News

Press release from the office of Governor Walker, Wisconsin:

February 6, 2013

For Immediate Release

Contact: Cullen Werwie,608-267-7303

Investing in Wisconsin: Governor Scott Walker Announces Mental Health Funding in Upcoming Budget

Today, Governor Scott Walker announced a near $30 million investment in state taxpayer funds for mental health programs to enhance and expand services provided by state and local governments to individuals living with mental illness. The initiatives being funded in the budget will build on proven, evidence-based strategies, expand successful programs, and address the most urgent needs identified by patients and families receiving care, providers, and advocates throughout the state.

Earlier this year, I met with mental health professionals, advocates, and consumers from across Wisconsin, and they gave me some tremendous insights into the needs of people living with mental health challenges, said Governor Walker. Our budget investment will provide additional resources to improve and expand care, as well as give support to those living with mental illness and help individuals, families, and communities in Wisconsin live healthier and more productive lives.

Among the programs and initiatives funded in Governor Walkers upcoming budget are:

• Comprehensive Community Services (CCS):Expands intensive, targeted community-based care for adults and children with severe mental illness. The CCS program delivers enhanced, individualized services helping reduce hospitalizations, improve primary health outcomes, improve relationships, increase meaningful employment, and improve overall life satisfaction.
• Office of Childrens Mental Health:Establishes an Office of Childrens Mental Health focused on ensuring program policies and services are best meeting the needs of children throughout the state. It will assist agencies in developing and delivering effective services for children. The Office will coordinate initiatives, monitor program performance, and increase integration of services provided to children across all state agencies.
• Coordinated Services Team (CST):Expands CST program statewide and funds CST coordinators on a regional basis to integrate and coordinate community-based care for juveniles in multiple systems of care. Coordinated Services Teams provide wraparound models of care for children with behavioral health issues, as well as their families, when the children are involved in two or more systems of care, including mental health, long-term care, juvenile justice, child welfare, substance abuse, and special education systems.
• Peer-Run Respite Centers:Develops Peer-Run Respite Centers to improve outcomes of individuals in crisis or individuals having difficulty coping with mental illness through services such as peer supports, 24/7 hotlines, wellness activities, respite, and hospital diversion.
• In-Home Counseling for Children:Provides funding to broadly cover in-home counseling services under the Medicaid program. Expanding coverage will allow earlierinterventions, particularly for children and families with less acute conditions, and will make it easier for families to access necessary services, resulting in a reduction of out-of-home placements and improved outcomes for children.
• Additional Forensic Units at Mendota Health Institute:Provides funding and positions to increase the capacity of the state forensic treatment units to meet the growing demand for inpatient evaluation and treatment services.

In Wisconsin, state and local governments work cooperatively to meet the needs of individuals with mental health needs. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) provides counties with state and federal funding and policy direction, while each county develops its own programs and budget that are tailored to meet the needs of residents.

Connect | Share | Learn |http://sdsnetworkwi.org/

Feb. 4, 2013

Welcome to February!

Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, Black History Month, Presidents' Day, Mardi Gras... While many of us may be feeling a bit of cabin fever, it helps to know that there are reasons to celebrate February. So take time this month to connect with friends online and off-line. And stop by the SDS Network and see what's going on... We think you'll be glad you did!

It Only Takes "Five" to Support the SDS Network

The SDS Network is different from a typical website or email group/listserv. Those types of technology, while being valuable tools, rely on you sitting back and being the recipient of information. You might decide to do something with that information... or not...

The SDS Network is designed to be more. We want to tap into the ideas, connections, resources and questions of all members from the day they join the community. We believe that each of us has something to contribute - that each of us is an "owner" of the Network and responsible for giving whatever it is we have to give. That's why we say it only takes "Five" to support the SDS Network. Here's how you can be part of that support:

• Take five minutes. Check out some of the new discussions, resources, etc. on the Network. Then add something to the Network - a comment to discussion, a thumbs up or a thank you for a resource, a question that you've been wondering about, a greeting to a new member, or share your story. The possibilities are endless. Don't worry if you're doing it "right". There's no right or wrong about how to use the Network.

• Donate five dollars. The SDS Network was initially developed through the Wisconsin Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG). Now that grant has ended for Wisconsin. In order to continue to grow and develop this community (as well as pay the bills associated with sustaining the platform we use), we need to find ways to financially support the Network. We are inviting each of our members to make a financial contribution - $5 (or $10 or $20 or whatever you can afford) will help support the Network. We've added a new Donation buttonin the right hand column on each page of the Network - click on that button and you'll go straight to the PayPal account for In Control Wisconsin, our new "home". If you cannot donate at this time, PLEASE keep using the site. Your presence and participation is the only required payment. We want everyone to have full access to each other and the wisdom of the community.

