Fair Hearing Help NY, a free, website for New Yorkers representing themselves at administrative hearings with the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), is up and running and ready to help. It was launched by the Legal Aid Society, Empire Justice Center and New York Legal Assistance Group in partnership with Columbia Law School’s Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic.
Its goal is to help New Yorkers navigate the complex process of administrative hearings and offer information that will allow them to more fully participate and exercise their due process rights.
So, what does “self-representation” mean for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities? The website is also helpful for a family member or caregiver who is going to assist someone else at their fair hearing, according to Anne K. Callagy, citywide director, Government Benefits Practice, the Legal Aid Society.
When an individual’s benefits, such as SNAP, are reduced, discontinued, or the application is denied, they can request a Fair Hearing. A Fair Hearing allows the individual to make their case and the agency will review the decision.
According to OTDA’s Annual Report, 155,662 hearings were requested in New York State in 2022. Ninety-seven percent of Appellants are not represented by counsel.
This one slipped by me. On Sept. 29, 2023, when the News & Documentary Emmy® Awards presented the winners of the Documentary category, the titles included My Disability Roadmap, an extraordinary short film directed by Samuel Habib and Dan Habib.
The documentary follows Samuel Habib, a young man who has cerebral palsy and a rare genetic disorder. He travels to meet successful adults who have disabilities to create a roadmap for himself and others.
The film is only 22 minutes long — stop and watch it now! You’ll be glad you did.
Both Dan Habib, Samuel’s dad and an award-winning documentary film director and producer, and Samuel work with the Westchester Institute of Human Development. Dan Habib is the organization’s Inclusive Communities Project Director, while Samuel Habib is its multi-media production assistant and presenter.
Inclusive Communities was created to “leverage WIHD’s expertise and the power of documentary film to promote greater acceptance and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in schools and communities through curriculum, training, public awareness, and worldwide outreach,” according to the WIHD website.
“Brendan Klein’s Employment Journey” is a free webinar from the coordinator of Self-Advocacy and Community Engagement at the Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD).
A passionate self-advocate at both the local and state level, Brendan has enormous experience with both advocacy work and issues surrounding employment.
The presentation will include information about the transition from high school, post-secondary education opportunities, the value of diverse internships and volunteering, and how employment experience helps to develop self-advocacy and independence skills. Supported Employment (SEMP) and social connections will also be discussed.
Details
When: Monday, Nov. 20, 2023
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
“Encouraging” developments at ACCESS-VR, a counter-intuitive take on the subminimum wage, a new PBS series for kids to be led by an autistic character, and more news for the week ending Nov. 9, 2023.
Greenburgh nonprofit to close special education pre-K program A Greenburgh Town official did not know why the Stepping Stones program, part of the Lois Bronz Children’s Center, was closing, but said enrollment has been down. (news12.com)
Adult changing facilities focus of new bill Introduced by State Sens. Rob Rolison and Pete Harckham, it would mandate, among other things, that rest stops, amusement parks, libraries and other public buildings built after Jan. 1, 2024, have at least one adult changing table. (NYN Media)
Jobs Program for People with Disabilities Enacts Improvements The Examiner News looks at “several encouraging developments” at ACCESS-VR. (The Examiner News)
Fiscal watchdog pushes Hochul to sign home care transparency bill Citizens Budget Commission officials say the info would help the state’s overwhelmed home care industry and Medicaid spending. (Spectrumlocalnews.com)
Philly voters approve ballot question making Office for the People with Disabilities permanent (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Governor Josh Shapiro announces support, expanded benefits for Pennsylvanians with autism (6abc.com)
Unmet Needs: The State of Special Education in Portland (pdxparent.com, via Medical Motherhood)
Uncovering Racial Disparities in Georgia’s HCBS Waiver Waitlist (New Disabled South)
Disabled people are underrepresented in politics. A new organization aims to change that Disability Victory will start training the first cohort of disabled people who want to run for office in early 2024. (19thnews.org)
More Medical Schools Expected To Train Doctors On IDD Elevance Health is putting up $1.42 million in funding to more than double the number of medical schools preparing future doctors to care for this population. (Disability Scoop)
I’m tired of disability activists pretending my son doesn’t exist This interesting take on the push to end the subminimum wage notes Competitive Integrated Employment for all “sounds lovely and inclusive, but it ignores the lived experience of profoundly autistic people and their families.” (Washington Post)
Flipping the Script on Teaching Neurodivergent Students — and the Implications for All Learners A look at New York University’s move from a “deficit” model to an “asset-based” model that’s neurodiversity-affirming. (the74million.org)
Designers Work To Make Playgrounds More Inclusive One of the “most ambitious” undertakings for Landscape Structures is the new Motion Junction playground in upstate New York. (Disability Scoop)
Walmart expanding sensory-friendly shopping hours nationwide All Walmart stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico will have sensory-friendly hours between 8 a.m.-10 a.m. local time, seven days a week. (ABC News)
‘Carl the Collector,’ PBS Kids’ First Series Led by an Autistic Character, to Premiere in Fall 2024 It will feature a cast of diverse characters alongside a production team of neurodiverse and neurotypical writers, advisers and voice talent. (Hollywood Reporter)
Actors With Visible Disabilities “Essentially Excluded” From TV During 2021-22 Season (Deadline)
Mount Pleasant, N.Y., escalates its fight with a controversial residential treatment center, another “not-in-my-backyard” housing fight, Happiness Falls, a new novel featuring a non-verbal autistic character gets glowing reviews, and more news for the week ending Nov. 4, 2023.
