This is an interesting article in Disability Scoopwritten by Michelle Diament about a new program federalofficials are launching in effort to help people with disabilities become more financially independent. She explains that it's starting as a pilot program in six cities in the US. It sounds like an interesting program.

Feds Launch Financial Effort Aimed At People With Disabilities

By Michelle Diament

With a first-of-its-kind effort, federal officials are looking to provide hands-on assistance to help people with disabilities become more financially independent.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said this week said that it will launch the ROADS to Financial Independence initiative as a pilot program in six communities across the nation.

Through local partner agencies, individuals with disabilities who are currently working or transitioning into the workforce will be offered access to financial counseling alongside employment, independent living and other more traditional support services.

Historically, people with disabilities have been excluded from the economic mainstream, said Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The ROADS to Financial Independence initiative aims to help provide them with the proper support and services to lead financially healthy and independent lives.

Research suggests that with high unemployment, many people with disabilities have no savings for emergencies and they are more likely to rely on alternative financial services like payday loans and check cashing.

Those participating in the new program will be given an assessment and then paired with a financial counselor who will help them open a bank account, create a budget and set and achieve goals. Over five years, officials said they expect to assist 14,000 individualswith disabilities.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said it will focus on establishing best practices for helping people with disabilities improve their financial situation that can be replicated.

The program will be managed by the National Disability Institute and operated by 19 organizations in six communities Austin, Texas; Birmingham, Ala.; the Finger Lakes region in New York; Seattle, Wash.; the state of Delaware and in the Washington, DC metro area.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/06/04/feds-financial-effort/20356/

Another interesting article inDisability Scoopwritten by Jay Hancock about the proposed changes to Medicaid. He explains that privatizing Medicaid has become popular in many states. He makes several interesting points in this article. Again, this is especially interesting given the happenings in Wisconsin.

Changes Recommended For Medicaid Managed Care

By Jay Hancock

Sweeping proposalspublished Mondaywould create profit guidelines for private Medicaid plans as well as new standards for the plans doctor and hospital networks and rules to coordinate Medicaid insurance more closely with other coverage.

We are taking steps to align how these programs work, said Andy Slavitt, acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which proposed the rules.

Privatized Medicaid has grown rapidly as budget-pinched states have responded to commercial insurers promise to deliver care for a fixed price. Most beneficiaries of Medicaid state programs for the poor run partly with federal dollars now get care through contracted insurers.

The653-page rule, which also would require states to establish quality ratings for Medicaid plans, constitutes the biggest regulation change to Medicaid managed care in more than a decade. The National Association of Medicaid Directors, a group of state officials, called it a milestone.

One proposal would require plans to assume, for rate-setting purposes, that they will spend at least 85 percent of their revenue on medical care.

Such a medical loss ratio target is similar to that required under the health law for other plans but with a key difference. Unlike health plans sold through the laws online marketplaces and elsewhere, Medicaid plans wouldnt have to rebate the difference if they spend less than 85 percent.

But states would still need to take that into account the next year when they set new rates, thus limiting profits later, said Vikki Wachino, CMS deputy administrator. CMS is a division of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Jeff Myers, CEO of Medicaid Health Plans of America, an industry group, criticized the inclusion of the medical loss ratio standard, which supporters promote as ensuring plans spend a minimum amount on care instead of on executive salaries and shareholder profits.

We dont believe a nationwide MLR is appropriate, Myers said. A uniform profit standard across diverse states could limit plans ability to spend administrative dollars to fine-tune care coordination and quality, he said.

Generally, however, we are very supportive of the direction they are going, he said of CMS. He particularly praised the proposal to better align the Childrens Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which aids families with children with moderate incomes, with Medicaid.

Led by giants such as UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Aetna and Centene, private Medicaid plans generated nationwide operating profits of $2.4 billion last year, according to regulatory data compiled by Mark Farrah Associates and analyzed by Kaiser Health News.

Advocates for the poor have complained that HHS regulation of Medicaid managed care has lagged behind the industrys growth. Industry profits have sometimes come at the expense of denied care and inadequate doctor networks, they say.

Astudy last yearby HHS inspector general found that half the doctors listed in official plan directories werent taking new Medicaid patients. Among doctors who were, one fourth couldnt see patients for a month.