In addition to donations from members, we are looking for organizations who may be interested in becoming a sponsor of the SDS Network. Please contact Deb Wisniewskiif you have questions or ideas about potential sponsors.

We hope you're ready to take the challenge to support the SDS Network. It's our community - Let's work together to help it grow and develop.

Join Us for a Coffee Break

Starting this month, the SDS Network will be hosting an occasional live chat (called "Coffee Break") open to all members of the Network. Each Coffee Break will have a different theme, but you are also welcome to ask questions or share information about anything that relates to self-directed supports and self-determination, or to the Network itself.

The first Coffee Break will be Wed. Feb. 13 from 8:30 am - 9:00 am. The theme will bethe SDS Network itself: Do you have questions about how to use features? How to add a profile photo? Ideas about how we can improve the site? Maybe you have suggestions for trainings or resources you'd like to see offered. Deb Wisniewski will be online to connect with you about whatever ideas and questions you have.

Registration is not required, but RSVPs are welcome. Find out more and RSVP.

Take Five Minutes

Here are some things you may want to check out on the SDS Network. Remember to take five minutes and respond to one of these... Or add your own question, resource, etc.!

• Deb wants to know if you're using IRIS or Family Careto self-direct your supports.
• Beth Mount talks about person-centered vs. system-centeredin a great new video that we've posted on the Network.
• Jack Pierpoint from Inclusion Press has shared information about upcoming PATH & MAPS trainings, as well as the 2013 Toronto Summer Institute.
• The ADA Wisconsin Partnership has posted some resources for Emergency Preparedness- something too many of don't think about.
• So what does "Olmstead" mean to you? Find out about this landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1999 and how it continues to affect the lives of people with disabilities.

Welcome New Members

Stop by to welcome our newest members.

• She's a proud parent and a nursefrom New Auburn.
• He's an IRIS consultant with lots of great questionsand a great profile photo.
• This mother/grandmother keeps busywith crocheting, knitting, sewing, painting and writing, as well as working as an IRIS consultant.
• She joined the Employment Network and the SDS Network in order toexpand her resources and connect with others.
• She's also a nurse and a parent- this time from Milwaukee.
• He's the founder of Inclusion Press (great resources!!) and one of the lead organizers of the Toronto Summer Institute.

Upcoming Events

Here's a sample of upcoming events listed on the SDS Network:

• Community Living Event, Prairie du Chien, Feb. 14th - no fee!
• Coffee Break, online chat with the SDS Network, Feb. 13th. - no fee!
• And many more!

Post your event on the SDS Network and it can be included in future Network News emails to members! Questions? Contact Deb Wisniewski at scgwis@gmail.com

Thanks to the sponsors of the SDS Network!

In 1999, the United States Supreme Court reached a decision on a landmark case for people with disabilities. The Court ruledinOlmstead v. L.C.that unjustified segregation of persons with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Court held that public entities must provide community-based services to persons with disabilities when (1) such services are appropriate; (2) the affected persons do not oppose community-based treatment; and (3) community-based services can be reasonably accommodated, taking into account the resources available to the public entity and the needs of others who are receiving disability services from the entity.

Since this decision, thousands of people have had their lives changed. Now the U.S. Dept of Justice is sharing some of these stories on the Internet. Read about Jon, Stephon, Marisa, Nena, and more on the DOJ website.

New York Times

January 15, 2013

Forging Path to Starting Line for Younger Disabled Athletes

By Mary Pilon

Some young disabled athletes are having their own Oscar Pistorius moments not by breaking barriers in the Olympics, but by battling sports officials over whether and how they should be accommodated in competitions with able-bodied athletes.

During his ascent as a world-class runner, Pistorius, a double amputee from South Africa, raised thorny questions about the distinction between disabled and able-bodied athletes.He was allowed to competein last summers London Games after prevailing in a legal dispute that reached the sports worlds highest court.

High schools and youth sports organizations throughout the country are grappling with similarly unusual challenges in finding ways to accommodate students with disabilities.

Should a starting light be used rather than a starting gun for a deaf athlete? Should a swimmer with one arm be allowed to touch the wall with his head instead of his hand? Should a track athlete in a wheelchair be allowed to use arm strength rather than leg muscles to propel toward the finish line?

Federal laws have long provided guidance on what students with disabilities are legally entitled to during the school day. But what constitutes reasonable accommodation or equal opportunity under the law has become widely debated when it comes to after-school sports.

The number of cases involving disabled students in sports is not officially tracked by groups representing the disabled, but lawyers and officials say they are encountering more questions regarding inclusion. The increase in interest has prompted the federalDepartment of Educations Office for Civil Rights to prepare additional guidance.

