Dear Barack :: One Citizen's Perspective :: Cross-Disability Accommodations..

Sent from these fingertips a mere few moments ago to Betsy Borgacz with the Barack Obama presidential campaign.. Should you wish to provide her with similar feedback yourselves, email her directly at OlympiaEventPlanning [at] yahoo.com with a subject line similar maybe to "Universal Accessibility and Accommodations Of Political Campaigns"..

Cyber hugs from Talking Rock..

Hi, Betsy..

Thank you sooo much for addressing, of late through Jake's own personal efforts, what these fingertips, too, have expressed [1] from my first venture [2] onto the My.BarackObama.com campaign website.. If I may be so bold, I am asking that you please accommodate me now cognitively by allowing the following extended impromptu response to how my Mind processed your recent request for information and feedback on accommodating universal accessibility for persons with disabilities (PWDs)..

Each United States state and some U.S. possessions have centers for independent living (CILs) that *should* be excellent, business day on-call resources for just exactly as you ask.. The Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) website offers an in-depth listing of many American CILs operating at this time:

• ilru.org/html/publications/directory/state_list.html..

If for any reason at all, you or any of those who may receive this by default of its intended audience, run into a snag trying to contact these various CILs in your quest for information regarding universal accommodations, *PLEASE* do not hesitate to call my Colleagues, Mentors, Extended Family here in Georgia at the disABILITY LINK (the LINK) of Decatur:

• disABILITY LINK
  755 Commerce Drive, Suite 105
  Decatur, GA 30030
  (404) 687-8890 Voice
  (404) 687-9175 TTY
  (800) 239-2507 (V/TTY)
  (404) 687-8298 FAX
  Email: info@disabilitylink.org..

This particular CIL is chock *FULL* of national disability self-advocates, nay, internationally active advocates.. Not to put them on the immediate spot, but they are, among many other things, very familiar with organizing events of various sizes for persons of, again, *ALL* disabilities..

+ + + + + + +
DISCLAIMER :: Before I go *any* further, please let it be known up front that they, as I, do not openly extend public endorsements for political candidates in and of themselves.. These groups are, instead, being recommended from the Heart as resources for best practices consultations.. Additionally, as it appears that you wholeheartedly acknowledge, no one self-advocate is *ever* in a position to speak absolutely on behalf of the Whole..
+ + + + + + +

Prompting my boldness in highlighting the LINK :: With their last few years' experience in organizing Georgia Voices That Count (GVTC) disability self-advocacy training weekends, they are becoming extremely familiar with coordinating various congregational activities embracing very diverse assemblages of disabilities at any one given time.. This includes but is not limited to the fine honed art of coordinating accessible transportation, temporary housing, and disability-specific accommodations, e.g. interpretors for persons with hearing impairments and suitable quiet space for persons with mental illness..

Additionally, there are many, *many* wonderful organizations scattered across our precious United States, but these next couple of organizations are some that I also ask that you *please* acquaint yourselves with in your own efforts to accommodate all persons, not just now but forever always into that, Our Futures (with above DISCLAIMER remaining in effect here, also):

• ADAPT in Denver
  201 S Cherokee
  Denver, CO 80223
  Telephone: 303/733-9324
  Email: ADAPT@ADAPT.org..
  www.adapt.org..
• Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
  P.O. Box 30142
  Kansas City, MO 64112
  Attn: Laura Walker
  www.sabeusa.org/nationalchapters.html..

Additionally, two more things I would like to quickly *once again*, as I have already done personally and previously, address to the Barack Obama campaign camp: Website accessibility and community transportation.. My suggestions for both, as before, remain to please visit the following:

For the Barack Obama website webmaster and/or webmistress:

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
  www.w3.org/WAI/..

Validating the BarackObama.com website is a HUGE start towards its overall accessibility for *ALL PERSONS*:

• W3C Markup Validation Service
  validator.w3.org..

Public listservs for advisement regarding implementation are available for both of the above.

