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PLUK eNews April
19-23, 2004
http://www.pluk.org/eNews/Apr_19_04.htm
Volume 2 Issue 41
Welcome to the weekly PLUK eNews!
(Download the printable pdf version at: http://www.pluk.org/eNews/Apr_19_04.pdf
)
We are proud to present news of interest for
"More money is put into prisons than into schools. That, in
itself, is the description of a nation bent on suicide. I mean, what is more
precious to us than our own children? We are going to build a lot more prisons
if we do not deal with the schools and their inequalities." -Jonathan
Kozol (author/educator)
Highlights:
Art Workshops April 21 & May 5 in Billings
Online Discussion: Assistive Technology in Support of
Learning Disabilities.
Message from NCIL: Act now to protect Medicaid from
devastating budget cuts
Anti-Bullying Program, Mental Health Issues at SAMHSA
Taking Web Accessibility to the Next Level with an
Internet Accessibility Rally (AIR) Program
First Comprehensive Study of Web Site Accessibility
FAMILIES REPORT SATISFACTION WITH EARLY INTERVENTION
SERVICES
1998 Rascal Power Chair for Sale
Training/Workshops/Meetings/Conferences
in Montana::
Training/Workshops/Conferences
outside Montana::
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Parents, Let’s Unite for Kids (PLUK) is sponsoring two
special Art Workshops on April 21st and May 5th for young people at
the
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Please join our online discussion led by national experts Dr. Richard Wanderman and Dr. Brian Friedlander. The discussion began on Monday, April 12th and continues until May 7th. Only two days into the discussion and already lots of useful information has been posted!
Share your questions, comments, experiences and concerns. Hear from others in the field. Learn from the experts, teachers and parents.
At any time throughout the month, go to http://www.fctd.info and follow the link to the discussion.
We look forward to your participation!
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The Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI),
The week-long programs for both deaf and blind students are provided at no cost to the student for room, board and transportation. Transportation to and from the program will be reimbursed at state rates.
For more information call 800-882-6732 or visit http://www.sdb.state.mt.us.
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As the House and Senate are working to reconcile two very different budgetary blueprints for fiscal year 2005, we face the serious threat of severe Medicaid funding cuts if the House version of the Budget Resolution prevails.
The House Budget Resolution contains reconciliation instructions requiring the Energy and Commerce Committee to reduce expenditures by $2.2 Billion and the lion's share of these reductions will come from Medicaid.
A reconciliation Budget Resolution could go to the House and Senate floors next week. If the House's instructions prevail in a final budget resolution:
·
States' fiscal plight will be aggravated,
threatening "optional" services and populations, such as
home-and-community based services and Medicaid buy-in work incentives.
States, many of which are still in dire
financial shape, are already facing the expiration of the $10 billion in aid
for their Medicaid programs when the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance
Percentage (FMAP) expires in June of this year. In response to this, states are
already making eligibility requirements more restrictive, reducing the
"optional" services they offer and cutting provider payments.
If the House Budget Resolution prevails and states' Medicaid budgets are
further curtailed, states may consider reducing the availability of home and
community based services ( an optional Medicaid benefit) and/or eliminating
Medicaid buy-in programs for people with disabilities transitioning into the
work force (an optional Medicaid population).
·
We will lose any chance of adopting Money
Follows the Person in the 108th Congress. We just scored an impressive victory,
getting a hearing by the Senate Finance Committee on Money Follows the Person
legislation, where the majority of Senators expressed support for and/or
interest in this legislation. Now, we actually have this issue on the health
policy radar screen and have a chance to take a major step forward and pass
this legislation with bipartisan support.
But if the House Budget Resolution
prevails, this effort would be all for nothing. The $2.2 billion in cuts would
tie Congress' hands and prevent the allocation of the resources that would be
necessary to fund Money Follows the Person. After we've come so far, we cannot
allow this to happen!