The courts have made it a gray area when it comes to the question of what exactly is reasonable accommodation in sports, saidPerry A. Zirkel, an education law professor at Lehigh University.

A tennis player from Mesa, Ariz., found herself in that gray area when she was a sophomore. The player, Kiara Chapple, began taking tennis lessons when she was in middle school with the goal of making her high school team and qualifying for tournament play. Deaf since birth, she relied on an interpreter who stood on the sideline to sign the score and aid communication with opponents and her doubles partner.

Chapple said she was surprised when, at a doubles tournament in her sophomore year in 2009, her interpreter was removed after complaints from a coach for the opposing team. Chapple and her teammate, who had been leading, went on to lose.

Chapple, with the aid of the United States Justice Department, filed a legal complaint against the Arizona Interscholastic Association.

I thought it was unfair, Chapple said. They were discriminating, and I have rights to an interpreter. I felt sad. We lost the match, and I couldnt communicate with anyone.

Many laws pertaining to Americans with disabilities are federal mandates, but the financial consequences may fall on local school districts, many of which are facing budget strains. Coaches can also feel poorly equipped to adapt sports for disabled athletes and ensure safe conditions for all athletes.

This is all new to everybody, said Douglas Lipscomb, the varsity boys basketball coach at Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., who has not had disabled athletes on his team. As a coach, youre worried about safety issues for all players, especially with basketball as a contact sport. But in coaching, a lot of situations are dealt with on an individual basis. This is a new area.

Bob Ferraro, the founder and chief executive of the National High School Coaches Association, said coaches may need special training in accommodating disabled athletes.

Its got everyone thinking, Ferraro said. Its unfortunate we dont do more with the rules as far as incorporating the challenges that some athletes have. A coachs role is to provide opportunities for all athletes. And it does challenge the coach tremendously.

In a significant inclusion case in Maryland,Tatyana McFadden, now 23, sued the Howard County Board of Education and won the right to compete in interscholastic competition as a wheelchair athlete during the 2007 track season.

I think more schools are understanding this is important, said McFaddens mother, Deborah. The McFaddens helped promote a state measure requiring schools to include disabled students in sports and other extracurricular programs. At least 12 other states have enacted measures similar to the Maryland law.

We hope the law will pressure people toward inclusion, Deborah McFadden said. But without a federal or state law, its at the will and pleasure of coaches to include kids. Some coaches are fabulous and say, I have no idea how to do this, but Im willing to try. There are resources out there. But were a long way from full inclusion.

The extent to which a school or a coach might need to make accommodations depends on the sport and the disability. In 1990, Louisiana was among the first states to start a wheelchair division for track and field, and Minnesota has expanded bowling, softball, floor hockey and soccer to include wheelchair athletes. Other states have followed, creating separate leagues or rules for integrating disabled athletes.

Mary Kate Callahan, a 17-year-old senior at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill., began swimming when she was 6 and hoped to join her high school team. Because of a rare neurological disease she contracted as an infant, Callahan does not have the use of her legs.

Callahan was told that she could not compete at a statewide competition and that her points earned in meets would not be added to her teams totals.

I really wanted to have a true swim meet, Callahan said. I wanted to compete against the best. Swimming is part of my high school experience.

Illinois Attorney GeneralLisa Madigan took on Callahans case as a co-counsel and helped win a settlement in September that allowed her to swim at the state meet, along with at least six other high school girls with disabilities.

The attorney generals office is continuing to litigate on behalf of all student-athletes with disabilities for a settlement, and Callahan is seeking to participate on her schools track team this spring.

We didnt change much, Renee Miller, Callahans swim coach, said of how the team accommodated Callahan in the pool. We made sure we had a bus to accommodate a wheelchair so she could travel with us and made sure that schools we traveled to could accommodate her.

This is a unique area for a lot of coaches, and sometimes you have to make it up as you go. You need to do that for a lot of kids, though.

Miller said she was concerned about the way Callahan would be treated at meets at other schools. We wanted total inclusion, and I knew the issue with the association wasnt moving quickly enough for Mary Kate, she said, referring to the Illinois High School Association. We realized there would be some obstacles to overcome, but we didnt think it would be as big as it was. It was breaking new ground."

Some athletes have faced arguments that their inclusion may pose a safety risk.

Rose Hollermann, 17, of Elysian, Minn., wanted to compete in track at her school. Hollermann uses a wheelchair as a result of a car accident in 2001.

Hollermann, who wrote a 15-page paper on Pistorius for a school assignment, had competed in basketball, sled hockey and track in middle school. She wanted to race against able-bodied track athletes, and she requested that the Minnesota State High School League create a system so her points could count toward the teams total in competitions.

