News

Starting in January 2025, almost 8,000 Family Care and Family Care Partnership (Partnership) members in South Central Wisconsin will have more choices in who helps manage their long-term care. Members in Adams, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green Lake, Jefferson, Marquette, Rock, and Waushara counties will be able to choose from four managed care organizations (MCOs) for Family Care. That's an increase from the two currently available. Wisconsinites in these nine counties will also all have the option to participate in Partnership - a first for residents in five of these counties.

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As we celebrated the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, there was a lot of reflection on what has improved and what still needs to be improved. This is a very informative blog about the ADA.

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The Evers administration recently announced the establishment of minimum rates for home-and-community-based services care that must be paid by managed care organizations. The hope is that this will raise wages for direct care workers. Advocates feel that transparency is needed with higher rates so that increases actually show up in workers' paychecks.

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To celebrate the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the White House put out a proclamation explaining what it has accomplished. It also talks about what still needs to be done.

Read proclamation

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This U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) toolkit provides strategies and best practices to recruit, hire, retain, and advance workers with disabilities in good jobs in construction, manufacturing, and clean energy. This document can be used by many different groups but is primarily intended for public and private employers working to build equitable pathways to good jobs for people with disabilities in these industries. The toolkit provides a menu of strategies and practical advice, and shares examples and resources from government agencies and other entities.

View toolkit

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The federal government is deciding whether or not to track the number of direct support professionals there are. Currently, DSPs are usually lumped in with home health care aides, certified nursing assistants, and other job categories that don't describe their true roles. This means that the data is missed to really address the shortage of workers who provide home-and-community-based services.

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The Center for Disease and Control recently released the annual update to the Disability and Health Data System (DHDS), providing quick and easy online access to state-level health data on adults with disabilities. The latest data reveal that more than 1 in 4—over 70 million—adults in the United States reported having a disability in 2022.

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Self-Determination Network News: July 2024


By SD Network, 2024-07-18


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Self-Determination Network News:

July 2024

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

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Registration Now Open 

Registration is now open for the 2024 Self-Determination Conference which will be held October 21st-23rd at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. This year's theme is A Seat at the Table: Nothing About Us, Without Us. Join us for one of the largest events for people with disabilities and people who support them. Learn how to live more independently, participate in your community, and direct your public funds efficiently.  Learn more and register today!


 

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InControl Wisconsin's Caring Across Cultures Project

InControl Wisconsin, with a grant from the Department of Health Services, is developing Caring Across Cultures (CAC), a web-based learning experience for older adults and people with disabilities who employ direct care workers, and for direct care workers.

 

The CAC courses focus on how individual differences, like race, ethnicity, language, family history, and other factors can make it more difficult to develop good working relationships. The Caring Across Cultures courses provide information and activities that will help employers and their workers understand their differences and develop better relationships with each other.

 

The CAC will be available to any employer and direct care worker on the web in September, 2024. Now, the CAC team is looking for people to test the learning modules and provide feedback. They are especially interested in individuals with disabilities, family members, and direct care workers. The testing can be done from your home, via a video call. It will take no more than 60 minutes. If you, or someone you know, is interested, please contact Dave Verban at dverban@inccontrolwisconsin.com.

Join an Upcoming Lunch & Learn Webinar about Voting 

Join the Wisconsin Disability Vote on Tuesday July 23rd from 12-12:45p.m. for another Lunch & Learn webinar. Learn about voting rights for people living in residential settings like a nursing home, adult family home, or community based residential facility (CBRF). Plan to attend if you are a voter in a residential setting, staff from residential facilities, or anyone interested in this topic. Join Janet Zander, Advocacy and Public Policy Coordinator at the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources, and the Wisconsin Disability Vote Coalition to learn about your voting rights for people living in a residential setting. Register here.

Opportunity to Give Feedback about the IRIS Program 

The Wisconsin Department of Health is in the process of renewing the IRIS waiver. This happens every five years. The department is requesting feedback from participants, family members, and caregivers about what's working well in the program and what needs to be improved in order to make things easier for people to live the lives they want. The department is holding public listening sessions on Tuesday July 30th from 6-8p.m. (register) and Wednesday July 31st from 1-3p.m. (register). There is also a survey you can fill out if you can't attend the listening sessions. It closes on August 2nd. This is really a great opportunity to let your voice be heard about what needs to be changed in IRIS.

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The Self-Determination Network includes some very talented members and we want to help you to get to know each other a little better. Member Spotlight is a great way for us to get to know each other better.

This month, we shined the spotlight on InControl Wisconsin board member, Cindy. She has been involved in self-determination in various ways for many years, and she loves seeing self-advocates speak up about what's really happening. Check out this month's Member Spotlight to get to know Cindy.   

Who should we shine the spotlight on next?

128 Stacy’s Journal








"Socialization is a crucial part of life for everyone. There are many different barriers that can make it hard; however, as long as you have great friends like I do, no amount of roadblocks will ever prevent you from seeing your closet friends!"



