| | | | NJCDD's Eye on Advocacy weekly e-newsletter published every Tuesday focused on important news and events for the intellectual and or developmental disabilities community. You are welcome to submit news items and feedback to njcdd@njcdd.org. | |
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| | Disability Rights NJ's new investigative report, Person First: An Investigation and Legal Analysis of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in New Jersey Nursing Homes This Report exposes long-standing neglect and rights violations occurring in nursing facilities around the state.
Over the span of sixteen months, from April 2022 through August, 2023, Disability Rights NJ visited 70 nursing homes throughout the state and interviewed hundreds of individuals with IDD living in nursing homes. Disability Rights NJ found significant violations of state and federal laws, as they relate to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Olmstead v. L.C., and person-centered planning rights under the Home and Community-Based Services Settings Rule. | |
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| | Nursing homes are institutions, and many of NJ’s nursing homes are grim hospital-like places to live, even for a short time – buildings are outdated and lack the ability to provide person-centered supports and services. Through this investigation and the investigation at Woodlands in 2022, Disability Rights NJ concluded the state has become over-reliant on institutions for people with disabilities, rather than investing in robust home and community-based settings, services, and supports. This practice has denied so many residents of these institutional settings the hope of community integration and autonomy. This is a violation of a person’s right to self-determination, or the choice of where to live, guaranteed by the NJ Constitution.
PERSON FIRST is organized into three Key Findings that, through the lens of the law, detail and analyze discoveries of Disability Rights NJ’s investigation:
- The State of New Jersey failed to collect and maintain complete, consistent, and accurate data related to individuals with IDD living in nursing homes and appears to be substantially undercounting the number of residents with IDD.
- New Jersey’s Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) regulations and practices do not align with federal law and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) technical assistance leading to the inappropriate and potentially unlawful institutionalization of individuals with IDD in nursing homes and denial of specialized services in nursing homes where appropriate.
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- Throughout New Jersey, people with IDD end up living in nursing homes with little regard for, and at times, against their expressed preference for living in the community. The New Jersey Constitution and federal person-centered planning laws guarantee the right to express a preference for where one lives and to lead the person-centered planning process. People receiving long-term services and supports, including those with IDD, are frequently being denied these rights.
Disability Rights NJ will discuss the investigation and each of the Key Findings in a webinar series offered weekly throughout the month of October. The first webinar will be October 10th at 10am. Check our website and social media for more details and registration information to be shared soon. We believe our findings in this report are important for all nursing home residents, especially residents with IDD and mental health disabilities. |
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| | | | | Finally HOME surveyValues Into Action was awarded the NJ Housing Grant for People with Complex Medical and Behavioral Support Needs including those who are aging by the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities. We are calling this project, “Finally HOME NJ"
About Finally HOME NJ: Finally HOME NJ will serve to raise awareness and expectations of housing resources and supports for people with complex behavioral and medical needs, including those who are aging.
We are inviting people with disabilities, family members and professionals to share what barriers and challenges exist with housing and supports for people with complex behavioral and medical needs, including those who are aging. | |
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| | | Accessible Voting in New Jersey The Tuesday, November 8, 2022 General Election is over. Thank you for voting! - You must be registered to vote.
- All voters can request a ballot by mail.
- Early voting locations are open before
Election Day - Check to see if an accessible vote-by-mail
system is available.
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| | | Accessible Voting Tips As a voter with a disability, you have a right to vote privately and independently, at an accessible voting location, on an accessible voting system.
If you need more information or assistance using your right to vote, these organizations can help |
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| | | | Tell Us About Your Experience with Transportation Safety on School BusesNJCDD and Regional Family Support Planning Councils co-hosted the School Bus Transportation Safety Listening Session to obtain family testimonies. We continue collecting family voices through our online survey. | |
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| | | | | Stay Covered NJ NJ FamilyCare/Medicaid wants everyone to stay insured in New Jersey, NJ FamilyCare will mail renewals to all members in the year between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. Members should expect to renew their coverage once a year from now on.
