^New!6/30/2009: Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that the administration will rescind all or part of three Medicaid regulations that were previously issued and delay the enforcement of a fourth regulation. One of these rules would have eliminated reimbursement for school-based administrative costs and costs of transportation to and from schools. Read more »

^New!6/29/2009: Money Follows the Person: An Early Implementation Snapshot - A 2008 Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured survey of 29 states receiving MFP grants (Arkansas) turned up several key findings, including that several hundred people have moved from institutional to community settings; that states are providing a broad range of services to facilitate transition; that housing issues for MFP participants are a major challenge for states; and that the severe economic downturn had not yet prompted states to scale back their efforts. Read more »

6/1/2009: The June issue of the DRC newsletter, The Brief, is now available online in PDF format.

5/22/2009: GAO Report : Widespread Special Needs Abuse in US Schools! - Government Accounting Office (GAO) found no federal laws restricting the use of seclusion and restraints in public and private schools and widely divergent laws at the state level. Although GAO could not determine whether allegations were widespread, GAO did find hundreds of cases of alleged abuse and death related to the use of these methods on school children during the past two decades. Examples of these cases include a 7 year old purportedly dying after being held face down for hours by school staff, 5 year olds allegedly being tied to chairs with bungee cords and duct tape by their teacher and suffering broken arms and bloody noses, and a 13 year old reportedly hanging himself in a seclusion room after prolonged confinement. Although GAO continues to receive new allegations from parents and advocacy groups, GAO could not find a single Web site, federal agency, or other entity that collects information on the use of these methods or the extent of their alleged abuse. More »

5/13/2009: The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulations have been updated to incorporate new requirements. They will become enforceable May 13, 2009. To help you understand your rights under the updated ACAA, the National Network of ADA Centers announces the release of "An Overview of the ACAA". Key changes include coverage extended to foreign carriers, new requirements for airport and aircraft accessibility and services, new requirements for passengers who use respiratory assistive devices, new guidelines on provision of effective communication for passengers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, and new requirements for passengers traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals. Call your regional ADA Center at 1-800-949-4232 for questions on the ACAA, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. Visit the Disability Law Index to review the full set of ACAA regulations as updated.

5/1/2009: The ACLU of Northern California has released a report on school bias and pushout in the public school system: Schools for All Campaign: The School Bias and Pushout Problem (Nov. 2008)

4/29/2009: Social Security Administration begins a new hiring initiative. Read more »

4/28/2009: The Obama administration is expected to announce today that it is offering mortgage lenders incentives to lower borrowers' bills on second mortgages. Get a preview here and read the full story Wednesday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

4/27/2009: During its quarterly meeting, NCD released an important policy paper, Federal Employment of People with Disabilities. Among other findings, the paper concludes that current efforts to employ people with disabilities in the Federal Government have not worked well, and makes recommendations for reversing this trend.

4/27/2009: NCD released its annual report to the President
and Congress called for a new integrated approach to disability policy from the Federal Government.
4/24/2009: To see the Arkansas School District allocations pursuant to the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Funding Allocations For Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Part B, Section 611 - State Grant FY 2009-10, click here »

4/20/2009: With no further legislative action expected prior to the planned May 1 adjournment, the 87th Arkansas General Assembly appears to be finished. Disabilities-related information, including important legislation we were following, is available on our Public Policy page.

4/15/2009: Henry Claypoole will be Director of Disability Issues for the Department of Health and Human Services Read more »

4/15/2009: Arkansas Department of Youth Services draft of 5 year Juvenile Justice Reform plan available for review and comment.

4/1/2009: The Center for Disease Control's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities has redesigned their website. Check out their new look and tell your friends. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/

3/30/2009: Governor signs into law the Arkansas Housing Trust Fund Read more »

3/19/2009: U.S. Labor Department makes available to employers database of more than 1,900 job candidates with disabilities. Read more »

3/2/2009: Please join NAMI-AR for the 2009 NAMI Walks for the Mind of America, May 30 at the Burns Park Soccer Field in North Little Rock. Check-in time is 9 AM and starts at 10 AM. For more information, how to participate as a sponsor call 501-661-1548 or 1-800-844-0381, or send e-mail to nami-ar[at]nami[dot]org

2/23/2009: From the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, the Academy for Educational Development (AED) was awarded a contract in FY 2008 to develop and maintain a National Clearinghouse and Technical Assistance Center on Family Support. It is now named, the Family Support Center on Disabilities: Knowledge & Involvement Network and has launched its website. The website is available at www.familysupportclearinghouse.org, is family-centered, and offers practical information. This is phase one of the website; therefore, the content is being updated on a regular basis. This is a great opportunity to find or add information relating to family support.

1/30/2009: SCHIP passage brings mental health parity to millions of children.

1/26/2009: The U. S. Department of Health and Human Services has released the poverty guidelines for 2009.

1/26/2009: To see where Arkansas ranks in unemployment, state budget deficit and foreclosures, click here to view the CNNMoney Special Report.

^UPDATE!1/26/2009: The National Disability Rights Network has released the report "School is Not Supposed to Hurt: Investigative Report on Abusive Restraint and Seclusion in Schools". The report brings to light the disturbing trend of the abusive restraint or seclusion in use nationwide which has resulted in injury, trauma, and even death to children with disabilities. To read the report, in PDF format, download it here.