More People With Disabilities Unemployed

Even as the economy added 162,000 jobs last month, the U.S. Department of Labor said Friday that Americans with disabilities continued to struggle in the job market.

The unemployment rate for those with disabilities edged upward in July to 14.7 percent, rising from 14.2 percent the month prior.

This comes as the jobless rate for the general population ticked down to 7.4 percent, the Labor Department said.

Federal officials began tracking employment among people with disabilities in October 2008. There is not yet enough data compiled to establish seasonal trends among this population, so statistics for this group are not seasonally adjusted.

Data on people with disabilities covers those over the age of 16 who do not live in institutions. The first employment report specific to this population was made available in February 2009. Now, reports are released monthly.

Portland, Ore. a hate group threatening People with Disabilities

In what officials are calling the work of a hate group, fliers have appeared in several Portland, Ore. neighborhoods threatening to out people with disabilities who receive government aid.

Portland officials are asking for help from the public after learning of the leaflets found in at least five neighborhoods.

“There are sixteen people in this neighborhood who vote and receive cash disability payments,” reads one of the typed notes signed by “Artemis of the wildland.”

“The names of these people are being posted where they can be seen by taxpayers and the neighborhood can decide who is truly disabled,” the note continues. “Some of us in the neighborhood wish to save this democracy and to stand in the way of those who would destroy it.”

City officials said the fliers were the work of a “hate group” and contained an “underlying tone of violence.”

A spokesman for the Portland Office of Equity and Human Rights told The Oregonian that they have not received any reports of names actually being posted, but are asking anyone who receives or sees the flier to report it.

(see story here)

Family Told To ‘Euthanize’ Boy With Autism

Police are investigating after an anonymous letter suggesting that a teen with autism should be euthanized stunned his family and led to widespread outrage and media attention.

The typed, one-page letter was reportedly sent to Brenda Millson last week in reference to her grandson Maxwell Begley, 13, who has autism and often spends time at her house in Newcastle, Ontario. It has since spread like wildfire through social media.

“He is a hinderance to everyone,” reads the message signed by “One pissed off mother!!!!!”

“Take whatever non retarded body parts he possesses and donate it to science,” says the letter, which claims to be from a neighbor. “Do the right thing and move or euthanize him.”

The note left Begley’s family shaking.

“It made me sick to my stomach to think that somebody hated my son that much and they didn’t even know him,” Maxwell’s mom, Karla Begley, told the Toronto Star. “But they just hated him because he was different. That’s the only reason they had to hate him.”

Since the story went viral, however, the family has been touched by the outpouring of support they’ve received from their local community and around the world, telling Clarington This Weekthat their phone has been ringing off the hook with interview requests.

Local community members have come together to organize events supporting the family and a Facebook group started Tuesday already has more than 2,300 members.

“It restores my faith in humanity that this has really rallied people,” Karla Begley told Clarington This Week.

Local police are conducting a criminal investigation into the matter but have already ruled out the possibility of pursuing hate crimes charges in the case.

“Despite the hateful language used, the Crown Attorney’s office has advised that the content of the letter falls below the threshold for a hate crime. However, there are other Criminal Code issues that are being considered,” the Durham Regional Police said in a statement.

(full story here)

Children with disabilities are being unnecessarily segregated in nursing homes

Federal officials are suing alleging that hundreds of children with disabilities are being unnecessarily segregated in nursing homes in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit Monday accusing the state of Florida of relegating nearly 200 children with significant disabilities to nursing homes who could be served at home or in other community-based settings.

Last September, the Justice Department warned Florida officials of ADA violations after an investigation found that state policies and practices limited access to in-home care for kids with significant medical needs leaving many families with little choice but to send their children to nursing homes. What’s more, the probe identified children who spent years at the facilities before receiving federally-mandated screening to assess whether or not the environment was the most appropriate for them.

Though the state made some changes since being notified of the investigation’s findings, federal officials said that after several months of negotiating, violations remain making legal action necessary.

“Children have a right to grow up with their families, among their friends and in their own communities,” said Eve Hill, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The violations the department has identified are serious, systemic and ongoing and require comprehensive relief for these children and their families.”

Kids living in nursing homes have limited interaction with individuals without disabilities and are often located hundreds of miles away from their families, according to the federal complaint.

In addition, the suit alleges that the state’s policies and practices put other children with significant medical needs who are currently living in the community at risk of similar institutionalization.

For their part, Florida officials said they have taken steps in the last year to improve an “already strong program” providing services for children with complex medical needs, indicating that more than 1,000 children are now receiving enhanced care services to help them return to or remain in the community.

“Today’s Obama administration action shows that Washington is not interested in helping families improve but instead is determined to file disruptive lawsuits with the goal of taking over control and operation of Florida’s Medicaid and disability programs,” said Elizabeth Dudek, secretary of Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, in a statement.

(see story here)