News
DISABILITY.GOV: Improving Transportation for Those with Disabilities a Focus for Startups
By SD Network, 2015-12-01
This is a very interesting blog on disability.govwritten by Megan Totka about transportation for people with disabilities. She talks about how there have beensome negative comments about things such as the Uber and Lyft regarding their ability to serve people with disabilities, but there have been people looking to find solutions to these problems by using peer-to-peer strategies. She brings up some interesting points and ideas.
Improving Transportation for Those with Disabilities a Focus for Startups
By Megan Totka
If historians give this period a label, they might call it the Startup Era. In earlier times, most startup news was relegated to the business pages of your local newspaper orThe Wall Street Journal, today a wide variety of startups make it into the front-page headlines.
And some of the most notable startups in recent years have been in the transportation industry: think Uber and Lyft, for two familiar examples.
Articles in the popular press on the exploits of Uber, for example, swing from praise for the companys innovative business model, to controversial, for its dust-ups with local governing agencies. Legacy taxi companies hate it and its banned outright in some countries and cities.
Another area where Uber and Lyft have received some bad press is in their ability to serve the disabled community. There are stories about drivers (who are typically private contractors) refusing to pick up people in wheelchairs and blind passengers with service animals.
Enlarging the adapted car rental fleet
However, ambitious entrepreneurs are always looking to find solutions to problems and the perceived problem between the hot peer-to-peer startups like Uber and Lyft and the disabled community has definitely created an opportunity.
Paris-based Wheeliz is using the peer-to-peer model to connect disabled individuals in wheelchairs with wheelchair-adapted cars. Its the idea of Charlotte de Vilmorin who has spent her entire life in a wheelchair.She told Tech Timesthat there are some 100,000 privately owned adapted cars in France, but owners dont need to use them every day.
Apply the peer-to-peer strategy to that situation and you have a fleet of rental cars for people in wheelchairs as well as an extra income stream for the car owners. The startup already has 120 cars in its program as well as about 900 registered users. Vilmorin also has plans toquickly roll her startup outin other countries, which is a smart tactic in todays business climate.
Bringing private jets to the disabled
Things are changing in the airline industry. Talk to virtually any group of frequent airline travelers able or disabled and theyll have horror stories to relate about crowded conditions, cancellations and sometimes spotty customer service.Disabled travelers always need to do some careful planningto overcome the many challenges.
Over the last decade or so, these air-travel headaches have created opportunities for some savvy entrepreneurs. Once seen solely as the realm of the super-rich, a wide variety of membership and rental strategies has brought private charter jet travel to a much wider swatch of business professionals, families and individuals.
One of these companies,Stratos Jet Charters, sees a business opportunity by catering to the elderly and disabled in this segment of the air travel industry. They are marketing to this group in part by contrasting the endless lines at commercial airports to the various luxury touches air travelers enjoy when flying via private charter jet.
Getting up and around
So far weve talked about getting around the city and around the world, but before we leave the topic of startups looking to meet the transportation needs of the disabled community, we need to mentionUPnRIDE.
This Israeli startup is developing a Segway-like personal transportation device that will allow many quadriplegics to get around their homes and offices in an upright position. With sitting now labeled as the new smoking, this device could bring significant health benefits to a significant segment of the disabled community.
I dont see the rate of startups easing up too much in the coming years, so keep your eyes open, scan the headlines, and look for young companies working hard to bring additional innovations designed to improve transportation for disabled individuals.
Source:https://usodep.blogs.govdelivery.com/2015/11/23/improving-transportation-for-those-with-disabilities-a-focus-for-startups/
Long-Term Care: Four action steps you can take in December
This is another opportunity to engage with policy-makers and let them know you are watching and concerned about the future of Wisconsins long term care system.
Individuals with disabilities and family members, have a shared interest in the long-range sustainability and quality of Family Care. Ultimately, you have to live with whatever the new system is.
Four action steps you can take in December
- Contact your legislator with your list of critical questions, sample questions below. (Go to Find My Legislators box on this website:http://legis.wisconsin.gov)
- Provide feedback to your legislator on the DHS process thus far, and your unresolved concerns about long-term care.
