Disability Rights California
Disability Rights California works to advance the human and legal rights of Californians with disabilities. We strive to create a barrier-free, inclusive society that values diversity and each individual.
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Founded:
1978
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Disability Rights California - Outreach Events

Tue Dec 1 – Thu Dec 31, 2009
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Posters and PublicationsUpdated about 7 months ago
 
Disability Rights California
New story from Disability Events in California
Date: January 14, 2010 Place: World Bank Headquarters, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DCMore Information: Save the Date 14 January 2010; Innovation in Accessible Transport For All flyer
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Outstanding radio program covering the increasing unannounced home visits to people receiving In-Home Supportive Services, www.KPBS.org, 12/11/09
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Outstanding radio program covering the increasing unannounced home visits to people receiving In-Home Supportive Services, www.KPBS.org, 12/11/09
Carol Reid

Carol Reid Where do disabled people go if their county is violating IHSS laws &/or trying to get around them? Where is the toll free number the court ordered? How can we make the courts aware of violations of their orders?

December 22, 2009 at 11:02am · Report
Lisle
Lisle
Call Disability Rights California, they're trying to work on this, 800.776.5746, Good Luck!
December 29, 2009 at 4:21pm
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
UN holiday newsletter lists progress reports on human rights and disability
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Following is a checklist of the court cases filed against the Schwarzenegger Administration in 2009 to stop the budget cuts most threatening to the lives of Californians with disabilities. We will update this list as we get new information. -- Challenging the cut...s of the Adult Day Health Care program from 5 to 3 or 4 days a week, leaving no alternatives for many older Californians with serious disabilities; (Brantley v. Maxwell Jolly), case filed by Disability Rights California in August; judge granted motion for injunction on September 10; link here to Brantley v. Maxwell case details. -- Challenging the state’s use of the Functional Index ratings to determine who should be cut from the In Home Supportive Service program (IHSS); (V.L. et al v. Wagner), case filed by Disability Rights California in October; judge rules October 19, awarding injunction stopping cuts; state has filed appeal; link here to details about the V.L. v. Wagner case. -- Challenging the administration’s authority to bar all new IHSS providers who have committed any type of felony, exceeding the requirements for other care providers who are barred if they have committed felonies involving abuse or fraud; (Ellis et al v. Wagner), case filed by Peter Sheehan in November; judge granted temporary restraining order on November 24, in effect until January 29 2010 hearing on the merits of the case; link here to San Francisco Chronicle story about Ellis v. Wagner. -- Challenging governor’s right to eliminate additional $318 million in disability program cuts after legislature’s budget was approved; (St. John’s Well Child & Family Center v. Schwarzenegger et al), case filed by Disability Rights Advocates in August; oral arguments heard December 15 in CA Court of Appeals, San Francisco; link to details of St. John's v. Schwarzenegger at www.dralegal.org.
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Trudy Orsell
Trudy Orsell
I have been on disability for nearly a year now & with the cut backs I now have to pay my medicare premium (as most California's to my understanding thanks to the govenor's cutbacks), is there any chance that might get reversed? Lossing nearly $100/month has really hurt me financially. Or do you know if there's any way of getting help to pay that... See More premium? I've been trying to research this, but I seem to get no where but painfully discouraged. Thank you for your help!!!!!!! It's sooo wonderful knowing there are groups out there like you, willing to fight for us.
December 19, 2009 at 9:14pm
Roland Wong

Roland Wong On Thursday, 12/17/09, SFMTA Muni completed the installation of the automatic push-button door openers at Forest Hill Station. It makes life easier entering and exiting the station.

Thank you all SFMTA for your improving accessibility for all.

December 18, 2009 at 10:58am · Report
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Long-Term Care Stirs Health Care Debate, The New York Times, 12/14/09
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Poor Children Likelier to Get Antipsychotics, The New York Times, 12/12/09
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Read disability activist Marty Omoto's press release about the administration's corrected enrollment form for new applicants to provide In-Home Supportive Services, corrected as required by court order.
John Younggren
John Younggren
I had a IHSS worker who became a good friend and assisted ceaning and tidying the house, and I don't know how I would get to places without her. Hi, Alison in Sonoma county, Thank you.
December 28, 2009 at 1:33pm
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Miller bill to limit restraint & seclusion of schoolchildren, Contra Costa Times, 12/9/09
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
U.S. Representative George Miller introduced a bill on December 9 to establish minimum national safety standards for use of restraint and seclusion in schools, similar to those in use in hospitals and other facilities. The bill would allow the use of physical restraint ...or locked seclusion only by trained staff and only when there is imminent danger of injury. Practices to be prohibited include any procedure that restricts breathing, aversive behavioral interventions that compromise safety, use of medications to control behavior when not administered consistent with a physician's prescription, and mechanical restraints such as strapping children to chairs or duct-taping their bodies. The bill also calls upon states to establish minimum safety standards within 2 years of the bill's passage and to collect and report data on implementation. Disability Rights California is working with legislators on a state bill. Details on the federal bill.
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Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Viewpoints: Support services fraud is wrong target, Sacramento Bee, 12/4/09
Disability Rights California
New story from News and Hot Topics
Implementation should not happen until counties are fully prepared to comply without harming children and adults with disabilities who need IHSS. This is now a major health and safety crisis. Read the complete article by Marty Omoto. Take action: call or write to the of...ficials listed here ...,and contact your own legislator here...,and reply to Marty Omoto's commentary.
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Mod Adminpage

