Medicaid Matters Week

Posted on March 3, 2010

March 1-5, 2010 is Medicaid Matters Week. This is a project of Medicaid Matters New York (MMNY), a coalition of over 130 organizations that advocate on behalf of Medicaid consumers. The Center for Disability Rights is a member of MMNY.

Medicaid Matters Week is an opportunity for members of MMNY to project the consumer voice throughout the state using grassroots advocacy methods to say why Medicaid is important to them. Given the fact that this is the height of the budget period, and there is perennial grumbling about the state’s huge Medicaid spending, the importance of the voice of people with Medicaid as their health insurance cannot be overstated. Read more

Assistive Technology as a Reasonable Accommodation

Posted on February 22, 2010

By: Sara Furguson

The most commonly requested accommodation in the workplace is assistive technology such as adapted computers, hearing aids, wheelchair ramps, speech communication devices, Braille note taking computers, etc. In general, requests for assistive technology are seen as reasonable if no undue burden is involved. This means that unless an accommodation would incur unreasonably large expenses, an employer must make an effort to meet the needs of an employee with a disability.

Since 1990, assistive technology (AT) has improved opportunities for successful implementation of the ADA’s equal employment provisions. Unfortunately, employers may decide to not hire a disabled applicant simply because they lack knowledge about the use of assistive technology. Read more

Thoughts on the R-Word From a High School Senior

Posted on February 19, 2010

Note:  As many of our readers know, Tim Barbato, one of CDR’s Advocacy Interns, passed away recently.  This week, his family sent us an article that Tim wrote about the R-Word.  He was very much aware of our advocacy against the use of the R-Word, and we are pleased to be able to share with you his reflections from the viewpoint of a high school student who heard the R-Word spoken all too often by his classmates.

By Tim Barbato

When you hear the term “offensive language” what do you think of?  Swear words, threatening words, discriminating words?  After recent events in the news, I started thinking about what this term means.

Most of you have probably heard about the Monroe County Councilman who called a colleague a “retard” at a public meeting.  This offended a lot of people.  When he was asked to apologize for using this word in a discriminating manner, he denied that he had said it.  Some county officials apparently felt that it was “no big deal.”  (Ed. Note: On December 8, 2009, after Tim wrote this, the County Legislature unanimously passed the “Person First Language Act” in response to intense disability advocacy on the issue.) Read more

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

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