- Ask your legislators to watch for DHSs report and assess the Departments answers to your questions
- Make sure your legislator accesses the national experts that presented at a legislative informational public hearing on Medicaid Managed Care, Family Care-IRIS 2.0 on November 18th (presentations archived here:http://www.wiseye.org/Programming/VideoArchive/EventDetail.aspx?evhdid=10265
Sample critical questions
- How will we know if the new system is working?
- What goals, outcomes are we aiming for?
- How do we know when weve met the goals/outcomes, and how do we measure quality and performance?
- What happens if a provider or IHA is not doing a good job?
- Will the rates ensure there is an incentive to keep me in or move me into the community rather than an institution?
DHS has indicated they expect the new system to result in cost-containment or cost-savings in Family Care.
- Where specificallylong term care, self-direction, primary/acute care, behavioral health does DHS expect to see savings?
- How much will we save and when will we see the savings?
***We thank the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities for providing us with this information.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to apply competitive bid pricing to Complex Rehab wheelchair accessories beginning January 1, 2016. Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) includes the individually configured wheelchairs and equipment many people with disabilities use, and this change will further already limited access to 171 essential accessory codes including seating systems, head rests, tilt and lift, and more.
If Congress does not act on this, payment rates could be reduced by 20% to 40% which would significantly decrease the availability of customized and essential wheelchair systems that many people with disabilities depend on. H.R. 3229 and S. 2196 have been introduced in Congress to provide a legislative technical correction to clarify that CMS cannot apply Medicare competitive bidding pricing to the accessories used with complex rehabilitation wheelchairs. This legislation would protect access for the many people who use this technology.
We encourage you to contact your US legislators to let them know how this change affects you or someone you care about. You can find your US legislators by clicking here.
For more information on this, visit www.protectmymonility.org.
Purpose
The purpose of this communication is to provide a summary status of the plan for
establishing the Children's Community Options Program, including necessary
direction for current operations in counties.
Background
The Department of Health Services, Bureau of Children's Services (BCS), is
charged with establishing a Children's Community Option Program (CCOP) and in
consultation with partners, develop guidelines for implementing the program and
criteria for reviewing community options programs as defined in 2015 Act 55
46.272<http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/related/acts/55/1535>
The CCOP is the result of merging the Family Support Program (FSP) and the
portion of Community Options Program (COP) used to serve children, into a single
allocation to counties with one set of requirements for the use of program funding.
The BCS has established a workgroup of internal and external partners to gather
input on the development of the program guidelines for the Children's Community
Option Program. We have planned a series of three meetings after which we will
establish a transition plan and subsequent program guidelines.
Status
During the first workgroup meeting, we recognized that counties and families are
asking for immediate guidance on what will, or will not, change effective
January 1, 2016as a result of the merging of Family Support and Community
Options Program into the Children's Community Options Program.
EffectiveJanuary 1, 2016we are expecting minimum differences for county use of
this combined funding. The statute for the Children's Community Options Program
establishes the authority for accessing funds under this program. In reviewing
the statutes we find only two instances wherein current use of these funds will
be prohibited in January 2016.
The exceptions are:
* Prohibiting funding for room and board in CCOP. (COP could fund room and
board, FSP could not); and
* No use of the funds for individuals over age 22. (FSP allowed exceptions
for use up to age 24), the statute limits use of program funds to age 22.
Notwithstanding the two restrictions, we are expecting counties to use the
combined FSP/ COP funding allocation to serve children eligible for FSP or COP
going forward. Families should experience no change in access or services beyond
the two restrictions noted above. Furthermore, for instances where statutorily
established restrictions do create a change, we would like to work with counties
to identify a solution and transition before the change in access to services.
Please reach out to your CSS for any specific cases wherein the limits noted
above will cause a loss of access to services to current participants into
January 2016.
