Mary Butlers Corrected Testimony to HHS Committee
Posted by: LCCCD Inc
Date Mailed: Sunday, March 25th 2001 12:35 AM
Date Mailed: Sunday, March 25th 2001 12:35 AM
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_007E_01C0B4D4.99EEBBC0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Mary Butler's Corrected (as presented at HHS Committee) Testimony: Testimony before the Health & Human Services Subcommittee March 21, 2001 Topic: Centers for Independent Living Expansion throughout Ohio Good afternoon. My name is Mary Butler and I am the Advocacy & Outreach = Coordinator at LEAP/CIL, Center for Independent Living, serving people = with disabilities in Lorain & Erie Counties. I intend to explain what = Centers for Independent Living are and why we are asking for statewide = expansion.=20 Centers for Independent Living (CILs) started in 1972 as an outcome of = Ed Roberts, a wheelchair and ventilator user, enrolling at Berkeley = College and being told he and other wheelchair users would have to live = in the infirmary and not the dorms. His thinking was that he had a = disability, but he was NOT "sick"! The medical model states what a = person can not do, where the independent living model looks at what the = person CAN do. It is NOT a residential program but is a place that = provides resources, information, support and training to be able to live = independently (with the use of an attendant, if needed) and to be = equipped with the tools to obtain and maintain a job.=20 Centers for Independent Living operate under a philosophy of promoting = consumer control (51% of the governing board must be consumers with = disabilities and 51% of a CILs employees must be PWD ), peer support = (PWD supporting PWD), self-help (train PWD to do for themselves), = self-determination (true CHOICE in what they do with their lives), equal = access, and individual & systems advocacy, in order to maximize = leadership, empowerment, independence, productivity and to support full = inclusion and integration of individuals with disabilities into the = mainstream of American society.=20 EVERY Center is mandated, by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended = in 1992, to serve ALL types of disabilities with four (4) CORE services. = They are information & referral, peer support (and we do = cross-disability support =96 do not have to have the same disability to = understand what someone is going through), both individual and systems = advocacy, and Independent living skills training. People who have always = lived with their parents or have been living in an institution, like a = nursing home, need to be trained on how to live on their own. That can = include how to use a stove, microwave, a shower chair, how to budget, or = even the simple task of taking slacks off and on while sitting in their = own wheelchair. Individual advocacy is something accomplished to benefit = one person. Systems advocacy is accomplishing something that will = benefit a group of people with disabilities, like suggesting and = assisting in getting an ordinance passed that increases the fine for = violating disability parking to $250 to $500 plus court costs. This = brings the political entity into alignment with the Ohio state law.=20 CILs help people to find apartments (mostly subsidized), assist finding = transportation and explaining how to access it, explain the laws, as we = understand them, that give people with disabilities their civil rights, = provide support groups and peer support, show them "other" ways to do = things than what is considered the "normal" way, etc.=20 "Access Ohio for People with Disabilities" Final Report to Governor = Taft, was released February 28th by the Ohio Office of Budget and = Management, Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, the Ohio = Department of Aging and others. This report indicates a change in the = ongoing policy of entitlement only to live in a nursing home and calls = for a new vision of increased community living, with supports. It states = that "Consumers will be given more control over the funds available for = their care and be involved in the choice of services and caregivers.=85" = Ohio Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) and Ohio Centers for = Independent Living had a significant amount of time and funds involved = in assisting to put on the 10 statewide hearings. Each Center mailed = hundreds of the flyers, the SILC sent out 10,000 flyers, and CILs = provided 3 consumers (of the six panelists) in each of the hearings. You = can see that there is a history already of SILC, CILs, ODJFS, and Aging = working together. We would like to see that cooperation continue and = even improve with time. This multi-year plan has the limited option of people living in the = community with support systems in place. Ohio Job and Family Services = and the Department of Aging are talking about offering an additional = 4,000 new waivers over the next two years, while also offering funds to = assist up to 75 people with disabilities to move from a nursing home = into the community. (The person=92s immediate costs include an apartment = security deposit, furniture, pots and pans etc.) There is a need to = provide community supports during, and after, this process. Centers for = Independent Living fill this gap and are the only ones who provide = services to EVERY type of disability from birth to death. LEAP/CIL has assisted people in moving out of the nursing home. The very = first lady I worked with had fallen and broken her leg and was sent to = the nursing home for rehabilitation. She