Two states have come to the realization that their state Protection and Advocacy Agencies (P&As) have not been acting in the interests of all people with I/DD and autism. Instead, they have been following their own agenda of closing Intermediate care facilities while promoting Home and Community-Based Services. In short, not protecting, only advocating for their own agenda.
Ohio and now North Carolina have passed laws to hold them to account to their state legislators.
Representative Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) has recently introduced two bills in the House of Representatives to amend the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to promote choice in employment, preserve Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor and Standards Act, and protect a full range of employment opportunities for all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities..
On May 22, VOR submitted tesimony to the Senate Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies regarding the need to protect Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities as the Appropriations Committee negotiates continuing funding ot the Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Act (MFP) in its FY2021 Appropriations Bill.
This report, released in January, 2018 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,' Office of the Inspector General, Administraton for Community Liiving, and Office of Civil Rights acknowledged the systemic shortcomings in protecting residents of HCBS waiver group homes from incidents of abuse and neglect. OIG found that up to 99 percent of these critical incidents were not reported to the appropriate law enforcement or state agencies as required. The report stated, “Group Home beneficiaries are at risk of serious harm. OIG found that health and safety policies and procedures were not being followed. Failure to comply with these policies and procedures left group home beneficiaries at risk of serious harm. These are not isolated incidents but a systemic problem – 49 States had media reports of health and safety problems in group homes.”
VOR and its peer organizations have been reaching out to Members of Congress to support parity for ICFs in the Build Back Better Reconciliation Bill that is being drafted and likely to be introduced shortly after Labor Day, 2021. We ask your help in reaching out to ensure that all people with I/DD receive comparable increases in funding, and that and all of the Direct Support Professionals who work with people with I/DD receive increases in pay and career-path training.
