The NCIL Mental Health Civil Rights Subcommittee has been actively working on mental health legislation. We have also been monitoring some regulatory developments. Tim Murphy’s bill, H.R. 2646, is still a priority. However, we are seeing promising action in the Senate and could use your help. Please contact your Representative and Senators.

The biggest priority is the Senate. Prior to the spring recess, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee marked up S. 2680. This bill is a truly bipartisan compromise. We expect the Senate to take it up soon after they return next week.

NCIL supports S. 2680 because it reauthorizes mental health and substance use programs without the baggage in the House bill. It approaches key issues differently:

• Like the House bill, it also creates a new assistant secretary position.
  • It does not include most of the other objectionable reorganization provisions included in the House bill.
• It approaches the health privacy issues with training and guidance requirements rather than writing discrimination into the law.
• As NCIL and others recommend, it does not change the “IMD Exclusion.”
  • The IMD (“Institutions for Mental Disease”) Exclusion has been a part of Medicaid since the program was created. It does not allow federal payments for mental health or substance use treatment for people older than 22 and younger than 65 in a facility with 16 or more beds treating primarily people with psychiatric conditions. IMDs are mostly hospitals and nursing facilities.
  • However, several committee members have indicated they would make a floor amendment to change the IMD rule.
• It does not change existing law on involuntary services or protection and advocacy systems.

S. 2680 does not include all of the policy that NCIL and others support. While not a perfect bill, we believe it sets a much better approach than the House approach. Please contact your Senators to ask them to support the bill without further amendment regarding IMDs.  [Read more…]

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the Texas Disability Project have created the REV UP (Register, Educate, Vote, Use, (your) Power) Toolkit to help organize the disability vote. This tool can be customized to assist with state organizing to make the disability vote count!

Voting is a fundamental right, but too many of the voices in our community have been silenced. Of the 37 million eligible voters with disabilities, the participation has been as low as 40%! We urge NCIL members to register to vote, and to help others get registered, too! And we urge Centers for Independent Living to make voting a priority. The REV UP Toolkit can help with those efforts.

Check out the REV UP Toolkit and the additional resources at www.aapd.com/REVUP. Also, make sure to look back at NCIL’s Voting Rights Subcommittee’s Get-Out-The-Vote Manual. If you’re on Twitter, you can also join the voting conversation using #REVUP, #VoteDisability, and #CripTheVote.

• REV UP Toolkit in Word
• REV UP Toolkit in plain text
• NCIL’s Voting Rights Subcommittee’s Get-Out-The-Vote Manual in PDF
• NCIL’s Voting Rights Subcommittee’s Get-Out-The-Vote Manual in plain text

We have a major election coming up in 2016, and if people with disabilities don’t vote, our community’s interests won’t be accurately represented. Let’s make sure the disability vote counts and our voices are heard!

On Friday, February 12, 2016, Not Dead Yet, NCIL, and ten other national and Tennessee state disability rights organizations have filed a friend of the court brief in the Court of Appeals, Middle District, in support of a lower court ruling dismissing a case seeking to legalize physician assisted suicide.

Joining in the Not Dead Yet brief are ADAPT, the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living, the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, the Disability Rights Center, the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, Empower Tennessee, the Memphis Center for Independent Living, the National Council on Independent Living, the T.A.R.P. Center for Independent Living, the Tennessee Disability Coalition and United Spinal Association, collectively referred to as the “Disability Rights Amici.” Tennessee attorney Jennifer Lawson handled the filing on behalf of the disability organizations.

The case is Hooker v. Slatery (Case No. M2015-01982-COA-R3-CV) and the disability brief supports the Davidson County Chancery Court ruling which was issued September 29, 2015 and the Tennessee Attorney General seeking to uphold the ruling.

“Despite the passing of the lead plaintiff in the case, a well known and respected community leader, the doctor plaintiffs in the case have moved forward with their appeal,” said Carol Westlake, executive director of the Tennessee Disability Coalition. “We respect Mr. Hooker’s feelings as an individual, but a public policy of assisted suicide poses serious dangers to our constituency, people with disabilities of all ages.”  [Read more…]

During this quarter, NCIL’s ADA / Civil Rights Committee Subcommittee has been working on several projects and paying attention to bills in Congress that have the potential to affect the civil rights of persons with disabilities nationwide.

ADA Notification

H.R. 3765: filed by Representative Ted Poe (R-TX; 2nd Congressional District)

Titled the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2015, H.R. 3765 was introduced and assigned to committee in October 2015. This bill contains language similar to that used in past pieces of legislation that would have limited the ADA. It is similar to the ADA Notification Act, but with a new twist: Section 3 of the bill creates a new crime for sending a demand letter… alleging a violation of section 302 or 303 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This in itself is damaging and unacceptable. Nowhere else in civil rights legislation is it a crime to file a complaint. You will notice below many of the co-sponsors are from states that have no other options for complaint resolution.