Summary Take-Away
The merging of these two General Purpose Revenue (GPR) funding sources should
not be viewed as elimination of FSP or COP, but as a combining and streamlining
program funding and requirements. Families should not be unnecessarily alarmed
that something is "going away." We are working to create guidelines that will
assist in the implementation for this program. In the meantime, other than the
two restrictions for use noted above, we expect counties to continue to use this
funding allocation in their 2016 contract as otherwise allowed by the individual
FSP and COP allocations prior to the merging of the two.
We hope this overview provided some general guidance for use in current
operations. We will continue to work through the technical requirements for
ongoing operations of the Children's Community Options Program. Thank you for
your attention to this matter.
Please direct program questions to the CCOP Project Manager for additional
inputs, atAlyssa.Zirk@wisconsin.gov<
Purpose
The purpose of this communication is to provide a summary status of the plan for
establishing the Children's Community Options Program, including necessary
direction for current operations in counties.
Background
The Department of Health Services, Bureau of Children's Services (BCS), is
charged with establishing a Children's Community Option Program (CCOP) and in
consultation with partners, develop guidelines for implementing the program and
criteria for reviewing community options programs as defined in 2015 Act 55
46.272<http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2015/related/acts/55/1535>
The CCOP is the result of merging the Family Support Program (FSP) and the
portion of Community Options Program (COP) used to serve children, into a single
allocation to counties with one set of requirements for the use of program funding.
The BCS has established a workgroup of internal and external partners to gather
input on the development of the program guidelines for the Children's Community
Option Program. We have planned a series of three meetings after which we will
establish a transition plan and subsequent program guidelines.
Status
During the first workgroup meeting, we recognized that counties and families are
asking for immediate guidance on what will, or will not, change effective
January 1, 2016as a result of the merging of Family Support and Community
Options Program into the Children's Community Options Program.
EffectiveJanuary 1, 2016we are expecting minimum differences for county use of
this combined funding. The statute for the Children's Community Options Program
establishes the authority for accessing funds under this program. In reviewing
the statutes we find only two instances wherein current use of these funds will
be prohibited in January 2016.
The exceptions are:
* Prohibiting funding for room and board in CCOP. (COP could fund room and
board, FSP could not); and
* No use of the funds for individuals over age 22. (FSP allowed exceptions
for use up to age 24), the statute limits use of program funds to age 22.
Notwithstanding the two restrictions, we are expecting counties to use the
combined FSP/ COP funding allocation to serve children eligible for FSP or COP
going forward. Families should experience no change in access or services beyond
the two restrictions noted above. Furthermore, for instances where statutorily
established restrictions do create a change, we would like to work with counties
to identify a solution and transition before the change in access to services.
Please reach out to your CSS for any specific cases wherein the limits noted
above will cause a loss of access to services to current participants into
January 2016.
Summary Take-Away
The merging of these two General Purpose Revenue (GPR) funding sources should
not be viewed as elimination of FSP or COP, but as a combining and streamlining
program funding and requirements. Families should not be unnecessarily alarmed
that something is "going away." We are working to create guidelines that will
assist in the implementation for this program. In the meantime, other than the
two restrictions for use noted above, we expect counties to continue to use this
funding allocation in their 2016 contract as otherwise allowed by the individual
FSP and COP allocations prior to the merging of the two.
We hope this overview provided some general guidance for use in current
operations. We will continue to work through the technical requirements for
ongoing operations of the Children's Community Options Program. Thank you for
your attention to this matter.
Please direct program questions to the CCOP Project Manager for additional
inputs, atAlyssa.Zirk@wisconsin.gov<
Self-Determination Network News: November 2015
Connect|Share|Learn|http://sdnetworkwi.org/
2015 Self-Determination Conference
We really enjoyed seeing so many of our members at this years Self-Determination Conference. Wed love to hear what you thought of it. Weve started a discussion about it, so you can share your experience, comments, and ideas. Lets keep the conversation going!
We want to congratulate this year's Diehard Award winners who were recognized at the conference.These individuals received a Diehard Award for going above and beyond in supporting the lives of people with disabilities. Many of the winners are members of our Network. Please help us congratulate and thank these members for their outstanding advocacy efforts:
- Jane Jushka is involved various advocacy groups and serves as a mentor for People First.
