For Wisconsin Representative Jimmy Anderson, the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA) is personal. As a quadriplegic, he has fought for accommodations during his career.   In this piece, he talks about how there's so much more work that needs to be done with the ADA. 

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With the pandemic hitting the country hard, the topics of health care access has been front and center. Many with disabilities don't have accessible health care. Everything from funding to accommodations prevent people from receiving necessary health car. Many people feel it's time that health care systems be required to follow the non-discrimination laws to ensure that the medical system is accessible to everyone. 

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The pandemic has caused upheaval in everyone's life. For people with disabilities it's brought on some additional challenges. Everything from loss of independence and mobility, to Caregivers not showing up, to concerns over hospital accommodations,  The list is endless..  However, the situation would be much worse without the Americans with Disabilities  Act.

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Lifespan Respite Care Programs: Projects to Strengthen Program Development, Implementation, and Sustainability

ACL's Administration on Aging has announced a grant opportunity for special projects authorized by the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006. Lifespan Respite Care programs are coordinated systems of accessible, community-based respite care services for family caregivers of children and adults of all ages.

The special projects funded by this cooperative agreement will complement the work of the Lifespan Respite Technical Assistance and Resource Center. Projects will focus on strengthening:

• Respite workforce recruitment, training, and retention
• State-based frameworks for respite system planning and development
• Caregivers and family natural support systems

Optionally, projects may also address other areas of capacity building to improve state-based respite, as identified by applicants and their partners.

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In late July, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA). This video how the legislation changed the lives of people with disabilities and where there's room for improvement. 

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Working from home used to be a hard accommodation to get for people with disabilities and health conditions. However, the pandemic changed that. Companies were forced to make changes so that employees could work remotely. For people with disabilities, this is both good and bad news. Good news because employers are now familiar with how to set up remote business. The bad news is that there are already some misconceptions about accommodations related to the pandemic. To help with this, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released guidelines for accommodations during the pandemic. 

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ForwardHealth Updates

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has released two new ForwardHealth Updates that explain Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) policy and training:

• ForwardHealth Update 2020-31, “Implementation of Electronic Visit Verification for Personal Care and Supportive Home Care Services”
• ForwardHealth Update 2020-32,“Electronic Visit Verification Training for Personal Care Services and Supportive Home Care Services”

Next Steps

Non-Medicaid-Enrolled Providers

The EVV soft launch starts November 2, 2020, in Wisconsin. To prepare, provider agencies that do not have a Medicaid ID will need to obtain a unique provider agency ID. This includes provider agencies that plan to use an alternate EVV system and those who operate a self-employed business.

• Learn how to obtain a unique provider agency ID.
• Start the process to obtain a unique provider agency ID.

The provider agency ID is generated in real time and will display once you have finished submitting your information.

Medicaid-Enrolled Providers

Review the email listed on the Mailing Address panel in the demographic maintenance tool in your secure ForwardHealth Portal account, and update the email address if necessary. DHS will use this provider agency email address for EVV communication with providers. DHS must have the correct email on file for the individual in your organization that is responsible for the administration of EVV.

Please complete the email verification by July 31, 2020, to ensure receipt of needed EVV information.

Training

For information about and to register for EVV training, go to the EVV Training webpage. Training begins mid-August and is required to access the DHS-provided EVV system.

Please send questions or comments to Wisconsin EVV Customer Care by emailing or calling 833-931-2035.

FEMA is committed to making sure that people with disabilities have access to, and can benefit from, their programs and services. To celebrate the 30th ADA Anniversary,  they came up with 30 ways the agency supports emergency preparedness, response and recovery for people with disabilities.

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