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CDCAN DISABILITY RIGHTS REPORT

#228-2010 – NOVEMBER 29, 2010 – MONDAY

CALIFORNIA DISABILITY COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK: Advocacy Without Borders: One Community – Accountability With Action - California Disability Community Action Network Disability Rights News goes out to over 55,000 people with disabilities, mental health needs, seniors, traumatic brain & other injuries, veterans with disabilities and mental health needs, their families, workers, community organizations, including those in Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino, African American communities, policy makers and others across California.

To reply to this report write: MARTY OMOTO at martyomoto@rcip.com WEBSITE: www.cdcan.us TWITTER: www.twitter.com - “MartyOmoto”



REMEMBERING THE LIFE AND WORK OF LAURA HERSHEY



Upcoming Public Meetings & Hearings:

Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver Stakeholder Meeting 12/8

Disability Access Commission Meeting 12/9

Legislature To Reconvene For Swearing In 12/6

Legislature Will Also Convene Special Session Called by Governor – Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver Proposal Approved by Federal Government November 2nd – Will Mean Sweeping Changes to Medi-Cal Program in California for Hundreds of Thousands of Children and Adults With Disabilities, Mental Health Needs & Seniors



SACRAMENTO, CALIF (CDCAN) [Updated 11/29/2010 Monday 04:20 PM (Pacific Time)] - The following is a listing of some of the major public meetings or hearings that will or should have some impact on people with disabilities, mental health needs, the blind, seniors, their families, community organizations, facilities, and workers who provide or coordinate services and supports, including a very important meeting on December 8th of the Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver Stakeholder Advisory Committee on the latest status of the Medicaid proposal submitted by California earlier this year that the federal government approved November 2.



Section 1115 Waiver Will Result in Sweeping Changes to Medi-Cal Program

That proposal will – when fully implemented – result in sweeping changes to the State’s Medi-Cal program, impacting hundreds of thousands of children and adults with disabilities – including developmental disabilities – people with mental health needs, the blind and seniors across the State.



“Section 1115” refers to a specific section of the federal Social Security Act - the law that Medicaid falls under – which allows the federal government to authorize a state to try out an idea in a demonstration project, waiving existing Medicaid rules that otherwise would not allow it. The only catch is that the demonstration project cannot cost more Medicaid dollars (referred to as “budget neutrality”) then if there was no waiver in place.



The proposal that California submitted was authorized as part of the 2009-2010 State Budget as revised in July 2009. The Schwarzenegger Administration proposed the renewal and expansion of the existing Medicaid Section 1115 (which largely dealt with hospital financing issues), that was due to expire in August 2010 – and to expand it to cover hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities, mental health needs, the blind and seniors among other populations.



The Legislature passed in the closing days of the 2009-2010 Legislative session in August (after holding hearings earlier), two bills – SB 208 by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (Democrat – Sacramento) and AB 342 by Assembly Speaker John Perez (Democrat – Los Angeles), that added certain other requirements to the waiver proposal. The Governor signed those two bills into law – which were part of the 2010-2011 State Budget in October.



The Schwarzenegger Administration pushed the renewal and dramatic expansion of the Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver proposal saying it would be a way to contain and control dramatically rising costs in the Medi-Cal program specifically among the population of people with disabilities and seniors – the population that the State says most of the Medi-Cal program dollars are spent. The Schwarzenegger Administration has said that the waiver proposal will also result in better quality health care.



Many advocates for people with disabilities, mental health needs, the blind and seniors however remain deeply concerned – or in some cases, outright opposed – to all or certain parts of the approved proposal.



Persons who are considered “dual eligible” for both Medicare and Medicaid (called Medi-Cal in California) were part of the original proposal submitted to the federal government – but due to changes resulting from the health care reform act and other issues, will be phased in at a later point in the California Section 1115 waiver. See separate CDCAN Report tomorrow for more details about the Section 1115 Waiver.



