GREETINGS,
Welcome to CDRC’s September newsletter. Well
folks, the end of summer is upon us.
In this edition, we will discuss the Year four proposal for CDRC, our ongoing issues with The Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DHMH),
Legislative home visits and more. WHEW!!
CDRC Year Four
CDRC has submitted its work plan for our 4th big year to the DD Council for their
approval. Things are going to be slightly different in yr. 4. First off, the DD Council asked us to identify 2 core, or main, issues that we
would focus on in yr. 4. Our first core issue: We want to work with the state to enforce
The Right To Be Informed (RTBI). This was CDRC’s bill that got passed last legislative
session. Approximately 400 State Residential Center (SRC) residents who could live in the
community with the proper supports are not being informed of least restrictive service options or being helped to leave the four SRCs (also
called Institutions) and enter the community.
CDRC feels that these individuals should be told about all of the less restrictive
services that are out there, and appropriate for their needs.
Our second core issue: We want to continue to work with the state to enforce Money Follows the Individual Accountability
Act (MFIAA) and have accountability to CDRC and other state groups. More than 5,000
Nursing Facility residents have expressed a preference to return to the community. More than 750 Nursing Facility residents have
Developmental Disabilities. CDRC will work with the state to continue to enforce MFIAA and have accountability. We want everybody to live in the community who desires to.
CDRC will also be working on issues such as, transportation, affordable/accessible
housing, medcaid/medicare, and personal care, along with issues that might arise in the upcoming legislative session. So we will be working on all the issues that we’ve been working on the past three years for the
disability community.
Community Choice Advisory Group Sub-Committees
We have told you about the state of Maryland’s intent to submit a proposal for a
waiver, (or very big change), to the Medicaid program to the federal government. In order to
write this proposal the state has created several advisory groups. CDRC was asked by the state to provide “Consumers”, or people
that use Medicaid, to be on these subcommittees. Since that time, CDRC has been boycotting (or not attending) these meetings because the
state has not agreed to pay consumers for their work, or provide us with help the way we want it, on the advisory group subcommittees. The meetings have gone on without us while we’ve tried to reach an agreement with the state. We had a meeting with the Secretary (Anthony McCann) of the Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, (the people who
run the Medicaid program in Maryland) about these issues last month. After a few weeks we
received a letter from the Secretary stating that they will assist CDRC members with technical support from the Department Of Disabilities
(DOD) or the Department Of Aging (DOA), but the stipend issue is another story. They
(State/Secretary) will not give CDRC members stipends for their time attending and preparing for these meetings. CDRC members believe these meetings are too important not to attend. So, CDRC members decided that we will participate in these meeting on a limited basis and on the record as under protest.
Legislator Home Visits
On August 1st, Anne Arundel County Delegate Bob Costa from District 33B visited the home of Lorraine Sheehan, and her son John. John is a perfect example of a person with a disability being able to live in the community with the proper support. John’s support person (Gene) was at the meeting too. Gene assists John in John’s recycling business called “SHREDCYCLE”. Gene does the driving, and John collects recyclables from different companies and offices in the Annapolis area. On the day that we ( Little John and Kenny) were there, John Sheehan was mending a broken finger after getting it caught between two pieces of wood while stacking it for one of his neighbors. Delegate Costa was able to see how important it is for John to live in the community and said that he would help support our issues in the legislature. (See photo on our website, www.thecdrc.org, in the “Photos” section under “Recent CDRC Activities”.)
On August 2nd, Delegate Gareth Murray from District 20 visited the home of CDRC member Ellen Archie. Ellen resides in Montgomery County now but, recently moved out of a Nursing Home after being their for 3 years. Ellen talked to Delegate Murray about how difficult it is to get out of a Nursing Facility once you are in. Delegate Murray had a lot of questions for Ellen and John. At the conclusion of the meeting Delegate Murray also said that he would help support our issues at legislature. (See photo on our website).
Congratulations
To CDRC member Anna Burkett for recently being honored by Abilities Network for her work as a disability advocate. Anna advocates, and helps others to advocate, at the apartment building she lives in, Claibourne Place, and in CDRC. Great work Anna! J
Web Site
The web page is being updated weekly with new photos of different events and legislature home visits with CDRC members. We are also filling the information page with resources for you. Take a look around. www.thecdrc.org
Meetings
To celebrate the end of year 3 and the beginning of year 4, (and because our ADAPT’ers will need a lot of rest,) we
will be taking the month of September off. So…, NO MEETING IN SEPTEMBER!!! See you in October. Our next meeting will be
October 23.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Maryland City at Russett Library
3501 Russett Common
Laurel, MD 20724