The Connecting Point
Volume 1 Issue 20 Date January 16, 2003
In This ISSUE:
1) Clay Aiken ABLE to SERVE Awards
2) 2004 Presidential Candidates Speak out on Disability Issues
3) SSA to overhaul Disability Insurance Program
4) Medicaid Primer
5) Children's Defense Fund Mental Health Resource Kit
6) States return millions to feds instead of spending it on schools
7) IDEA Partnership Announcement
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1) Clay Aiken ABLE to SERVE Awards
Youth Service America and The Bubel Aiken Foundation are proud to present the Clay Aiken ABLE to SERVE Awards. Twenty-five grants up to $1,000 each are available to encourage young people, between the ages of 5 and 22 with developmental disabilities to plan and carry out service projects in the United States for National Youth Service Day 2004. Eight grants of $1,000 are available for youth with disabilities planning projects in Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore or South Africa for Global Youth Service Day 2004, also on April 16-18.
All grant winners will be eligible for an additional grant of $1,000 for the purpose of continuing the project beyond April. Receipt of this follow-up grant will be contingent on the satisfactory completion of a project evaluation and a cash or in-kind match from a local community partner for the award winner. To apply, simply follow the application guidelines and submit a complete application to Youth Service America postmarked by February 9, 2004. Applications are available on-line at www.ysa.org. To learn more about these and other resources, please visit our website www.YSA.org/nysd where you will find resources to help you develop a great service project and prepare a quality grant application.
3) Social Security Administration Announces Overhaul of Disability Insurance Program
According to this article from the Chicago Tribune, the Social Security Administration is announcing plans this month for "a dramatic overhaul of the nation's disability insurance program". This overhaul is intended to streamline the review and approval process for the mounting pile of disability claims, which can take more than two years to be processed into actual cash payments and health insurance.
On September 25, 2003, the newly appointed SSA Commissioner, JoAnn Burnhart, announced her plans for improving the review process for disability claims. Her proposal includes changes that would "shorten decision times, pay benefits to people who are obviously disabled much earlier in the process, and test new incentives for those with disabilities who wish to remain in, or return to, the workforce". You can learn more about this proposal at http://www.ssa.gov/disability-new-approach/ .
4) Medicaid Primer
This primer is on Medicaid's role as the major provider of health coverage for non-elderly persons with disabilities and on the policy challenges that lie ahead. It also provides short profiles of people with disabilities from across the country. The Kaiser Family Foundation's new publication is very good. You can get it at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/4027.cfm
6) Data show states return millions to feds instead of spending it on schools - 01/10/04
WASHINGTON -- While state officials nationwide say they need more money to educate children, newly released figures show states are returning millions to the federal Treasury rather than spending it in the hinterlands.
Last year, states returned $124 million to Washington that was to have gone toward large education programs such as special education and aid to poor children, according to Education Department data obtained by The Associated Press. http://www.detnews.com/2004/schools/0401/10/schools-31658.htm
7) IDEA Partnership Announcement
The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) will form a partnership that will drive change to the state and local levels while working to make systems permanently more collaborative. Policy organizations, professional organizations, and family groups will form one educational community with the potential to transform the way we work. The community will: For more information go to: http://ideainfo.org/ .
Connect policy issues with the realities of implementation (both IDEA'97 and NCLB)
Translate policy and research into practice in sites at the state and local levels
Work together in state and local districts to address persistent problems in implementing IDEA
Connect with technical assistance partners including federally funded research and technical assistance centers to learn from partner work and provide information to inform partner planning
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Readers are invited to send information about new resources on secondary education, transition from school, services and supports for adults with disabilities to connectingpoint@projectcore.org . Approved information will then be posted. Additional questions or comments can be sent to the Project Coordinator at coordinator@projectcore.org .
While The Connecting Point is not a discussion group, additional questions and discussions can be posted at
bulletinboard@projectcore.org .
The CORE Project is funded by the Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration.
The CORE Project (In Washington State)
Phone- 1-800-5-PARENT
Phone- 1-509-928-1522
Fax 1-509-928-1522
Web site www.projectcore.org
CORE Project
PMB 175
1324 N. Liberty Lake Rd
Liberty Lake, WA 99019
(A Project of Washington PAVE)
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