Lastly, regarding transportation, if you are looking for what I personally find to be an exceptional example of community transportation for persons of all disabilities, nope, again *ALL PERSONS*, I *once again* most humbly recommend someone get a firsthand feel for the community program here in Pickens County (Jasper), Georgia:

• Mountain Area Transportation System (MATS)
  180 W. Burton Street
  Jasper, GA 30143
  Telephone: 706-692-3252

Visiting MATS would give you an excellent feel for what you would be looking for in accommodating the transportation needs of local constituents..

In conclusion, thank you for, at this time, pro-actively addressing ongoing concerns of public citizens with disabilities in our United States.. Intermingled with the reputable preferences of others, accommodation requests fulfilled by incorporating any of the above personally-garnered factors have an overall proclivity towards being of mutual benefit for *EVERYONE*, in each our daily Lives..

Peace, Love, and Social Justice For Us All..

Cindy Sue
Six. Almost Seven..

[1] Funny how rhetoric can sidetrack a girl.. :)
my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/butterfly/gGB5JF..

[2] Butterfly's Profile @ My.BarackObama.com
my.barackobama.com/page/dashboard/public/g5XsM..

- :: -
CindySueCausey.blogspot.com
www.ButterflyBytes.com
Georgia Voices That Count, 2005
Talking Rock, GA, USA

HHS/CMS :: Critical New Information On Nursing Home Quality Available..

This press release from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just now hit my inbox.. Okay, so actually, the way my Mind works these days, by the time "Publish Post" is toggled, this latest from these fingertips will have been probably two hours in the making..... :grin:

The referenced websites, all from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), include:

• Multi-Year Action Plan for Further Improvement of Nursing Home Quality; for comparison purposes, see also the 2007 Action Plan..
• Special Focus Facility Initiative..
• Nursing Home Compare..
• Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs)..
• Certification and Compliance: Nursing Homes..
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS)..

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to note is that they reference there are currently 134 long term care facilities that are continuously making it to the CMS' naughty list.. One hundred and thirty-four facilities.. ONE is one too many because each of those 134 facilities represents the very real possibility of reprehensible, wholly preventable Human Life loss..

Should you wish to reach CMS, their contact information is as follows:

• Department of Health & Human Services
  Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  Room 352-G
  200 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC 20201
  Telephone: (202) 690-6145

Cyber hugs from Talking Rock..

Critical New Information Added to Nursing Home Compare Web site :: Multi-year Plan for Improved Nursing Home Quality Also Released

Medicaid beneficiaries and families searching for top quality long-term care services can find critical new information added today to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Web site Nursing Home Compare.

For the first time, information about nursing homes on the Compare Web site will list whether a home is or has been on CMS' special focus facility (SFF) list. The agency's SFF initiative gives heightened scrutiny to nursing homes that have a history of poor performance or repeated violations of state and federal health and safety rules.

"Today's expansion of information on Nursing Home Compare will give beneficiaries a more complete picture of a nursing home's history of providing quality care," CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems said.

The SFF initiative was created because a number of facilities were consistently providing poor quality of care, yet were periodically instituting enough improvement that they would pass one survey only to fail the next (for many of the same problems as before). Such facilities with a "yo-yo" compliance history rarely addressed underlying systemic problems that were giving rise to repeated cycles of serious deficiencies.

In November 2007, the agency began publishing a list of Medicare and Medicaid participating nursing homes that have a history of serious quality of care problems and had failed to show significant improvement. In February 2008, CMS took the next step and published an updated, expanded list of nursing homes in the SFF initiative and included the category they fell within such as new additions, not improved, improving, recently graduated or no longer in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

As of April 2008, there are 134 SFFs, out of about 16,000 active nursing homes. CMS works closely with states to select participants and as homes improve their quality of care and "graduate" from the program, or fail to improve and are terminated from Medicare and Medicaid, new homes are added to the list. This movement of homes off the list allows more facilities with problems to be added as the program continues.