Mod Adminpage If you are interested in following disability access issues and events in San Francisco or giving the City of SF feedback on disability topics, please consider joining the Mayor's Office on Disability Facebook Fan Page http://bit.ly/7DQ6fH or following us on Twitter - www.twitter.com/SFMODsquad

December 4, 2009 at 5:01pm · Report
Melody Hartwell

Melody Hartwell McDonald's employees throw trashcans at disabled Vet with a Service Dog:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/11/30/nr.vet.sues.mcdonalds.cnn

December 1, 2009 at 6:13pm · Report
Disability Rights California
Adult day-care centers worry about funding mentions recent Californian "lawsuits by community service advocates [which] thwarted a cut in the Medicaid reimbursement rate and a move to limit attendance to three days a week." 
Disability Rights California
California Rolls Out New Anti-Fraud Measures for In-Home Care Program , California Healthline, 11/30/09
Disability Rights California
U.S. government should stop using the word 'retarded', The Baltimore Sun, 11/29/09
Russell Munson
Russell Munson
Unbelivable!
December 10, 2009 at 5:54am
Disability Rights California
Del Norte tops state for rate of poverty, The Daily Triplicate, 11/27/09
Disability Rights California
Blind law school grad can see injustice, Mercury News, 11/22/09
Disability Rights California
How to Find Mental Health Care When Money Is Tight, New York Times, 11/21/09
Albert

Albert I went to the "Transitioning From High School" presentation given by Carmen Varela on 11/14 at the Parent's Place. Thanks, Carmen.

November 20, 2009 at 11:39pm · Report
Nancy

Nancy My name is Nancy and I work for J.Lodge, a company devoted providing work at home jobs for those on SSDI who hold a Ticket to Work. We are actively recruiting and hiring individuals for our Technical Analyst, Non Technical Analyst and Customer Service Specialist positions. To apply, please visit http://www.jlodge.com ...the link below or the J.Lodge Facebook Page. Click on the EMPLOYMENT TAB at the top and then on the APPLY NOW link at the bottom of the page. For more information on the Ticket to Work Program visit http://yourtickettowork.com

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November 20, 2009 at 8:16am · Report
Melody Hartwell

Melody Hartwell My service dog and I were denied admittance into the Hospitality House homeless shelter last year and I just found out these places are being sued for that. Can we do a lawsuit?
Sacramento has the same problem, as well!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/07/lawsuit-alleges-discrimination-against-homeless-people-with-service-dogs.html

November 16, 2009 at 2:12pm · Report
Rudy Razo Chavez

Rudy Razo Chavez I'm an advocate, and will join any group that supports the disabled in any way.....Count me in...

October 23, 2009 at 9:13am · Report
Monica

Monica Hello to all- My name is Monica and I just wanted to share with you regarding my son- who is having trouble reading, rhyming words, etc. I notice that when he was 3 years old; his speech was very minimum, finally I asked his pediatrician to see if he can be evaluated by that time he was4!! He informed me to call my sch...ool district to have him evaluated-so I did. He did have sessions for about 5 months (once a week for 28 minutes) in his kindergarten year. Now he is in 2nd grade and his new teacher(at a different school) noticed his reading level VERY LOW and is seeing signs of Dyslexia- all this is new to me and a bit overwhelm- I want the proper intervention for him- but I need to have him take a educational hearing TEST~ does anyone know where or who I need to call to have this done?? His teacher is also looking into it and I need also a speech pathologist for him who is trained in LiPS (what ever that means) please advice- Thanks

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October 22, 2009 at 4:51pm · Report
Disability Rights California
Disability Rights California
If you are in California, please contact us at Toll Free 1-800-776-5746 or TTY at 1-800-719-5798. Ask to speak with an intake coordinator for resources or advocacy assistance. This phone line will connect you to the Disability Rights California Regional Office nearest to you. There are also special education publications available on our website at this link: http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/issues/specialeducation_pubs.html
October 23, 2009 at 11:52am
Monica
Monica
Thank you so much :-)
October 23, 2009 at 12:51pm
Disability Rights California

Disability Rights California Judge Halts Home Care Cuts - Says approach would likely violate federal law and cause “incredible human suffering” to seniors and people with disabilities who need these services.

Oakland, October 19, 2009 -- U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken rule...d today that the state cannot go forward on November 1 with its ...planned cuts of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) to an estimated 130,000 Californians because of the substantial harm, damage and injury which would result. The Judge said that the state’s Functional Index rankings were clearly not based on need, that essential services could be withdrawn arbitrarily, and “people could lose something irreplaceable – the ability to remain safely in their homes.”

Therefore, she enjoined all IHSS cuts as requested by people who use IHSS and local unions, in the class action lawsuit, V.L. v Wagner.

The judge ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to show at trial that the cuts to services, enacted in the recent state budget, violate federal law. Approximately 40,000 low-income seniors and people with disabilities would have lost all their IHSS services, including personal care; another 90,000 would have lost such services as meal preparation, food shopping and help with laundry and housecleaning.

“We are convinced a humanitarian disaster would have resulted from the precipitous and arbitrary withdrawal of essential services approved by the legislature and the administration in the budget, and are delighted that the Court agreed with us,” stated lead counsel Melinda Bird of Disability Rights California.

“This is a big day for people with disabilities, their families and seniors throughout the state – their right to stay safely in their homes - and not be forced into nursing homes or other institutions - has been reaffirmed by the Court,” said Paula Pearlman of the Disability Rights Legal Center.

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www.disabilityrightsca.org
Oakland, CA –U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken ruled today that the state cannot go forward on November 1 with its planned cuts of In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) to an estimated 130,000 Californians because of the substantial harm, damage and injury which would result. ...
Mark
Mark
Glad to see the court rule this way.
October 19, 2009 at 6:24pm
Disability Rights California

Disability Rights California Federal lawsuit filed to stop cuts in homecare to 130,000 Californians. Advocates for seniors and people with disabilities today filed suit in federal court in Oakland to prevent impending cuts in the “In-Home Supportive Services” program, known as IHS...S. The class action lawsuit is filed on behalf of four low-income... Californians who need IHSS to remain safely at home. The plaintiffs include two children with disabilities who need special care, an 81 year old senior who needs IHSS to remain in her apartment, and a young man with autism and bi-polar disorder whose IHSS provider assists him with basic tasks. Visit our homepage for links to related websites and documents.

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www.disabilityrightsca.org
Contacts: Melinda Bird, Disability Rights California, 213-427-8747Stacey Leyton, Altshuler Berzon LLP, 415-421-7151Paula Pearlman, Disability Rights Legal Center, 213-736-1031
Meryl Newman Berk
Meryl Newman Berk
Finally some sanity in this mess. I read the complaint last night and was so impressed by the direct and truthful information.
October 2, 2009 at 11:00am
Mark
Mark
Yes sanity at least in one area. Still waiting for someone to take up the issue of the changes to the Lanterman Act. Talk about an insane area. The DDS and Regional Center hand out services so long as the funding in there. They pitch these services with the vigors of a use car saleman. But the minute funding is in jeporardy the go on record calling the service junk and of no benefit to the consumers????
October 6, 2009 at 1:52am
Lisle
Lisle
This is cool, hopefully we'll win the argument Monday!
October 16, 2009 at 10:41pm
Disability Rights California

Disability Rights California Federal judge orders Social Security Administration to repay millions to people wrongly labelled as "fleeing felons" and denied benefits. More than 200,000 people could qualify for repayment of benefits denied to them by SSA because they were wrongly classified as fugitives who had fled from felonies. The case, ...Martinez v. Astrue, was filed by the National Senior Citizens Law Center and joined by other groups, including Disability Rights California and the Urban Justice Center. Visit our homepage for more information, including related articles and links.

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www.disabilityrightsca.org
- Budget analyses after budget passage on 7/28/09 - Our position letters on Governor's May Revise - Our budget analyses - Analyses by other organizations - News items -
Disability Rights California

Disability Rights California Administration announces that cuts to In-Home Supportive
Services (IHSS) go into effect November 1, impacting 130,000
Californians with disabilities.

Sacramento – California Department of Social Services (CDSS)
Director John Wagner announced Friday that a number of changes to the
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program ...adopted in the budget for
2009-10 will take effect on Nov. 1, 2009.


“Our top
priority is implementing the changes to the IHSS program as responsibly
as possible in accordance with state and federal law, and in a way that
gives recipients, providers and county officials as much advance notice
as possible,” Wagner said. Learn more in CDSS's September 18 press release (http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/news/CDSS-2009-09-18.htm) and in The Sacramento Bee (http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/news/Sacramento_Bee-2009-09-19.htm)

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www.disabilityrightsca.org
Cheryl
Cheryl
So true, Skip. I work at DREDF, and see the need for grassroots activism and advocacy from people living these issues...thanks for the good work you do.
September 22, 2009 at 8:49pm
Skip Alunan
Skip Alunan
good to hhear you-there is nothing better than showing a mentee how to become independent and to stay there!
September 22, 2009 at 8:55pm
Disability Rights California

Disability Rights California Judge Halts Cuts to Adult Day Health Care (ADHC): Victory for 8000 elderly Californians with disabilities. Read the current press release, the judge's September 10 order granting an injunction, and other press coverage of the Brantley et al v. Maxwell-Jolly case.

www.disabilityrightsca.org
On August 18 several elderly individuals with disabilities filed a class action lawsuit (Brantley et al v. Maxwell-Jolly, Director of CA Department of Health Care Services) to stop devastating cuts in Adult Day Health Care services. ...
Eric

Eric Congratulations to Disability Rights California, and the team of all-stars working on the case, on the preliminary injunction in Brantley v. Maxwell-Jolly, preventing cuts to Adult Day Health Care Services. It's a significant victory.

September 11, 2009 at 10:15am · Report