- Ginger Beuk was very active in getting an accessible playground built in her community and is also very involved in many advocacy groups.
- Marie Massart helped start a People First group in her community.
- Julie Burish is a parent advocate who has been very involved in Save IRIS.
- Jason Endres is very active in various advocacy groups such as Save IRIS and is the president of People First Wisconsin.
- Nancy Gapinski is another parent advocate who has been very involved in Save IRIS.
- Marion Holmberg is yet another parent advocate who has been very involved in Save IRIS.
- Erin Miller is a strong self-advocate and is involved in Save IRIS.
Changes to Wisconsin Long-Term Care: Whats Next?
On November 18th, theCommittee on Aging and Long-Term Care held an Informational hearing on Medicaid Managed Care -Family Care-IRIS 2.0. Linksto the video recording of itandthePowerPoints that were used can be found on our Resource page.
In addition,in late October, InControlWisconsin released itscomments on the newLong-Term Care plan for Wisconsin. We encourage you take a few minutes to read these over and add your commentsas well.
It Only Takes "Five"
Take five minutes to check out what's happening on the Self-Determination Network:
- Input Needed: Angie is looking for direct support professionals to complete an online survey. Could you help her? Or do you know someone that could help her?
- Get Involved: Marie posted about her involvement in People First Wisconsin and what it has done for her. Shes encouraging others to contact her to learn how to become involved.
- Benefits Remain Unchanged: This is an interesting article about how Social Security benefits will remain the same in 2016.
- Call for Student Artists: VSA Wisconsin is looking for student artists (ages 5-21) with disabilities. Submissions due by February 15th, 2016.
- Neat New App: This is a great article a new app that locates the nearest handicapped parking spots.
- Call for Proposals: Proposals are now being accepted for the 2016 Multiple Perspectives Conference. Proposals are due January 18th, 2016.
- Post news or start a discussion: It's easy to do and a great way to share information and network with others!
Stacys Journal
For November, Stacy shares about her experience attending the Self-Determination Conference with us. We encourage you to ask her questions and/or share your experiences as well.
New Members
Stop by to welcomeour newest members:
- Hes the President of People First Wisconsin.
- She wants to keep updated about current issues, so she can advocate for herself.
- This SDS coordinator wants to share information and resources.
- This parent and advocate is a member of Save IRIS.
- He learned about the Network at the Self-Determination Conference.
- She wants to learn more about the healthcare industry.
- She works with people with disabilities and wants to become a better advocate.
- This advocate learned about the Network from her friend.
Do you know someone who should join the Self-Determination Network? Spread the word and invite friends, families and other interested folks!
Upcoming Events
Here's a sample ofupcoming eventslisted on the Self-Determination Network:
- Across the Lifespan Conference: December 3rd to 4th, Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells WI
- Wisconsin Transition Conference: February 18th to 19th, Kalahari Resort, Wisconsin Dells WI
Post your eventon the Self-Determination Network and it can be included in future Network News emails to members! Questions? Suggestions? Contact Stacy Ellingen.
The Self-Determination Network is powered by In Control Wisconsin and supported financially by ourmembersandSponsors. We couldn't keep this Network going with you! Find out how you can help support the Network.
We want to congratulate this year's Diehard Award winners who were recognized at the Self-Determination Conference. These individuals received a Diehard Award for going above and beyond in supporting the lives of people with disabilities. Please help us congratulate and thank these people for their outstanding advocacy efforts:
- John O'Keefe
- Jane Jushka
- Mary Lynn Larson
- Ginger Beuk
- Marie Massart
- Jessica Nell
- Julie Burish
- Jason Endres
- Sally Flaschberger
- Nancy Gapinski
- Marion Holmberg
- Erin Miller
Call for Proposals: Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion & Disability
By SD Network, 2015-11-13
The Sixteenth Annual
Multiple Perspectives on Access, Inclusion & Disability
April 13 - 14, 2016
The Ohio State Universitys Columbus Campus
This past July marked the 25thanniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act; November the 20thAnniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act in Brittan; and December, 2016, will be the 10thanniversary of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.
