By Yvonne Z. Smith, Subcommittee Chair

Advocacy around mental health is becoming an even more important issue. Legislation proposed under H.R. 6180 – Mental Health Care for Children Inhumanely Separated from Parents by the Federal Government Act of 2018 will provide mental health services for children separated from their parents. The trauma that is created by separating children from their parents especially very young children is well documented. H.R. 6180 was introduced on June 21, 2018 in the House by Representative Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-CA). As of August 6, 2018 it has been referred to Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.

Another bill to watch is S. 2513 – School Safety and Mental Health Services Improvement Act of 2018. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced S. 2513 in the Senate on March 7, 2018. S. 2513 amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow state and local educational agencies to use certain federal funds for activities related to school safety, including: (1) infrastructure improvements to prevent, mitigate, or respond to incidents of school violence; and (2) professional development for school personnel in mental-health awareness, crisis response, and other programs designed to reduce and prevent school violence.

The bill also amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the programs for which the Department of Health and Human Services may provide financial support to assist local communities in helping children deal with violence. Such programs may include those designed to provide mental health and substance-use disorder assessments, crisis-intervention training, counseling, treatment, and referral.

The community must resist any connection of persons labeled mentally ill with danger. Parents should not have to disclose the mental health conditions of their children.

Paolo del Vecchio, MSW, former Director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) has been transferred out of his position. A community voice has been lost. Mr. del Vecchio, a positive resource for mental health at SAMHSA for over 20 years, gave voice to persons who were labeled with mental illness.

The law firm Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela and Carpenter requests your assistance in the legal effort to compel Steak ‘N Shake to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). According to their request, Steak ‘N Shake has systematically failed to comply with the ADA in its parking lots and a lawsuit was filed to obtain a court order that would require Steak ‘N Shake to remediate and maintain its parking facilities so that people with disabilities are able to access Steak N’ Shake restaurants without difficulty.

The lawsuit was filed as a class action so that Steak ‘N Shake would have to remediate and maintain all of its stores and couldn’t simply fix problems at a few restaurants, while ignoring all the others. Recently, though, an appellate court found that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated that a sufficient number of people would be impacted by the lawsuit, despite there being 14.9 to 20.9 million people with mobility disabilities in the United States and more than 500 Steak ‘N Shake locations throughout the country.  [Read more…]

This week, multiple news outlets reported that the Trump Administration is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth, which will eliminate the rights of Transgender people. The plan from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) urges key government agencies to ignore modern science, medicine, and the law. This is a direct attack on the civil and human rights of millions of Americans in the Transgender and gender non-conforming community.

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is committed to using an intersectional outreach in its policy work. This encompasses a deliberate and genuine fight for the fundamental rights of our members, which include members of the Trans community. It is well known that Transgender individuals have full rights and protections established years ago through multiple courts. This Administration has continuously tried to dismantle the rights of many in this country and this is another attack that we will not tolerate.  A reversal of the civil rights of this community will do nothing but cause more harm and produce poorer health outcomes.

We believe that Trans people have the right to live safely in the community, have self-determination, and be included in every aspect of life. NCIL demands that the Administration reverse this direct and biased attack on the Transgender and gender non-conforming community.  We stand with the broad coalition of civil and human rights organizations opposing and pushing back against these plans.

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is the longest-running national, cross-disability, grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Founded in 1982, NCIL represents thousands of organizations and individuals including: individuals with disabilities, Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), and other organizations that advocate for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities throughout the United States. There are currently over 700 physical locations across America actively providing Independent Living services to people with disabilities.