25 Migrant Children to Stay at JCCA Residential Treatment Center and School in Westchester County The highly controversial center for children and teens with severe behavioral, emotional and educational challenges set off an uproar with the news. (Examiner News and News12.)
Disability service center opens in Albany The Willamette Vocational and Resource Community is a private not-for-profit. (Albany Democrat-Herald)
Organization for disabled adults opens second location at Shames JCC in Tarrytown The Extended Family launched in 2017 with four participants. (Hudson Independent)
NYC families push for special ed open houses as high school admissions season heats up Information ranging from what types of special ed classes are typically offered to building accessibility can be difficult to come by. (Chalkbeat.com)
Advocates demanded $1.25 billion to make NYC schools more accessible. They got $800 million. (Chalkbeat.com)
Disability-focused housing in Florida town approved, despite neighbors’ anger A commissioner who voted for the housing said, “Pinellas County is a county for all. That means it’s a county that includes our developmentally disabled population, and they deserve to have a place to live as well.” (Tampa Bay Times)
Georgia Allegedly Asked Judges to Consider Detaining Foster Kids with Disabilities The State said this would just be until they found a placement for them, a move that the judge said would violate the law. (Disability Scoop)
Autism Action Partnership provides Omaha, Neb., police with sensory kits These particular kits have communication cards, fidget toys, sunglasses and noise-canceling headphones. (ketv.com)
Why a Texas School District is Opening a Health Clinic for Students on Medicaid It’s mind-boggling to me, but some parents have grooming and indoctrination concerns about the care option. (The74million.org)
Justice Department Warns Sheltered Workshops May Violate ADA The department issued similar guidance in 2016 under the Obama administration, but it was rescinded by the Trump administration. (Disability Scoop)
Can Autistic Children Be Securely Attached? This writer says it’s time to reframe attachment behaviors as a unique expression of different wiring and not a deficit. (Psychology Today)
‘Happiness Falls’ is a heart-tugger as well as a page-turner This new novel has a non-verbal main character with a double diagnosis of autism and Angelman syndrome. (Washington Post)
The CUNY School of Public Health & Health Policy is looking for young adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities to work with a Health Educator to understand the concerns of adolescents and young adults about socialization and sexuality.
The study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and endorsed by The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). Anyone who enrolls in the study will do six weeks of health education over Zoom for one hour a week. They would complete four surveys throughout and be paid up to $25 an hour.
Qualifications
Interested?
Email the Steps2 Team at Steps2@sph.cuny.edu or call (934) 226-5719 for more information.
Address
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy, 55 W. 125th St. #7th Floor, New York, N.Y., 10027
Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed a measure outlawing corporal punishment in New York’s private schools. Corporal punishment has been prohibited in the state’s public schools since 1985.
Earlier this year, a New York Times investigation found corporal punishment was being used in some of the private Hasidic-run schools located throughout Brooklyn and the lower Hudson Valley. Also earlier this year, a Times Union investigation found some 1,600 substantiated cases (and 18,000 complaints) of corporal punishment in New York public schools despite the ban.
Additionally, an even earlier Times Union investigation found that staff at New York schools serving children with disabilities “intentionally misused physical restraints on students.”
The group home workforce shortage, an app that aids early screening for autism, an autistic artist builds spectacular and massive replicas of real buildings and more news for the week ending Sept. 28, 2023.