If you receive one of the postcards above from your health plan, your NJ FamilyCare renewal mail is coming this month. | |
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| | Front: Don't forget to check your mail. Back: Your NJ FamilyCare renewal mail is coming very soon. Please open it and follow instructions right away if you want to keep your healthcare coverage.
Frente: No olvide verificar su correo. Reverso: Pronto ricibirá su correo de renovación de NJ FamilyCare. Ábarlo y siga las instrucciones de inmediato si deasea mantener su cobertura de atención médica.
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| | Get four free at-home COVID-19 tests this fall on COVIDTests.gov Every U.S. household may place an order to receive four free COVID-19 rapid tests delivered directly to your home. Order Free At-Home Tests
Need help placing an order for your at-home tests? Call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).
The U.S. government will continue to make COVID-19 tests available to uninsured individuals and underserved communities through existing outreach programs. Please contact a HRSA health center, Test to Treat site, or ICATT location near you to learn how to access low- or no-cost COVID-19 tests provided by the federal government. | |
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| | 2022-2023 NJ Survey for Families of Children with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities Rutgers University is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (NJDCF) on a study surveying NJ residents 18 or older who are a parent or guardian to a child or young adult (age 0-22) with an intellectual and/or developmental disability. Your child does not have to have a formal diagnosis in order for you to participate in the survey. If you have a child with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, your participation is incredibly important. The survey should take about 30-60 minutes, depending on the number of children and time spent on open-ended responses. | |
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Register Ready – New Jersey’s Special Needs Registry for Disasters
This database allows NJ residents with disabilities or access and functional needs and their families, friends and associates an opportunity to provide information to emergency response agencies, so emergency responders can better plan to serve them in a disaster or other emergency.
Download the brochure here translated in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, and Tagalog.
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| | | | | | Lead your loved one’s ISP team to realize their best life| Nov 4, 2023 10:00 AM
Does your loved one's Individualized Service Plan (ISP) reflect their likes and dislikes? Do you have a working relationship with your loved one’s Support Coordinator? Do you and the Support Coordinator use the ISP as a “GPS” to reach the destination your loved one envisions?
This is a hybrid meeting. You can choose to attend via Zoom or in person at Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton, 800 US-130, Hamilton Township, NJ 08690. If you wish to attend in person, please register by October 26.
Multi-lingual closed captioning is available for this event. If you need special accommodations, please register by October 20 with the details of your request or contact Kyoko Coco, Kyoko.Coco@njcdd.org, at 609-341-3112. | |
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| | Dirija el equipo ISP de su ser querido para lograr su mejor vida | 4 de noviembre de 2023 10:00 a.m.
¿El Plan de Servicio Individualizado (ISP) de su ser querido refleja sus gustos y disgustos? ¿Tiene una relación de trabajo con el Coordinador de Apoyo de su ser querido? ¿Usan usted y el Coordinador de soporte el ISP como “GPS” para llegar al destino que su ser querido imagina?
Esta es una reunión híbrida. Puede optar por asistir a través de Zoom o en persona en Hilton Garden Inn Hamilton, 800 US-130, Hamilton Township, NJ 08690. Si desea asistir en persona, regístrese antes del 26 de octubre.
Hay subtítulos multilingües disponibles para este evento. Si necesita adaptaciones especiales, regístrese antes del 20 de octubre con los detalles de su solicitud o comuníquese con Kyoko Coco, Kyoko.Coco@njcdd.org, al 609-341-3112. | |
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| | | | The New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) Hybrid Public Meeting will be held on Thursday November 2, 2023 from 9:30am to 1:30pm at the Hilton Garden Inn, 800 US Route 130, Hamilton NJ. To attend in person or make a public comment, please submit your In-Person RSVP or written public comment to Jacinta.williams@njcdd.org by Wednesday November 1, 2023.
ACCOMMODATIONS: For in-person accommodations, language interpretation and/or other accommodations, please contact Jacinta Williams at Jacinta.williams@njcdd.org, with your specific accommodation request at least two weeks in advance or by October 18, 2023. | |
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| | La Reunión Pública Híbrida del Consejo de Discapacidades del Desarrollo de Nueva Jersey (NJCDD) se llevará a cabo el jueves 2 de noviembre de 2023 de 9:30 a.m. a 1:30 p.m. en el Hilton Garden Inn, 800 US Route 130, Hamilton NJ. Para asistir en persona o hacer un comentario público, por favor envíe su RSVP en persona o comentario público por escrito a Jacinta.williams@njcdd.org antes del miércoles 1ero de noviembre de 2023.
ADAPTACIONES: Para las adaptaciones en persona, interpretación de idiomas u otras adaptaciones, póngase en contacto con Jacinta Williams en Jacinta.williams@njcdd.org con su solicitud de adaptación específica al menos dos semanas antes o antes del 18 de octubre de 2023. | |
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| | 2nd Annual NJ Self-Direction Conference The Collaborative for Citizen Directed Supports- NJ is a statewide organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for people with disabilities to fully participate in the design and delivery of their services, with the support they need, from whom they want. We provide information, resources, and avenues to help people with disabilities live their lives to the fullest.
We are pleased to announce the upcoming 2nd Annual NJ Self-Direction Conference, Brought to you in partnership with The Collaborative for Citizen Directed Supports NJ, Easterseals, and Public Partnerships, LLC. The 2023 SDC is sponsored by the NJ Council on Developmental Disabilities and Eiros Group. The conference will be held online November 2nd – 4th, 2023. | |
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| | | | Healthy Athletes Saturday, November 4, 2023 | 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Special Olympics New Jersey Sports Complex, Lawrenceville, NJ Special Olympics New Jersey will be offering the following Healthy Athletes disciplines: Healthy Hearing is the audiological screening designed to assess the prevalence of possible hearing loss. These screenings will identify athletes who need audiological evaluations to determine if a hearing loss exists and requires treatment. Special Olympics New Jersey will be offering FREE hearing aid fittings and FREE ear wax removal for the very first time! Please read the form carefully and entirely as there are necessary paperwork/ waivers required in order to receive hearing aids. Special Smiles provides comprehensive oral health care information and instructions on correct brushing and flossing techniques. Additionally, Special Olympics New Jersey and local dentists, will be offering FREE CLEANINGS and Restorative care (if necessary) to pre-registered athletes. Please read the form carefully and entirely as there is a necessary waiver to receive cleanings and treatment.
Opening Eyes screenings provide a comprehensive eye assessments and FREE prescription eye wear, sunglasses and sports googles to our athletes. | |
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October is a Month-Long Celebration on Campus Rutgers University is one of the most diverse institutions in the Big 10 and disabilities play a vital role in making our community vibrant and inclusive. Join us in celebrating Disability Awareness Month in October, and learn about resources and actions to keep the conversation going throughout the year. | |
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| | 25th Annual Supportive Housing Conference at The Palace Somerset, NJ We're celebrating 25 years empowering and representing New Jersey's supportive housing community. Get the most out of this annual premier event by proposing a workshop, sharing your message as a sponsor, or networking with our diverse attendees as a conference exhibitor. November 3, 2023 | 8:00am - 4:00pm. | |
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| | | | By Christopher Huffaker and Deanna Pan Globe Staff Boston Public Schools on Wednesday unveiled a plan that would overhaul its special education system. | |
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| | After years of failing to appropriately educate its students with disabilities, Boston Public Schools on Wednesday unveiled a multipart plan that would overhaul its special education system. The district plans to educate students with disabilities in general education classrooms whenever possible, a practice known as inclusion, in all grades and schools within three years. The district also intends to have all English learners in inclusive settings by the 2025-2026 school year.
“This work is complex. It’s also urgent,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said Wednesday night during a presentation by administrators to the School Committee outlining the changes. “We must confront more than 100 years rooted in systemic racial disparities that historically limited equitable access and outcomes for our historically underserved students.” The district must overhaul its special education practices under a state-mandated improvement plan the city agreed to in 2022 in order to avoid a state takeover of the district. The agreement came on the heels of a blistering state review of the district, in which state leaders described BPS’s special education services as being in “systemic disarray.”
Later in the year, the state education department found BPS violated the rights of special education students by providing unreliable transportation of students with disabilities, preventing some students from receiving specialized instruction and therapies at school.
In addition, a district-commissioned review of the special education department last year found 29 percent — thousands of students — are taught in “substantially separate” classrooms; it’s a rate more than twice that of state and national averages, with students of color and English learners segregated at particularly high rates. Students with disabilities are also underrepresented in the district’s popular dual-language programs.
Under the new plan, the district will place students with and without disabilities in the same classrooms in pre-K, kindergarten, and grades 7 and 9 at every school next school year. Schools will expand the practice to most grades the following year and to the remainder in the 2026-2027 school year.
The plan also envisions a similar shift in the education of English learners. Beginning next year in grades K-8 and the following year in grades 9-12, students learning English will only be separated from peers as needed for direct English instruction, rather than spending their entire days in separate programs.
John Mudd, a longtime BPS watchdog who sits on the task force that advises the School Committee on services for English learners, however, criticized the plan’s strategy for teaching English learners during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s meeting. “BPS is planning to double down on an English immersion strategy that state and BPS MCAS evidence shows has failed 90 percent of English learners and English learners with disabilities,” he said.
Multiple committee members also expressed concerns about how the plan would teach English learners and whether there would be adequate multilingual staff available to support them in general education classrooms. |
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The district sent its special education inclusion plan to the state in early October, a key step in a multiyear process to revamp its system. The district released an initial planning document last fall and last year began planning for inclusive education at 22 K-8 schools and every high school. Those plans went into effect this year.
The plan does not lay out the specific changes each school will make to transition to inclusion but instead defines steps they must take and the outcomes they must achieve. Teams at every school must develop school-level plans this year, including recommendations on shifting resources and ensuring they have the necessary staff.
But the plan does have dozens of action items for the district and schools to undertake, like picking a coordinator at each school to oversee support systems, a process that is underway, and auditing individualized education plans for students with disabilities, which has not yet begun. The district already has released new guidance for moving students from segregated English immersion classes to general education. Schools must form their inclusion planning teams this fall and develop plans to carry them out in the spring.
The plan lays out in great detail the district’s failings in educating students with disabilities and English learners, including the concentration of specialized programs and inclusion in a small number of schools, achievement gaps between students in substantially separate settings and their peers in inclusive classrooms, and a lack of flexibility that often locks students into certain programs even as the needs of the students change. Even basic instruction varies greatly across the district, the plan notes, let alone the processes for identifying students who need additional services.
“We can no longer be a district where students need to travel to a certain school with a certain program in another neighborhood, sometimes far away from home, to get the services they need,” Skipper said. “All Boston Public Schools must be inclusive.”
RELATED: Emerson student book drive to boost BPS literacy, inclusion efforts The document will serve as the road map to provide the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities, Skipper told the School Committee. “If we want to make lasting change, we must understand the systemic root of the problems and tackle the larger system and practices that lead to our current realities,” she said.
The plan lays out a variety of ways general education classrooms can be redesigned to accommodate all students, many of them depending on pairing classroom teachers with special educators and other specialists to alternate instruction.
Boston has had inclusive schools and programs for decades, including the Mary Lyon, the Henderson K-12 Inclusion School, and the Symphonize program at the former Urban Science Academy in West Roxbury. Those programs have at times served as models nationally and globally for inclusive education, but they have yet to reach many of the district’s students, more than one-fifth of whom have disabilities.
“BPS must take responsibility for the students we have failed,” the plan reads. “There have been strong examples of inclusive practice in BPS’ history, but if that good work is not rooted in a system that sustains it, then the cycle of failure will continue.” |
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| | | | The End of FMLA Time Off May Be the Start of ADA Leave By Allen Smith, J.D. Potential leave entitlement doesn't end with the exhaustion of 12 weeks of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) but may be extended for a specified period of time under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), so long as that doesn't result in an undue hardship on the employer. HR needs to coordinate ADA and FMLA obligations, including for health insurance and return to work.