was in her mid-thirties and had = been there for years. As a student in the school system, she had been = labeled "MR" (mentally retarded). In working with this young woman we = found out that she was learning disabled but definitely not MR. (The = school had no tests to prove their "label", but she was still carrying = it. After finding an accessible apartment and moving there, she decided = to go to college. She did and was successful in her classes. We are now = working with Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission so that she can = start part-time employment. It is not VR or CILs. CILs are partners with = Vocational Rehabilitation in providing a full spectrum of needed = services. VR is good at providing equipment to maximize a person=92s = abilities and at providing case workers to follow their progress in = obtaining and keeping employment. CILs can provide numerous other = supports.=20 In my area, VR standards have put some people with severe disabilities = as "unemployable". LEAP/CIL works with these people, and in many cases, = has employed them. They go from being told they can only work in a = sheltered workshop, to employment by the Center, to employment in the = community. Each step along the way gives them more confidence and = experience to be able to make the next change. A new report was released on March 16th, just a few days ago. It = provides statistics on people with disabilities between the ages of 21 = to 64. Only 50% of that age group are employed. The statistics show that = the more severe a person=92s disability is, usually the less amount of = money that person makes. I am attaching a copy of the Associated Press = article to this testimony, printed in the Columbus Dispatch and taken = off the Internet. LEAP/CIL is already a fully funded Center. I am NOT here looking for = more funds for us. I am here hoping you will sincerely consider the = SILC=92s funding request. If so, 50% of Ohio=92s counties that have NO = services by a Center for Independent Living will be given hope that = services will truly be coming to them in a specific period of time. Ohio = would be well on its way to becoming statewide with Centers for = Independent Living and would expand supports available to implement = Governor Taft=92s goals as discussed in his Ohio Access Report.=20 Attachment (NO changes) Attachment:=20 HALF OF AMERICAS DISABLED HAVE JOBS, CENSUS REPORT SHOWS By Genaro C. Armas Associated Press Columbus Dispatch Friday, March 16, 2001 WASHINGTON -- Half the adult Americans with disabilities have jobs, and the employed typically earn less than the average American, new Census Bureau estimates show.=20 The disparity is worse among those people whose disabilities are considered severe, according to a Census Bureau report released today. = The results show that more needs to be done by the federal government and = the private sector for people with disabilities to become more accepted in = the workplace, said Olivia Raynor, director of the National Arts and Disabilities Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.=20 Overall, in 1997, 20 percent of Americans, or 52.6 million people, said they had disabilities. Of that total, 33 million said their disability = was severe. The data, based on a survey separate from the 2000 census, were the latest available.=20 Of the 27.8 million people ages 21 to 64 with disabilities, half worked = in 1997, with average earnings of $23,373 per year, the report said. Of = those with severe disabilities in the same age category, 31 percent had a job, with average earnings of $18,631 per year. By comparison, 78 percent of all Americans ages 21 to 64 worked, averaging $30,155 a year. The report comes 11 years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.=20 Despite the landmark legislation, people with disabilities who seek jobs "already have two strikes going against them going into a job = interview,'' said Kirk Bauer, executive director of Disabled Sports USA, which is = based in Rockville, Md., outside Washington, D.C. The term disability = accounted for a variety of definitions. Those who use a wheelchair or cane; those who had difficulty performing simple tasks on their own, such as eating = or bathing; and people with learning disability or mental retardation all fell under the definition. Many employers are unaware of the skills that people with disabilities bring to a job interview, and many potential bosses see their hiring as "expensive or litigious,'' Bauer said. Those with disabilities also tend to have lower than average educational and training backgrounds, which leave them less prepared, especially during = a time of low unemployment, advocates said. The study also found that 28 percent of those ages 25 and older with severe disabilities lived in poverty, compared with 10 percent of those with disabilities considered not severe and 8 percent of people with no disability.