Once a facility is selected as an SFF, the state survey agency conducts twice the number of standard surveys and will apply progressive enforcement until the nursing home either

• significantly improves and graduates from the SFF initiative
• is granted additional time due to promising developments
• is terminated from Medicare and/or Medicaid

CMS and the state can more quickly terminate a facility that is placing residents in immediate jeopardy.

Nursing homes that have the SFF designation, including information about that designation, will now be noted on Nursing Home Compare, which can be accessed at www.medicare.gov. The site helps families find nursing homes in their area. Information about the homes includes performance scores on quality measures, staffing information and a three-year history of the home's health, safety and fire inspection reports. The Web site will be updated with new information quarterly.

"Today's action is the next step in our commitment to bring transparency and accountability to the process families must go through to find the care that is best for them and their family member," Weems said.

Further Actions Planned

The publication of the SFF list was the first major step in CMS' latest efforts to improve nursing home care. A comprehensive, multi-year look at future actions the agency will take was also released today.

The "2008 Action Plan for Further Improvement of Nursing Home Quality" consists of several inter-related and coordinated approaches:

• Consumer Awareness and Assistance: to include an increasing array of information about long-term care that will be written in an easy-to-understand format and available to the public at www.medicare.gov. Already posted there is the "Guide to Nursing Homes" and the "Compare" data. These tools can be used by Medicare beneficiaries and their family members to better understand the quality and value of Medicare's nursing home benefit.
• Survey, Standards and Enforcement Improvement: several initiatives are being developed to improve the effectiveness of the annual nursing home surveys as well as those prompted by consumer complaints. The agency also plans to work in partnership with states to improve current enforcement efforts.
• Quality Improvement: The agency is focusing on several key areas to improve health care quality in nursing homes including a special focus from the quality improvement organization (QIO) program on prevention of bed sores, reduction in the use of physical restraints and greater emphasis on developing individualized care plans to improve a resident's quality of life.
• Quality Through Partnerships: Through its QIOs, CMS has coordinated an unprecedented, collaborative campaign, "Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes" designed to improve both the delivery and measurement of quality care. Through its work with QIOs, state survey agencies, and the nursing home industry and consumers, CMS is well on track to achieve these goals.

A copy of the full 2008 nursing home action plan can be found at:

• cms.hhs.gov/CertificationandComplianc/12_NHs.asp

*OH, NO..!* Say It Ain't So..! My Ta-Da List Was, Gasp, *INACCESSIBLE*.. :blush:

Many, many thanks to "B" for very kindly contacting me just now..

In the few short weeks since I've had a 'puter back underneath these fingertips, I've been smoking the Net in search of MORE INFO along with ways to creatively share what passes through my inbox each and every day.. To that end, one of the things I created was a very quickly put together Ta-Da List of personally-garnered suggestions geared towards a beginner getting involved in disability self-advocacy..

"B" just typed a few minutes ago and said that my list required a login to the system to access.. That's totally cool if it's the hosting site's policy.. Was probably somewhere in the TOS (terms of service) for all I know.. Had tested the link, but, alack and aluck, I was most likely still logged in with active cookies so of course the link will work for me with no request for login information.. Duh.. :grin:

But... The thing is that the login for access policy's just not mine.. The days when every single second counted towards my Life survival are still too, too very fresh in Mind to not know what it is like to keep hitting road bumps of any size in one's own quest for information and answers..

THEREFORE and IN CONCLUSION....... :grin:

Special for you, "B", and anyone else who unsuccessfully tried to access my very humble advocacy list, here it is below in its still new, forever draft form..

Cyber hugs from Talking Rock..

Disability Advocacy :: Get Involved..!

Nothing about us without us.. The *CHOICE* is *YOURS*..!
List Created By :: SixAlmostSeven.org..

• Disability Vote 2008 :: Register to Vote..

• Disability Vote 2008 :: Help someone in a nursing home or other long term care facility register to Vote..

• Disability Vote 2008 :: Visit ProjectVote.org to learn my Voting Rights then help educate others..