Growing concerns about group homes ABC News takes a look at the workforce shortage hurting group homes helping Americans with I/DD. (ABC News)
NYC students with disabilities file federal civil rights complaint over transportation woes Public schools allegedly routinely deny legally mandated school bus services. (Daily News)
Q&A with a Wine, Spirits and Craft Beer Producer Employing People with Disabilities OPWDD interviews a company it approached to consider hiring people who have different needs and abilities. (OPWDD)
App aids early screening for autism (National Institutes of Health)
Disability Advocates Urge Support for Emergency Funding Bill to Address Medicaid Care Crisis The HCBS Relief Act would provide emergency funding to state Medicaid programs. (The ARC)
Autistic Philadelphia artist Kambel Smith builds intricate and massive sculptures of real buildings (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Connecticut Airport hosts practice flights for families of children with autism The exercise at Bradley was led by Autism Double-Checked.
During the last presidential election, my twentysomething family member with developmental disabilities was excited to get to the voting booth.
“You want to choose the right people to lead,” she said. “You don’t want someone who’s rude to people with disabilities, that’s just not right.”
She wanted her voice to count, which is a fundamental civil right (well, more about that later) as well as a moral one, as conveyed in the disability rights movement’s “Nothing About Us Without Us” rallying cry.
That expression shows “people are claiming their lives, they deserve to be part of the conversation,” says Jonathan Goldwasser, senior supervisor and facilitator of the Hudson Valley self-advocacy group at YAI, an organization serving people with I/DD. “One key way that can be practiced is voting, which lets [people with disabilities] participate as citizens in the decisions made by their local communities and at the state and federal levels. It’s a small piece in that it happens [infrequently] but it’s a major way for them to raise their voice.”
There are over 34 million eligible voters with disabilities nationwide, according to Disability Rights New York, making the disability community “a substantial voting bloc with the capacity to impact elections and policy.” It’s critical that the community participate in the electoral process, especially as politicians tend to focus on an issue only if it can turn into a vote.
“Politicians’ No. 1 concern is if they’re going to win the election,” says Scott Karolidis, YAI’s director of government relations. “We had an assemblymember come in to discuss various issues and she kept asking, a little rudely, ‘Do these people vote?’ She was very concerned for herself. It helps if they understand that if they do the right thing, whether increasing funding for staff wages or passing laws that support civil rights, people with disabilities, their friends and families are more likely to vote for them.”
Often, it’s up to family caregivers and service providers to help ensure that these votes happen. Here’s how.
This general election (meaning the candidates are the ones who will get into office) is a chance for a person with a developmental disability to take a “practice” run before the 2024 presidential election even if they’ve voted before. The ballot will include a New York Supreme Court Justice and, in the lower Hudson Valley, a Westchester County Court Judge and Yonkers City Mayor. (See “Who’s on the Ballot” below for your local and NYS races.)
REGISTRATION DEADLINES
People can vote from Oct. 28 to Nov. 5 at various polling sites in New York State. To locate your early voting poll site, go to https://voterlookup.elections.
The right to vote extends to every U.S. citizen — until it doesn’t. While the Constitution protects the fundamental right to vote, it also gives states the authority to set voting qualifications for both federal and state elections.
Parents who pursue guardianship of their adult child with a developmental disability may worry that guardianship will endanger their child’s right to vote.
While New York Election Law § 5-106(6) states that no person who has been adjudged incompetent may vote in New York State, New York’s Article 17A guardianship law, which provides for guardianship of a person with a developmental or intellectual disability, “is silent as to declaring a person incompetent,” says Sandi Rosenbaum, a Special Education / Special Needs Advocate at Littman Krooks, LLP.
“Rather, it addresses whether such a person needs a guardian to make personal, financial, and medical decisions for them to protect their interests. Thus, a finding that a person requires a guardian does not inherently constitute a finding of incompetence, and being subject to Article 17A guardianship does not, on its own, deny a person’s eligibility to vote.”
The important takeaway: Only a judge can make the decision that someone is not competent to vote. Election officials and poll workers cannot stop someone from voting because of a disability.
If questions such as how to register and where to vote feel overwhelming, breathe easy. Several organizations have created easy-to-use guides to help you through the process.
Keep in mind that early in-person voting and mail-in voting (via an absentee ballot) can help make the process less stressful for some.