=20 The Census Bureau's Web site is http://www.census.gov ------=_NextPart_000_007E_01C0B4D4.99EEBBC0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <META content=3Dtext/html;charset=3Diso-8859-1 = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META content=3D'"MSHTML 4.71.1712.3"' name=3DGENERATOR> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><STRONG><FONT color=3D#000000>Mary Butler's Corrected (as presented = at HHS=20 Committee) Testimony:</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT color=3D#000000></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT color=3D#000000><B><FONT face=3DArial size=3D5> <P align=3Dcenter>Testimony before the Health & Human Services=20 Subcommittee</P> <P align=3Dcenter>March 21, 2001</P> <P align=3Dcenter>Topic: Centers for Independent Living Expansion = throughout=20 Ohio</P></FONT><FONT face=3DArial> <P align=3Dcenter></P> <P>Good afternoon. My name is Mary Butler and I am the Advocacy & = Outreach=20 Coordinator at LEAP/CIL, Center for Independent Living, serving people = with=20 disabilities in Lorain & Erie Counties. I intend to explain what = Centers for=20 Independent Living are and why we are asking for statewide expansion. = </P> <P>Centers for Independent Living (CILs) started in 1972 as an outcome = of Ed=20 Roberts, a wheelchair and ventilator user, enrolling at Berkeley College = and=20 being told he and other wheelchair users would have to live in the = infirmary and=20 not the dorms. His thinking was that he had a disability, but he was NOT = "sick"! The medical model states what a person can <U>not</U> = do,=20 where the independent living model looks at what the person CAN do. It = is=20 <U>NOT</U> a residential program but is a place that provides resources, = information, support and training to be able to live independently (with = the use=20 of an attendant, if needed) and to be equipped with the tools to obtain = and=20 maintain a job. </P> <P>Centers for Independent Living operate under a philosophy of = promoting=20 consumer control (51% of the governing board must be consumers with = disabilities=20 and 51% of a CILs employees must be PWD ), peer support (PWD supporting = PWD),=20 self-help (train PWD to do for themselves), self-determination (true = CHOICE in=20 what they do with their lives), equal access, and individual & = systems=20 advocacy, in order to maximize leadership, empowerment, independence,=20 productivity and to support full inclusion and integration of = individuals with=20 disabilities into the mainstream of American society. </P> <P>EVERY Center is mandated, by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as = amended in=20 1992, to serve ALL types of disabilities with four (4) CORE services. = They are=20 information & referral, peer support (and we do cross-disability = support=20 – do not have to have the same disability to understand what = someone is=20 going through), both individual and systems advocacy, and Independent = living=20 skills training. People who have always lived with their parents or have = been=20 living in an institution, like a nursing home, need to be trained on how = to live=20 on their own. That can include how to use a stove, microwave, a shower = chair,=20 how to budget, or even the simple task of taking slacks off and on while = sitting=20 in their own wheelchair. Individual advocacy is something accomplished = to=20 benefit one person. Systems advocacy is accomplishing something that = will=20 benefit a group of people with disabilities, like suggesting and = assisting in=20 getting an ordinance passed that increases the fine for violating = disability=20 parking to $250 to $500 plus court costs. This brings the political = entity into=20 alignment with the Ohio state law. </P> <P>CILs help people to find apartments (mostly subsidized), assist = finding=20 transportation and explaining how to access it, explain the laws, as we=20 understand them, that give people with disabilities their civil rights, = provide=20 support groups and peer support, show them "other" ways to do = things=20 than what is considered the "normal" way, etc. </P> <P>"Access Ohio for People with Disabilities" Final Report to = Governor=20 Taft, was released February 28<SUP>th </SUP>by the Ohio Office of Budget = and=20 Management, Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, the Ohio = Department of=20 Aging and others. This report indicates a change in the ongoing policy = of=20 entitlement only to live in a nursing home and calls for a <U>new = vision</U> of=20 increased community living, with supports. It states that = "Consumers will=20 be given more <U>control</U> over the funds available for their care and = be=20 involved in the <U>choice</U> of services and caregivers.…" = Ohio=20 Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) and Ohio Centers for = Independent=20 Living had a significant amount of time and funds involved in assisting = to put=20 on the 10 statewide hearings. Each Center mailed hundreds of the flyers, = the=20 SILC sent out 10,000 flyers, and CILs provided 3 consumers (of the six=20 panelists) in each of the hearings. You can see that there is a history = already=20 of SILC, CILs, ODJFS, and Aging working together. We would like to see = that=20 cooperation continue and even improve with time.</P> <P>This multi-year plan has the limited option of people living in the = community=20 with support systems in place. Ohio Job and Family Services and the = Department=20 of Aging are talking about offering an additional 4,000 new waivers over = the=20 next two years, while also offering funds to assist up to 75 people with = disabilities to move from a nursing home into the community. (The = person’s=20 immediate costs include an apartment security deposit, furniture, pots = and pans=20 etc.) There is a need to provide community supports during, and after, = this=20 process. Centers for Independent Living fill this gap and are the only = ones who=20 provide services to EVERY type of disability from birth to death.