This is a British article-Don't know if it applies to US....
For generations they were awarded in recognition of the ability to build a campfire, erect a tent and read a map.
Now, a new range of Scout badges is being introduced, testing candidates in tasks as diverse as assessing disability access to public buildings, sending an email, and posting photographs on the internet appropriately.
To me, IHSS is the embodiment of the disability rights movement—the belief that people with disabilities aren’t patients, but rather the experts of their own care, that they deserve to have control over every aspect of their life despite the severity of their functional limitations. Interdependence and being part of a larger community is my definition of independent living. I may be ‘dependent’ on others for my survival, but I also contribute to society as a whole.
Imagine you are not able to decide what time you go to bed or when you get to take a shower. I’m guessing most people would not tolerate that and yet this is a very real possibility for people with disabilities and older adults all over the country who have their HCBS services cut and may have to live in a nursing home. This is why I view the usage of consumer-directed personal care services as a fundamental human right.
These two hour modules focus you on the day to day reality and impact of Diversity, Inclusion and Culture. Whether you are an independent operator, a corporate employee or leader, or employed in any number of city, county, state or non-profit environments, these modules can assist you. They focus on improving interactions by looking at common impediments (“isms”, societal practices, perceptions, etc.) that can lead to conflict and lack of productivity. Deconstructing Our Differences will promote understanding of Cultural Similarities and help build strong employment and community environments.
This series will continue to expand based on social issues, business trends and recommendations from session participants. Our goal is to model inclusiveness through the feedback received on current and future education sessions.
Federal investigators have opened an inquiry into the tragic case of a high school student in Bastrop County, Tex., who suffered severe brain damage and nearly died last fall after a deputy sheriff shocked him with a Taser, a high voltage electronic weapon.
In North Carolina, civil rights lawyers have filed a complaint with the Justice Department, charging the Wake County school system with violating the constitutional rights of minority children by subjecting them to discriminatory arrest practices and brutality by police officers assigned to schools. In one nightmarish case described in the complaint, a disabled 15-year-old was shocked with a Taser three times during an interrogation at school, resulting in punctured lungs. And in New York, civil rights lawyers have sued the city of Syracuse on behalf of two students. One was shocked three times, not for threatening behavior but for lying on the floor and crying, they say, and another was shocked while trying to break up a fight.
Parents who provide home care for disabled adult children are eligible for retroactive tax refunds dating back to 2010 — but time is running out to claim some of that money.
A new IRS ruling allows these parents to claim state assistance as nontaxable income. These “difficulty of care” payments will now be treated the same as foster care payments.
With the 2014 ruling, the parents are eligible to amend tax returns that date back to 2010. However, the deadline to amend 2010 tax returns is April 15.
Priceless....
Or maybe the Department of Human Services was writing to inform me that I broke one of their rules. It’s easy enough for them to spy on me. These days there are drones that are the size of a fruit fly. That’s why whenever I see a fruit fly in my house I smash it with a hammer and then burn it and then flush the ashes down the toilet. You can’t be too careful. Maybe a spy drone saw it when one of my pit crew guys clipped my nails. A home health aide once told me she wasn’t allowed to clip nails because that’s a “medical task” to be performed by a nurse. Another home health aide told me she couldn’t put a pill in my mouth for the same reason.
Although focused on California, there are a lot of national resources. The page is a nice overview of what I'd like to see availalbe in Michigan. MDRC's participation in emergency planning projects (which all include local and state collaborators) will be focusing on such development.
The following links provide the most current information and resources for those impacted by national disasters, and other emergency situations.
Not being able to actually use a shelter during a disaster means that you have wasted precious resources looking for safety and not finding it. Recent major disasters such as Katrina and Sandy have shown how little attention was paid to the needs of people with disabilities. Portlight (Sponsors of the #ruready initiative) developed a very useful set of guidelines called TRUE:
http://http//www.portlight.org/true-shelter-accessibility/
"Disasters are always inclusive. Response and recovery are not, unless we plan for it!"
June Isaacson Kailes, Disability Policy Consultant
June has a nice pretty comprehensive set of resources at her consulting site on many issues of disaster support for people with disabilities:
http://http//www.jik.com/disaster-plan.html
Hoboken needs to be self-sustaining during a storm, Zimmer says, because whether it's stubbornness or lack of resources, people simply don't evacuate. "I thought if we had a safer, better system of sheltering in place, people could stay in their homes through the storm," Zimmer explains.
Based on work Sandia has done for military bases, the planned microgrid will be one of the largest and most complex in the country and will serve as a possible model for other cities. "Military bases have to have power regardless of what happens around them," says Robert Hwang, director of Sandia's Transportation Energy Center, which is the lead department for this project. "We developed this design technology to meet that need."Preparedness Summit: Effective Use of Social Media During a Disaster
strong advice for both novice and seasoned health department social media users:
Of course, the social media apps have to be accessible too before you can use them in an emergency:
EasyChirp is an accessible platform for using your existing Twitter account: http://www.easychirp.org/
Facebook's Accessibility Help Page: http://goo.gl/idHETl