Speaking out for people with
        intellectual & developmental disabilities
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    • VOR Initiatives
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    • Toolkit for Legislators
    • VOR Helps You Understand
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Site Map
  • Get Help
    • Community Resources
      • A Growing Burden on Caregivers: Natural Supports
      • Resource Links for Families and Advocates
    • Special Education Resources
      • Special Education Study: Inclusion May Not Be Best After All
      • Roadmap to Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)
    • Legal Resources
      • Residential Choice: It's the Law
      • Illinois families, guardians, advocates sue state to block home closings
    • Medical Resources
      • Down Syndrome Patient Registry
      • Find a Doctor or Dentist
    • Toolkit for Families
      • VOR Advocacy Manual and Tookit for State Coordinators, Members and Choice Advocates
      • Scrutiny of community mental health centers is scant in fraud-prone states: federal report
    • A Growing Burden on Caregivers: Natural Supports
    • Resource Links for Families and Advocates
    • Emerging Threat: Use of the Supports Intensity Scale Assessment Tool for ICF/MR Discharge
    • ICFs as Inclusive Communities
    • Community Services Checklist
    • Community Resource Centers
    • The Importance of Guardianship
    • Kentucky's Postsecondary Inclusion Partnership
    • The Microboard Alternative
    • Special Education Study: Inclusion May Not Be Best After All
    • Roadmap to Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)
    • Inclusion: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions from the National Education Association
    • The Fundamentals of Special Education: What Parents Need to Know
    • Our Nation's Children At Risk: A State-by-State Report on Early Intervention
    • Special Education Help Centers Get $5 Million Boost
    • Special education web resources
    • Does Full Inclusion Violate Federal Law?
    • Special Ed Demand Grows
    • Focus on Special Education
    • Don’t take sides on inclusion
    • Residential Choice: It's the Law
    • Illinois families, guardians, advocates sue state to block home closings
    • “Lobbying Rules for (c)(3)s: Keeping It Legal”
    • ICF/ID admission determination requires due process
    • Pennsylvania: Intervention granted, settlement approval overturned!
    • New Jersey: Women's Guardians Scorch Gov. Christie
    • Families Unite to Save Virginia Training Centers, Ask Federal Judge for a Voice in Court
    • VOR, 92 families file Amicus Brief; ask court to overturn PA settlement
    • Department of Justice Activities Throughout the USA: Background and advice for State Officials and Advocates
    • Family Choice Prevails in Arkansas
    • Supporting Guardians and the People They Serve
    • California: Procedural win is moral victory for family
    • Tennessee Judge Rules for Families, against People First and DOJ
    • Virginia Judge Dismisses Arc-VA lawsuit; Olmstead relied on
    • Bequests
    • ICFs/MR as Permanent Homes
    • Illinois Judge Sides with Choice, Rejects Settlement
    • VOR Legal Activities
    • Does my child need a guardian?
    • The Olmstead Decision
    • Model State Choice Laws and Legislation
    • Ignorance of the law is no excuse for parents
    • Defining Choice
    • Down Syndrome Patient Registry
    • Find a Doctor or Dentist
    • VOR Resource: Future Life and Estate Planning for Persons with MR/DD
    • VOR Advocacy Manual and Tookit for State Coordinators, Members and Choice Advocates
    • Scrutiny of community mental health centers is scant in fraud-prone states: federal report
    • Safe at home: Feds, states take steps to prevent home-care crime
    • Cost Comparison Study
    • Oklahoma ICFs/MR: Vision for the Future
    • Connecticut: No cost savings if facility closes
    • Families' Arguments Against Closure
    • Chamber of Commerce: Closure = Lost Revenue
    • New Jersey Survey on Residential Choice
    • ICFs/MR as Permanent Homes
    • VOR Grassroots Advocacy Manual
    • Grassroots Advocacy Checklist: If not us, who?
    • Choice Defined in Law and Use
    • Quality of Care: Abuse and Neglect in Community Settings
    • Cost: Facility-based care is cost effective
    • Olmstead v. L.C.
