Not that I'm opinionated *BUT* :: Alabama's DHR..

If other states are looking to Alabama's Department of Human Resources (DHR) for how they run their own family and children's services divisions, advocates and self-advocates need to be seriously concerned..

Having been involved on the fringes of one particular and very recent case of theirs, I witnessed them take a child away when the case ultimately boiled down to that the child did not like the parents' choice in britches.. The child exhibited physical violence towards family members, and, for such, received (state paid for..???) trips to highend department stores for punishment..

With respect to family counseling, lessons in clothes folding were offered or at least mentioned at some point, but not once, not once, NOT ONCE was there indepth follow-through with respect to mental health counseling..

The even deeper history to the case..? Physical violence witnessed by the child as a youngster that was never addressed.. Would take a glimpse at the case history to see if they would even allow it to be admitted for consideration towards the child's current history of behavior..

Also of interest to these fingertips was the one office's bias regarding the freedom of religious choice provided by our country.. The child's papers physical reflect..? Unwitnessed by these fingertips, but verbally stated as a written recorded statement of:

"claims to be Christian"

The statement of "claims to be Christian" was reported to have been placed on file after a member or members of the family were repeatedly asked about their religious convictions.. For what it's worth in rumorable materials, these fingertips have been personally privy to that this is not the only case of religious bias shown by Alabama DHR, either..

WHOOPS..... Forgot to include the link that started this rant:

• Other States Look To Alabama's DHR As Role Model
  Monday, Oct 15, 2007 - 09:31 AM
  Birmingham, Alabama
  By Associated Press via NBC13 (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Anniston)

Now.. Why should this be of any immediate interest to a blog expressing personal opinions concerning disability self-advocacy rights..?

Because these fingertips are also privy to what remains at best a rumor that a grandmother was put through an absolute ringer over custody of her grandchildren because of her weight.. Reportedly, hear me again, reportedly, as in Rumor has it, the grandmother went through invasive operational procedures for weight removal only to continue to have custody rights to her grandchildren still be denied afterwards.. Granted, I know nothing, nothing of the specifics of this case, but it is not an isolated reported instance of this type.. Surely, surely, surely there is a creative press-type reporter out there who can dig deep down into the nitty gritty of the same..

Yup, jim dandy to know other states will be leaning on Alabama's DHR for the how-tos of getting involved in guiding our family units.. Can't wait to see it reflected in the overall health of our local communities as a whole as Time goes on..

Cyber hugs..

Rome, Georgia :: Owner of 2 Nursing Homes suing DHR and CMS over funding loss..

Just found the following story in my ever burgeoning inbox.. In circumstances such as this story involves, resources that immediately come to mind to contact include:

• State disability advocacy office
• Long term care ombudsman (National Long Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center)
• Local center for independent living (CIL)
• News media (e.g. Congress.org Media Guide) -- Don't forget to get your story out there widespread so disability advocates can see it..

In addition to the above, don't forget about your local disability self-advocacy organizations, too.. Coming immediately to mind are:

• American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT)
• People First

Checking out the ADAPT website and/or contacting them directly should provide leads to local ADAPT chapters.. Calling your local CIL or trying some creative keyword combination searches will point you in the direction of your area's nearest People First chapter..

Article :: Owner of two nursing homes filed a federal lawsuit..
By Mike Gellatly, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer, 2007-07-07
Rome News-Tribune..

Synopsis :: George Houser of Forum Healthcare, owner of two Rome, Georgia, nursing home facilities (Mount Berry and Moran Lake) filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and others.. Federal funding supporting skilled nursing services stands to be pulled from these two long term care centers on July 15, 2007.. Based on the article, ceasure of funding appears to be related to (previous) quality of care.. Funding currently being provided is earmarked for the discharge and transfer of affected residents..

SCMagazine.com :: 140,000 new parents compromised.. By Georgia's DHR..

Ladies and gentlemen, we have just crossed over into..........

The Twilight Zone..

Sigh.............

To those looking for something to back up the extreme negatives of disability-specific databases, got your something right c'here..

To everyone else, what was it I said not too long ago about how this shtuff affects all in the community.. Hitting close enough to home yet..?

From 140,000 new parents compromised, by Dan Kaplan, Secure Computing Magazine, May 22 2007 10:48..

Forms containing the sensitive information of about 140,000 parents of newborns in the US are at risk for compromise after they were not shredded upon disposal, the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) has told parents in a letter.

DHR, which oversees the state Division of Public Health, said in the letter mailed last week that it improperly discarded records containing the Social Security numbers and medical histories of parents whose babies were born in the state between April 2006 and March 16 of this year.

How the data forms loss was (and wasn't) discovered..

Lisa Moery, spokeswoman for the DHR, told SCMagazine.com today that the incident came to light after an investigative reporter for a local television station discovered the records in March in trash bins outside a facility.

"We weren't aware of it until last week," Moery said.

The article goes on to credit Kevin Simzer, as chief marketing officer of Entrust, with the professional observation that..

.....technology doesn't matter unless organisations ensure employees understand the value of sensitive data while also having the proper policies in place.

"It sounds like they really didn't have these things in place," Simzer said.

The article concludes by referencing that this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened.. It mentions that a Georgia state government contractor misplaced the very personally identifiable information for a reported 2.9 million health care services recipients..

To those contesting the concept of disability-based databases, these are the kinds of things that need cited for, if an organization in the business of securing sensitive information cannot keep that information safe, protected, private, what are the chances the average technically-inexperienced, heavily volunteer-centered organizations are going to be able to do that much better..? No offense to those organizations, but we have to be very real about the danger that disclosure of personally identifiable information forever forward puts in the path of our vulnerable extended family..