Disability Futures

GAO could not determine whether allegations of abuse by guardians are widespread; however, GAO identified hundreds of allegations of physical abuse, neglect and financial exploitation by guardians in 45 states and the District of Columbia between 1990 and 2010. In 20 selected closed cases, GAO found that guardians stole or otherwise improperly obtained $5.4 million in assets from 158 incapacitated victims, many of whom were seniors. In some instances, guardians also physically neglected and abused their victims. The guardians in these cases came from diverse professional backgrounds and were overseen by local courts in 15 states and the District of Columbia. GAO found several common themes. In 6 of 20 cases, the courts failed to adequately screen potential guardians, appointing individuals with criminal convictions or significant financial problems to manage high-dollar estates. In 12 of 20 cases, the courts failed to oversee guardians once they were appointed, allowing the abuse of vulnerable seniors and their assets to continue. Lastly, in 11 of 20 cases, courts and federal agencies did not communicate effectively or at all with each other about abusive guardians, allowing the guardian to continue the abuse of the victim and/or others. Using two fictitious identities--one with bad credit and one with the Social Security number of a deceased person--GAO obtained guardianship certification or met certification requirements in the four states where we applied: Illinois, Nevada, New York, and North Carolina. Though certification is intended to provide assurance that guardians are qualified to fulfill their role, none of the courts or certification organizations utilized by these states checked the credit history or validated the Social Security number of the fictitious applicants. An individual who is financially overextended is at a higher risk of engaging in illegal acts to generate funds. In addition, people with criminal convictions could easily conceal their pasts by stealing a deceased person's identity. The tests raise questions about the effectiveness of these four state certification programs.

Thanks and a hat tip to NASGA at http://nasga-stopguardianabuse.blogspot.com

In what is seen as a ground-breaking case involving workers and social media, the US National Labor Relations Board has accused a company of illegally firing a worker after she criticized her supervisor on her Facebook page.

This is the first case in which the labor board has stepped in to argue that workers’ criticisms of their bosses or companies on a social networking site are generally a protected activity and that employers would be violating the law by punishing workers for such statements.

The board has filed a complaint against an ambulance service in Connecticut that fired an emergency medical technician, accusing her, among other things, of violating a policy that bars employees from depicting the company “in any way” on Facebook or other social media sites in which they post pictures of themselves.

Lafe Solomon, the board’s counsel, said: “This is a fairly straightforward case under the National Labor Relations Act — whether it takes place on Facebook or at the water cooler, it was employees talking jointly about working conditions, in this case about their supervisor, and they have a right to do that.”

That act gives workers a federally protected right to form unions, and it prohibits employers from punishing workers — whether union or nonunion — for discussing working conditions or unionization.

A new meta-analysis study conducted by Syracuse University Professor Stephanie Ortigue reveals falling in love can elicit not only the same euphoric feeling as using cocaine, but also affects intellectual areas of the brain. Researchers also found falling in love only takes about a fifth of a second.

That's "One" in "One Mississippi"

Motherhood may actually cause the brain to grow, not turn it into mush, as some have claimed. Exploratory research published by the American Psychological Association found that the brains of new mothers bulked up in areas linked to motivation and behavior, and that mothers who gushed the most about their babies showed the greatest growth in key parts of the mid-brain.

Here's a quick, down and dirty synopsis of what is going on in the US mortgage industry from everything I've read.  It's an early read of the situation, and it comes with the usual caveat "I am not a lawyer," but I think it explains why many, if not most, mortgages in the US are now worthless scraps of paper

John Robb is always an interesting source of info.

Center of Healing Arts, Recovery, Growth & Empowerment
Through the healing arts we can find ourselves and express our souls through music, poetry, painting, acting, dance, singing, etc. We are the community and we are the one that makes it free and safe for all through one common thing we all have creative expressions no matter what type or form we share together.

Great T-Shirts!!!

In a startling reversal of popular assumptions new research commissioned by Thomas Pocklington Trust (1) shows that when people with sight loss suffer depression and low quality of life it is more to do with low incomes, ill health and lack of social participation, than it is to do with their loss of vision.

The study (2), conducted by researchers from the University of Manchester School of Social Sciences, investigated the factors that influence well-being among older people with visual impairment. It confirmed that there is a dramatic association between vision and poor quality of life but found that this is entirely explained by the health, economic and social inequalities experienced by people with sight loss

Of course it does. I'm glad to see more attention being paid to poverty and disability.