Action Alert: Major Cuts Proposed to Services for Virginians with Disabilities
Filed under: ADA Accessibility and Advocacy, Special Announcements
Support our family, friends and colleagues who have disabilities other than deafness and hearing loss!
The Virginia General Assembly is considering major cuts to Medicaid services that will:
Reduce the number of hours of respite from 720 hours to 240 hours a year
Reduce Medicaid Waiver provider rates by 5%
Increase waiting lists for the DD and ID/MR Waivers
Stop new enrollment into the DD, EDCD, and ID/MR Waivers
Eliminate thousands of jobs, including personal care attendants/aides and respite staff
Eliminate podiatry services and adult optometry services
Reduce therapy services
Contact your State Senator and Delegate, the Governor, and leaders of the legislative money committees. Let them know how these cuts will impact you or others you know.
Contact information for your Senator and Delegate is at: http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
Also call or email the following:
Senator Colgan, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee
district29@senate.virginia.gov, 804-698-7529
Senator Houck, Chair of the Senate Finance Health and Human Resources Subcommittee
district17@senate.virginia.gov, 804-698-7517
Delegate Putney, Chair of the House Appropriations Committee
DelLPutney@house.virginia.gov, 804-698-1019
Delegate Morgan, Chair of the House Appropriations Health and Human Resources Subcommittee
DelHMorgan@house.virginia.gov, 804-698-1098
Governor McDonnell
www.governor.virginia.gov/TheAdministration/contactGovernor.cfm, 804-786-2211
From Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living – thanks to Brenda at Endependence Center and NVRC, Fairfax
Contact Your Virginia State Senator NOW on Senate Bill 689!
Call or email state senators serving on Senate General Laws and Technology Committee. Their email addresses and phone numbers are below. These senators will be discussing Senate Bill 689 tomorrow when they meet at 2 pm. This bill threatens our right to have an independent Virginia Office on Protection and Advocacy that can file lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and other federal disability rights laws.
Ask the senators to OPPOSE SB 689 because it will take away the independent right of the Virginia Office of Protection and Advocacy (VOPA) to act on behalf of Virginians with disabilities to pursue our rights under the ADA. Right now VOPA staff can make independent decisions to pursue disability rights cases on the basis of legal merit. Passage of SB 689 will require you to pursue a dispute resolution proceeding before VOPA can seek a legal remedy on your behalf. It will also require the staff of VOPA to get approval from the VOPA Board before they can pursue any lawsuit. VOPA Board members political appointees selected by the Governor and General Assembly.
In addition to asking your senator to oppose the bill, contact the primary patron of SB 689, Senator Blevins, to urge him to withdraw SB 689.
At the beginning of the 20th anniversary year of the signing of the ADA, WE CAN’T LET THIS HAPPEN!
SB 689 is before the Senate Committee on General Laws on Wednesday, January 27th. You can contact the following:
The patron of SB 689 is Senator Blevins district14@senate.virginia.gov
Senator John Miller is also a supporter of the bill district01@senate.virginia.gov
Members of the committee on General Laws are
Senator Mamie Locke (chair) district02@senate.virginia.gov – 804.698.7502
Senator Charles Colgan district29@senate.virginia.gov – 804.698. 7529
Senator Edward Houck district17@senate.virginia.gov — 804.698.7517
Senator William Wampler district40@senate.virginia.gov — 804.698.7540
Senator Walter Stosch district12@senate.virginia.gov — 804.698.7512
Senator Stephen Martin district11@senate.virginia.gov –804.698.7511
Senator Frank Ruff district15@senate.virginia.gov – 804.698.7515
Senator Frank Wagner district07@senate.virginia.gov — 804.698.7507
Senator Mark Herring district33@senate.virginia.gov — 804.698.7533
Senator Robert Hurt district19@senate.virginia.gov – 804.698.7519
Senator Chap Peterson district34@senate.virginia.gov – 804.698.7534
Senator George Barker district39@senate.virginia.gov – 804.698.7539
Senator Jill Vogel district27@senate.virginia.gov — 804.698.7527
Senator David Marsden district37@senate.virginia.gov – 804.698.7537
Senator John Miller district01@senate.virginia.gov 804.698.7501
- Thanks to NVRC and Endependence Center of Northern Virginia.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!!
-DHHSC
Talk with Signing Santa on VP
Kids can talk with a Signing Santa by videophone through callVRS. The company, based in Long Island, NY and Clearwater, Florida. was started by Emilia Lorenti-Wann, Owner; Keith Wann, Director of Marketing; and Tony Barraza, Director of Technology to help establish services for the Deaf, Deaf-Latino, and Deaf-Blind Communities.
For YouTube videos in ASL about this service (videos are not captioned):
CallVRS Presents Signing Santa 2009 with Keith Wann (2009) – 7 minutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh-Mrz8hP9o
Signing Santa Hangs Out with Keith Wann
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=telatrWkSJY (2009) – 1 ½ minutes
KODA Sister Love CallVRS and Signing Santa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE1lpVWSAMQ (2009) – 3 ½ minutes
- Thanks to NVRC, Fairfax
RIT Sponsors National Competition for Students with Hearing Loss
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is accepting entries in its fifth annual Digital Arts, Film and Animation Competition for deaf or hard-of-hearing middle and high school students.
Students in grades 9 through 12 can use their creative talents and artistic expression in six categories: Web Page Design, Graphic Media, 3-D Animation, Film, Interactive Media, and Photo Imaging.
Last year’s winning entries came from students in California, Minnesota, Arkansas, New York, Kansas, Virginia, and Illinois.
Students submitting winning entries in each category will receive a $250 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Rochester, NY, for the awards ceremony in the spring and an exhibition of their work. RIT is home to the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), where more than 1,300 students with hearing loss from around the world study, live and socialize with 15,000 hearing students on campus.
Students may submit up to two entries. Entry forms, contest rules and other details are available at www.rit.edu/NTID/ArtsNR The deadline for entries is Jan. 15, 2010.
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