For more information about the waiver and to view documents including the proposal, various presentations and reports, go to the Department of Health Services website specifically on the Medicaid Section 1115 waiver proposal at:

http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/provgovpart/Pages/WaiverRenewal.aspx



Final Legislative Hearing for 2009-2010 Legislative Session

On Tuesday is what is the final committee informational hearing of the 2009-2010 Legislative session, which officially ends at midnight Tuesday night. At that time, the terms of office officially ends for all 80 Assembly seats and 20 of the State Senate seats. Newly elected members or those re-elected will be sworn in on December 6th, Monday.



Statewide elected officials, including the Governor, serve until January (the new Governor takes office officially on the first Monday after January 1st – in this case, January 3, 2011).



Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, the out-going US Congress is continuing its “lame duck” session in order to resolve issues – even if only temporarily – dealing with delaying again the implementation of a major reduction in reimbursements to Medicare doctors; extension of the “Bush tax cuts”; and authorization for a certain period of time to continue some level of spending of the federal government until (and if) a federal budget is passed to avoid a government shutdown.



CDCAN SUMMARY OF UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETINGS AND HEARINGS:

The following public meetings and hearings this week and beyond – in date order that have some impact (indirect or direct) to infants, children and adults with disabilities (including developmental), mental health needs, people with traumatic brain and other injuries, veterans with disabilities and mental health needs, people with MS, Alzheimer’s disease and disorders, the blind, seniors, state and local government agencies, community organizations, facilities and individual workers who provide supports and services.



Please note that the various designations of the “priority” of the meetings listed is not a forecast of the importance of what will actually be discussed or is on the agenda of a particular meeting – but an indication that this particular legislative haring or committee or commission meeting could or should be at a certain level of importance or relevance to advocates – including critical issues not on an official agenda):



NOVEMBER 30, 2010 - TUESDAY

JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

TIME AND PLACE: 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM - State Capitol - Room 112

WHAT: Informational Hearing – Subject: “As Local tax dollars disappear, can the end of mutual aid agreements be far behind?”

CDCAN COMMENT: This joint committee, chaired by State Sen. Christine Kehoe (Democrat – San Diego), and composed of 7 state senators and 7 assemblymembers, has been in continuous existence since 2004 and was originally known as the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security to help oversee the two state government agencies dealing with both issues. In 2007 the joint committee’s name was changed to :Committee on Emergency Management” to reflect the merger of the two state agencies dealing with emergency services and homeland security – and was authorized to continue through the 2009-2010 session, ending (unless continued during the 2011-2012 Legislative session ) at the end of the day on November 30, 2010.

WHO THIS IMPACTS

The issue is critically important on how the State and federal government coordinates and actually responds to local or statewide emergencies, including natural disasters such as fires, earthquakes and has impact on children and adults with disabilities (including developmental), mental health needs, the blind, people who deaf, people with traumatic brain and other injuries, people with Alzheimer’s, MS and other diseases and disorders, and seniors, state local government, community based organizations and facilities and workers who provide supports and services

The focus of the November 30th informational hearing is focused on over arching issues related to emergency management – but advocates and policymakers should always remember the issues critical to emergency management and all parts of a community that will need help in the event of an emergency.

PRIORITY: IMPORTANT



DECEMBER 6, 2010 – MONDAY

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE

TIME AND PLACE: 12 noon – State Capitol – Senate and Assembly Chambers

WHAT: Newly elected members sworn into office and official convening of the first day of the 2011-2012 Legislative session – and the official convening of the special session of the new Legislature to deal with the budget crisis called by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

CDCAN COMMENT: Normally, the first day of the new Legislative session is fairly brief, consisting of swearing in new members elected the previous November – and officially electing officers (such as the Assembly Speaker, the new Assembly Majority and Minority – Republican – Leaders ) in the Assembly and officers (such as the President Pro Tem, the new Senate Majority and Minority – Republican - Leaders ) in the State Senate. While some new committee chairs have been previously announced – and more could be announced on this day, the bulk of the new committee chair and committee assignments will likely be announced in January and perhaps not completed until early February. The Legislature will – as required by the State Constitution – convene the first special session of the 2011-2012 Legislative Session as called by Governor Schwarzenegger regarding the budget crisis, with the State facing a staggering $25.4 billion projected budget shortfall – over $6 billion projected by June 30, 2011 unless the Legislature and Governor act.

