ADA Works for Hennepin County -p. 4
Volume 7, Number 03
[ealth Care Commentary Page 2
"Differences challenge assumptions. 99
Anne Wilson Schaef, Women 5 Reality (1 98 1)
March 10,1996
RESOURCES
SOURCES
Governor Poses ThreatYI &it&ldY
This
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Quality of Life, Independence, & Families May Be Vetoed
1s g o N N a YOU
nore
by Charlie Smith
n~~~fh ~ ( & ~e
It'ssime for Minnesotatorec- scheol and cemS%&y. ognizethe painfully sad injustices of the past. 1996 is the The main purpose of the selftime to set ahe record straight advocates is to preserve the and start the healing process history of what people with for people with developmen- developmental disabilities tal diSabilities and their fami- lived through. The goals of lies who have been forgotten. the group is threefold: 1) put I'm speaking of the Remem- names on gpve markers, 2) bering With Dignity Project. mllectpralhistorim and support indiv&k@s Lt tellingtheir The Remembering With Dig- storiesofliving in institutions, nity Project began in Septem- and 3) increase public awareber 1994 when members of ness of the historical and self-advocacy organizations present roles of smTe institu(Advocating Chmge Togeth- tions. er, Minnesota Association of Persons with Severe Handi- There is now a resolution becaps, local People First Chap fore the Minnesota Stade Senters, and the Minnesota Dis- ate and House by Senator ability Law Center) and the Linda F3erglin and Represen~(knrnunityaT k g e got to- tative B a y MeCollum. This gether and decided t h & g ~ ~resolution ~* addresses the isthing should be done. Over $w1@3there m many the next year, the self-advo- Minnesotans wit3t evelopcates went to the Faribault mental disabilities who* Regional Twatmeat Center been committed involuntariwhere they discovered,saored ly to live in state institutions. have died in the archives, a chart of Tens of thohundreds of markers of peo- there and been buried in unple buried there over the k t marked graves which bore 120 years. They also visited only n u m b . Institutionalthe former Owatonna State ized children were deprived School and Orphanage of their families and life in where they toured the state communities. In many in-
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--._ As EG go to press Goyernor
quested by Department of
itoring, behavior internen-
includes the Personal Care Attendant(PCA)/TEFRA leg-
PCAs can no longerperform tasksnecessary forthosewho
islation.
. care. A provision m d ' last year (iider) doe; allow *bver 6fKl wi. r r~ipients who llse PC, thoseeligible for waiver proam4 @mur,t~,q&yon the PCA cannot direct their d n qm y&qg%&~ .Mil waivers will lox needed PCA func(which have h xyamre- tions, includingseizure mon'
of medical e x p r i m a -
The objective of this resolution is to ask the State of Minnesota to make a public apology to people who have been involuntarily committed to state institutionsecknowledging that it regrets tke history of all that has &ken @we in the past. As of this writing, the bill awaits passage on rhe Senate floor. However, Representative McCollum has withdrawn the bit1 from committee due to the lack of support.
Arc Minnesota's Public Polig H;Qt&:.-f612) 794-3864,
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Questions have been raised as to why an apology is necessary. Now that institutions are closing, there are more people with disabilitiesliving In the Senate, the curs to the in themmunity. The public PCA program and the tightmust mmgnize how impor- ened level of awe eligibility tant..it isto welt-m and allow these indiv joy lifejust as the pblic dds.
* -7' : ated last 9e9%m in .mjunction with the PCPcITEFRA cuts.
In the House, Representative Greenfield's bill restored the two major cuts to the PCA program slated to take effect this July: I ) the elimination fromthe PCA programof people who cannot direct their own care, including children, and 2) the reduction in hours of care. The PCA-covered services involving assisting, rnonitor'bg, prompting, and interventions for behaviors and seizures, have also been restored to the PCA program.
The Housedoesnothingabout changes made last year to 1997. In addition, the !$nap Unless this happen&lifk d l . bill cuts Jirl2,miRon in b 3 1 - tighten TEFRA eligibilifp. h not go on as usual. I ult mental health addition, the Howee owt $200,000 for children's ken-
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- , - -%A bp $V+WW by on ~ h' , ry, MN Disability Law Center
What DidPass At The Capitol Both the House and Senate Health and Human Services subcommittees have finished with theiromnibusbills which include &R' an the PCA program and the TEFRA Medical Assistance eligibility option. The House and Senate bills are different, so the bills will be sent to a conferenceeommittee,comprised of equal numbers of Senators .and Representatives, to come to a compromise. .
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taIhBh ~ ; m d , Forsbna~nElssa1-112pereent rate increase paid to PCA providers and home and cojgmunity waiver programs which was slated to go into effect in April. Representative Greenfield has assured us that with the new forecast numbers which became avdlable on Febmwy 28, I 9%. the rate increase for providers will be put back to April 1, 1996. More money will become available because the cost of reskoring the PCA program wiAdrsrp from 97.8millionas against the November, 1995 forecast to $4.5 million For the March, 1996 forecast. (DHS did not accurately estimate the cost of moving PCA recipients to waiver programs.)
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