Info on Accessing Dental Care for Medicaid Recipients: Aug. 13

This one-hour drop-in session with LIFEPlan CCO NY Member Relations Liaisons and Belkys Garcia, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, will discuss access to dental care for Medicaid recipients.

The discussion will include appealing unfavorable decisions, and how to get Medicaid/Medicaid Managed Care to pay for out-of-network providers if there are not adequate in-network providers on their list of participating providers.

There will be time to ask questions.

Real-time written translations in Spanish, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and other languages will be provided.

Traducción escrita en tiempo real disponible en Español.

This webinar is being organized by LIFEPlan CCO NY.

Details

When: Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Time: 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Register here

Museum of Moving Image in Queens’ Marvels of Media Festival 

Mark your calendars — and get your tickets. The 3rd annual Marvels of Media Festival at the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) in Queens, which celebrates work created by media-makers on the autism spectrum, takes place March 28 to March 30, 2024.

The festival includes a selection of 17 new films and one virtual reality project, and offers an opportunity to learn from professional filmmakers on the spectrum through two media workshops, one on puppetry, the other collage animation (see more about them below).

“It’s great that there’s now a conversation in the mainstream media about how autistic people are represented in front of the camera, but we also want the conversation to be about the stories made by autistic people,” says Miranda Lee, museum educator, access educator, and Marvels of Media co-leader at MoMI, of the festival’s radical nature.

What’s especially exciting about this year’s selection, Lee adds, “is the variety. There’s not one way people tell stories and there’s not one way people who are autistic, like me, tell a story. Some [of the films] are about being autistic, some aren’t, there are some media makers who are queer and autistic, and people of color and autistic. The focus is more on the styles and genre.”

Flying Lessons

The films include six shorts on opening night that fall under the theme “Unique Romances”; Flying Lessons, a dramatic feature that follows two estranged sisters forced together by their mother’s sudden death (Beatrice, an autistic teenager who wants to learn to fly, and Talia, a queer musician with no interest in teaching her); “Magnificently Awesome Animations,” animated shorts perfect for the whole family, which include the short The Kazuki Toons Babysitting an Egg; Wilmington Escaped, a new VR work by returning artist Carrie Hawks; and Tree’s Blood from Reel Start and Exceptional Minds, an academy and studio dedicated to preparing artists on the autism spectrum for careers in animation and the digital arts.

The festival was founded by media veteran Josh Sapan, former executive vice chair of AMC Networks & a MoMI trustee. Like many who become involved in the world of special needs, Sapan has a family member with autism. His autistic son, who is now 30 and a prolific writer of fan fiction, grew up going to MoMI with his father, where the video games helped him connect with the world.

“Stories were and are very important to him,” says Sapan. “They can be educational and emancipating. For him, for all of us, it connects him to a particular universe. [But we both] liked to go to the museum, it bridged our interests and has an orientation toward neurodiverse people. I would encourage anyone with special needs kids to check it out.”

The Marvels of Media festival expands the museum’s accessibility efforts for autistic visitors through the creation of a sensory-friendly space in the Media Lab and sensory kits, which are available at the front desk. It’s part of the museum’s year-round Marvels of Media initiative, which showcases, celebrates, and supports autistic media-makers of all ages and skill sets. 

Festival Workshops

This will take place at the Museum; space is limited.    

Free with RSVP   

Collage Animation Workshop

Instructed by artist David Karasow, this two-hour media workshop focuses on creating collage art with paper, which is then animated to create a stop-motion animation short (between 10 and 20 seconds). 

New Initiative Aims to Bridge Gap Between Law Enforcement and People with I/DD

A new initiative to bridge the gap between law enforcement and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), “Just Policing: Disability Inclusion Training,” has been announced by The Arc and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office).

The training, which will provide disability awareness training to police officers across the country, comes in the wake of the recent police killing of Ryan Gainer, a Black autistic teenager in California who reportedly had run toward a police officer with a garden tool and was fatally shot.

RELATED NEWS: When the Police Respond to People with I/DD: How to Make It Safer for Everyone

Just Policing will provide officers with comprehensive knowledge and tools to understand and better serve people with I/DD. The training will focus on enhancing bias, effective communication, recognizing I/DD, de-escalation techniques, and legal obligations to ensure effective and respectful interactions. far from the first such deadly encounter.

