Helping Voters with Disabilities Participate in Our Democratic Process |
Continue reading this article -> https://blog.ssa.gov/helping-voters-with-disabilities-participate-in-our-democratic-process/
Providing accurate and timely information about what matters in Franklin, MA since 2007. * Working in collaboration with Franklin TV and Radio (wfpr.fm) since October 2019 *
Helping Voters with Disabilities Participate in Our Democratic Process |
Via HMEA:
We’re pleased to be sponsoring ' Virtual Disability Forum with candidates for Governor of Massachusetts taking place 9/8.
You’ll be able to listen to candidates answer questions about issues important to the disability community.
Register here: https://arcmass.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LlkkTKvnQoiANwtpP5J1lg
2022 Virtual Disability Forum, with Candidates for Governor of Massachusetts - Sep 8 |
The Massachusetts State Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to promote the wellbeing of senior citizens with disabilities by clarifying their right to create and access pooled trusts while also receiving MassHealth benefits. Pooled trusts can provide funding to help seniors with disabilities to pay for items and services which are not covered by MassHealth, such as home care services, uncovered medical, dental and pharmacy costs, transportation, clothing, and household items.
“MassHealth serves some of the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable residents,” said Senate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland). “Senior citizens and people with disabilities deserve to be able to save and make smart financial decisions for their living expenses without having to worry about their eligibility for MassHealth. I want to thank Senator Jehlen for pushing for this legislation and Senator Rodrigues for his committee’s review.”
“The passage of this legislation today strengthens our support for our older disabled population by improving their quality of life and makes aging in Massachusetts a more caring experience for this population in need,” said Senator Michael J. Rodrigues (D-Westport), Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. “I would like to thank the Senate President for her continued support, along with Senator Jehlen and others for their advocacy, ensuring we help to preserve funds for this vulnerable population, while protecting their eligibility for public benefits.”
"For decades, disabled people have been able to use special needs trusts to pay for important services not covered by MassHealth," said Senator Patricia B. Jehlen (D-Somerville), lead sponsor of the bill. "The trusts allow them to qualify for MassHealth while preserving enough assets to pay for items not allowed by Medicaid rules, such as home care, transportation, dental care, clothing, and personal care items. When the beneficiary of a special needs trust dies, any remaining assets are returned to the Commonwealth. Millions of dollars are recovered from these trusts each year."
Pooled trusts, which are managed by nonprofit organizations, combine the resources of many beneficiaries for the purposes of administrative cost-effectiveness and investment optimization. In Massachusetts, they have been used to give people with disabilities a way to access health care benefits, such as those offered by MassHealth, while depositing additional funds into the trust to pay for items and services not covered by those benefits.
Historically, disabled individuals of any age have been permitted to join pooled trusts without interfering with their MassHealth eligibility. In 2019 however, a federal court decision held that a Medicaid penalty may be imposed on a senior who creates a pooled trust account which is not regarded as a ‘fair-market value’. This makes it possible for MassHealth to penalize disabled individuals aged 65 and over who set up a pooled trust. This legislation would prevent this by requiring MassHealth to regard all pooled trusts as ‘fair-market value’.
Having passed the Senate this legislation now goes on to the House of Representatives for enactment.
Link to legislation -> https://malegislature.gov/Bills/192/H4792
MA Senate Passes Legislation Supporting Special Needs Trusts for Disabled Seniors |
Matt's story |
An important reminder!
What do disabilities look like? |
FM #764 = This is the Franklin Matters radio show, number 764 in the series.
This session shares my conversation with local area author Marjorie Turner Hollman. Our conversation was conducted via conference bridge to adhere to the ‘social distancing’ requirements of this pandemic period.
We had an easy conversation catching up with Marjorie since we had last talked in Sep 2020. Marjorie has just released a new book now, My Liturgy of Easy Walks. More of a memoir than an easy walk guide, she gets into the back story on how and why she developed easy walks in a series of essays as she recovered.
Let’s listen to my conversation with Marjorie which runs about 20 minutes.
Audio file -> https://franklin-ma-matters.captivate.fm/episode/fm-764-liturgy-of-easy-walks-with-marjorie-turner-hollman-03-28-22
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Links to
The new book page on Amazon -> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0989204391/
Marjorie’s webpage which among other things features her books https://marjorieturner.com/
‘Easy Walks, Massachusetts, RI and Beyond’ group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/616401235386068/
The video links to our walk and conversations around the Sculpture Park in Franklin
https://youtu.be/IBYcPoNICv0 and Choate Park in Medway https://youtu.be/aGrspVpaMs4
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We are now producing this in collaboration with Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) or 102.9 on the Franklin area radio dial.