CMS proposed new standards for network adequacy that also allow wide flexibility to states. States would have to certify at least annually that Medicaid managed-care patients have sufficient access to doctors and hospitals, based on standards for numbers of medical providers per member, maximum distances required to travel for care and other criteria.

This latest proposed guidance ensures that health plans and states have the flexibility to structure their programs and benefits to meet the unique health needs of their enrollees, Dan Durham, interim CEO of Americas Health Insurance Plans, an industry lobby, said in a prepared statement.

Sarah Somers, an attorney with the National Health Law Program, which has long urged updates to federal regulations, praised proposed safeguards for Medicaid members with disabilities and limited English ability.

The regulations governing network adequacy have some positive aspects, she added. But we are concerned that they do not contain the specificity that we recommended.

The proposal also would establish a quality-rating system, perhaps similar to the star scores assigned to Medicare coverage for seniors, so members could compare plan performance. However Wachino said it was too early to tell what the ratings would look like.

Margaret Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, a group of not-for-profit Medicaid companies, said she was disappointed the quality standards wouldnt apply to traditional Medicaid run by the states as well as to private Medicaid plans.

We think that managed care will come out ahead in that comparison, she said.

In a victory for industry, the rules also propose to loosen marketing restrictions on insurers that offer Medicaid coverage as well as plans sold through the health-law marketplaces.

Some companies are counting on capturing customers moving from Medicaid to commercial plans or vice versa as the members incomes fluctuate. The new regulation would make it easier for insurers to let Medicaid beneficiaries know that the same company sells a plan through the marketplace.

The rules published this week are only proposals. HHS will take comments until late July and issue final rules later.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/06/01/changes-medicaid-managed/20346/

An interesting article inDisability Scoopwritten by Michelle Diament about how the U.S. Census Bureau found that the number of businesses that serve people with disabilities is drastically up. She gives some interesting statistics.

Census Records Sharp Rise In Disability Providers

By Michelle Diament

The number of businesses devoted to serving the needs of people with disabilities is up dramatically and so are industryrevenues, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Between 2007 and 2012, there were more than 5,400 new businesses created nationwide providing caregiving and day services for individuals with disabilities and the elderly, bringing the total to 25,899.

Growth in the industry meant that such establishments added nearly 300,000 new workers during that five-year period and revenues jumped by more than $9 billion to $34.4 billion annually.

The data comes from a Census report published ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26.

In addition to businesses providing care services, the Census also cites a 19 percent rise in companies offering transportation for people with special needs.

At the same time, revenues for vocational rehabilitation service providers increased by $1 billion despite just 200 businesses being added to the sector.

Source:http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/06/02/census-disability-providers/20352/

An inspirational story in theGazatte Extra written by Nick Crow about a man who has learned to look beyond his physical disability. It does a great job of explaining his struggles and triumphs. He learned to not use his disability as an excuse and to use his determination to become successful!

Janesville man looks beyond physical disability

By Nick Crow

JANESVILLE Janesville native Nathan Scafe has not letcerebral palsy stand in his way since graduating from Craig High School in 2008.

He graduated from UW-Whitewater in 2012 with a degree in social work and political science.

He's worked as an intern in the state Legislature and worked for UW-Madison. He moved to Madison last month to live on his own.

Scafe, 25, was born 13 weeks premature. He said he uses his condition as a motivation, not an excuse.

"You can do what you want to do," Scafe said.

Yvonne Stueber, executive director at Broadscope Disability Services, formerly United Cerebral Palsy of Southeast Wisconsin, said Scafe is an example of how changes in perception and advances in technology helped people with cerebra palsy be successful.

I think technology can contribute to a person's ability to become a contributing member of the greater community, Stueber said. We have computer-assistive technologies, medical research advances studying how a persons' gait at a young age will impact his/her aging process decades down the road and countless other advances.

"It is important to look at an individual's abilities and strengths and contributions, rather than looking at labeling individuals and seeing them as different.

Stueber said society has a growing appreciation for people with disabilities--seeing their talents rather than looking at what might appear as limitations.

We have a long way to go to being an inclusive workplace welcoming persons of all abilities and backgrounds, Stueber said. People with disabilities are like any of us. They want to use their gifts and talents, be a contributing member of society.

Scafe said his family had high expectations.