It adds to ongoing efforts already being made The Arc to improve relationships and outcomes between the police and people with I/DD, mostly notably its Pathways to Justice program. That community-based program works with law enforcement, victim service providers, the legal system and communities to establish disability response teams, and also helps to train those teams.

“We are creating the Just Policing training specifically for law enforcement only,” says Leigh Anne McKingsley, director of The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability, who notes that Pathways is a more comprehensive program.

And because the  new training can be placed in the COPS Office online training portal, McKingsley adds, it gives ARC “a chance to reach more officers through a different avenue.”

Watch and Share These Inspiring Self-Advocate Videos

The Council on Developmental Disabilities (CDD) NYS, in celebration of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, has shared some wonderful videos in its CDD Connect newsletter.

To highlight the month’s theme, A World of Opportunities, it asked self-advocates “what they like to do,” “what they are proud of and passionate about,” and what “their goals are for the future.”

The Boost highly recommends you watch the videos below, and share them with other self-advocates.

What Are You Proud of?

What are you proud of and passionate about?

What does your future hold?

NYS CDD is one of 56 state councils on developmental disabilities in the U.S. and its territories created through the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act).

Fewer DSPs Nationwide, Nearly 500,000 People on HCBS Waiver Waitlists, and More From The Case for Inclusion 2024 Report

Since 2006, the annual Case for Inclusion has been reporting “comprehensive data and policy recommendations regarding the effectiveness of state programs in supporting life without limits for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families,” according to its Executive Summary.

It focuses on seven issue areas:

• Addressing a Workforce in Crisis
• Promoting Independence
• Reaching Those in Need
• Serving at a Reasonable Cost
• Keeping Families Together
• Tracking Health, Safety & Quality of Life

I’m going to put the key findings here, but if you’ll find the information helpful, dig into the whole report, found here, for details and policy recommendations.

Key Findings

• Hourly wages for direct support professionals (DSP) wages increased from $13.61 in 2020 to $14.41 in 2021. This marks the second consecutive year of wage increases. (NOTE FROM THE BOOST: MORE IS NEEDED!)
• Vacancy rates for both full- and part-time DSP positions increased substantially.
• Nationally, there were 497,354 people on state waiting lists for home- and community-based services (HCBS) waivers.
• Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have closed all of their state-run institutions. This is an increase from 16 states in last year’s Case for Inclusion. Additionally, there were 1,357 fewer people with IDD living in a large, state-run institution in 2019 than in 2018.
• Thirty-eight states participated in the federal Money Follows the Person program, ear-marked to support older adults and people with disabilities to transition from institutions into home- and community based settings. This represents an increase after multiple years of modest declines.
• Eighteen demonstration waivers that include initiatives to address social determinants of health have been approved, while 17 more are pending. Primary social determinants of health impacting people with IDD include food security and affordable, accessible housing.

Invest in People with I/DD and their Caregivers Albany Rally: April 3

New York State 2024-25 budget negotiations are underway and every voice counts. Add yours by attending an April 3rd rally in Albany, organized by New York Disability Advocates (NYDA). This is a call to action to invest in the future of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and, importantly, the people who support them.

Rally Details

What: Albany rally for essential investments in care

When: Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Time: 11 a.m.

Where: The well of the legislative office building, 198 State St., Albany, N.Y.

You do not have to register to attend, but, register if you’d like here!

The ‘CDPAP Is Essential’ Rally in Albany: March 26

Quick background

New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul, in her 2024-25 budget amendments, proposed draconian changes to CDPAP.

The changes “would drastically reduce the number of agencies providing service so severely it could potentially eliminate fee-for-service CDPA in New York City,” CDANY writes in a statement, “cut eligibility to over 100,000 children, seniors with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, adults with severe developmental and neurological disabilities, people with traumatic brain injury, and those who are unable to communicate because they are nonverbal or face language barriers; impose a 12% pay cut on workers, bringing compensation in New York City to the lowest levels since 2018; and corrode the basic tenets of self-direction.”

However, in good news, both the Senate and Assembly have rejected the governor’s cuts in their one house budget proposals.

Read all about Hochul’s proposed changes here.

Developmental Disability News for the Week Ending March 23

A school district goes all in on inclusion, a viral ad challenges stereotypes about Down syndrome and more developmental disability news for the week ending March 23, 2024.

Spotlight

Portland wants to place high-need special education students in their neighborhood schools. Can the district make it work?