However the Legislature – controlled by Democrats – will not likely take any specific action on the crisis until next month, when the new governor – Jerry Brown – assumes office the first week of January. That could change if State Controller John Chiang reports in early December of an imminent cash crisis where the State would be unable to pay its bills – the main reason which underscored the urgencies and resulting major cuts made in the special sessions in late 2008 and early 2009 and in July 2009.

PRIORITY: HIGH



DECEMBER 8, 2010 - WEDNESDAY

MEDICAID SECTION 1115 STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE PUBLIC MEETING

WHEN: December 8, 2010 – Wednesday morning

TIME: 09:30 AM to 12:30 PM

WHERE:

Sacramento Convention Center

1301 L Street, Room 204 [13th and L Streets near State Capitol]

Sacramento, CA 95814-3900

TOLL FREE LINE: None yet announced or listed

WHAT: This will be the 7th public meeting of the full Medicaid Section 1115 Stakeholder Advisory Committee (the first one was held January 7, 2010 and the most recent one was held September 29th)

WHO THIS IMPACTS: Children and adults with disabilities – including those with developmental disabilities, people with mental health needs, the blind, seniors currently in the Medi-Cal program or those who are seeking eligibility in the coming years, their families; counties that determine eligibility; community organizations who provide organized systems of care currently; community organizations, facilities and workers who provide supports and services

CDCAN COMMENT: Hopefully there will be a toll free phone line available – as there was for the other public meetings of the Stakeholder Advisory Committee – that will allow public comment over the phone.

This will be the first meeting of the stakeholder committee since the federal government approved California’s Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver proposal in November.

PRIORITY: VERY HIGH



DECEMBER 9, 2010 – THURSDAY

CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON DISABILITY ACCESS (CCDA)

WHEN: December 9, 2010 – Thursday

TIME: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

WHERE:

Department of Consumer Affairs

1625 North Market Blvd – First Floor Hearing Room

Sacramento, CA 95834 (in North Natomas area of Sacramento)

WEBCAST ACCESS: http://www.dca.ca.gov/stream/audiocast.asx

TOLL FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER: 1-877-953-8408

PARTICIPANT PASSCODE: 2698

AGENDA:

Notice is hereby given that the California Commission on Disability Access (CCDA) will hear, discuss, deliberate and/or take an action upon the following items listed in this notice. The public is invited to attend and provide their input or comments.

1. Call to Order/ Roll Call/ Pledge of Allegiance/Housekeeping Items

2. Comments from the Public on Issues not on this Agenda: The Commission will receive comments from the public at this time on matters not on the agenda. Matters raised at this time may be briefly discussed by the Commission and/or placed on a subsequent agenda.

3. General Business Items

a. Staffing

i. Executive Director position

ii. Staff Services Analyst & Executive Assistant

b. Space and services

c. CCDA [California Commission on Disability Access] “By-Laws”

d. Accessible websites for California state agencies

e. Discussion responsibility of and oversight by “sister agencies” in matters such as the Cal Trans building located in Los Angeles

4. Budget

a. Fiscal Year 2010/2011 budget

b. Status of Budget Change Proposal (BCP) for Fiscal Year 2011/2012

c. Contracts with Department of General Services (DGS)

5. Committees

a. Committee Meeting Dates

b. Committee Reports by Committee Chairpersons

* Accessibility Checklist Committee

* Administration Committee

* Accessibility Enhancement Committee

* CASP [Certified Access Specialist Program] & Education Committee

* Civil Enforcement Committee

6. Disabled Access Legislative and Regulatory Developments

7. Future Agenda Items: The Commission may discuss and set for action on future agendas, procedural and substantive items relating to Commission mandates, projects, responsibilities, Commission policy, and administrative matters.