"My parents expected me to go to college and to do everything that a normal kid would do. That was really crucial in that I grew up knowing that I should be able to do these things, so I just kind of figured out a way to do it," he said.

He sometimes got discouraged or depressed and became frustrated with his condition, but he realized hard work was the only way he would succeed, he said.

"When I was younger, there was a process of accepting the fact that I have a disability," Scafe said. "There was a process of accepting it and realizing the fact that I can do everything that I want to do. It's just a matter of working."

"I had people around me to push me," he said. "I know from my time in Whitewater that there are people with disabilities that don't have that. They don't have people who push them to step out of their comfort zone, and that makes a huge difference. It's really easy to get complacent and accept help when you don't necessarily need it.

"It's important to have things in place when you do need it, but it's also important to push yourself and move beyond what you think are your limitations."

Among those Scafe credits for his success is Kathy White, assistive technology specialist for the Janesville School District. Scafe said White was someone who helped him to see that his disability didn't have to stop him.

"I've known Kathy since I first moved into the district (in third grade)," Scafe said. "She, I think, is a really creative problem solver in that she finds ways to use technology that really helped me and catered to my needs and leveled the playing field."

"She was there to make me aware of different options and encourage me to try different things," he said.

Scafe said he didn't always want to put in the work, but White pushed him.

"I was a bit of a feisty person in my younger days," Scafe said.

"I would go back and go back and go back," White said. "I'm persistent. Nathan will tell you. I kept hammering at him and hammering at him because I believed in him. That's really so important that we believe they (the students) can be successful."

During his time in Janesville, Scafe met with physical therapists twice a week, an occupational therapists once a week and learned how to dress himself, get in and out of bed and get out of a car.

"I think that the reason why I'm able to live independently is because of the things that I've learned," Scafe said.

"I think from a disability standpoint, the therapists and things that the district offered played a critical role in me being able to be an independent adult," he said. "I live on my own in Madison, now, and the skills that I learned like dressing and things, that all kind of started with therapists here at school."

White said she assisted Scafe with technology but also helped him with things his regular teachers may not have noticed. She told a story she remembered about Scafe from when he was in elementary school.

"He was a third-grader at the time," White said. "He had to do a project with all of these animals at a marsh. They gave him a white piece of paper, and then he had to color and draw the marsh."

"Well, by the time he would have colored the marsh ... and he couldn't draw," she said. "So we gave him a brown piece of paper and used clip art. He found all the critters and everything else and we put them on there. So sometimes it's just simple adaptations. It's seeing the end result. The goal is what's important. Him showing his knowledge is what was important and that's with all of our kids."

Scafe said the biggest misconception people have about him is that he can't do many things everyone else does.

"In Nathan's case, it shows people to look beyond the wheelchair, look beyond the fact his one hand didn't work, look beyond all those things," White said. "It's not what I ever saw. I saw Nathan. I saw a student and that's what we see in all of our kids. We see the student first. The disability, OK fine, it's there, but let's find a way to make him successful."

White said it takes a team effort within the district to help any student be successful.

"It's never just one person," White said. "In Nathan's case, it was a physical therapist, it was an occupational therapist, it was myself and the teachers. We all worked together to make sure that Nathan had the best education that we could give him."

"The second big part is an expectation," she said. "You are a student in the Janesville public schools. We want you to be the best that you can be, and we knew that Nathan was very college bound. When you look at that, you see the kid first. You're just a kid like anybody else. So you can't use this hand. So what? Let's figure out a way around this piece."

Scafe said he thinks it's important for high schoolers to know that people with disabilities can do what any average teenager does.

"I had friends in high school," Scafe said. "We went to dances and hung out. It's just a matter of doing things a little differently and taking a little extra time to do things you need to do."

White enjoys providing assistance to students and seeing them learn.

"The great thing about being a teacher is you don't know where they're going to end up and who's lives they're going to touch," White said. "I don't know what Nathan is going to do in the future. I know he's touched some great lives, and he's done some wonderful things already."

"Just because something happened to you doesn't mean you're life is over or it's going to take a different turn than you might have thought," she said. "It could go a better direction."

Scafe said that for now his goal is to get a new job that he enjoys.

"I'm trying to figure out what my next step is," he said. "I'm not really sure what the future holds."

