Deb Wisniewski's Blog (37)

Wisconsin has lost one of our true heroes - Al Buss.  The following was shared with me by his good friend, Dan Johnson.

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

On Sunday, March 17, 2013 surrounded by his family Al Buss passed away.

Al worked for the Department's Bureau of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse until retiring in 1999 on disability. He brought statewide awareness to the need for alcohol and drug programs and services to be fully accessible to people with…

Disability.gov Asks, “What’s Your Connection?”

By the Disability.gov Team  

There are nearly 57 million individuals with disabilities in the United States, and all of them are connected to the people around them in some way. They are sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, coworkers, neighbors and friends. 

Yet people with disabilities are often…

People First Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities are conducting the 2012 Wisconsin Self-Advocate Survey. Please share this survey with self-advocates you know!

The survey asks questions about how policies affect the day-to-day lives of self-advocates. Also, the survey asks what ideas self-advocates have for improving policies in Wisconsin.

The results of the survey will be…

As many of you have probably heard, the United States Supreme Court upheld the Patient Assistance and Affordable Care Act as constitutional. This means that all of the current provisions will remain in effect. These include:

• Allowing children to remain on their parent’s health insurance plan until they are 26;
• Federal HIRSP;
• The reduction of the Medicare Part D donut hole;
• No pre-existing condition discrimination for children;
• No…

Watch an archived (recorded) hearing on the Using the ADA to Promote Community Integration.

On Thursday, June 21st, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the issue of “Olmstead Enforcement Update: Using the ADA to Promote Community Integration.”

Olmstead v. L.C. is the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court case which…

Do you live in Brown County, Winnebago County or Door County.  Would you like to…

• Be more connected in your community?
• Develop new relationships?
• Get more…

Here are the results of our most recent poll question.  It's interesting to note that the results don't reflect the statewide results of the actual election.

Over the next five months, we will be involved in additional state and national voting opportunities, until November when…

Advocacy and Systems Change Training Program Accepting Applications

If you are a family member of a child with a developmental disability or a self-advocate with a developmental disability and you have been searching for a leadership opportunity, apply for Wisconsin Partners in…

The results of the recent survey of SDS Network members are in!

Some interesting things to note include:

• You want to learn - new skills, new information, new resources - and you want to know about the events and trainings where you can learn.
• You want to connect - to experts, to each other
• You…

Reminder:  June 5^th is the Recall Election in Wisconsin.  For more information about voting, check out these websites:

• Be prepared for Election Day! From DAWN,…

The Survival Coalition has issued a report card that summarizes Wisconsin state policy impact on the disability community during the past 10 months. It includes a biennial budget grade, legislative session grade, and cumulative grade on a series of topics that affect people with disabilities, their families and allies.…

The most recent question of the week focused on whether anyone who receives long-term care services should be allowed to self-direct their own supports, even if they need assistance to do so.  The responses were overwhelming - 100% of the people who responded (13) said yes!  I guess that settles that question....

The following information about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was sent out by the US Dept of Health and Human Services (HHS) Intergovernmental and External Affairs:

Update from HHS on Anniversary Week:

We here in HHS Intergovernmental and External Affairs have some new updates and resources to share with you as you and your organization prepare for the week-long celebration of the ACA 2nd Anniversary.

ACA State-by-State…

Public Comments on Personal Care Provider Travel Rate Cuts - Due 3/30/12

Agencies providing Medicaid personal care services receive reimbursement for the time it takes direct service workers to travel to people’s homes.

The Department of Health Services (DHS) plans to reduce the reimbursement for travel on April 1, 2012. The reduction in travel reimbursement rates could impact people receiving services because some agencies anticipate that they will…

The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation

Public Policy Fellowship Program 2012-2013

The application deadline for the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Public Policy Fellowship Program is extended to April 30, 2012.

The Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation is seeking exemplary professionals and/or family members of…

Updated 3/15/12 - Thanks again to DAWN for this timely update!

Bills on to the Governor

When dedicated advocates like you work hard, change happens! Three bills about issues extremely important to the disability community passed both the Assembly and Senate. These bills will be sent to Governor Walker for his signature:

Lifting the caps on enrollment to the Family Care, IRIS, PACE, and Partnership programs. The…

3/8/12

The state Assembly postponed a vote yesterday on the bills lifting the Family Care/IRIS caps until Tuesday, March 13. Next week is the final week the Assembly and Senate will be in session for the rest of the entire year. If these bills don’t pass next week, the caps will remain in place until at least 2013.

Since both Assembly Bill 477 and Senate Bill 380 were amended by the Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care, both houses must pass the bills by next…

The Wisconsin Senate Health Committee voted 5-0 to pass Senate Bill (SB) 380. The bill lifts the caps on Family Care, IRIS, Partnership, and PACE and rolls out the programs statewide. Many phone calls, e-mails, and visits to Committee members and other Senators helped make this vote happen. This is…

LIFT THE CAPS CALL-IN DAYS! FEB 7, 8, 9

Help us create a Disability Drumbeat!

The Bills to Lift the Caps on Long-Term Care programs are in DANGER.

Wouldn’t it be great if we blasted the Capitol in Madison with calls from people with disabilities, families and disability advocates all…