IN THIS ISSUE:
- ICF-MR select committee starts with the basics.
- Early voting for March 4th primary is underway! Vote! Vote! Vote!
- Don't forget! Early bird registration for the Texas Housing Summit ends March 3!
- Child care rules revised to be more inclusive
- Reminder: DPC community outreach meetings headed for Lubbock and Corpus Christi
- DPC Member Spotlight: Texas Association of Centers for Independent Living (TACIL)
ICF-MR select committee starts with the basics.
Last month we introduced you to the House Select Committee on Services for Individuals Eligible for Intermediate Care Facility Services. It's an eight-member legislative panel appointed by Speaker Tom Craddick to evaluate how the state is serving persons with cognitive disabilities and recommend ways to improve the quality and availability of care in multiple settings.
The committee held its first meeting February 12, listening to hours of invited testimony from a diverse array of organizations. In what might best be described as an educational briefing, legislators listened to prepared testimony from representatives of nine organizations, asking questions along the way. The organizations were the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), Adult Protective Services, Texas Council of Community MHMR Centers, Advocacy, Inc., The Arc of Texas, Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, Texas Center for Disability Studies, Parent Association for the Retarded of Texas (PART), and Private Providers Association of Texas.
As he adjourned the meeting, Rep. Larry Phillips, committee chair, summed up his goal for the committee's work as bringing collective wisdom together "so that these Texans will be safe and secure and cared for, and also have their own desires and wishes recognized and appreciated".
If you missed the hearing and want to watch the archived video, it's available on the Texas House of Representatives website: http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/broadcasts.php?session=80&committeeCode=325
Early voting for March 4th primary is underway! Vote! Vote! Vote!
As officials predict a record voter turnout for Texas' March 4th primary, thousands of voters are taking advantage of early voting, available through Feb. 29th. If you want to avoid the long lines on Election Day, you might consider voting early, too. For more information about early voting, as well as a listing of early voting clerks in each county, go to the Texas Secretary of State's website: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/pamphlets/earlyvote.shtml
As a reminder, in addition to voting for president, Texans will vote for all of the state's 32 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and one U.S. Senate seat. At the state level, all 150 House seats are on the ballot, along with half of the Senate. There are three spots on the Texas Supreme Court, three on the Courts of Criminal Appeals, seven positions on the State Board of Education and a host of others. A listing of offices up for election is also available on the Secretary of State's website.
Don't forget! Early bird registration for the Texas Housing Summit ends March 3!
There's still time to register early and save if you're planning to attend the Texas Housing Summit. As we mentioned last issue, the Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) is joining forces with the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation and Texas Affiliation of Affordable Housing Providers to stage this first-of-its-kind housing summit focusing on accessible, affordable and integrated housing for people with disabilities.
The summit will take place April 22-23 in Austin. People with disabilities, legislators, policymakers, housing professionals and advocates will participate in the two-day event at the Radisson Hotel & Suites on Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin.
For more information on the Texas Housing Summit, including registration, stipends and sponsorship opportunities, send an e-mail to summit@dpctexas.org or call the DPC office at 512-371-1783. The information is also available on the Texas Housing Summit website: http://ths.dpctexas.org
Child care rules revised to be more inclusive
The Feb. 15th issue of the Texas Register holds good news for families of children with disabilities seeking child care. The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) rules governing minimum standards for child-care centers have been revised "to ensure that child-care operations provide inclusive care to children with special needs." The revisions require child care centers to follow federal law, specifically the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and establish the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division as the enforcement authority.
As we reported when the proposed rule revisions were issued last fall, this story speaks to the fact that one person can make a difference! DFPS agreed to modify its rules based on the experience of a Houston mom who could not find a child-care provider that would serve her son with cerebral palsy.
Hundreds of Texas families have had that same frustrating experience. Until now, they've had little recourse, because the state had nothing in place to ensure that licensed providers will not discriminate against children with disabilities.
The revisions and summary of public comments, including those from the Disability Policy Consortium, are available under the heading Chapter 746. Minimum Standards for Child-Care Centers on the Secretary of State's Texas Register website: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/.
