 March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
In 1987, President Ronald Reagan named March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. In the 30 years since, the Intellectual and Developmental Disability community has experienced many exciting advancements. From the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, which ensured that discrimination of individuals with disabilities would be unlawful, to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act passed in 2004, which guaranteed the right of a free public education to students with disabilities, the nation has made impressive strides towards a more inclusive society.
In the past few years, Maryland has also made impressive steps to become an accepting and inclusive community for individuals with developmental disabilities. In 2009, Rosewood, the largest state-run institution for individuals with developmental disabilities was closed, bringing people back to their communities. Last year, Governor Hogan signed into law the
Minimum Wage and Community Integration Act, ending sub-minimum wage for individuals with disabilities. The Arc Maryland has been a champion for all these causes and more, and has worked diligently to promote our vision of a safe and inclusive community for all those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, so that they may have their best possible life.
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Registration Now Open for The Arc Maryland's State Convention
The Arc Maryland's 2017 State Convention is just around the corner on Friday, June 2, at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport. Don't miss the biggest event of the year for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, families, staff, advocates and more! Registration is now open!
Click here to register
.
This year's event features keynote speaker, Walter Suskind, who will speak about growing up with his brother Owen, whose story was depicted in the Oscar-nominated, "Life, Animated." Walter will kick off the day featuring many opportunities for siblings to network and learn more about sharing their lives with siblings with I/DD. Breakout sessions include: Sibling Experiences, Person Center Planning, Saylor Alliance Police Training, Preparing for Emergency Evacuation, Robots and other Adaptive Technology for Inclusive Schools, Public Speaking - Speaking Up as a Self Advocate, Capped Waiver and the latest on the ABLE program. If you have a brother/sister with I/DD be sure to indicate this when you register so we can reserve your table to network with other siblings.
Award nominations have been submitted for our annual awards ceremony. Honorees will be celebrated during the Convention luncheon!
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Get to Know The Arc of Washington County's Executive Director Troy Van Scoyoc
Troy Van Scoyoc is the Executive Director of The Arc of Washington County. Growing up in Pennsylvania, Troy attended Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown. During his high school years, Troy most remembers the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the overturning of Oliver North's conviction in the "Iran-Contra" Affair, and underdog Buster Duglas KO's undefeated Mike Tyson in the 10th round in Tokyo. After receiving his Bachelor's from the University of Pittsburgh, Troy attended St. Francis University, where he received his MBA. Troy was first drawn to The Arc by both its mission and the chance to lead an organization through a time of significant change and towards more inclusive lives for the people they serve.
To learn more about Troy,
click here.
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Young Advocates with Disabilities Award
The Advocates in Disability Awards Program is looking for its next Disability Advocate Leader! The Advocates in Disability Awards Program is a national joint program between The HSC Foundation and Mitsubishi Electric American Foundation that recognizes young adult advocates with disabilities for their positive affect on individuals with disabilities and their families, and provides funding to support programs created by the award recipients. Applicants should design a program proposal that would benefit the disability community as part of their application.
The recipient will receive $3000 in recognition of their work, and an additional $7000 to fund their project.
The deadline to apply is April 12.
For more information, and how to apply, click here.
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Take Action Now! Call Your Congressmen to Stop the Medicaid Cuts and Health Care Repeal
People's health, services and lives are at stake! We urgently need advocates to reach out to their Senators and Representatives and tell them to stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the cuts to Medicaid. Advocates need to explain why the ACA and Medicaid are essential to people with disabilities and their families. Every call helps.
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Education - Senate Votes to Rescind Education Rule
On March 9, the Senate voted to rescind an Obama administration regulation on accountability, state plan, and data reporting that guides states on evaluating school performance under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The measure (
H.J. Res. 57), passed by a vote of
50-49, used the Congressional Review Act which forbids the Department of Education from issuing substantially similar rules in the future. In a February 10th letter, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos promised to issue further guidance today to states on implementing ESSA. The House approved H.J. Res. 57 last month and the measure now heads to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Arc opposed rescinding the accountability, state plan, and data reporting regulation. See the statement from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Education Task Force (of which The Arc is a member) in opposition to rescission of the regulation
here.
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Officials to Bring Back Maryland Children Kept in Out-of-State Group Homes
Following a concerning report by
The Washington Post and public outcry, Maryland officials have promised to bring Maryland children living in out-of-state group homes back to Maryland within the next two months. In January, the Maryland Board of Public Works, approved a three year contract with the Judge Rotenburg Center in Massachusetts to house five young adults at the facility. The Judge Rotenburg Center has been under investigation in the past for their use of electroshock to control the residents. Their disciplinary methods have been highly criticized for being cruel.
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Maryland Community of Practice and LifeCourse Framework Supporting Families Across the Lifespan Presentation - March 14
The Developmental Disabilities Administration, The Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, and The Arc Maryland have partnered with the Maryland Community of Practice Leadership Team to present the Maryland Community of Practice & LifeCourse Framework Supporting Families Across the Lifespan presentation. The presentation will focus on the principles and tools of the CoP and the LifeCourse Framework and how to better support families and individuals with developmental disabilities to create the best possible life. The presentation will be held on Tuesday March 14 from 10 am to 1 pm at Allegany College of Maryland, 12401 Willowbrook Road Cumberland, MD 21502. If Allegany Schools are closed or delayed due to snow, the presentation will be rescheduled for March 23.
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Employment First and Person Center Planning Webinar - March 17
The Developmental Disabilities Training Unit will be holding a webinar on Friday, March 17 from 10 am to 12 pm. This session will provide an overview of the new Maryland Person Centered Plan
"My Life, My Plan, My Choice"
including the framework used to ensure that the Focus Area Exploration section truly captures what's "important TO" and "important FOR" the person in the development of the Person Centered Plans.
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The Arc Montgomery County 2017 Respite Resource Fair - March 25
The Arc Montgomery County will be holding a Respite Resource Fair on March 25 from 10 am to 2 pm at the Bethesda North Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda 20852. The fair will provide information about respite care and there will be the opportunity to meet with respite care providers. To learn more,
click here.
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Sibsteps Information Sessions
Throughout the month of March, The Arc Carroll County will be hosting SibSteps Information sessions for caregivers and family members of people with Developmental Disabilities. All sessions will be held at The Arc Carroll County, located at 180 Kriders Church Road, Westminster from 6 to 8 pm.
Jill Rosner, RN, MSN, CMM will present on the topic of guardianship, how to obtain guardianship and what happens when there is no appointed guardian. Jill Rosner is a case manager with Rosner Healthcare Navigation.
Tina Brown, LCPC will present of stress management and the importance of self-care. Tina Brown practives at the Carroll County Youth Service Bureau and at the Center for Healing Arts.
Paul Capriolo, Esq. will be talking about legal issues including Power of Attorney, special needs trust funds, and other legal topics. Paul Capriolo is a self-employed lawyer in Westminster
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