Source: http://www.gazettextra.com/20150529/janesville_man_looks_beyond_physical_disability

A great article in Disability Scoopwritten by Shaun Heasley about how Google is putting up millions of dollars for a disability initiative. It's forusing emerging technologies to increase independence for people living with disabilities. They're asking people with disabilities for suggestions of problems that they would like to see addressed with the money.

Google Putting Up Millions For Disability Initiative

By Shaun Heasley

Google is looking to address the needs of a billion people with disabilities worldwide and its putting big bucks behind the effort.

The Internet search giant said this week that Google.org the companys charitable arm is offering up $20 million to nonprofits using emerging technologies to increase independence for people living with disabilities.

As part of theinitiativedubbed The Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities, the company is also asking people with disabilities to suggest problems that they would like to see addressed with the grant money.

Google has already committed funding to two groups the Enable Community Foundation which links people needing prosthetics with volunteers who use 3D printers to create them at no cost and World Wide Hearing which will use the funds to develop a low-cost kit to detect hearing loss using smartphone technology.

The Google Impact Challenge: Disabilities will seek out nonprofits and help them find new solutions to some serious what ifs for the disabled community. We will choose the best of these ideas and help them to scale by investing in their vision, by rallying our people and by mobilizing our resources in support of their missions, Jacquelline Fuller, director of Google.org, said in a blog post.

Alongside the monetary commitment, Google said it will work to ensure accessibility of its own products and add new offeringsthat benefit people with disabilities. The company cited its work developing self-driving cars as well as Liftware, a utensil designed to help people with hand tremorseat more easily, as examples of its existing work in this space.

Historically, people living with disabilities have relied on technologies that were often bulky, expensive and limited to assisting with one or two specific tasks. But thats beginning to change, Fuller wrote. Together, we can create a better world, faster.

Advisers for the new project include autism self-advocate Temple Grandin and Catalina Devandas Aguilar, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/05/27/google-millions-disability/20337/

This is a very interesting but disheartening article inDisability Scoopwritten by Michelle Diament about how federal statistics indicate that people with disabilities are far more likely to be victims of violent crime. The statistics and facts she gives are very interesting. It certainly makes one think.

Crime Odds Double For Those With Disabilities

By Michelle Diament

People with disabilities remain far more likely to be victims of violent crime, new federal statistics indicate.

There were 1.3 million nonfatal violent crimes committed against persons with disabilities in 2013, according to data released this month from the U.S. Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Overall, people with disabilities were more than twice as likely to experience violent crime as compared to the general population, the agency said.

Within this population, those with cognitive disabilities were the most likely to report being victims ofviolent crime and about half of victims had multiple conditions. The vast majority of crimes cited were related to simple assault followed by aggravated assault, robbery and rape or sexual assault.

The findings are based on data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, an annual survey of about 90,000 households asking about their experiences with crime whether reported or unreported to authorities.

Just under half of incidents involving people with disabilities were reported to police, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found. In other cases, those surveyed said they didnt seek law enforcement assistance because they dealt with the matter another way, believed the incident was not significant enough or thought police would not help, among other reasons.

Nearly a quarter of those with disabilities who were victimized indicated that they believed they were targeted due to their disability.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/05/26/crime-odds-double/20329/

An interesting story on wbay.com written by Andrea Hay about the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She explains some of the effects the ADA has had including workplace discrimination laws. She tells the story of one Wisconsin man who has immensely benefited from the ADA.

How far have we come? The Americans with Disabilities Act 25 years later

By Andrea Hay

From accessible buildings with ramps and wheelchair lifts to automatic doors and elevator keypads, many experience the effects of the Americans with Disabilities Act every day without even realizing it. But to some people with disabilities, the past 25 years have made a world of difference.

Tom Deidrich lost his arm in a farming accident at age 18, and later, a car accident broke his neck and left him paralyzed. He says living as a quadriplegic in the 1980s meant rarely leaving the house, and finding work nearly impossible.

I applied for a job in Green Bay doing interior sales work, got called in for an appointment to meet with the manager, told him who I was, and he looked at me and said you cant work here, said Deidric.

That cant happen now, and thats important. I dont think people realize how blatant the discrimination was, he said.

Deidrich says his life changed when the ADA declared equal access to everything public in 1990. Movie theaters, grocery stores and shopping centers put in ramps, elevators, and create wider doorwaysas well as other accessibility requirements on public accommodations. The upgrades imposed on businesses made the act controversial.

