax) or
kdennison@bjmpr.com (e-mail). Information packets and order forms also are available online at www.in.gov/gpcpd.
Election reform a priority
The Indiana General Assembly is considering election reform legislation that would ensure the state meets the requirements of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which includes provisions for voting accessibility.
At press time three bills were under consid-eration. Senate Bill 268 and House Bill 1541 focus on preparing the state to receive federal money to update voting machines and create a statewide computerized list of registered voters. Senate Bill 477 is focused on making polling places more accessible to people with disabilities.
"What we're doing in Indiana represents civil rights legislation for the 21st century," Secretary of State Todd Rokita said. "Not since 1965 has anyone looked at this type of legislation so closely."
Indiana has already organized a committee to create a plan ensuring it meets HAVA requirements by July 1.
Rokita, who is overseeing the process, said three members of the 30-member panel represent people with disabilities. Council Executive Director Suellen Jackson-Boner is among those panel members.
"We are trying to be very in tune with the disability community in terms of this planning process," Rokita said.
Count Us IN Project Director Julia Vaughn said she hopes panel members and legislators go beyond HAVA requirements.
"We hope Indiana will take this opportunity to fill in some holes and make our law stronger than the federal law," she said.
HAVA did not include a deadline for making polling places accessible, but Count Us IN is pushing for Jan. 1, 2006. HAVA also does not define what constitutes an accessible polling place; SB477 provides that definition.
Advocates also want the state legislation to dedicate some of the federal funds to poll worker training.
To follow the progress of bills in the Indiana Legislature, visit www.in.gov/serv/lsa_billinfo.
Deadline approaching for Real Systems Change Mini-Grant
Applications for Real Systems Change Mini-Grants from the Governor's Commission on Home and Community-Based Services are due April 15.
The mini-grants, ranging from $30,000 to $40,000, will create community partnerships, provide incentives for public-private partnerships and encourage innovation at the community level.
The mini-grants will also help achieve the Commission's primary goals:
- To develop community capacity in the areas of community living arrangements, housing, transportation, supported employment and caregiver support.
- To develop systems that support consumer choice and consumer-directed care.
- To develop innovative systems that identify and propose solutions to eliminate barriers to service.
The grant requires a 10 percent match, either monetary or in-kind; federal dollars may not be used for the match.
For more information or an application, visit www.in.gov/fssa/community or contact Laura Butler at(317) 232-7842 (voice) or butlerla@fssa.state.in.us (e-mail).
Home Care bill passes Senate
Out of several home and community-based care bills under consideration, Senate Bill 493 passed unanimously. It will now be considered by the House committee on Public Health.
The original language in SB493 was amended. Several provisions were deleted and others were added from Senate Bill 527.
For the first time, SB493 will put in statute the full array of home and community-based services that should be available to Hoosiers with disabilities who use Medicaid waivers. Other new features of the bill include the provision that dollars must follow consumers who move from institutions into the community; increasing eligibility for waivers to include people with incomes up to 300 percent of the SSI level; spousal impoverishment protections for persons using Medicaid waivers; enhanced legal protections for persons using waivers; and the means to use savings generated by publicly funded home and community-based services for additional services. It also requires the state to have self-directed care options by July 1.
A provision to amend the state Medicaid plan to add personal care services was originally in the bill, but was deleted due to cost concerns.
Personal care services are the lynch pin to successful home and community-based services," said Cris Fulford, governmental affairs director for ATTAIN and COVOH, Inc. "We will continue working to get personal care services amended into the state plan."
John Cardwell, chairman of the Home Care Task Force, said, "Senate Bill 493 dramatically enhances the state's ability to rebalance its long-term care system so tax dollars can be used more effectively and more appropriately."
At this point in the session, bills that passed the house of origin have been assigned to committees in the second chamber. To show your support for bills you are interested in, contact the General Assembly at the following numbers: House of Representatives - (800) 382-9842 (voice), Senate - (800) 382-9467 (voice), or (800) 548-9517
(TT for both House and Senate).
Proposal focuses on home and community-based care
In January, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that President George W. Bush will propose a multi-billion dollar five-year program to help people with disabilities transition from institutional settings to home and community-based care settings.
"When enacted, this new proposal will help eliminate many barriers to full participation in community life for people with disabilities," said National Council on Disability Chairperson Lex Frieden.
The program, called a "Money Follows the Individual" Rebalancing Demonstration, would provide $1.75 billion over the next five years to help states shift their funding emphasis from institutional to home and community-based care. The program would pay the entire cost of an individual's home and community-based waiver services for the first year, with states contributing the normal Medicaid matching rate in later years.
"The president and I are committed to changing policies that confine people with disabilities in institutional settings," said HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. "We want to work with the states and the disability community to change old programs and develop new ones that will serve people with disabilities in the settings that work best for them."
Other new efforts announced as part of the New Freedom Initiative include several demonstration projects, which will receive $220 million over five years, and establishing
a spousal exemption for Medicaid. This would allow a person with a disability to return to work without the risk of losing a spouse's Medicaid coverage.
