Disabled people across the country will be celebrating tomorrow’s reintroduction of the Disability Integration Act (DIA), and we want to make sure you have all the information you need to celebrate with us!

Haven’t made your plans yet? We invite you to join NCIL’s Facebook Watch Party and watch the festivities with others in the NCIL community! To do so, join the group “NCIL Stay Connected In Advocacy”. The Watch Party will start in the group at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

Don’t have Facebook? You can still tune in! The event will be live-streamed from ADAPT’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2CeGGZ4

To celebrate the reintroduction of the Disability Integration Act, NCIL and ADAPT will be holding a celebratory event on January 15 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. We will also be making a video and audio of the introduction event available so CILs, local ADAPT chapters, and other local groups and individuals can tune in and celebrate along with us!

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of our siblings at ADAPT, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) have set January 15 as the date to reintroduce the Disability Integration Act in the new 116th Congress. This early introduction is cause for celebration, and the excitement we generate early on will help build momentum for the DIA in this new Congress. Help drive the DIA forward and secure its passage in the 116th Congress by celebrating this momentous occasion with us! 

We hope CILs and NCIL members around the country will join us for this exciting day! Please see the information below on how to host in person celebrations and online watch parties, and make sure to register your events using the links below!  [Read more…]

The House of Representatives has passed the IMPROVE Act (H.R. 7217) with a vote of 400-11. Now the bill moves to the Senate where a vote is expected as early as this week!

Call your Senators today and tell them to vote YES on the IMPROVE Act! It is critical they hear that extending Money Follows the Person (MFP) by passing this bill is a priority to their constituents! All Senators can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY).

About the IMPROVE Act (H.R. 7217): MFP has helped free over 88,000 people from institutions, and its 3-month renewal is a key provision in the IMPROVE Act. In addition, H.R. 7217 also includes an extension of protections for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) recipients against spousal impoverishment, a permanent exemption from competitive bidding for CRT manual wheelchairs, and an 18-month suspension in Medicare’s application of competitive bidding rates to CRT manual wheelchair accessories.

Back in 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published proposed regulations that would ban the electrical stimulation devices used to shock disabled people at the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). Despite ongoing advocacy from the disability community, in these more than two years the regulation has not been finalized.

goWe recently learned that in mid-October, when the FDA announced their priorities associated with the federal government’s Unified Agenda, they announced their intent to finally finalize the ban. The announcement reads: “We’re also planning to issue a final ban on electrical stimulation devices used for self-injurious and aggressive behaviors. We believe these products present an unreasonable and substantial risk to public health that cannot be corrected or eliminated through changes to the labeling.” This is fantastic news! But, it is by no means a done deal. We must keep the pressure on the FDA until the final rule has been released.

And, even once the rule is finalized, we must remember that our disabled siblings who are being tortured at the JRC will still be stuck in the same institution with the same people who were using these shocks to “treat” them. To that end, we must make sure this next Congress passes the Disability Integration Act (DIA) into law, so all people with disabilities have the right to live in our own communities.

Needless to say, this commitment wouldn’t have happened without the relentless pressure from advocates around the country. Thank you for your efforts, and keep the pressure on the FDA to #StopTheShock!

We are excited to announce that thanks to the ongoing efforts of our siblings at ADAPT, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) have set a date to reintroduce the Disability Integration Act (S. 910 / H.R. 2472) in the next Congress! Please see the message from Anita Cameron below for more information and please mark your calendars for January 15, 2019!

To celebrate the DIA’s introduction in the 116th Congress, NCIL and ADAPT will be holding a celebratory introduction event in DC. We also plan to make video and audio of the introduction event available so CILs, local ADAPT chapters, and other local groups who are interested can hold watch parties, press events, and other celebrations alongside us!

We hope you’ll join us, because we have reason to celebrate: NCIL, ADAPT, and other leaders in the disability community have set an expectation that the House of Representatives will pass the DIA before the ADA’s next anniversary (July 26, 2019). And this is completely achievable! The DIA has already garnered an incredible amount of support, with 143 cosponsors in the House and 25 cosponsors in the Senate. And that’s in addition to nearly 800 organizations signing onto the DIA supporter list.

NCIL has been working with ADAPT on the Disability Integration Act (DIA) for years, and we are confident the 116th Congress will be the one to pass DIA into law. We will be sending more information as the date nears, but please start thinking and planning for an event at your CIL on January 15th!  [Read more…]

The Money Follows the Person program (MFP) officially expired in 2016, and today the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill that would renew the program for three months. The IMPROVE Act (H.R. 7217) was introduced last week in the House and a companion bill is expected in the Senate very soon. While three months is not nearly long enough to sustain the vital work of MFP, this extension will give the program a needed bridge into the 116th Congress, where we will continue our advocacy for a longer renewal.

MFP has helped free over 88,000 people from institutions, and is a key provision in the IMPROVE Act. In addition, H.R. 7217 also includes an extension of protections for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) recipients against spousal impoverishment, a permanent exemption from competitive bidding for CRT manual wheelchairs, and an 18-month suspension in Medicare’s application of competitive bidding rates to CRT manual wheelchair accessories.

Call your Representative today and tell them to vote YES on the IMPROVE Act! It is critical that members of Congress hear that extending MFP by passing this bill now is a priority to their constituents! All members of Congress can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY).