It’s fall again, with its new starts and new energy. Unfortunately, at the national level there is
a new energy behind the effort to repeal Obamacare, complete with cuts and caps
on Medicaid that would have a serious impact on supports for people with disabilities
throughout our country: https://tinyurl.com/ybfv3n4o. Since most of my readers are in D.C. though,
we are unrepresented at the national level and can’t do a thing to head off
this legislation, so if you’re a reader who actually has senators and
representatives, please write to them and see that this bill never sees the
light of day.
Things got off on a better foot at the local level. On September 15 DDS hosted the Supporting Families
Community of Practice (https://dds.dc.gov/page/dc-supporting-families-community-practice). The meeting included kickoff consultations by
DDS about the possibility of instituting self-direction in D.C. – which allows
a person receiving Medicaid waiver supports to have greater control over
staffing and budget. There will be
plenty more discussion on this, since DDS won’t submit its plan to the federal
government until December 2018.
(Possibly the much-discussed Individual and Family Support waiver plan
will be submitted at the same time – stay tuned.)
I’ve been pushing hard for briefings on ABLE accounts (http://www.ablenrc.org/about/what-are-able-accounts),
which allow people with disabilities who have the resources to save for
important purchases without exceeding the $2000 SSI asset cap or losing
Medicaid eligibility. You’ll recall I wrote
in July (“Walking the Talk,” July 14, 2017) that Rebecca Salon had provided a
good overview of these new vehicles, but the good news is that the D.C. ABLE
program is now in place – the website is https://savewithable.com/dc/home/plan-benefits.html,
which (if you were at the meeting Friday) is different from the link provided
by the speaker. D.C. residents can also
choose to invest in another state’s ABLE account if they want, so it’s important
to shop around and pick the one with the lowest fees and the best investment
plan for you. What was obvious in the discussion was that ABLE accounts are not for everyone,
and also that there is a need for the SF CoP to facilitate some briefings on
basic financial skills to help folks understand the world of investing and how
they might benefit.
Employment and post-secondary transition were also key
themes of Friday’s SF CoP meeting, and questions on these subjects dominated
the Q and A with DDS director Andy Reese.
We heard about new initiatives by DDS/RSA (confused? click on my page
over to the right, “Acronyms and organizations you should know”) to set up
internships in D.C. agencies, and by the Office of the State Superintendent of
Education to develop vocational programming for adults (https://osse.dc.gov/service/career-and-technical-education-cte). Speaking from personal experience in trying
to help my son in his search for employment, I suggested that there are too few
part-time jobs in the D.C. government as stepping stones for residents with
disabilities, and Andy promised to look into this.
To follow up on my most recent blog post (“OK, Then I’ll Ask
You This Way,” September 11), you should know that I also raised those concerns
with Andy, and he has promised to get back to me. But as I’ve been saying for years, while I
appreciate his accessibility (and his predecessor’s), it should not be necessary to go to the head of the agency in order to
get follow-up.
Other tidbits of news:
-
I haven’t heard anything since the D.C. council
returned to business with respect to action on the CIDCRRA (https://tinyurl.com/y75822ov). Hopefully councilmember Nadeau, chair of the
human services committee, will not be too distracted by her campaign for
re-election to follow up on this important bill.
-
Sadly, Heidi Case, energetic adviser to Project
Action! in that organization’s advocacy efforts, left that position over the
summer. I missed PA!’s first fall
meeting on September 16, but understand efforts are under way to find a
qualified replacement. I hope Heidi will
find other ways to continue her vocal advocacy on mobility and other issues
affecting our local disability community.
-
Another recruitment on the horizon is for the
executive director of the DD Council, as Mat McCollough is being promoted to
head the Office of Disability Rights. As
a member of the DD Council, I will be involved in the selection process, but
Mat’s will indeed be big shoes to fill.
Whew! Have I missed anything?
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