  • Get Involved
    • VOR Initiatives
      • VOR's Laurie Stengler Testifies for Choice
      • VOR Testifies About Cruel and Wasteful HHS Funding for Deinstitutionalization
    • VOR Advocacy Letters
      • VOR supports call for investigation of group home deaths
      • Congressman Mike Thompson calls on Feds to reject proposal which defines "community"
    • Great Story Submissions
      • Holly Honeymoon: Victory is Christmas present for one family and hope for others
      • Home At Rainier
    • Siblings Voice
      • "My Life as an Advocate"
      • Sibling Caregivers Find Responsibilities A Struggle
    • VOR's Laurie Stengler Testifies for Choice
    • VOR Testifies About Cruel and Wasteful HHS Funding for Deinstitutionalization
    • VOR Calls National Council on Disability's Toolkit Reckless
    • Seeking Board of Director Applicants
    • Social Media: Connecting choice advocates
    • VOR's Cristy Dwyer: New York's Olmstead Plan Must Include Choice
    • Linda Blumkin, J.D. (VOR Member): New York Olmstead Public Forum
    • VOR and PHA-Sonoma Support California Senate Bill 1522
    • VOR Submits Written Testimony Supporting Olmstead: U.S. Senate Hearing
    • VOR Submits Federal Comment Urging Independent Oversight of P&As
    • VOR Submits Federal Comment: Defining "Community"
    • Choice Matters: VOR Testifies in New Jersey
    • Opportunity: VOR Board and Committee Service
    • 2012 VOR Annual Conference, Legislative Briefing and Washington Initiative
    • VOR Slams Justice Department Plan to Close Virginia Centers for Disabled
    • VOR Renews Calls for Moratorium on Deinstitutionalization Lawsuits
    • VOR Seeks Moratorium on Deinstitutionalization Lawsuits
    • IL-ADD Releases Cost Analysis
    • Defining "Community" and other HCBS Waiver Proposals: VOR Comments
    • VOR Submits Federal Comments on Medicaid and Community
    • VOR supports call for investigation of group home deaths
    • Congressman Mike Thompson calls on Feds to reject proposal which defines "community"
    • VOR supports Connecticut Families' Call for Open Admissions
    • Massachusetts: VOR objects to eligibility criteria based solely on IQ and Agency determination
    • VOR Statement on Sandy Hook: Disability Policy and Mental Health Reform Needed Now
    • Illinois: Jacksonville Developmental Center Closure Advisory Committee Demands Answers
    • California Families Call for Moratorium
    • VOR Testimony: ADA and Olmstead Enforcement (June 2010)
    • VOR Cautions Against Closure: Asks California Senate Committee to "Fix it, Don't Close it"
    • VOR Questions DOJ Civil Rights Appropriations; Calls for Choice
    • Diluting Guardianship Rights
    • Policy Recommendations to Obama
    • Check With Families Before Evicting Retarded Residents
    • The Wrong Solution
    • Mother sees compassionate care at Glenwood
    • "My Life as an Advocate"
    • Sibling Caregivers Find Responsibilities A Struggle
    • My Sister Lauren
    • Impact of Autism on Siblings
    • Life with Jordy: A Younger Sister's Perspective
    • Three Siblings’ Perspective
    • My Sister Kathy
    • Thoughts on a life with Jordy
    • My Brother Tommy
    • My Brother Tom
    • My Advocacy Legacy
    • Holly Honeymoon: Victory is Christmas present for one family and hope for others
    • Home At Rainier
    • Edwin Sanchez's ordeal in a group home
    • Thomas' Story
    • Three men and their home at Templeton
    • Meet Aaron Underwood
    • Meet Jacob Beebe
    • Meet Robert Zitzmann
    • Meet Phillip Miller
    • Battling Chase's Demons
    • Carsten’s journey to Sonoma Developmental Center
    • "I Found You!"
    • Frank David's Story
    • John Henry's Story
    • Fernald Fighters
    • My Jimmy J.
    • Advancing Individual, Not Professional, Choice
    • All about Anne Golden
  • Legislative Voice
    • Toolkit for Legislators
      • Stockley Center Opens 54-resident facility and Outpatient care
      • Cost Comparison Study
    • VOR Helps You Understand
      • Additional DD Act Reauthorization Resources
      • VOR 2013 Initiative Resource Links
      • Beyond VOR Advocacy Day: How to Keep Your Legislators Engaged Year-Round
    • Action Alerts
      • Legislative Action Alerts
      • Action Alert: VOR Calls on Congress to Investigate Deinstitutionalization and Support Reform!
    • Legislation
      • ADVOCACY MATERIALS IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 1255
      • SUPPORT H.R. 2032
      • H.R. 2032
    • VOR 2013 Initiative Resource Links
    • Beyond VOR Advocacy Day: How to Keep Your Legislators Engaged Year-Round
    • ICFs as Inclusive Communities
    • Medicaid
    • Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Reauthorization
    • Olmstead v. L.C.
    • Stockley Center Opens 54-resident facility and Outpatient care
    • Cost Comparison Study
    • Connecticut: No cost savings if facility closes
    • Legislator Toolkit
    • Families' Arguments Against Closure
    • Chamber of Commerce: Closure = Lost Revenue
    • Seeing is believing: Tour an ICFs/MR
    • Only Providing Community-Based Care May Not Save States Money
    • Olmstead Does Not Support Deinstitutionalization
    • Abuse and Neglect in Community Settings
    • Myth of a Medicaid Institutional Bias
    • Successful Community Integration: The Community Resource Center Model
    • Model State Legislation in Support of Residential Choice
    • Legislative Action Alerts
    • Action Alert: VOR Calls on Congress to Investigate Deinstitutionalization and Support Reform!
