Ever onward.

-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 1999 4:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: ADAPT Confronts Ohio's Poor Record on Community Services




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   For more information, contact:
October 28, 1999    Shona Eakin (419) 349-5483
    Marsha Katz (406) 239-7490
     Bob Kafka (512) 431-4085
    Mike Auberger (303) 356-2273



    ADAPT Confronts Ohio's Poor Record on Community Services
    Our Homes NOT Nursing Homes

COLUMBUS, OH -- Over 500 members of ADAPT, the national disability rights
activist group with chapters in 39 states will be in Columbus from October
31st through November 4th, for a week of demonstrations and rallies in
support of home and community-based options for all people with
disabilities,
regardless of age.
    ADAPT, known for using non-violent civil disobedience to send home its
message, has targeted Ohio because of the state's inability to shift
spending
from institutional care to the community.  In 1998, ADAPT listed Ohio as one
of the 10 Worst States in providing home and community services, noting that
the state spends 89% of its Medicaid Long Term Care funding for nursing
homes
and other institutions.  The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)
reported last year that Ohio spent $2.5 billion in nursing homes and other
institutions, eight times the amount Ohio spent for home and community
services such as home health, personal care, and Medicaid waivers.
    "Ohio is one of the nation's worst states in terms of spending money on
community based programs," said ADAPT organizer Bob Kafka.  "ADAPT is in
Ohio
this week to send a message to the Taft Administration, to Ohio's elected
officials, and the people of Ohio.  REAL alternatives to nursing homes such
as attendant services and personal care must be made available.  ADAPT's
agenda is clear: REAL Choice for home and community services."
    The Ohio REAL Choice agenda includes two critical elements.  One
involves
pending legislation before the Ohio General Assembly, HB 215 introduced in
April by Rep. Terwilliger (R-Columbus).   The bill, known as Ohio Personal
Assistance Services Act (OPASA) mirrors ADAPT's federal legislation MiCASSA,
which is scheduled to be introduced in the Senate in the near future.   The
legislation would allow Medicaid recipients to use Medicaid dollars to
purchase home and community based personal assistant services, and not be
forced to go to a nursing home to receive the support they need.  H.B. 215
has been referred to the House Finance & Appropriations Committee.   The
disability community formed the Ohio OPASA Committee which has formally
requested a proponent hearing on the bill.
    The other significant component of the Ohio REAL Choice Campaign is a
decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court known as Olmstead v. L.C. &
E.W.  That decision upheld the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
integration mandate, which says, "a public entity must administer services,
programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the
needs of qualified individuals with disabilities."  However, the Taft
Administration has resisted any efforts made by ADAPT to implement  the
Supreme Court decision.
    "We've filed Title II complaints with the DOJ & HHS Office of Civil
Rights, and those are under investigation" said ADAPT's Shona Eakin of
Toledo,  "but our biggest barrier is the Taft Administration. We want them
to
develop a comprehensive plan to get people out and keep people out of
nursing
homes and other institutions." Ohio ADAPT has requested a meeting with
Governor Taft seven times, and been refused.  The group has also been
stonewalled by the state Medicaid Director, who is responsible for
implementing the ADA integration mandate and offering REAL choice for people
with disabilities at the state level
    Authorized in 1990, the ADA is the most sweeping civil rights
legislation
protecting people with disabilities. Upon signing the law at a packed White
House lawn ceremony, former President Bush declared, "And now I sign
legislation which takes a sledgehammer to another wall, one which has, for
too many generations, separated Americans with disabilities from the freedom
they could glimpse, but not grasp."  In keeping with the original intent of
the ADA, the Columbus Action kicks off ADAPT's Campaign for REAL Choice
2000.


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FOR MORE INFORMATION on American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today
(ADAPT)
        Please visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/

For direct inquiries regarding this press release please use the contact
    information at the beginning of this message or Email [log in to unmask]



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