It is time to move beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of the law; to shift our focus from redressing human and environmental problems through remedial design to preventing problems through holistic design.
Leslie Kanes Weisman
Multiple Perspectives is an ongoingexploration of disability, a conversation including many voices and reflecting perspectives gained through experience and research; theory and practice, arts and sciences.
Preference will be given to presentations that encourage discussions across the typical social, political, and disciplinary boundaries; connect the individual to local, national and international approaches; or consider parallels, distinctions and intersections with race, gender and ethnicity.
Past programs and conference updates as they become available can be found at:http://ada.osu.edu/conferences.htm.
To be on the mailing list for the conference, send e-mail toADA-OSU@osu.edu
The Multiple Perspectives Conference is hosted by Ohio State Universitys ADA Coordinators Office is made possible thanks to the generosity of the Ethel Louise Armstrong Foundation Endowment Fund and ongoing support from The Ohio State University.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES 2014
Proposals are due January 18th, 2015
Proposals should be submittedby e-mail as an attachment (Word, Word Perfect, TXT, or RTF formats)toADA-OSU@osu.edu withMultiple Perspectives 2016in the subject line.
Proposals must include:
1.Name of each presenter with titles, institutions, employers etc. as appropriate
2.Contact information (phone, mailing address, and e-mail) if there is more than one presenter please indicate one individual as the contact and lead presenter.
3.Title of Presentation (12 words or less)
4.Description (700 words or less) Please describe the content, focus and desired outcomes for the presentation using these questions as a guide.
- What is the format of the presentation (Lecture, Panel, Discussion, Performance, Other)?
- Who is the intended audience (educators, employers, businesses, advocates, students, consumers, researchers, or other)?
- How familiar should the audience be with the topic (beginner, intermediate, advanced)?
- What are your three main goals for the presentation?
Please Note:The full conference fees will be waived and lunch provided for presenters of accepted proposals. Presenters are responsible for their own travel and lodging.
This is a very interesting article inDisabled Worldabout about a free app that searches the nearest handicapped parking spots. It started in Poland, but is rapidly growing to the US and other countries. They're encouraging everyone to help them locate handicapped spots in their area. It sounds like a really neat idea!
iParkomat Disabled Parking Spots App
Brief Synopsis:IParkomat provides free and open database to search for nearest blue-badge parking spots by anyone.
"The database of available parking spots is constantly increasing, thanks to a growing iParkomat community, around the globe."
Most people with a disability can get a drivers licence - and even those who cannot and travel by car with someone else should have transportation barriers reduced to minimum.
Although many disabled parking spots are created, there is still no specific, universal database that would allow people to quickly and easily find the closest disabled parking spot, from any location. iParkomat.com wants to change that.
As of only a couple of days ago, iParkomat has launched new functionality that allows users to register, store and search information for any disabled parking spot in the world. Now people with disabilities can find a place for their cars in the most convenient location - with one tap on their smartphone.
IParkomat provides free and open database to search for nearest blue-badge parking spots by anyone, and absolutely anyone can register a disabled parking spot through his/her smartphone or computer, making the parking spot immediately searchable and available to all in need.
The database of available parking spots is constantly increasing, thanks to a growing iParkomat community, around the globe - our solution is aimed to help reduce transportation barriers and increase the touristic possibilities of your city for all persons with disabilities.
iParkomat invites you and local authorities for cooperation.
The city of Warsaw, Poland, where iParkomat has its roots, has already provided data on public parking places for the disabled within the city, and now the entire citys population can find the location of all of the hundreds of public parking spaces for people with disabilities. Users can also find the first disabled parking spots registered in the US, Spain, Germany, and other countries.
iParkomat is currently in talks with some of the largest cities around the globe, and invites all individuals, businesses, foundations and associations to join their effort in reducing transportation barriers for people with disabilities.
We will be very grateful if you could provide us with data about public disabled parking spaces located within your municipality or county. As soon as we receive the data we will import locations of each parking spaces for the disabled and we will present them for free to all in need - iparkomat.com
Source: http://www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/apps/iparkomat.php