In this month's entry, Stacy talks about the barriers she has to overcome to try to socialize with friends. She explains how she has been blessed to have great friends who understand the challenges and make the effort to get together despite the roadblocks. Do you experience similar barriers? How do you overcome them?








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Check out the Latest Videos!

The Self-Determination Channel is a YouTube channel by and for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities. Unlike other channels, the Self-Determination Channel stands stand out from other channels on YouTube because self-advocates host the videos, and decide and create the content. Videos are posted a couple times a month on a variety of topics self-advocates care about such as technology, employment, caregivers, independent living, and advocacy.

Check out the newest videos on the channel:

We encourage you to subscribe to the Channel (you can do so by clicking the red Subscribe button on any of the video pages).



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Take five minutes to check out what's happening on the Self-Determination Network:

  • The Caravan for Disability Freedom and Justice: Marilee has posted information and the schedule for the Caravan for Disability Freedom and Justice. Find out when it's going to be in your area.
  • Accessible Absentee Ballot: A Dane County judge has ruled that voters who self-identify that they are unable to read or mark a ballot without assistance can be issued absentee ballots electronically.  Learn about this temporary injunction is part of a bigger lawsuit.
  • Voters Rights:  The Partisan Primary Election is August 13th and the General Election is November 5th. Read about the many important that voters with disabilities should know in an article that the Wisconsin Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired published.
  • Caregiver Survey: The Wisconsin Family and Caregiver Support Alliance wants to hear from family caregivers and professionals. Take this survey.
  • Accessibility Improvements to Google: Google recently a lot of new accessibility features for people who have vision impairments, cognitive delays, and physical limitations.  Find out what's being added.
  • Most Prevalent Disabilities in Wisconsin: A technology company working on solutions for web accessibility challenges collected disability statistics in Wisconsin. Learn what the data is being used to do.
  • Ballot Dropboxes: The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently overturned a previous ruling that banned dropboxes for returning absentee ballots. Learn why dropboxes are especially important for voters with disabilities.
  • Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines: The General Services Administration issued a final rule adopting the Access Board's Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines. Find out what these standards include.
  • Wisconsin Author: A lady from Rice Lake has found a way to turn the tragedies in her life into a life-long career of writing novels. Read about why she incorporates a character with a disability into each book.
  • Input Needed: The Office of Management and Budget is seeking input on a possible revision of the Standard Occupation Classification Manual. Comments are sought on a variety of topics, including whether OMB should consider adding “care workers” as a detailed occupation. Comments are due August 12th.
  • Disability Equality Index: The Disability Equality Index documents the growing importance of data in global business culture. Learn what companies use this information for.

128 Upcoming Events 

Here's a sample of upcoming events listed on the Self-Determination Network:

Post your event on the Self-Determination Network and it can be included in future Network News emails to members! Questions? Suggestions?  Contact Stacy Ellingen. 

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The Self-Determination Network is powered by InControl Wisconsin and supported financially by our members and Sponsors. We couldn't keep this Network going with you!  Find out how you can help support the Network.

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This report from Disability:IN documents the growing importance of disability data in global business culture. Companies use this information to benchmark their disability inclusive initiatives; to communicate these initiatives to employees, consumers, regulators, and investors; and to drive long-term value creation that accompanies disability-inclusive workforces. The Disability Equality Index is instrumental to over 750 business leaders who have committed to collecting, benchmarking, and progressing toward disability in the workforce.

View report
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Input Needed: Addition of “Care Workers” in Standard Occupational Classification 

Comments due Monday, August 12, 2024
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking input to inform a possible revision of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual. Comments are sought on a variety of topics, including whether OMB should consider adding “care workers” as a detailed occupation (and how the occupation should be named and described).   
By standardizing descriptions of various occupations, the SOC helps to ensure consistency and comparability of occupation-based data. Federal agencies use the SOC to publish occupational data, which allows stakeholders to analyze information about occupations — such as wage estimates, numbers of people working in the occupation, and geographic distribution — across federal agencies and programs.
The direct care workforce provides a variety of services that make it possible for millions of people with disabilities and older adults to live and fully participate in their communities. It includes people with various job titles and roles, including personal care attendants, home health aides, direct support professionals, job coaches, and more. Their services can range from helping with personal care and daily living tasks to duties that are medical in nature, such as monitoring a ventilator or ensuring prompt response to seizures. Because the support each person needs to live in the community is unique to them, and many people need multiple services, many direct care workers provide multiple services. 
The current SOC includes occupations capture some types of direct care workers, such as certified nursing assistants (31-1014), home health aides (31-1121), and personal care aides (31-1122). However, there is no occupation that specifically captures people who provide the support many older adults and people with disabilities need to participate in their communities. These workers are often known as “direct support professionals.”  
As a result, policymakers frequently do not have the data they need to make important decisions about the range of direct care workers that provide home and community-based services.  More information on the potential revisions and how to submit comments is available in the Federal Register notice.
Go to the Federal Register
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