I read with great interest how, over the next eight years or so, Portland Public Schools will no longer send most of its students with disabilities to schools outside their neighborhoods. (The Oregonian)

I had advocated for my niece throughout her school years, and inclusion felt like a false promise. Warned off by the schools she attended that she wouldn’t receive the needed education in a general ed class, especially due to staff shortages, I gave up before I even fought. The more is learned about inclusion, however, the more I regret if not the choice, then at least not having explored it further.

New York

Direct Support Professional shortage in NY This video report talks to a parent, a DSP provider, and more. Worth a watch. (Fox 5)

Opinion: NY’s disability support workers need a raise in the state budget More coverage. Let’s hope it helps. (Newsday)

Hochul wants to trim program that helps disabled. What does TikTok have to do with it? “Several have pointed out that Hochul’s plan [to make cuts to CDPAP] would end up shifting costs instead of saving them.” (democratandchronicle.com)

Transitions helped brothers with autism navigate college journey Haydn and Griffin Elmore, both on the autism spectrum, are embarking on their college journey with resilience and determination. (spectrumlocalnews.com)

Outside of New York

Bill to Create a State Office for Coloradans with Disabilities Passes Committee The goal of this office would be to implement a statewide strategy to facilitate economic stability for people with disabilities and promote successful economic, social, and community integration. (cohousedems.com)

Mock election in Arizona helps those with developmental disabilities to vote I love this idea. The mock event was a collaboration between the Arizona Secretary of State, the Maricopa County Recorder’s office, and the Maricopa County Elections office. (Arizona PBS)

Kansas Governor Announces Budget Amendment to Increase Funding for I/DD It’s pretty great to read about a governor who wants to put more money toward I/DD. (governor.kansas.org)

World Down Syndrome Day (March 21)

Viral ad challenges stereotypes about Down syndrome: ‘Assume I can drink a margarita’ (today.com)

Disabilities Beat: On World Down Syndrome Day, let’s stop infantilizing adults (WBFO.org)

Politics

What Trump Supporters Think When He Mocks People With Disabilities No surprise, they “continually found ways to excuse their favored candidate’s behavior.” (The Atlantic)

Education

FY 24 budget proposal cuts Education Department by $500M The U.S. Dept. of Ed would get $500 million less for fiscal year 2024 compared to the previous year, though Title I and state grants for special ed services — two of the largest K-12 federal funding programs — would each get a $20 million increase over FY 2023 allocations. (K12dive.com)

Special education advocates warn of ‘chilling effects’ from anti-DEI efforts Growing efforts to limit diversity, equity and inclusion programs in elementary and secondary schools may negatively impact special education activities.” (k12dive.com)

Research

Federal Proposal Could Have ‘Chilling Effect’ On Disability Research Much of what’s known about the experiences of people with autism and other developmental disabilities is based on Medicaid and Medicare data, but researchers are warning that a new proposal could sharply limit access to that information. (Disability Scoop)

Books

New children’s book ‘Flap Your Hands’ celebrates stimming as expression This podcast features the book’s author and illustrator, whose book takes families “through a colorful journey of acceptance and joy.” (wbur.org)

Entertainment

Netflix’s Disability Dating Shows Need to Be Rethought The new flurry of reality shows such as Love on the Spectrum feature disabled contestants —  “and invite an ableist gaze.” (IndieWire)

Hulu To Debut Autism Comedy The half-hour comedy Dinosaur centers on Nina, a 30-something with autism who loves living with her sister and best friend, Evie. (Disability Scoop)

Analysis: The BBC & Netflix Unveiled Their Landmark Five-Year Disability Partnership With Fanfare In 2021, But Two-And-A-Half Years Later, The Industry Is Questioning Where The Shows Are  (Deadline)

Build 4 Life ‘Holiday’ Camp: April 1

Preschool Special Ed to Kindergarten Online Training: April 3

This online training will support parents as they prepare for their child’s transition from preschool special education to kindergarten.

Topics covered include:

• Understanding the differences between Committee for Preschool Special Education (CPSE) and Committee for Special Education (CSE)
• understanding the transition process from CPSE to CSE
• learning how to be an active member of the transition team
• understanding the purpose of an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Details

When: Wednesday, April 3, 2024

Time: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Register here.

Organized by Mid-Hudson Early Childhood FACE CenterLower Hudson Early Childhood FACE CenterNYSED OSE Partnership.