Initially, the state association had concerns about safety issues like wheelchair collisions, according to a lawyer who represented the group.

Theyre big, complex machines, said Kevin Beck, the lawyer. Safety is always a big issue.

A separate wheelchair division was created, in which Hollermann mostly raced alone, and her points did not count toward the teams total.

Im a competitive person, Hollermann said. And they put me in a place where I wasnt very competitive, just in a race by myself. I almost hit people because they didnt even realize there was a race going on.

She added: I just didnt get the fact that they were saying I had an advantage because I was in a wheelchair. How do I have an advantage because I cant use half of my body? It didnt make any sense to me.

Hollermann won a legal settlement last year that allowed her to race alongside able-bodied athletes.

Chapple, the deaf tennis player, also reachedan agreement with her state association. The settlement with the Arizona Interscholastic Association allowed her the use of an interpreter.

Weve reinforced our process regarding children with disabilities, said Charles Schmidt, the associate executive director of the association. We want every child to have an opportunity to participate.

Source:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/16/sports/disabled-athletes-suit-up-raising-questions-of-logistics-and-fairness.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&emc=eta1 (Long URL and may appear on more than one line in this message. Copy and paste the entire URL into your browser)

This article is forwarded to you by the Great Lakes ADA Center (www.adagreatlakes.org) for your information.

New Mke TE Inclusion Community Connector/Coordinator position open PT starting 2013.MkeTEInclusionCoordinatorPosition2012-13.doc

Project to increase the number of people with disabilities who self-direct their supports.

The Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop strategies to inform and train individuals with disabilities to use self-directed supports (SDS).

The goal of the project(s) will be to increase the number of people with disabilities who self-direct their services and supports, including youth transitioning into the Long-Term Care system.These projects also will include a focus on building natural community supports and connections.

BPDD will fund between one and three SDS projects. A total of $80,000 is available, to be allocated for all SDS projects related to this RFP.

SDS projects can focus on single-issue projects such as, but not limited to, community-supported living, community connections, and transition supports. Projects can also have a broader focus on training and education strategies related to choice and decision making for people with disabilities.

The deadline to submit a proposal is January 8, 2013. The entire RFP is available on the BPDD website. For more information, contact Fil Clissa at fil.clissa@wisconsin.gov.

Disability.gov Asks, Whats Your Connection?

By the Disability.gov Team

There are nearly 57 million individuals with disabilities in the United States, and all of them are connected to the people around them in some way. They are sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, coworkers, neighbors and friends.

Yet people with disabilities are often treated as a separate or special population, although the reality for most is that their lives are not segregated.

Keepingthis in mind, Disability.gov (www.disability.gov), the federal government website for comprehensive information on disability programs and services in communities nationwide, created theWhats Your Connection?initiative to commemorate the sites 10^thanniversary.

Launched on October 30, 2012,Whats Your Connection?promotes inclusion and reinforces the idea that people with disabilities, even those who dont identify as having a disability, are not separate, but an integral part of American society.

Has disability touched your life in some way? If so, we want to know how. Disability.gov is asking people nationwide to share their stories in two ways:

• by submitting a photograph online (less than 100KB in JPG format) along with a 250-word maximum caption; or
• by uploading a captioned, one-minute YouTube video that answers the question, Whats Your Connection?

In July 2013, we will pick the top three submissions and ask our Facebook fans to vote on their favorite. Photographs and captions can be emailed todisability@dol.gov; video submissions should be uploaded on YouTube and include the hashtag, #myconnection2, in the title.*

Our goal is to create aWhats Your Connection?movement throughout the country during the next nine months, but we need your help spreading the word. So please post information about the initiative on your Facebook page, tweet about it and tell everyone you meet!

For more information and details on theWhats Your Connection?initiative, please visit Disability.gov atwww.disability.gov/home/newsroom/what's_your_connection.

*By submitting a photograph or uploading a YouTube video with the hashtag, #myconnection2, participants grant permission to the U.S. Department of Labors Office of Disability Employment Policy to display their work on the Disability.gov website; the sites Facebook, Twitter or YouTube page; and future print publications. All submissions will be reviewed and approved by the Disability.gov team prior to being posted on the website or its YouTube page.

ABOUT DISABILITY.GOV

Disability.gov is a federal government website that provides comprehensive information on disability policies, programs and services in communities nationwide. Visitors are connected to thousands of resources from federal, state and local government agencies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations across 10 main subject areas: Benefits; Civil Rights; Community Life; Education; Emergency Preparedness; Employment; Health; Housing; Technology; and Transportation. The site is managed by the U.S. Department of Labors Office of Disability Employment Policy in collaboration with 21 federal agency partners. For more information, visitwww.Disability.gov.