FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 25, 2012

Contact:
Janine Bertram (503) 622-6387
Rachel Siler (312) 479-0220
Marsha Katz (406) 544-9504
Amber Smock ambity@aol.com

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ADDRESSES ADAPT CONCERNS ABOUT ATTENDANT SERVICE RULES

Washington, D.C.— At 11 am EST, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Deputy Secretary Seth Harris will address hundreds of disability rights activists with the national group ADAPT at DOL headquarters at 200 Constitution Ave NW. Earlier this year, DOL requested comments on a new set of proposed federal rules governing the employment of personal attendants, also known as home care workers.  Both disability advocates and unions serving this sector expressed concern about the perspective and goals of the proposed regulations.  Left without comment, the proposed regulations would have pitted people with disabilities against their attendants, putting both groups on opposite sides of what is both a civil rights and a labor issue.

Personal attendants are a key component of the Medicaid home and community based services that empower millions of people with disabilities across the country to be able to live in their own homes and not be forced into nursing homes or institutions.  Ensuring that home services are directed by people with disabilities themselves, while also ensuring the support and rights of the attendants/home care workers, is an ongoing effort between ADAPT, unions, DOL and other disability advocates.

“These rules are important to me as both an ADAPTer and a personal attendant,” said Emmanuel Camargo of Chicago ADAPT.
“These rules need to ensure that I can work in a fair and safe environment, at a liveable wage, while also ensuring that the people I work for live the way they want to live in their own homes.”

For more information about the Community First Choice Option and ADAPT, see www.adapt.org and http://www.twitter.com/nationaladapt
FOR MORE INFORMATION on ADAPT visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/