The bill also reintroduces a Notice & Cure Period. Businesses have already had over 25 years to comply with the ADA. If they have not done so by now, why should they need an additional 6 month barrier before actions can be taken?

Current co-sponsors: Rep. Doug Colling (R-GA), Rep David Jolly (R-FL), Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX), Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), Rep Devin Nunes (R-CA), Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA), Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL), Rep David Valado (R-CA), Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), Rep. Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Rep David Schweikert (R-AZ), Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), Rep Scott Peters (D-CA), Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK)

The Murphy Bill

H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, is progressing through committee. In addition to the ADR / Civil Rights Subcommittee, NCIL’s Mental Health Subcommittee is also monitoring both of these bills.

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015 was introduced in June 2015 by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA). The bill has been referred to the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education. There are currently 179 Co-Sponsors. View progress of the bill. This bill contains damaging language that affects the rights of persons with disabilities and we are monitoring it closely.

We received word that on February 2nd Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) is filing a bill that is proposed as an answer to H.R. 2646 and is Bi-Partisan. We are reviewing it and intend provide comments.

NCIL Access Survey Academy Project

The Access Survey Academy Project held its inaugural training in November in Nitro, West Virginia titled NCIL “ASAP Survey Training”. This is the “foundation” training NCIL will be presenting at several locations across the country in 2016 to educate and develop a reliable network of accessibility surveyors at Centers for Independent Living and Disability Rights Centers. Stay tuned for more info on this and more exciting news coming about the NCIL Access Academy! The project was sponsored by the West Virginia SILC and WVDRS, and we extend our gratitude for their support!

The goal will be to expand the project in 2016, and to develop continuing education and networking opportunities in addition to holding several more “foundation” trainings nationwide. Each onsite training will last three days. Mark Derry leads the group through all phases of access surveys, and explains how to assess the built environment. The goal of this first-of-its-kind project is to form a nationwide network of certified access survey specialists. Raising awareness and understanding of access also grows the role of CILs in the communities we serve, especially when those seeking technical assistance come to the Center first as the experts in access.  There are also a multitude of directions Centers can take the formulas, methods, tips, and data from this training program and develop fee-for-service opportunities providing survey, plan review, or training services.

Parenting Task Force

The NCIL Board recently formed the Parenting Task Force as a part of the ADA / Civil Rights Subcommittee. We are thrilled to be in the process of seeking members and launching this new Task Force! If you are interested in being part of the NCIL Parenting Task Force, please contact Mark Derry [email protected] or Steve Higgins [email protected]. We will be discussing the Task Force during the next ADA / Civil Rights Subcommittee call.  [Read more…]

In May of 2015, the Bureau of Justice Statistics released the latest report of crimes against people with disabilities. This data collected through the National Crime Victimization Survey revealed that people with disabilities in the U.S. experienced about 1.3 million violent victimizations in 2013 (BJS, 2015).

The rates of serious violent victimizations, which include rape, sexual assault, robbery, or aggravated assault, were more than three times higher than those reported by people without disabilities. Of the people with disabilities who experienced violent crimes, nearly 25% believe they were targeted because of their disability. It should be noted that this data does not include many groups such as those living in institutions.

The people who come to Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are counting on us to be advocates that provide information and resources on many difficult issues including violent crimes.

What can CILs do about these staggering statistics?

• Seek out additional information and participate in webinars.
  • Center on Victimization and Safety at the Vera Institute of Justice
  • 1in6: the mission of 1in6 is to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthier, happier lives.
• Watch out for and seek out funding to specifically address violence against people with disabilities.
  • Training and Services to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities Grant Program – Office on Violence Against Women
• Create partnerships and collaborations with domestic violence and sexual assault organizations.
• Ensure that your CILs are a safe haven for people with disabilities through policy development and programming.
• Use the core services to help identify people with disabilities who may need additional information or support or who are experiencing trauma from experiencing violent crimes. Ways to do this could include:
  • Questions on intake forms that ask if more information is needed about the topic to encourage more discussion about the issues.
  • Independent living skills classes can include information on safety planning
  • Peer support can acknowledge that violence happens and that healing is possible
• Participate in the local efforts in communities across the country happening during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 10 to 16, 2016.
  • National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) in 2016 is underscoring the importance of early intervention and victim services with this year’s theme; “Serving Victims. Building Trust. Restoring Hope.”
  • The full 2016 NCVRW Resource Guide will be online in February 2016, but CILs can reach out now to crime victim services providers to learn what is being planned locally – and how people with disabilities can be involved.
  • Watch the video or download the printable referral page and poster to hang in your office.

[Read more…]