Creating a Plan to Vote
The Self-Advocacy Association of New York State (SANYS), an organization founded, and led, by people with developmental disabilities for people with developmental disabilities, has a brightly designed, easy-to-read online packet that details what to do before stepping into the booth. It includes registration information and links, a description of voting options, with links, and a checklist (geared toward service providers in group homes, but helpful for all) that ensures an individual knows not only what method they want to vote, but how they’re getting to the polling station.
The NYS Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) offers assistance with voter registration. Anyone who would like information or assistance in registering may contact OPWDD’s National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) statewide coordinator at michael.orzel@opwdd.ny.gov or call (518) 474-2757.
OPWDD also has a helpful Frequently Asked Questions page full of information.
I’ve checked out a few sites and found Vote411.or the easiest to navigate. You’ll learn who’s on the ballot, where they stand on the issues and more.
It might be useful to know what kind of voting machine will be at the polling place. The NYS Board of Elections provides some of that information here.
Voters with disabilities have the federal right to vote privately and independently by marking a paper ballot or using a Ballot Marking Device (BMD). They’re equipped with features to allow the voter to adjust for size and contrast the ballot image, and allow the use of a “Sip-N-Puff” or paddle device by voters with limited hand dexterity.
Every polling site is required to have a BMD in working order. Poll staff are trained and must be prepared to assist all voters requesting to use the BMD, regardless of their disability.
Note: This is the latest stat I could find, but as of 2016, just 17% of polling locations nationwide were fully accessible, according to the National Disability Rights Network. Reach out to your County Board of Election if you have questions.
Can a person with I/DD have someone with them to help them vote? A resounding “yes.”
I mentioned this briefly above: Check out 13 Things Voters with Disabilities Need to Know. It clearly explains one’s rights and has helpful information such as where to call with accessibility complaints
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has a handy Your Federal Voting Rights wallet-size card that can be printed out and taken to the voting site. It’s a great resource to have on hand should there be a problem and a way to ensure that poll workers know the law, too.
Vote!
HUD to fund more housing options for people with disabilities, waitlists for services are on the rise in states across the country, advocates call for a federal panel on profound autism to get its act together and more news for the week ending Oct. 21, 2023.
SSI Benefit Increase for 2024
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments are going up 3.2% more a month in 2024 due to an increase in the cost of living.
Social Security Chief Orders Broad Review Of Benefit Overpayments The agency has been trying to reclaim billions of dollars from beneficiaries, including many people with disabilities. (Disability Scoop)
People with intellectual disability often diagnosed with cancer when already well advanced In part, some doctors assume symptoms have to do with the disability rather than a biological cause. (The Conversation; the study is from England)
Federal Panel Pressured To Focus More On Profound Autism Advocates say a committee tasked with guiding the strategy is largely ignoring the needs of this population. (Disability Scoop)
In My Words: Living at the Speed of Autism A father, writing about his autistic son, says it’s time to “lose our condescension toward neurodiverse individuals and instead ask if we can share their mindset.” (elon.edu)
Study explores how changing autism traits linked to mental health conditions (UC Davis Health Mind Institute)
The former New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC) is now the NYS Council on Developmental Disabilities (CDD).
Removing employment barriers for New Jerseyans with disabilities A good look at an ongoing issue. (New Jersey Monitor)
Massachusetts is having problems: There’s a New special ed plan unveiled for Boston Public Schools, which is needed to avoid a state takeover (nbcboston.com), and there’s been a call for More Oversight Needed for Residential Schools Specializing in Autism and Other Disabilities amid reports of abuse. (Boston Globe).
Lawsuit accuses Catholic schools in New Orleans of discriminating against students with disabilities (PBS)
The two articles below help illustrate how the disability assistance system is in crisis. It seems I’m reading more and more of these lately.
Oklahoma DHS attempts to shorten disability assistance waitlist The salient fact here seems to be that the state has a 13-year waitlist for families to receive Developmental Disability assistance. (kswo.com)
‘Monster under my bed’: Disabled Kansans wait years for help, with the future uncertain The waitlist, for decades now, has been stagnant. In August, there were 5,096 on the I/DD waitlist. (Kansas Reflector)
Pawsitive Friendships Provides Animal Therapy to Arizona Students with Disabilities “The connection is all body language. It teaches them how to use that body language throughout their whole lives in their day-to-day.” (The74million.org)
7 Impactful Documentaries by Artists with Disabilities A Sundance Watchlist. (Sundance.org)