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PROTECTION & ADVOCACY |
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Oklahoma Disability Law Center, Inc. |
December, 2002 |
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NCD:
“Righting the
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EPSDT Documents Assembled by National Health
Law Proram
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President Bush Signs Legislation Extending
Mental Health Parity Act
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SPECIAL EDUCATION: NEW ODLC INTERNET LIST ON DISCIPLINE ISSUES
NCD:
“Righting the
The National Council on
Disability (NCD) today released the inaugural paper in a series of policy
documents addressing specific topics raised by detrimental rulings of the U.S.
Supreme Court on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Righting the ADA, a reported located
online at http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/rightingtheada.html,
explains NCD's rationale for undertaking this comprehensive examination, the
high expectations it had for the ADA, NCD's role regarding the ADA, the impact
of the ADA, and an overview of this series of policy briefs.
Initially, NCD will respond to
certain inaccurate comments about the
NCD plans to address some limitations
the Court has imposed on the remedies available in ADA cases and take a
cross-issue look at the consequences of the Supreme Court's decisions by
contrasting the state of the law before the decisions were rendered with the
legal situation after the decisions, to identify undesirable and unjust results
in the decisions of the lower courts as a result of the Supreme Court's rulings
and to summarize instances of unaddressed discrimination and injustices
stemming from the Court's rulings that do not result in reported court
decisions.
NCD will then to develop legislative
proposals for addressing those issues that appear appropriate for legislative
correction.
Finally, NCD will present its
legislative proposals, along with pertinent supportive material from the
previous papers in a final, comprehensive report “Righting the
See also: http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/43million.html
On
Employment Awareness Month, Secretary
Elaine L. Chao unveiled http://www.DisabilityInfo.gov, a new web site
for people with disabilities.
DisabilityInfo.gov is the result of a
collaborative effort across multiple federal agencies. Containing information
on civil rights, education, employment, housing, health care, technology and transportation,
among other subjects, the site is designed to be a one-stop source of
government
information relevant to people with
disabilities, their families, employers, and service providers. The
site was developed in response to an
Executive Memorandum issued by President George W. Bush on
“I am so pleased the President
selected the Labor Department
to lead the effort to establish DisabilityInfo.gov, and I am delighted with the
result,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “DisabilityInfo.gov provides Americans
with disabilities a direct and easy connection to the information and resources
needed to access opportunities
to become full participants in their
communities and the 21st Century
workforce.”
This site, the first of its kind,
will provide individuals with one-stop access to government disability information
and resources as well as updates on the New Freedom Initiative. While DisabilityInfo.gov
will be managed by the Department of Labor, content for the portal will be a
responsibility shared across multiple
federal agencies.
DisabilityInfo.gov is part of
President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative, a comprehensive plan designed to
ensure that Americans with disabilities have the opportunity to learn and
develop skills, engage in productive work, make choices about their daily
lives, and participate fully in their
communities. The Labor Department’s
Office of Disability Employment Policy is charged with providing national
leadership to increase meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities
and is primarily responsible for implementing the employment-related aspects of
the
President’s Initiative.
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/
EPSDT DOCUMENTS COLLECTED ONLINE BY NATIONAL
HEALTH LAW PROGRAM
Early and Periodic
Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment Annotated Federal Documents, Prepared by:
Jane Perkins
This memorandum updates an
listed federal documents issued during the 1989-1993 time period. This memo
adds documents covering primarily the 1992-1994 time period.
We will be updating this memorandum later this year to include EPSDT
transmittals issued since 1994.
Child health advocates should pay attention to these transmittals
because they represent statements of federal agency policy. For example, some
documents offer information about whether federal Medicaid dollars can be used
to cover specific services. Also, given that HCFA has not promulgated final
EPSDT regulations implementing the 1989 amendments to the Medicaid EPSDT
statute, these transmittals are, in some cases, the only written indications of
federal policy that we have.
ONLINE: http://www.healthlaw.org/pubs/200001EPSDTtrans.html
PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS LEGISLATION EXTENDING MENTAL
HEALTH PARITY
President Bush signed
legislation
The Mental Health Parity
Reauthorization Act of 2002 (H.R. 5716) was sponsored by Rep. John Boehner,
R-Ohio, who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
"Over the past six years, the parity law has made significant improvements
in mental health coverage," Boehner said November 15 after the House
passed the bill. "It did so by striking a good balance -- providing
important mental health benefits to patients without placing unworkable
mandates on employers."
Proponents of more expansive mental
health parity legislation vowed to continue their efforts next year. "I am
clearly disappointed that even with the president's backing we have been unable
to get a more comprehensive mental health parity package passed this
year," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. "Another one-year extension is
good to have until we resume the battle next year."
Under the existing MHPA, group health
plans that provide mental health benefits may not impose annual or lifetime
dollar limits on those benefits that are lower than those for medical benefits.
Employers with 50 or fewer employers are exempt, as are health plans whose
costs would increase more than 1 percent by complying with the MHPA.
SPECIAL EDUCATION: NEW ODLC INTERNET LIST ON DISCIPLINE ISSUES
ODLC
receives many inquiries about issues related to discipline in special
education. In response, ODLC is building an internet list for sharing
information with a wide audience interested in this topic. Membership in
the new list is not restricted, and communication is not intended to be
confidential. Rather, it is intended to share information and answer
questions of a general nature. If you need more specific information on
your particular situation, we recommend that you directly contact an office
that handles these type questions regularly so that you can maintain your
confidentiality.
The list contains a variety of options:
- you can upload files to the list (some folders are
already created)
- you can include your favorite links in the list (some
folders are already created)
- add upcoming events to the calendar
- develop databases -- for contacts, phone books,
etc.
- chat -- maybe we could schedule a regular time for
conducting questions & answers
INSTRUCTIONS
FOR LIST:
Subscribe: discipline_sped-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Post message: discipline_sped@yahoogroups.com
Unsubscribe: discipline_sped-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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