List Mates: I received this on the POLIO list and thought some of you would be interested. Bobby > Disabled Hoosiers suing Indiana > By The Associated Press > Evansville Courier & Press > July 15, 2000 > > Disabled residents are suing Indiana, claiming state agencies are not > doing enough to keep them out of nursing homes so they can live more > independently. > Four disabled Lake County residents and an advocacy group are > demanding that more disabled people have the option of living in > apartments or homes with help from Medicaid. > If the lawsuit is successful, more than 7,000 disabled people who are > now on waiting lists to live in neighborhoods may benefit. Attorneys > are asking that the case be certified as class-action, so residents of > other states could be affected as well. > "We're trying to afford people with disabilities access to their right > to live lives like the rest of us," said Teresa Torres, executive > director of Everybody Counts, in Merrillville. > Torres said disabled residents shouldn't be "warehoused off in a > corner in a nursing home." > "We're trying to get the state to recognize that as a priority. > Indiana needs to catch up with the rest of the world," she said. > The lawsuit alleges that plaintiffs such as Karen Adams have "no > realistic hope of living in the community, despite their wishes." > Adams has lived in a nursing home for five years, since her mother > died. The 40-year-old woman has cerebral palsy and epilepsy and uses a > wheelchair. She has never been offered the choice of living anywhere > else. > The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Marion County against the state's > Family and Social Services Administration. It also alleges that > Indiana's Medicaid spending for community care ranks low in comparison > to other states. > State officials admit there are waiting lists. Andrew Stoner, a social > services spokesman, said 1,800 people are on a waiting list for one > Medicaid-funded community care program that serves the elderly and > disabled. 39 > > >We have two new members. They are Jim Young and Leslie Evans. Welcome to >C-Palsy , Jim and Leslie!! >AOL Instant Messenger ScreenName KJPink >ICQ UIN # 16632777 >http://homepages.msn.com/WindowsWay/kjpink/ >SafetyEd International's WebSite: http://www.safetyed.org