    • Ask Senate Budget Committee to Support Choice
    • Medicaid at Risk: Congress needs to hear from you!
    • Update: Tell ADD to Support CHOICE!
    • SUPPORT H.R. 2032
    • H.R. 2032
    • Thomas: Legislative Information from the Library of Congress
    • H.R. 2032 Cosponsors
    • Opposition to MiCASSA
    • The DD Act: The Need for Immediate Reform
    • DD Act Appropriations: Exercise Caution!
    • VOR Policy Considerations for the Obama Administration
    • The Human Consequences of DD Act Abuses: State Specific Reports
    • Olmstead and Guardianship
    • Bill Burke Olmstead Presentation
    • VOR Olmstead Amicus Brief
    • Olmstead and Choice – Outline
    • What Olmstead is Not
    • Olmstead Decision -- VOR Press Release
    • Media coverage highlighting the increasing need for more effective federal and state protections...
    • Maryland: Parent testimony (2006)
    • Ohio: OLMR (statewide family association) testimony (2006)
    • Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania League of Concerned Families of Retarded Citizens (2006)
    • Utah mother, her son's severe burns at a group home, and the Utah P&A's lack of response
    • Section 143 of the DD Act - System Required
    • Deinstitutionalization is Not Mandated by the DD Act
    • 1993 House Energy and Commerce Committee Report
    • Class Action Litigation: ICF/MR(MR/DD) Deinstitutionalization Cases Filed By Protection and Advocacy
    • ICF/IID Program - Background and History
    • Home and Community Based Services Waivers: An overview
    • An Invitation to Visit an ICF/MR
    • Our Family Members: People with Severe and Profound Intellectual Disabilities (VOR Position)
    • Kentucky: Parent Leader Testimonial (2007)
    • Illinois: Illinois League of Advocates for the Developmentally Disabled (2006)
    • Widespread Support for H.R. 2032
    • Executive Summary: DD Act Reauthorization
    • Full Presentation: DD Act Reauthorization
    • DD Act Program Abuse and Human Consequences
    • Executive Summary: Abuse of DD Act Programs' Powers & Resources
    • Full Report: Abuse of DD Act Programs' Powers & Resources
    • Summary of Family Testimonials
    • Arkansas Testimonial 2006
    • CA Coffelt Case Study: 2006 Update
    • CA Coffelt Case Study 2000
    • California: Parent testimonial (2007)
    • California: CASHPCR (statewide family association) testimony (2006)
    • Florida: Parent NON-involvement in Brown v. Bush
  • About VOR
    • VOR's Mission Statement
    • Who We Are
    • VOR Policy and Positions Statements
    • “VOR exists to speak for the voiceless”: VOR Case Statement for Support
    • VOR's National Programs
    • Members' Voice: VOR Member Needs Survey Results
    • VOR's Advocacy National Impact
  • Contact Us
    • VOR Staff
    • State Coordinators
    • Board of Directors
    • National Committees
  • Events
    • VOR 2013 Annual Conference and Initiative
  • News
    • Weekly E-Mail Update
    • VOR Calls National Council on Disability's Toolkit Reckless
    • New Jersey Survey on Residential Choice
    • New Mexico: Justice for Predictable Tragedies
    • SUNY Empire State College’s Cristy Dwyer ’08, ‘10 Wins SUNY ACT Scholarship
    • Illinois Judge sides with choice, rejects settlement
    • Georgia Families Issue Resolution Opposing Settlement
    • Lives are at Stake: Delay Oklahama SORC and NORC Vote
    • Health Care: What's Really in it for People with Disabilities
    • 2010 VOR State Report Forum
    • VOR calls for compassionate advocacy and politics. Caregivers of people with profound intellectual disabilities need options, not abandonment.
    • Should Disability Funding be Part of Health Reform?
    • VOR Slams Justice Department Plan to Close Virginia Centers for Disabled
    • VOR Renews Calls for Moratorium on Deinstitutionalization Lawsuits
    • VOR Seeks Moratorium on Deinstitutionalization Lawsuits
    • VOR calls for immediate reform of broken New York system of care
    • Choice and Olmstead
    • Press Release
    • State News from 2011 State Report Forum
    • VOR Joins AAPT's Call for National Staff Standards
    • State News
  • Resources
    • Cost Comparison Study
    • 2009 Update
    • Resource Links for Families and Advocates
    • Abuse and Neglect Document
    • Olmstead Resources
  • Help and Information
    • Toolkit for Families
    • Toolkit for Legislators
  • Cost Comparison Study
  • Abuse and Neglect
  • Olmstead Resources

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VOR, 836 S. Arlington Heights Rd. #351, Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007
phone: 877-399-4VOR   fax: 605-399-1631   email: