BOSTON – Massachusetts students with special needs will be better prepared to get a job, go to college and live on their own under legislation passed unanimously by the Senate today that aims to improve transition planning and services required by federal law.

“Transitioning from high school to the real world can be a very stressful time for anyone,” Senate President Therese Murray (D-Plymouth). “Students with disabilities have additional challenges to overcome, and it is important that we have trained specialists developing the plan and services they need for success. This bill makes sure special educators have the necessary training to start evaluating students earlier, focus on their abilities and help get them to that next phase in their lives.”

Read the Full Article at: theresemurray.com

If you are interested please call Beth Petropulos, Human Resource Director at:

Email: bpetropulos@bfair.org
Phone: 413-664-9382

In this series, The Collaborative examines what the passage of the landmark Chapter 257 law will mean for the human services industry in Massachusetts once it is implemented. This article is the first of three parts.

Check out the full article at: Implementing Chapter 257, Part One

Help us grow The Caring Force by sharing your support with family and friends. Together we can build support for the human services community.

Here is how you can help today and get involved!

Go to The Caring Force Facebook Page at: http://www.facebook.com/TheCaringForce
Go to The Caring Force website at: http://thecaringforce.org and join.

Read the full posting here: http://providers.org/content/salary-reserve-distribution-information-eohhs

Quick Contact Information:

The Salary Reserve webpage is available at www.mass.gov/salaryreserve. This page will be updated regularly during the process. You are advised to check the site regularly to be sure you have the most updated information.

You may email questions to possalary.reserve@massmail.state.ma.us or call the Salary Reserve HelpLine at (617) 573-1717.

Governor Deval Patrick today released his FY13 budget, which unfortunately under-funds some critical supports for families.

Family Support Services (DDS line item 5920-3000) has been reduced by $5.5 million. The impact of this cut is further exacerbated by the fact this program has already been cut by $10 million in 2010. There are 20,000 families currently served through this program. The cut proposed by the Governor today will impact 2,000 Massachusetts families.

Also of great concern is a $3 million shortfall for transportation (previously DDS line item 5911-2000). This line item has been bundled into the DDS Community Day & Employment Services line.

Aside from these larger cuts, there is some good news for the disability community. The governor’s proposed budget:

• Maintains level funding for long term supports and services in MassHealth including day habilitation, adult family/foster care, adult day health and personal care attendant programs.
• Annualizes funding for day, employment & residential programs that support students who turned 22 last year.
• Fully funds the Rolland settlement that continues to bring people into community-based programs.
• Includes some funds for Chapter 257 implementation in community-based day and employment rates. We are still reviewing this breakdown to see if more funds will be necessary to adequate and fairly set those rates.
• Level-funded the MRC brain injury residential supports program (SHIP).

We are very disappointed at the failure of the Administration to fund a salary increase for human service workers. The human services sector, which never enjoyed plentiful revenues in good times, has suffered disproportionately in state funding since budget writers began cutting to the bone many years ago. This, despite many studies that show the human services industry is a major employer with nearly 200,000 employees who account for more than $100 million in tax revenue in the Commonwealth.

We place our trust and hope in the Legislature to address the absence of sufficient funding for Family Support and Respite Services for people with developmental disabilities. And we look to the Legislature to once again express its support for the dedicated human services workforce by funding a $28 million Salary Reserve.

While the news is not all bad, the continuation of any underfunding in the face of record state revenues leaves many in the disability community asking the Governor why the human services sector has not seen a fully restored budget this year. It looks as though we will need to fight during the next step of the budget process (House Ways and Means) to advocate for adequate funding for disability programs.

The Arc and ADDP will continue their joint efforts for this cause.

http://www.arcmass.org/CommunityServices/AdvocacyandSelfAdvocacy.aspx

Moving Home: The Next Step in a Landmark Settlement

A video has been produced documenting the landmark settlement in Massachusetts that paved the way for brain injury survivors to move out of nursing homes and into the community. It follows 29-year-old survivor Raymond Gould as he moves from the confines of a nursing home to a life of greater freedom and independence.

Watch the award winning video:Moving Home Video
Press Release: Brain Injury Association of MA Wins National Award for Hutchinson Video
Survivors of Brain Injury May Apply for ABI-Waiver, Dec. 1-23.

The Arc reported on December 7, 2011, MassHealth released a draft of its proposal to the federal government to combine Medicare and Medicaid spending and service delivery for persons with disabilities aged 21 to 64 years who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid (also known as “dual eligible” project). We have posted background information and our response at this location (Medicare and Medicaid Combined).

Response to Medicare-Medicaid Proposal

Direct Link to the response from The ARC (PDF Format)