This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin but we can't do it alone. We can always use your help.
How can you help?
If you can use the information that you find here, please tell your friends and neighbors
If you don't like something here, please let me know
Through this feedback loop we can continue to make improvements. I thank you for listening.
For additional information, please visit https://www.franklinmatters.org/ or www.franklin.news/
If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission.
I hope you enjoy!
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You can also subscribe and listen to Franklin Matters audio with your favorite podcast app; search in "podcasts" for "Franklin Matters"
Liturgy of Easy Walks: a conversation with Marjorie Turner Hollman |
If you listened/watched the School Committee meeting Tuesday (12/14/21), one of the parent comments was hard for me to follow but could be summarized as:
"Parent with policy issue, allowing schools to use punitive exclusionary consequences on disabled student for having symptom of a disability that they knowingly failed to support while claiming to be instituting restorative practices"
Citizen Comment - about "punitive exclusionary consequences on disabled student" |
Coincidentally, I found in my inbox on Tuesday that NIST is looking for input and comment to address this disability issue nationally: "NIST Draft Publication Addresses Removing Barriers for Voters With Disabilities" https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2021/10/nist-draft-publication-addresses-removing-barriers-voters-disabilities
Direct link to draft out for comment -> https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.1273-draft.pdf
The chapter headings for the draft are shown as follows:
2. SYSTEMIC BARRIERS TO AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VOTING ACCESSIBILITY
3. VOTER REGISTRATION AND THE NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION FORM
4. VOTING BY MAIL
5. VOTER TECHNOLOGY
6. POLLING LOCATIONS
7. POLL WORKER TRAINING
“People with disabilities continue to face barriers to voting" |
Senate Passes Bill to Increase Higher Education Opportunities for People with Disabilities |
"There are about 56,000 people living in Massachusetts nursing homes, but about 10,000 to 20,000 of them could be living in their own homes.
That’s according to Paul Spooner, director of the MetroWest Center for Independent Living, who said finding a place to live at home with care - and affording it - remains a problem for people with disabilities 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed on July 26, 1990.
The act doesn’t guarantee private housing, but nine years after it was passed, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Olmstead v. L.C. decision because of it.
The decision was made on June 22, 1999, and ruled that the unjustified segregation of people with disabilities is discrimination because it violates the ADA, and that individuals have a right to live in their community when appropriate instead of in an institution. But how people with disabilities can afford to live on their own outside living with others - like in institutions and nursing homes - remains a question."Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
handicap parking was added to the Town Common (High st shown) and Unions St just last year |
https://twitter.com/DAVHQ/photo |
Franklin Disabilities Commission: Ability Summit - April 18 |
One of the new handicapped parking spots on the Town Common, this one at the corner of High St and Main St |
"Horace Mann Education Associates recently announced that it has been awarded a $25,000 Learn to Earn Initiative grant from the Baker-Polito administration to design a career training program for unemployed or underemployed young adults with disabilities in the southern Worcester County region of Massachusetts.
HMEA will serve as the lead agency on the pilot initiative in partnership with the Central Massachusetts Employment Collaborative, Work Without Limits of UMass Medical School’s Commonwealth Medicine division, and the MassHire Central Region Workforce Board. Employer partners include Sodexo USA, Cumberland Farms and the Worcester Public Schools.
LTE is a comprehensive approach to providing individuals who are receiving assistance from public benefit programs with the supports, skills, and credentials they need to gain and retain employment in occupations for which employers have persistent demand."
We support over 4000 people with |
"Horace Mann Educational Associates was awarded a one-year grant for $35,000 from Tufts Health Plan Foundation as part of its smart data efforts for better health care.
This is one of 15 new community investments totaling nearly $1.9 million that reflect the Foundation’s commitment to advancing policies and practices that support healthy aging, including addressing gaps in food access, housing, transportation and community safety.
HMEA is the lead convener of 30 organizations supporting older people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The grant will support HMEA’s work to build health care Quality Measures into an electronic information system, create benchmarks across pilot agencies and convene a learning community to improve collaboration among human service organizations and health care providers. This electronic system is a key asset needed to help these organizations collaborate with health care providers serving older people with disabilities."