Workplace discrimination of people with disabilities became illegal. Diedrich gained employement at Options for Independent Living, and even helped the Green Bay Packers renovate for people with disabilities. They really did an excellent job, he said, adding they went beyond the requirements.

A lot of positive things have happened, but were not done yet, said Deiedrich. Transportation is a big issue. While weve got very good transportation services here in the metropolitan Green Bay area, what about people in the country who have issues and cant drive?

He says his mission is to end discrimination permanently in business and home life alike.

[People with disabilities] want to be your next door neighbor. They want to be able to work and pay taxes just like everybody else, he said.

A MONUMENTAL TIME FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

Two years prior to the passing of the America ns with Disabilities Act, Eunice Kennedy Shriver won her uphill battle to gain official approval to use the name Olympics in the Special Olympics.

Its the only other thing that can be listed as having Olympics in it because the actual Olympics are so well known, explained Matt Harper, Special Olympics Wisconsin Regional Director.

So she had to fight through and kind of work through a lot of controversy and use her family name and do whatever it took to get Special Olympics recognized in the disability community and make sure that everybody knew what Special Olympics was trying to accomplish, he said.

The Special Olympics has grown from a small event just a few hundred athletes in in Soldier Field to millions of athletes all over the world, with the International Torch Run Conference hosting thousands of attendees. This years torch run will be held in the Bahamas, and hundreds of law enforcement officers will participate to raise money for Special Olympics.

Source: http://wbay.com/2015/05/24/how-far-have-we-come-the-americans-with-disabilities-act-25-years-later/

*DRW Mental Health Advisory Council Seeks New Members*

*The PAIMI (mental health) Advisory Council of Disability Rights Wisconsin seeksnew members who want to advance positive change in working to protect andadvocate for the rights of Wisconsin residents with mental health diagnoses.*

The Council has openings for the following positions:

Parent of a minor child or youth who has received or is receiving mental healthservices

Person who has received or is receiving mental health services or the familymember of a person who has received or is receiving mental health services

Current Council members are from La Crosse, Milwaukee, Menominee, and RacineCounties -we are especially interested in candidates from counties *not*currently represented.

*To apply, please complete and submit thisapplicationbyJune 19th*.

*_BACKGROUND ON THE PAIMI ADVISORY COUNCIL_*

Disability Rights Wisconsin is Wisconsins Protection and Advocacy agency, partof a nationwide network of disability rights agencies mandated by Congress toprovide advocacy services and legal representation on behalf of all persons withdisabilities. Since 1986, DRW and other Protection and Advocacy agencies haveworked through the PAIMI program (Protection and Advocacy for Individuals withMental Illness) to protect the human and civil rights of children and adultswith serious mental health conditions. This work is supported by a PAIMIAdvisory Council.

The PAIMI Advisory Council helps staff and board of directors of DRW setpriorities for the PAIMI program and advises the board on policies and issuesthat affect people with mental illness. The Council also serves as a liaison tothe various communities its members represent.

*Who Can Serve on the PAIMI Advisory Council?*

The Council is committed to maintaining a strong consumer voice, and requiresthat at least 50% of its members be people with the lived experience of mentalillness, who are receiving or have received mental health services. The Councilmust also include the parent of a minor child or youth who has received or isreceiving mental health services. In addition, the Council must include anattorney; a mental health professional; a provider of mental health services;and a member of the general public who is knowledgeable about mental illness,the advocacy needs of persons with mental illness, and has demonstrated asubstantial commitment to improving mental health services.**

*What Are Council Member Expectations?*

The PAIMI Advisory Council meets at least three times per year, generally on aFridayafternoon prior to a DRW Board meeting. Members may also meetperiodically to fulfill committee assignments. Council terms are for two yearsand members may be re-appointed for a second term. Council bylaws require us torecruit members from each region of the state so that the Council can have astatewide voice, and to have membership that reflects the racial and ethniccomposition of the state. Travel, meals, hotel and other meeting expenses arereimbursed for Council members.

*Barbara Beckert, Milwaukee Office Director*

*DISABILITY RIGHTS WISCONSIN*

6737 W. Washington St., Suite 3230

Milwaukee, WI 53214

414-773-4646 Ext 15Voice

414-773-4647Fax

barbara.beckert@drwi.org