Workshops to help people achieve goals
Because it takes planning and support to achieve goals and dreams, the Waiver Information Network (WIN) is conducting "It's My Choice...Getting Started with Person-Centered Planning" workshops in cities throughout Indiana this spring.
Person-centered planning helps people with disabilities, their families, service providers and others develop a plan that allows the person with a disability to achieve his or her goals. It focuses on the person's individual strengths, barriers and available supports.
Workshop attendees will discuss the concept and receive an "It's My Choice" workbook to help them through the process.
To register, call the Indiana Parent Information Network at (800) 964-4746 (voice) or (317) 257-8683 (voice). Mention the city and date for which you are registering (see list below); all workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. There is no cost to attend, but advance registration is required as seating is limited. Participants are asked to bring a brown bag lunch.
WIN is a collaborative effort of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, the ARC of Indiana and the Indiana Parent Information Network, funded by a grant from the Council.
Workshops - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time
March
Evansville - March 11,Work One
Washington - March 12, Washington Public Library
New Albany - March 13, New Albany Public Library
Madison - March 25 , Madison Public Library
Columbus - March 27, Columbus City Hall
April
Terre Haute - April 7, Terre Haute Public Library
Muncie - April 8, Muncie Public Library, Kennedy Meeting Room
Indianapolis - April 9, Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, Pike Branch
Lafayette - April 22, Ivy Tech State College,
Ivy Hall, Eli Lilly Room
Kokomo - April 23, Kokomo Public Library
Bluffton - April 25, Wells County Public Library of Bluffton
May
Merrillville - May 6, Merrillville Reference Library
South Bend - May 7, South Bend Public Library
LaGrange - May 8, LaGrange Public Library
Rensselaer - May 20, Rensselaer Public Library
Logansport - May 21, McHale Auditorium, Rehearsal Room
Fort Wayne - May 22 , Plymouth Congregational Church
Tell us about it!
To improve future Disability Awareness Month campaigns, the Council seeks feedback on its 2003 programs and materials. Please complete the evaluation form included with your materials and send it with samples, photographs and/or newspaper clips to the address provided. (Please note that materials will not be returned.) For a chance to win an Awareness Month T-shirt, return the form by April 16 to Kim Dennison, Borshoff Johnson Matthews, 47 S. Pennsylvania St., Suite 500, Indianapolis, IN 46204, or (317) 631-6499 (fax). If you have questions, contact Dennison at (317) 631-6400 (voice) or kdennison@bjmpr.com (e-mail).
Count Us IN focuses on primaries
As the May primary approaches, Count Us IN seeks volunteers to encourage people with disabilities to participate in the electoral process.
Count Us IN is a Council project aimed at increasing the number of Hoosiers with disabilities who are involved in the electoral process as voters and volunteers.
"We have municipal elections this year for offices such as mayor, and other offices that have a lot of impact on people with disabilities at the local level," said Count Us IN Project Director Julia Vaughn.
The first step in involving people with disabilities in the electoral process is making sure they are registered to vote. Count Us IN seeks volunteers to assist in this effort.
Count Us IN also needs volunteers to conduct polling place accessibility surveys. Volunteers during the 2002 election found a number of accessibility barriers, and
Count Us IN has been working with local officials to address those issues.
For more information or to volunteer, contact Vaughn at (317) 232-7770 (voice),
(317) 232-7771 (TT) or CountUsIN@gpcpd.org (e-mail).
Of Note
Medicaid Waiver video conference
The Waiver Information Network (WIN) will present "What You Need to Know About Medicaid Waivers, But Did Not Know to Ask" via an interactive video conference on March 26 from 9 -11 a.m. The interactive video conference locations include: Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville, Lafayette, South Bend and Fort Wayne. For more information, please visit the ARC of Indiana Web site at www.arcind.org or contact the Indiana Parent Information Network at (317) 257-8683 (voice), (800) 964-4746 (voice)
or TrainingatIPIN@aol.com (e-mail).
Community transportation training
Easter Seals Project Action is bringing national consultants and transit providers to Indiana communities April 24 via an interactive video conference. "Partnerships in Community Transportation: Increasing Use of Public Transit Through Travel
Training" will be available in Bloomington, Evansville, Indianapolis, Muncie, New Albany and South Bend. For more information, contact Debbie Head at (800) 845-6914 (voice), or e-mail Project Coordinator Gail Rubisch-Hawkey at grhawkey@aol.com.
The training is sponsored by the Community Transportation Initiative and funded by
the Council.
Media watch
We need your help! Monitor your local newspapers and television and radio stations for possible entries for the annual Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability Issues. The entries should be published or broadcast from April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2003. For more information or to submit an entry, contact Jamaison Schuler, Borshoff Johnson Matthews, at (317) 631-6400 (voice) or jschuler@bjmpr.com (e-mail).
Count Us INCountdown
The deadline to register for the May 6 primary election is April 7.
The deadline to register for the Nov. 4 general election is Oct. 6.
Save the date!
The 2003 Conference for People with Disabilities will be held Dec. 2-3 at the downtown Indianapolis Westin Hotel.
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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