Advocates decry Executive budget proposal that determines some are “too disabled” for community living.

Posted on January 20, 2010

by Diane Coleman, Assistant Director of Advocacy

It’s all over the news:  Governor Paterson’s 2010-11 Executive Budget for New York State was released on Tuesday, January 19, 2010.

There’s plenty of criticism from many vested interests and industries, but disability concerns are not yet on the public radar screen.  As usual, CDR will work to change that.

The proposed budget includes a proposal that would set disability policy back thirty years.  The Governor proposes that seniors and people with disabilities who need more than 12 hours of personal care services a day will be required to switch to another program, and all of the proposed programs don’t allow consumer direction of services and, moreover, don’t work for people with significant personal care needs.  Read more in CDR’s first Media Release on the topic.  Read more

Introducing CDR’s New Senior Counsel

Posted on January 4, 2010

By Dennis Boyd, Senior Counsel

I would like to introduce myself.  I am Dennis Boyd, the newest member of the Advocacy Team at CDR and an attorney.

I started working on accessibility issues more than twelve years ago and disability benefits almost twenty years ago.  This has had me in court, at administrative hearings, training consumers and providers, and thinking of ways to improve the way the laws protect the rights of people with disabilities. Read more

More College Experiences

Posted on December 10, 2009

By Tim Barbato, Advocacy Intern

In July I went to an open house at Roberts Wesleyan College. After my experience at S.U.N.Y. Geneseo College, I was a little skeptical. There were many questions going through my head: Would I be able to get around? Would people understand my needs? Would they think I was crazy for even considering going to college, let alone here? Would they wonder if I was physically capable of pursuing my career choices? I wanted to talk to them about courses in Social Work, Criminal Justice and Religion and Humanities. After the lack of interest I was shown at S.U.N.Y. Geneseo, I had no idea what to expect. College was going to be harder than I thought. Read more

They Still Don’t Get It: My Vote Story

Posted on November 6, 2009

By Anita Cameron, Systems Advocate

I got up Tuesday (November 3, 2009) bright and (not so) early so that I could make a quick stop at my polling place and vote before going to work. Thankfully, my polling site is down the street from my house at Andrews Terrace, one of those buildings whose residents are mostly seniors or folks with disabilities, so I didn’t have to worry about physical access.

I wondered if I would have the trouble that I had last year, where it took me almost two hours to vote because the machine had not been turned on, or would the machine be “broken” as it was claimed to be when I tried to vote on Primary Day this past September. Oddly, the machine had broken down a few minutes before I came, and they had called it in. I later learned that the Board of Elections had received no such call. Hmmm… Read more

Budget Cuts Brought to You by the Pathologically Vicious

Posted on October 22, 2009

By Chris Hilderbrant, Director of Advocacy

*Update* Center for Disabilities response to the Executive’s proposed Defecit Reduction Plan (DRP)

We’re all getting used to budget cuts.  It used to only happen around budget season, but with the state and national economies in the tank, Governor Paterson has realized that the only thing he can do to boost his plummeting ratings is to talk tough about ‘making hard decisions’ and ‘cutting spending.’

Ok, I get all that.  Money is tight and states should not make a habit of spending more than is needed.  We’ve been suggesting areas where the state could reduce its spending for years, but none of the political “leaders” would make those tough decisions because the economy was solid and the leaders could keep spending on pet projects to keep their donors happy. Read more

What is the True Meaning of Reasonable Accommodation?

Posted on October 6, 2009

By: Sara Furguson

As most of you probably know, the Americans with Disabilities Act granted a number of protections to those with disabilities. Under Title I of the Act, applicants and employees with disabilities receive protection from the unjust employment discrimination that has been forever present in our society. Among these employment protections is the requirement for employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities. While there are many provisions to the statute, there are key points that I will address in an attempt to clarify this sometimes complex law. Read more

Albany County Long Term Care Plan: Imagine this

Posted on October 2, 2009

By Leah Farrell, Policy Analyst

Imagine this:

> A world where elected officials hear the cries of people who want to remain in their homes.
> A world where thoughtful long term care planning does not include institutions.
> A world where local governments close down nursing facilities to invest in community-based services.

Sound too good to be true?

Well, it is happening in Albany County, but here is what you couldn’t have imagined:

> The Albany County Legislature is fighting back and demanding the county build a new nursing home! Read more

PASS THE COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE AMENDMENT!

Posted on September 21, 2009

By Diane Coleman, Assistant Director of Advocacy

This is huge news!  This past Friday, New York Senator Schumer introduced the Community First Choice amendment to the Senate Finance Committee’s health care reform!

This is the closest we’ve ever been to getting the language of the Community Choice Act into federal law.  It’s not the “whole enchilada,” because it wouldn’t make it the law of the land, but it would give every state a financial incentive to try community first, consumer directed services and supports based on functional need, not age or diagnosis. This is a very big deal!

The next step is to urge the Senate Finance Committee to pass the amendment.  We need every Senator on the Committee to hear from constituents in their state, urging them to support the Community First Choice Amendment. Read more

Governor’s vetoes outrage disability advocates

Posted on September 17, 2009

By Chris Hilderbrant, Director of Advocacy

New Yorkers with disabilities were appalled last night when Governor Paterson vetoed not one, but two critical pieces of disability civil rights legislation.

One bill, A.781-B (Paulin)/S.5396 (Huntley), adds American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II language into state statute; clarifying the accessibility obligations of state and local governments and strengthening the civil rights protections for people with disabilities.  For any state or local government unit that receives federal funds, which is all states and cities at this point, it’s been the law since the Rehabilitation Act of 1973!  This bill imposes no new or additional requirements upon local governments or businesses, so what is Governor Paterson’s problem? Read more

How Do the ADA Amendments Affect You?

Posted on September 10, 2009

By: Sara Furguson
With the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, many are left wondering how the new legislation actually changes the 1990 law against discrimination. Regardless, everyone has a different opinion about the amendments; some favor the new Act and regulations while others do not. Most disability rights advocates agree however, that the amendments restore the original intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which some have abandoned over the years.

Under the new amendments, the courts cannot interpret the meaning of disability narrowly as done in some previous cases. With original ADA intent restored, more disabled individuals are protected from disability discrimination than previously covered by the ADA. Some of these disabilities include forms of epilepsy and other conditions controlled by medication, minor intellectual disabilities, vision impairments that require more than contact lenses and eye glasses, hepatitis (with sufficient liver function), diabetes, hypertension, long term effects of brain damage, and individuals in cancer remission. For years, activists have fought for the ADA to be returned to its original intent and are overjoyed with passage of the ADA amendments. Read more

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