ACTION STEPS
1)
Call your Representative and urge him or her to
OPPOSE ANY Medicaid cuts in the final budget resolution. If he or she is a
Republican, urge him or her to sign onto the letter issued by Congressman
Richard Burr of
2) Call your Senators and urge them to OPPOSE ANY Medicaid cuts in the final budget resolution. It is essential that all Senators, but especially Senate leaders such as Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Democrat Max Baucus (D-MT), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) hear from their constituents on this issue. Urge your Senators to stand firmly behind the Medicaid provisions of the Senate's Budget Resolution and to maintain the Senate's bipartisan OPPOSITION to the devastating Medicaid cuts proposed in the House Budget Resolution.
A final Budget Resolution may be voted on next week. The time to act is NOW!!! Your advocacy may make all the difference!
If you have any questions about this information, please contact Gwen Gillenwater, NCIL Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at gwen@ncil.org or 703-525-3406 (V) Ext. 25 or 703-525-4153 (TTY) or Daniel Davis at703-525-3406 Ext. 26, or daniel@ncil.org.
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The
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The Substance Abuse and Mental Heath Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) continues to offer you reliable mental health support through its Mental Health Information Center web site http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov and call center.
This month, we are offering several new on-line publications that focus on bullying, a form of harassment and abuse that poses a serious threat to children’s mental well-being. To address this critical issue, SAMHSA/CMHS is launching a Bullying Prevention Initiative that is supported by prime-time television, public service messages, and bullying prevention educational materials. This ongoing, multi-media communications initiative, titled 15+ Make Time To Listen, Take Time To Talk...About Bullying, will deliver this critical message directly to the children, parents, and schools affected by these issues.
Currently, these publications are available only for downloading online. To order other printed materials, go to http://store.mentalhealth.org/publications/ordering.aspx, or call 1-800-789-2647 for bilingual information services; (TDD) 866-889-2647.
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The Web cast will run Wednesday, April 21, 2004 from 3:00 -
4:30 pm Eastern, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, 12:00 Pacific, 11:00 Alaska, 9:00
a.m.
For instructions on how to access a Web cast visit: http://www.ilru.org/online/instructions.html
Access to the Internet is becoming a requirement for full
participation in 21st century American society. And yet, millions are left out
when online applications are not designed to be accessible to people with
disabilities who may use assistive technology to browse the web. Join us for an
exploration of how to effectively connect the needs of people with disabilities
to the technology skills of local communities. Knowbility leverages local
community resources to increase awareness and improve accessible design skills
of web professionals in business, education, government and nonprofit
organizations. Their Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) program has won
national recognition for innovation and excellence. We will discuss AIR, the
issues it addresses, how it meets community needs, current organizing efforts
in
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The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) has released the
first comprehensive study of the accessibility of a wide array of web
sites. The DRC commissioned the Centre
for Human Computer Interaction Design at
Among the findings were "that most websites [81%] are inaccessible to many disabled people and fail to satisfy even the most basic standards for accessibility.... In addition, the results of the evaluations undertaken by disabled users show that they have characteristics that make it very difficult, if not impossible, for people with certain impairments, especially those who are blind, to make use of the services provided. This results [in part] from lack of interest and knowledge on the part of website developers..." The 56-page report -- "The Web: Access and Inclusion for Disabled People" is available in printed, PDF, audio, Braille, and other formats from the DRC at http://www.drc-gb.org
For suggestions on how to make a web site more accessible, go to Seven Easy Steps Toward Web Site Accessibility: http://kpope.com/seven/index.php
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Most families with young children with, or at risk, of disability say that finding early intervention programs and getting services started required little or no effort, according to a new nationally representative sample. Researchers surveyed more than 3,300 parents whose children had recently entered an early intervention program operated under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This is the first such study that can be said to reflect the state of the nation on these variables.
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/MediaInfo/pr/detail.cfm?PressreleaseID=113
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Has been in storage for 4 years and needs batteries. Will sell for $300. Telephone Jeannie Davis at 406/665-1184.
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Parent's, Let's Unite for Kids – PLUK
800-222-7585;
406-255-0540; 406-255-0523 (fax)
Edited by: Roger Holt rholt@pluk.org
Proofed & condensed by: Elisabeth
Mills scribe@pluk.org
Assisted by: Katie Bonnell bonnell32@msn.com
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