www.accesspress.org
Inside:
H i s t o r y
■ Finding work–pg 3 ■ Sidewalk rules–pg 5 ■ Hear her story–pg 8
N o t e P g 2
“A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.” — Caskie Stinnett
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Volume 21, Number 11
Minnesota’s Disability
Community Newspaper
November 10, 2010
White Cane Award given to promote safe crossings by Jane McClure Crossing a busy intersection can be difficult for people who are able-bodied and can see oncoming traffic. For people with visual impairments, crossing a street can be a matter of life or death. That’s why Accessible Pedestrian Signal or APS technology is so important. In October the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota (ACBM) honored the City of St. Paul with the inaugural White Cane Award. The organization hopes to present the award each year to a Minnesota community or private business that provides outstanding service to blind, deaf/blind and visually impaired Minnesotans. Among Minnesota cities, St. Paul is believed to rank at or near the top in terms of APS technology usage. “It’s a huge safety issue,” said Janet Dickelman, a St. Paul resident who is president of the American Council of the Blind of Minnesota. “When you’re blind, you’re trained to Janet Dickelman and her dog guide, Isabel, cross at Ford Parkway and Cleveland Avenue listen for traffic so that you know when it is safe to cross.” in St. Paul, thanks to APS technology. Photo by Jane McClure But high volumes of traffic in
some areas, coupled with right turns allowed on red lights, can make it all but impossible to cross safely. Dickelman said there are intersections where traffic volumes are so high, she and others who are blind or visually impaired don’t know when to cross the street. “Even when you have a dog guide, as I do, the dog is supposed to take you across the street on your command,” she said. But at some street crossings she wouldn’t even be able to indicate to the dog that it is safe to cross. ACBM members presented the award to St. Paul Public Works staff and representatives of Mayor Chris Coleman’s office Oct.15. St. Paul Deputy Mayor Ann Mulholland and Public Works Director, Rich Lallier received the award on behalf of the city. “It is an honor to accept this award on behalf of St. Paul. We will continue make our city more walkable for people with visual impairments, ensuring a quality of life for all residents,” Mulholland said. “We are honored that
ACBM has recognized our city’s efforts and selected us for their first ever White Cane Award,” said Lallier. “We will continue to add more Accessible Pedestrian Signals into the future.” St. Paul received the award because the city has installed 14 APS devices throughout the city and hopes to install many more. The city, working with Metropolitan Council, plans to have the devices installed along the planned Central Corridor light rail transit line. The line will start running in 2014. The signals have tactile arrows which when pressed, speak the street name and verbalize different commands for the pedestrian depending on the status of the signal. The signals emit a beeping sound to inform the person where an APS is located. Dickelman said she believes St. Paul has more APS devices than any other Minnesota city. “I don’t know what I’d do without the APS,” said Dickelman. “I live in St. Paul so I’m thrilled that our organiWhite Cane - cont. on p. 15
2011 legislative preview
Advocacy groups seek to defend services, end bullying by MN-CCD and Access Press staff When the 2011 Minnesota Legislature convenes on Jan. 4, activists and self-advocates in the state’s disability community will be working with new people in positions of leadership—including in the governor’s office and in state departments. Changes in the House and Senate also mean changes in the committees that deal with various types of legislation. The Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (MN-CCD) capped months of legislative preparations by adopting the 2011 legislative agenda Oct. 15. Co-Chair Jeff Nachbar of the Brain Injury Association said committee volunteers, working with MNCCD staff, put in countless
hours pulling together the various agendas. “Everyone’s hard work is very much appreciated,” Nachbar said. But he and other MN-CCD members warned that a difficult legislative session awaits. The state of Minnesota has a ballooning $1 billion budget deficit for 2010-11, and as much as $7 billion for 20122013. During the 2010 session much of the early focus was on saving General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) for Minnesota’s poorest residents, many of whom are people with disabilities. This session much of the focus is expected to be on the state deficit and how it should be addressed, through raising revenue or cutting programs.
Many of the MN-CCD issues will be familiar to those who roam the halls of the capitol, attend rallies, and call, write letters and send emails. Some are carryover topics from past years. Not all of the topics covered by each work group will result in bills or new laws led by MN-CCD this session, said Nachbar. Some are support items, meaning MN-CCD will support other organizations’ efforts to get bills passed into law. Others are issues that need to be raised and put on the radar of state policy makers for the future. Work groups prepared position papers on seven topic areas: children’s issues, transportation, housing, personal care assistant (PCA) services, employment, quality assurance/self-direction, and health-
care and long-term services and supports. This month Access Press covers the PCA program and children’s issue. Quality assurance/self-direction, transportation, employment, housing and healthcare and long-term services and supports will be reviewed in the December issue. The complete agenda, position papers and information on upcoming meetings is at www.mnccd.org PCA services will continue to be challenging, especially as the community deals with the after-effects of a state auditor’s report that found problems with the program. Past cuts to the program also an ongoing concern. In the area of PCA services, one MNCCD priority for 2011 is to reinstate access to services for
those who need help to function in their homes. These are the people who have been or will be terminated from PCA services due to the 2009 PCA cuts. It is anticipated that more than 3,000 persons could be denied or terminated from PCA services by July 1, 2011. Part of this effort will involve developing PCA service criteria and authorization of PCA hours for those whose eligibility is terminated because they need prompting and cuing to complete necessary tasks or because their significant behavioral issues no longer qualify them for PCA services. Another focus is to maintain PCA services for those still eligible with no further cuts in hours or eligibility criteria. Maintaining PCA reim-
bursement rates is another priority, by pursuing technical or policy changes to correct problems and improve PCA services. This will include clarification of the definition of daily to include those with variable health conditions and when those should be treated. Another change would be to expand of the types of professional who can act as the “qualified professional” when complex medical needs are part of the person’s care plan. According to this work group, more flexibility is needed for persons with disabilities to choose the type of professional best suited for when multiple diagnoses such as developmental disabilities and mental health, complex health procedures are involved. Preview - cont. on p. 14