"Employers often believe that their obligation to grant leave ended with the FMLA and fail to consider their obligations under the ADA or equivalent state law for additional leave," said Heather Boshak, an attorney with Fox Rothschild in Morristown, N.J. | |
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| | | By Letters to the Editor | The Star-Ledger Concerning the recent article, “Apartment project in N.J. town designed specifically for adults with autism,” about the 32-unit Thrive building in Red Bank.
I am one of the family members who reached out to the sponsor of this building, the non-profit Parents with a Plan. I applaud and thank this group, and other families who are trying to find innovative living options for their family members. I’m not surprised that the article generated so many responses. Many families are desperately seeking intentional communities that can support their family member with autism, when family members are no longer capable of doing so. These family members needing support are not just 21, they are 31 and 41, and still looking. We are hoping not just for housing, but also for employment and everyday social interaction to help our family members lead fulfilled lives. Thrive is not the first project of its kind: Weinberg Commons (Cherry Hill), Cohome (Morristown), and Oasis (Middletown) are options for a few that seem to be successful models.
Right now, these options are simply too few and far between. The journey from idea to realization is painfully slow, time consuming and costly.
What we need is a truly strong, well-funded, statewide coordination of efforts to create a wider variety of living options, located throughout the state, for people who need support to maintain a successful life in the community. I hope that the state, real estate developers, families and support agencies, along with people with disabilities who themselves must have a voice, can move faster to help these ideas become reality.
Jessica Oppenheim, Highland Park | |
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| | | | 8 ways Google makes daily tasks more accessible Google rolled out new accessibility features and updates that make accomplishing daily tasks faster and easier — like taking selfies, getting walking directions or searching the web. We recently launched Lookout image Q&A mode and accessibility updates on Android 14 and Wear OS 4. Now we have even more accessible features across our products that are built with and for people with disabilities. | |
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| | PlayStation’s accessibility controller goes on sale in December
PlayStation’s accessibility controller finally has a release date and a price.
July is Disability Pride Month, a celebration of people with disabilities established to mark the anniversary of the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. PlayStation seems to be getting in on the celebration with its announcement that its Access controller will be available for preorder on July 21st, with the controller launching officially in the US on December 6th.
The Access controller is deeply customizable, designed to accommodate any player’s specific needs. From Sony’s blog: “You can map buttons to create up to 30 control profiles, adjust stick settings, toggle commands on / off, or disable buttons altogether to stop accidental pressing.” | |
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| | National Disabilities Employment Awareness Month A Proclamation on National Disability Employment Awareness Month, 2023 People with disabilities have long strengthened our economy and expanded our Nation’s possibilities. During National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we recognize the immense contributions of disabled Americans, and we recommit to delivering America’s full promise of equal dignity, respect, and opportunity for every American. | |
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| | | | | More than 71 million Americans will see a 3.2% increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2024. On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $50 per month starting in January. | |
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| | | The NJCDD is proud to support NJ DB101, a free, user-friendly, all-in-one place, resource guide for employment and benefit questions/information. Find out how working impacts benefits like SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and more! Resources are in plain language and available in both English and Spanish. | |
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| | Transportation Resources for Individuals Living with Disabilities NJCDD Resource Page has been updated and we are proud to present the New Jersey Transportation Resources for Individuals Living with Disabilities Infographic, available in English and Spanish. | |
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| | | | | The purpose of this expanded version of the Toolkit is to empower individuals with disabilities and their family and professional caregivers by providing information to more effectively advocate for persons with complex severe behavioral health conditions (which we formerly referred to as “dual diagnosis”) for treatments, supports, services and the conditions that promote mental wellness. |
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El propósito de esta versión ampliada del kit de herramientas es facilitarles a las personas que tienen discapacidades y a sus cuidadores familiares y profesionales herramientas que los empoderen, al proveer información que permita abogar de una forma más efectiva por las personas que tienen condiciones graves y complejas de salud conductual (a las que antes se denominaban con “diagnóstico dual”) para conseguir los tratamientos, apoyos, servicios y las condiciones que fomentan el bienestar mental. |
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NJCDD Disclaimer: New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities does not endorse or recommend any programs, providers, or organizations. This is for information-sharing purposes only. |
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