Disability Action Center NW, Inc.

20 Years of the ADA: The Fight Goes On!

Inside this issue: Community, State and National ADA anniversary events

Spokane ADA Event

Coalition of Responsible Disabled (CORD)

Partner Agencies: ARC of Spokane, Center Pointe, Disability Action Center (DAC), Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) and others

Join in the ADA picnic/celebration that will be held on Monday, July 26th from 10:30-1:00, at Mirabeau Park in Spokane Valley.

The event celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the signing of the ADA and will be a collaboration with CORD of Spokane (Coalition of Responsible Disabled) and DAC.

Speakers include the WA SILC President and a representative from DBTAC and DAC Director Mark Leeper.

A professional band will be playing; sack lunches provided; games; raffle prizes, and clowns to make balloons!

ADA trivia and history will also be a part of the event plus a proclamation presented by the Mayor of Spokane Valley.

To start off the celebration in Coeur d'Alene, Mayor Sandi Bloem will present a proclamation to DAC at 9:15 a.m. on July 26th, with numerous people joining hands around City Hall. (People in Boise will be doing this around the capitol).

The youth from Special Needs Recreation will be participating at City Hall and continuing on to the celebration at Mirabeau Park.

Please Note: RSVP would be greatly appreciated. It would mean so much to our community if you would join us for this event? If you have any questions, please contact Theresa Kennedy or Cheryl Amann at CORD, 326-6355.

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Boise Idaho ADA Celebration

“Hand’s Around The Capitol”

In the Boise area the celebration is called, “Hands Around The Capitol,” and planned on July 26, 2010 at the Capitol City Park, 601 W. Jefferson from 11:00 to 6:00.

Entertainment provided and guest speakers include National and local Advocates.

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NCIL Annual Conference

July 19-22, 2010

Grand Hyatt, Washington, D.C.

Register at www.ncil.org

or

call 877.525.3400 (voice), 202.207.0340 (tty)

DAC staff member’s Steve, Nancy, Julie and Keshia will be attending the conference in D.C. and we look forward to sharing stories and photo’s from their trip in our next newsletter!

St. Louis disability agencies to receive $12.7M

The St. Louis Office for Developmental Disability Resources said Monday that its board approved a funding budget of nearly $12.7 million for 34 agencies serving the city of St. Louis for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.

The agencies will use the funding to provide services such as job training, life skills development, continuing education, habilitation and socialization.

The St. Louis Office for Developmental Disability Resources, also known as DD Resources, was created by the Missouri Legislature and distributes funds from certain real estate taxes for community-based services to persons who have developmental disabilities.

DD Resources, whose board approved the funding budget May 13, said four transportation providers will use their funding awards to continue providing transportation to sheltered workshops and day programs.

DD Resources’ four in-house programs — Targeted Case Management, Educational Coach, Project CaseFind and Horizon Club — also will receive renewed funding to continue services to city of St. Louis residents with developmental disabilities.

The St. Louis Office for Developmental Disability Resources provides funding for services to individuals of all ages with the developmental disabilities of autism, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and mental retardation. Michelle Darden is the executive director.

Read full article here.

Cost of workplace accommodations for individuals with disabilities: With or without personal assistance services.

Background
This study compared the expense associated with use of personal assistance services (PAS) for individuals with disabilities to the expense incurred by individuals with disabilities who did not use PAS. The intent of this investigation was to assess the disability accommodation costs and benefits of PAS and non-PAS cases.

Methods
The study uses 1,182 follow-up telephone surveys and 24 telephone interviews of employers who had previously contacted the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) to discuss disability-related accommodations for an employee or potential employee that were conducted from January 2004 through December 2006. The survey included 69 employers who had considered PAS. The surveys were conducted by the University of Iowa's Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center, which contacted employers who had previously contacted JAN for consultation on workplace accommodations. The interviews were conducted by the International Center for Disability Information at West Virginia University.

Results
Key findings point to the costs associated with PAS cases and with cases not involving PAS accommodations. As reported by the employers, the median “one-time cost” of accommodations (not $0) for non-PAS cases was $500. The median “one-time cost” of accommodations (not $0) for PAS cases was $1,850. When $0 cost of accommodations on PAS cases was factored in with “one-time cost” of accommodations for PAS cases, the median cost was $0. For non-PAS cases of accommodations, when $0 cost of accommodations was considered, the outcome was a median cost of $0. The annual cost for PAS accommodations was a median cost of $8,000 in comparison to $2,000 for non-PAS. The median dollar amount estimates of direct benefits were $1,600 for PAS accommodations, similar to $1,500 for non-PAS. The most frequently mentioned benefits from PAS accommodations were (a) increased productivity, (b) increased diversity, © retention of a valued employee, (d) improved interactions with co-workers, (e) increased overall company morale, and (f) increased overall company productivity.

Conclusions
The findings heighten awareness of the cost and benefits aspects associated with PAS for people with disabilities. Many non-PAS accommodations cost nothing to the employer (e.g., changing the work schedule, moving the individual to another location). When dollar cost was involved, the costs for PAS accommodations were more than three times greater than non-PAS accommodations.

Obtain the Full Version

To subscription information:
http://www.disabilityandhealthjnl.com/pricing

Long-term care: Who gets it, who provides it, who pays, and how much?

Long-term care in the United States is needed by 10.9 million community residents, half of them nonelderly, and 1.8 million nursing home residents, predominantly elderly. Ninety-two percent of community residents receive unpaid help, while 13 percent receive paid help. Paid community-based long-term care services are primarily funded by Medicaid or Medicare, while nursing home stays are primarily paid for by Medicaid plus out-of-pocket co-payments. Per person expenditures are five times as high, and national expenditures three times as high, for nursing home residents compared to community residents. This suggests that a redistribution of spending across care settings might produce substantial savings or permit service expansions (abstract from:
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/abstract/29/1/11).

Obtain the Full Version

Subscription information:
http://content.healthaffairs.org/subscriptions/online.dtl

Center Researchers Provide Testimony on Home and Community-Based Services

PAS Center researchers Dr. Steve Kaye and Dr. Mitch LaPlante were invited to give testimony at a May 27 hearing of the Little Hoover Commission in Sacramento, CA.

The Commission, an independent California state oversight agency that investigates state government operations and recommends legislation, conducted the second of two hearings on long-term care in preparation for a report recommending improved strategies for providing home- and community-based services in California. The Commission was particularly interested in PAS Center research on expenditures on and cost-effectiveness of non-institutional long-term care services. Dr. LaPlante presented an overview of Center research on the subject and on the legal right of individuals to obtain long-term care services in non-institutional settings. Dr. Kaye presented an update and reanalysis of his 2009 Health Affairs article, co-authored by Dr. LaPlante and Dr. Charlene Harrington, titled, "Do Noninstitutional Long-Term Care Services Reduce Medicaid Spending?"

The following resources are available.

Link to the hearing agenda:
http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/agendas/May10.html

Copies of the written testimonies:
Steve Kaye and Mitch LaPlante

Link to the 2009 Health Affairs article on the Little Hoover Commission website:
http://www.lhc.ca.gov/studies/activestudies/longtermcare/KayeAdditionalMay10.pdf

Video coverage of the hearing from the California Channel:
https://www.calchannel.com/channel/viewVideo/1448