• Disability Vote 2008 :: Verify the accessibility of my voting poll..

• Disability Vote 2008 :: Help arrange transportation to polls for persons in long term care facilities..

• Got ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, local self-advocacy group) in your area..?

• Got People First (local self-advocacy group) in your area..?

• Got SABE (Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered, local self-advocacy group) in your area..?

• Get to know your local center for independent living (CIL, ILC)..

• Get to know your state's State Independent Living Council (SILC)..

• Get to know your state's Protection and Advocacy Office for persons with disabilities..

• Get to know your state's Governor's Council on Disability (Google Search, plug in your state's name to narrow the number of webpages returned)..

• Visit the EndeavorFreedom.ning.com website..

• Visit the Not Dead Yet blog: NotDeadYetNewsCommentary.blogspot.com..

• Visit SteveGoldADA's Nuggets of info on long term care facilities..

• Attend NCD (National Council on Disability) Quarterly Meetings when they come to your area..

• Make a contact list of all your state and national government representatives..

• Attend local city/county council meetings in your area..

• Locate your favorite print, radio, television, and online media resources and have them ready to go at a moment's notice..

• Network.. Network.. Network..!

United In Advocacy..!

ACTION ALERT :: Child with autism charged, others same age NOT..

Clueless as to why I'm surprised, but here goes..

THANKS to that I am again back at the keyboard 24/7 as of this very past weekend, I just caught the following via a post over at Georgia Childrens Network (GCN) in tandem with only the second ever WSBTV weekday news alert I've ever received.. Fate being what she has been for me of late, these came within, say, an hour of each other today..

+++

Story #1 from the Tifton Gazette :: Autistic child charged with biting teacher: Student arrested for selling bogus drugs in seperate incident:

"An eight-year-old student at Horizon Academy school bit his teacher Thursday morning and was charged with battery."

*LOVE* how they tied the two stories together there, btw, even though they are unrelated.. Not.. :frown:

+++

Story #2 from WSBTV :: 3rd-Graders Allegedly Plotted To Attack Teacher..

"The nine students are too young to be charged with a crime under Georgia law, a prosecutor told the Times-Union of Jacksonville, Fla. They include girls and boys, ages 8 and 9. Authorities withheld the Center Elementary School students' names."

+++

Cool, huh..?

Exact same ages.......

Exact same state.................

DIFFERENT laws...........................

Anyone catch my....... drift..? :raises left eyebrow:

United In Advocacy..

Disability Vote 2008 :: Get To Know Project Vote..

Short and sweet, Project Vote was something I had the pleasure of attending last year as part of an annual People First of Georgia weekend.. We held it down at Camp Dream there within the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute grounds at Warm Springs, Georgia..

Fun.. Lots of fun.. And, woo, what a nice, relaxing drive down and back, too..

Saw lots of seasoned disability self-advocates, most of whom I knew very well.. Met many more I didn't, including those straight across the top of the state over in and around Helen and White County.. Looking forward to eventually getting a second blast in the form of voting and accessibility, BTW.. :hint, hint, wink:

Absolute single most important bottom line I got out of the experience :: Unless, for example, mandated by the courts that you are [mentally incompetent] to register and vote or are currently in prison or on parole for a felony conviction, you have *THE RIGHT* to vote, and, nothing but nothing should in any way impede the process it takes you in registering AND voting..

If someone in, say, a long term care (LTC) facility such as a nursing home or rehabilitation center, or, goodness forbid, it really happened to someone I know, a county registrar in your local voter registration office tries to restrict your Vote in any way, shape, or form.......

Re-emphasizing that part.......

If someone in, say, a long term care (LTC) facility such as a nursing home or rehabilitation center, or, goodness forbid, it really happened to someone I know, a county registrar in your local voter registration office tries to restrict your Vote in any way, shape, or form.......

Get someone like your state's disability advocacy office on the line..

Post-haste..

For us here in Georgia, for example, it's the very cool folks down at Georgia Advocacy Office down in Decatur that we might call:

Georgia Advocacy Office, Inc. (GAO)
One Decatur Town Center
150 E. Ponce de Leon Ave. S 430
Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: 404-885-1234
Website: www.thegao.org..

Rather than count on that someone like our advocacy offices are going to be available just when we need them, though, because, after all, the closer we get to various voting dates, the thinner everyone's available time allotments become, the best voting rights self-advocacy will come from spending a little time getting to know your voting rights yourself.. Consider starting maybe right off the bat with something like Project Vote's Voter ID Requirements webpage..

Speaking from personal experience, the more you read and get involved in something like what Project Vote presents, the ever more increasingly empowered and self-determined you become because you discover.......

No matter what it may feel like just this very second, you are never, ever actually alone through any of this..

Cyber hugs from Talking Rock..

Get involved..!
Get out the Disability Vote..!

Celebrity Privilege :: Paris Hilton released from jail already..

Just now got a Yahoo! news alert saying that Paris Hilton has already been released from a Los Angeles County jail.. And I'm genuinely surprised, WHY..?

Saw a piece about her whining on some wee hours entertainment program just a few hours ago.. Never crossed my mind she'd get away with it..

Celebrity privilege.. Unbelievable dadgum nauseating celebrity privilege..

Sigh.......

Oh, yeah, PS forgot to mention that, bless her little heart, she will be confined to her home, i.e. her mansion.. Advocacy op in the form of a discrimination lawsuit for anyone who does not receive the exact same treatment forever more into the Future..

PPS.. If Paris sincerely had Life-affecting mental health issues concerning her incarceration, does not the Los Angeles County jail system have responsible mental health care services upon demand in place at this time..? Are jail systems in this day and age still so dehumanized they do not get that facing one's wrongs in a cold, hard jail cell does a little something to even the very strongest of Minds..?

A personal observation slash prediction: Documented triple digits die here in Georgia under very questionable, DOJ-intervening circumstances, and nothing hits the biased media circuits save for the generous front page coverage the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) has consciously elected to regularly provide.. Yet let a rich, whiny brat celebrity worm her way out of a judicially issued jail sentence, and it will be clogging, inundating my inbox from all directions for days..

AJC :: Hartsfield-Jackson climbs into tie for second in satisfied users..

Just forwarded this to a number of lists that I'm on.. Fair warning: It may take a free registration/subscription to participate..

This quick article from today's online AJC summarizes a California-based J.D. Power and Associates survey that found Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport being tied for second overall regarding customer satisfaction.. According to the article Atlanta's airport is most improved in baggage check-in, accessibility, terminal facilities [cleanliness of terminal] and baggage claim..

Thought that some may have travel-related experiences to relay regarding the accessibility and universality of the same.. Please don't forget to take this opportunity to also share good experiences, too, to let people know what does work..

If you're thinking of commenting, jump right in because some comment sessions are closed after end of business hours the first day an article appears online.. Never to fear, we can always contact the paper along with those featured after the fact through the use of snail mail, phone calls, and emails should we feel they really need to hear our experiences..

Personal to Self-Advocates :: Two questions to ask any entity..

You're contemplating supporting, be it virtually, financially, or spiritually:

• Does the organization in question advocate the support of the self-advocate Voice under all circumstances..?
• Does the organization in question advocate the desegregation of persons with disabilities under all circumstances..?

If you encounter a "yes" answer to the first, cool beans, for there are those who answer "no".. Should an entity choose to advocate the squelching of the newly empowered self-advocate Voices springing up all over our World, one cannot help but doubt the motivation of an entity that openly, publicly advocates to (seemingly) more powerful entities that they throw the self-advocate Voice into the figurative Trash, especially should that original entity be one that itself presents a public facade of encouraging independent living..

If you encounter a "yes" answer to the second, the desegregation of persons with disabilities under all circumstances, cool beans, again.. To those who answer "no" to this question, one might do well to ask why they choose to support an action that will only serve to encourage other entities to follow suit, thus setting backwards a movement that has taken some 30, 40-odd years plus to create, the 100% full, unfettered inclusion of all persons with disabilities in our communities..

Just one person's most humble O.. The Choice, as always, is yours..

(Still) Speaking of Advocacy Ops: Festival of Trees..

Personal experience shouts, "Never too early to start putting together this year's entry for the local Festival of Trees.." :GRIN:

What I'm referring to is the year-end holiday "Festival of Trees" that very often can be found in any given local library branch.. This suggestion, of course, is one of those that is up to individual preference on whether or not it is appropriate for one's message..

If you don't already participate, you could start by asking your librarian 1) if they actually have a Festival of Trees each year in your library and 2) where can you sign up if they do have one..

Bear in mind this is a popular participatory opportunity for many local organizations so you may find yourself on a waiting list, maybe even for next year already.. At least you'll be in the lineup for when your turn finally presents..

The way ours here in Pickens County works, sometime in September of each year, applications are sent out to interested parties.. Based on appropriateness of message, a given number of the completed then returned applications are accepted to actually participate..

To be fair to all, spots are chosen by random drawings for position on a first in to put your tree up, first one to draw for a shot at the prime locations.. Fate has been kind here both years I did displayed a tree locally.. Front and Center by the checkout counter.. Who could ask for anything more.. :WINK:

Decoration-wise, read these fingertips :: Don't sweat it.. Repeat after me: "My tree does not have to be fancy.." That instantly takes a TON of pressure off, trust me..

The sky (and space availability) are the limit with respect to creativity in presenting your message.. Mine was very simple:

• A 5-foot tall artificial tree bought for about $3.50 after the holidays
• Tips for advocacy and self-advocacy hand-printed on circular cut unlined index cards
• Small, clear dollar store ornaments dangling on silver pipe cleaners to hang each index card
• A silvery, nylon butterfly and big bow on top
• Pretty white garland to round it out and draw it in together
• A Word or PowerPoint-generated placard for the base

Total cost comes in probably around $10.00 to $15.00 if you really scrounge around.. Places to check for decorations:

• Your attic, basement, garage, or woefully overstuffed back closet
• Your local Freecycle listserv
• Your area's CraigsList freebies and/or wanted message boards
• Thrift stores
• Dollar stores

Some nice examples that come to mind include a big tree FULL of gloves for local children.. That one was bursting by holiday's end.. Others included what I believe was the local volunteer fire department bearing all things fireman-inspired.. Some trees bore names of everyone associated with their program.. Still others gathered banners of related service chapters, charters from throughout the area..

Again, the sky's the limit on this one.. No time like the present to plant the seed with your local library if they happen to present their own Festival of Trees, too..

Advocacy Op: Get "Making A Difference" placed in your local library..

Speaking of the Making A Difference magazine, a great advocacy opportunity resides within and simultaneously is not just limited to the same..

Happened for me accidentally a year or so ago when I took a copy in to the Pickens County Library to share with the librarians.. Next thing I knew, they had their own subscription, and it is now prominently displayed on the front side of the magazine racks in the same library..

For those outside the realm of the "Making A Difference" locale, your own Governor's Council on Disability must surely put out some kind of regular publication.. Even if it is not quite magazine rack quality, ask that it be placed in a community area.. If there isn't a community area, looks like an opportunity to advocate for one to these fingertips.. Grin..

Another opportunity many local library systems offer is for the posting of meetings and events of interest.. Among other forms of communication, these can be found in the form of high trafficked bulletin boards.. My local library additionally has a loose leaf notebook containing community calendar information front and center on the main checkout counter..

Best suggestion coming to mind just this second is to ask what's available in your own library and adapt your communication to be displayed in the same.. You could also present your services regularly to create multiple formats of information such as this for those who may need, for example, large print or voice..

P.S. While you're at it, this additionally presents the opportunity to follow up and make sure that assistive technology is available and operable should anyone come in and wish to use the same..