8. Adjournment of CCDA Meeting

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS:

Requests for accommodations for individuals with disabilities (sign-language interpreter, assistive listening device, Braille, or any other accommodation needed by an individual) should be made to the Commission office no later than 10 working days prior to the day of the meeting.

QUESTIONS ABOUT MEETING OR AGENDA:

Stephanie Davis, Assistant to the director, California Building Standards Commission, at (916) 263-0916 or at 2525 Natomas Park Drive, Suite 130, Sacramento, California 95833.

For latest information on the status of the meeting, check the California Building Standards Commission website at:

http://www.bsc.ca.gov/ and then click on the CCDA tab

WHO THIS IMPACTS: Children and adults with disabilities, mental health needs, the blind, seniors and their families, community organizations, facilities, workers who provide advocacy and/or supports or services, and businesses, and state and local government agencies responsible for access related issues.

PRIORITY: VERY HIGH



JANUARY 1, 2011 – SATURDAY

Bills (non emergency or “urgency” bills, which take effect immediately) passed by the Legislature in 2010 and signed into law by the Governor take effect on this day.



JANUARY 3, 2011 – MONDAY

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE

TIME AND PLACE: 12 noon – State Capitol – Senate and Assembly Chambers

WHAT: Reconvenes the 2011-2012 Legislative session – and also (likely) the special session originally called by Governor Schwarzenegger.

CDCAN COMMENT: Not much will likely happen on the first day of the new session – though the week itself will be filled with major events – including the public swearing in ceremonies of all the statewide elected officials, including Governor-elect Jerry Brown.

Also this week the new Governor is likely to address the Legislature formally in his first “State of the State” message – and then on January 10th, release his proposed 2011-2012 State Budget.

Governor-elect Brown officially takes office (Article 5 Section 2 of the State Constitution provides that the “…Governor shall be elected every fourth year at the same time and places as members of the Assembly and hold office from theMonday after January 1 following the election until a successor qualifies.” The ceremonial inauguration usually takes place later.

PRIORITY: N/A



JANUARY 10, 2011 – MONDAY

Governor is required to submit a proposed State budget (in this case for the State budget year that begins July 1, 2011 and ends June 30, 2012) on this day for the Legislature to consider.



VERY URGENT!!!!!

PLEASE HELP CDCAN CONTINUE ITS WORK!!!

Your help is needed – now this month (November 2010)!.



CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings, reports and alerts and other activities cannot continue without your help. To continue the CDCAN website, the CDCAN News Reports. sent out and read by over 50,000 people and organizations, policy makers and media across California and to continue the CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings which since December 2003 have connected thousands of people with disabilities, seniors, mental health needs, people with MS and other disorders, people with traumatic brain and other injuries to public policy makers, legislators, and issues.



Please send your contribution/donation (make payable to "CDCAN" or "California Disability Community Action Network):



CDCAN

1225 8th Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814

paypal on the CDCAN site is not yet working – will be soon.



MANY, MANY THANKS TO BOB BENSON, EASTER SEALS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA , the Pacific Homecare Services, California Association of Adult Day Health Centers, Valley Mountain Regional Center, Toward Maximum Independence, Inc (TMI), Friends of Children with Special Needs, UCP of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Southside Arts Center, San Francisco Bay Area Autism Society of America, Hope Services in San Jose, FEAT of Sacramento (Families for Early Autism Treatment), RESCoalition, Sacramento Gray Panthers, Bill Wong, Easter Seals of Southern California, Tri-Counties Regional Center, Westside Regional Center, Regional Center of the East Bay, UCP of Orange County, Alta California Regional Center, Life Steps, Parents Helping Parents, Work Training, Foothill Autism Alliance, Arc Contra Costa, Pause4Kids, Manteca CAPS, Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, California NAELA, Californians for Disability Rights, Inc (CDR) including CDR chapters, CHANCE Inc, , Strategies To Empower People (STEP), Harbor Regional Center, Asian American parents groups, Resources for Independent Living and many other Independent Living Centers, several regional centers, People First chapters, IHSS workers, other self advocacy and family support groups, developmental center families, adoption assistance program families and children, and others across California.