Reminder: DPC community outreach meetings headed for Lubbock and Corpus Christi
Folks in Lubbock and Corpus Christi will soon have the chance to learn more about the Disability Policy Consortium. DPC staff are hitting the road later this month and looking forward to sharing information about the benefits of participating in the organization. Details for the meetings:
- Lubbock
Tuesday, February 26
11:30 AM—1:30 PM
Life/Run Independent Living Center
4902 34th St., Suite #5
- Corpus Christi
Friday, March 14
10:30 AM—1:00 PM
Coastal Bend Center for Independent Living
1537 Seventh St.
In addition to learning about the DPC, participants will hear a presentation about how Texas Medicaid waivers offer opportunities for people with disabilities to get needed services and supports in the community, and advocacy efforts to make waiver services available to more people who need them.
To be sure there are plenty of chairs and refreshments, please let the DPC office know if you're planning to attend. To RSVP or get more information, contact Toni Byrd, DPC Project Coordinator, 512-371-1783, toni@dpctexas.org
DPC Member Spotlight: Texas Association of Centers for Independent Living (TACIL)
Contact Person: Michelle Crain
Address: 4902 34th St., Suite 5, Lubbock, Texas 79410
Phone: 806-795-5433
E-mail: chelle7556@aol.com
Mission and/or purpose:
TACIL's mission is to promote the dignity, equality, inclusion, and independence of all Texans with disabilities. Centers for independent living (CILs) embrace the philosophy that all people, regardless of disability, have the right and responsibility to make their own choices.
Organizational structure:
TACIL represents 12 centers for independent living, operating in 19 locations across the state: Odessa, Austin, Round Rock, San Marcos, Houston, Fort Bend County, Brazoria County, Crockett, Palestine, Tyler, Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, Belton, Lubbock, Amarillo, Beaumont, Pharr and El Paso.
Each CIL is a consumer controlled, community-based, cross-disability, non-residential, private nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that is operated by and for people with disabilities. The centers engage in local, state and national advocacy efforts on independent living issues, while providing direct services that promote independence and community integration of people with all types of disabilities. Although membership is based on each participating center's compliance with state and/or federal criteria, the beneficiaries of TACIL's mission are individuals with disabilities served in each CIL's community.
What were your three best achievements in the past year?
As a demonstration of TACIL's commitment to Texans with disabilities, it has formed successful CIL collaborations that include:
- The Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Program (WIPA), that promotes an increase in the number of Texans on SSI/SSDI who return to work and achieve self-sufficiency.
- Advocacy efforts that resulted in funding for the establishment of two new CILs in the state.
- TACI''s largest collaboration, Home by Choice Relocation Services (HBC), which is in response to the Promoting Independence initiative, has resulted in over 1,000 consumers transitioning into the community since September 2004.
If your organization could change one public policy right this minute, what would it be?
If TACIL could instantly change one public policy, it would be that every individual who wants to exercise their right to live in the community, can do so without the red tape attached to obtaining community care services. In other words, "END WAITING LIST!".
How long has your organization belonged to the Disability Policy Consortium? How has your organization benefited from being part of the DPC?
TACIL has been a member of the DPC for over four years. Our organization has benefited from this membership by being able to access the wealth of knowledge that has allowed us to: 2) remain informed about important issues affecting the disability community;
- become more effective in our advocacy efforts in our local communities, as well as on the state and federal levels;
- remain informed about important issues affecting the disability community;
- and remain united with other disability advocates around the state that are committed to systems advocacy.
About the Disability Policy Consortium
The DPC is made up of a diverse assortment of disability advocacy groups that have joined forces to advance the rights, inclusion and independence of Texans with disabilities. Each member organization contributes its unique perspective and resources to the collective effort to promote effective public policy for a variety of issues important to people with disabilities and their families.
Let your friends know about the Texas Action Center:
Tell-a-friend!
[Disability Policy Consortium's Home Page]
[Send email to the Disability Policy Consortium]
[UCP Texas Home Page]