</P> <P>LEAP/CIL has assisted people in moving out of the nursing home. The = very=20 first lady I worked with had fallen and broken her leg and was sent to = the=20 nursing home for rehabilitation. She was in her mid-thirties and had = been there=20 for years. As a student in the school system, she had been labeled=20 "MR" (mentally retarded). In working with this young woman we = found=20 out that she was learning disabled but definitely not MR. (The school = had no=20 tests to prove their "label", but she was still carrying it. = After=20 finding an accessible apartment and moving there, she decided to go to = college.=20 She did and was successful in her classes. We are now working with Ohio=20 Rehabilitation Services Commission so that she can start part-time = employment.=20 It is not VR or CILs. CILs are partners with Vocational Rehabilitation = in=20 providing a full spectrum of needed services. VR is good at providing = equipment=20 to maximize a person’s abilities and at providing case workers to = follow=20 their progress in obtaining and keeping employment. CILs can provide = numerous=20 other supports. </P> <P>In my area, VR standards have put some people with severe = disabilities as=20 "unemployable". LEAP/CIL works with these people, and in many = cases,=20 has employed them. They go from being told they can only work in a = sheltered=20 workshop, to employment by the Center, to employment in the community. = Each step=20 along the way gives them more confidence and experience to be able to = make the=20 next change.</P> <P>A new report was released on March 16th, just a few days ago. It = provides=20 statistics on people with disabilities between the ages of 21 to 64. = Only 50% of=20 that age group are employed. The statistics show that the more severe a=20 person’s disability is, usually the less amount of money that = person=20 makes. I am attaching a copy of the Associated Press article to this = testimony,=20 printed in the Columbus Dispatch and taken off the Internet.</P> <P>LEAP/CIL is already a fully funded Center. I am NOT here looking for = more=20 funds for us. I am here hoping you will sincerely consider the = SILC’s=20 funding request. If so, 50% of Ohio’s counties that have NO = services by a=20 Center for Independent Living will be given hope that services will = truly be=20 coming to them in a specific period of time. Ohio would be well on its = way to=20 becoming <U>statewide</U> with Centers for Independent Living and would = expand=20 supports available to implement Governor Taft’s goals as discussed = in his=20 Ohio Access Report. </P> <P>Attachment (NO changes)</P> <P>Attachment: <BR><BR>HALF OF AMERICAS DISABLED HAVE JOBS, CENSUS = REPORT=20 SHOWS<BR>By Genaro C. Armas<BR>Associated Press<BR>Columbus = Dispatch<BR>Friday,=20 March 16, 2001<BR><BR>WASHINGTON -- Half the adult Americans with = disabilities=20 have jobs, and<BR>the employed typically earn less than the average = American,=20 new Census<BR>Bureau estimates show. <BR><BR>The disparity is worse = among those=20 people whose disabilities are<BR>considered severe, according to a = Census Bureau=20 report released today. The<BR>results show that more needs to be done by = the=20 federal government and the<BR>private sector for people with = disabilities to=20 become more accepted in the<BR>workplace, said Olivia Raynor, director = of the=20 National Arts and<BR>Disabilities Center at the University of = California, Los=20 Angeles. <BR><BR>Overall, in 1997, 20 percent of Americans, or 52.6 = million=20 people, said<BR>they had disabilities. Of that total, 33 million said = their=20 disability was<BR>severe. The data, based on a survey separate from the = 2000=20 census, were<BR>the latest available. <BR><BR>Of the 27.8 million people = ages 21=20 to 64 with disabilities, half worked in<BR>1997, with average earnings = of=20 $23,373 per year, the report said. Of those<BR>with severe disabilities = in the=20 same age category, 31 percent had a job,<BR>with average earnings of = $18,631 per=20 year. By comparison, 78 percent of<BR>all Americans ages 21 to 64 = worked,=20 averaging $30,155 a year. The report<BR>comes 11 years after passage of = the=20 Americans with Disabilities Act. <BR><BR>Despite the landmark = legislation,=20 people with disabilities who seek jobs<BR>"already have two strikes = going=20 against them going into a job interview,''<BR>said Kirk Bauer, executive = director of Disabled Sports USA, which is based<BR>in Rockville, Md., = outside=20 Washington, D.C. The term disability accounted<BR>for a variety of = definitions.=20 Those who use a wheelchair or cane; those<BR>who had difficulty = performing=20 simple tasks on their own, such as eating or<BR>bathing; and people with = learning disability or mental retardation all<BR>fell under the = definition. Many=20 employers are unaware of the skills that<BR>people with disabilities = bring to a=20 job interview, and many potential<BR>bosses see their hiring as = "expensive=20 or litigious,'' Bauer said. Those<BR>with disabilities also tend to have = lower=20 than average educational and<BR>training backgrounds, which leave them = less=20 prepared, especially during a<BR>time of low unemployment, advocates = said. The=20 study also found that 28<BR>percent of those ages 25 and older with = severe=20 disabilities lived in<BR>poverty, compared with 10 percent of those with = disabilities considered<BR>not severe and 8 percent of people with no=20 disability. <BR><BR>The Census Bureau's Web site is <A=20 href=3D"http://www.census.gov">http://www.census.gov</A><BR> </P></F= ONT></B></FONT></STRONG></DIV></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_007E_01C0B4D4.99EEBBC0-- -- TNET Mail-To-News Gateway Version - 1.6 For information about this gateway email programs@tnet.com
