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The Arc of Virginia
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The Arc of Virginia #6016
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The Arc of Virginia Phone: 804-649-8481 Fax: 804-649-3585
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LOCAL CHAPTERS IN THE NEWS
Read Jill Egle's blog on her life as co-executive director of The Arc of
Northern Virginia: Arc's 40th Celebration Filled With Pride, January 2008 Hanover Arc, Hanover Herald-Progress, September 13, 2007 The case for increasing the number of Medicaid waivers dailypress.com March 6, 2008 Over 50 years ago, parents of children with disabilities had few options. Their options were putting their child in an institution or keeping their child home and raising them "to the best of their abilities." Many parents put their children in institutions, but more and more parents started keeping their children home. This generation of
parents, civic and community leaders changed the world of disabilities forever.
They established schools and fought for special education in public schools.
They established group homes and made these group homes an integral, accepted
part of our community. They established work programs to ensure productivity,
purpose and self esteem for people with disabilities. These work programs are
now integral parts of our local economy paying millions of dollars in wages on
the
When one looks at the difference in quality of life, choices and opportunities for people with disabilities in the last 50-plus years, the progress is clear. The benefits are obvious. And the gratitude due the generation that paved this way is immeasurable. We now live in a world where my daughter, who is 7 years old and has Down Syndrome, can read and happily progress in a "typical" school. She can take dance, art and piano lessons in "typical" classes. She can play any sport she would like. Her world has unlimited possibilities. At the same time, with great sadness, I watch the parents who paved the way for my generation quietly suffering. Many of these parents are in their 70s and 80s. They have kept their children at home with them their entire lives and now have nowhere for their children (who are now adults in middle age) to live. Some of these same parents have had nowhere for their children to work after special education was completed. They need a "Medicaid waiver" for their child to live in a group home or community setting and to be in a work program. What is a "Medicaid waiver"? The term means a person "waives the right to an institutional bed" by receiving a monetary waiver that provides funding for services in the community. They waive the "right to an institutional bed" to live and work in the community and live a life like ours. When a waiver is not available, people with disabilities who cannot stay at home most likely go to institutions. What is the problem? The
problem is a waiting list of more than 4,000 people for this precious waiver in
Now imagine being the
parent of a child with a disability. You are 80 years old and in failing health.
Your spouse has died. You have no other family to help you with your disabled
child, whom you have loved and nurtured for decades. You could have a stroke or
numerous other health setbacks. What would happen to your child who is now an
adult? Without a waiver, or a personal fortune of millions, your child will most
likely end up in an institution. Imagine the burden of fear this is on the
parent. Imagine the cruel change of life events this is for the adult child, the
one most impacted. Switch gears and imagine being the parent of a teen with a
disability who has gone through special education and has many hopes and desires
for the future. This teen wants to work and live in a group home with friends.
Now imagine the shock you experience when you discover your teen needs a waiver
to participate in a work program - and you have no chance in the foreseeable
future of getting one when you are 4,001 on the list. Imagine this teen becoming
a young adult and sitting at home doing nothing but watching TV. Imagine all the
years of dedicated special-ed instruction and the investment that has been made
in this child truly being wasted. Too many people in
In a community blessed to have progressive and successful organizations like The Arc of the Virginia Peninsula, Hampton -Newport News Community Services Board and Eggleston Services - we can do better. We must do better. How? We must use our voice collectively to keep the Medicaid waiver issue and others associated with disabilities front and center. This collective voice needs to include parents of younger children - many of whom still do not realize the special-ed world they are in does not always lead to further education or work. A collective voice includes everyone. Please take a moment today to call or e-mail your legislative representative. That is something all of us can do. Our diverse society is a better, kinder and gentler place with people who have disabilities and live "a life like ours." Let's add this extra step to ensure, and not reverse, progress. Greta Harrison is chair
of the board of directors for The Arc of the
Copyright © 2008,
— Contact Jessica J. Burchard at
jburchard@winchesterstar.com September 13, 2007 Residents address School Board on Special Ed. issues By DAN SHERRIER Several residents spoke about special-education-related issues at the Sept. 11 meeting of the Hanover County School Board. The first comments consisted of support for an after-school program at Hanover High School known as Hawks Connections, which allows an opportunity for disabled students to make friends with their peers outside of class. Kenneth Palmore, the father of a special needs student at Hanover High School, stated, "I can tell you that it has truly been a connection for my son to his school community. The spirit of inclusion within this county has always been exceptional, and this as I see it, as a parent, is inclusion at its best. It's a relaxed atmosphere, a lot of joy and a lot of smiles, and the most important thing of building those friendships." Patrick Mayfield spoke next. He is a senior at Hanover High serving as a member of Hawks Connection as well as the board for Hanover Arc, an organization devoted to serving Hanover residents with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities. Mayfield, too, praised the Hawks Connection program and said, "A couple of years ago, when the program was not in existence, the special needs students at Hanover were really invisible, I think, to the greater school community." He explained the nature of the program. "We meet once a week for two hours after school, and we do different activities like cooking or sports, arts and crafts; but mainly we just have fun, and that's what's important, to have fun making friends, and the camaraderie of that. ... "The students themselves have begun to build relationships with peers that they have never been able to access before. They develop better communication and people skills that are integral to becoming a successful member of society and transitioning into the work place." Mayfield mentioned that the "increased interest among the peer partners to pursue careers in special needs area, I think that speaks for itself." Only two of the other three high schools have programs similar to Hawks Connection. Pam Gontkovic, the parent of a special needs student at Lee-Davis High School, pointed out that L-D does not have such a program. She stated to the board, "I hear all these great things, and you should be very proud of where you have come now. Unfortunately, when you reach a goal, it's time to examine how to raise the bar. I would suggest to you this needs to be expanded. "My son did not have an opportunity for this type of socialization because it was designated that Lee-Davis didn't have severely disabled children there. I would suggest to you that any child in special education could use this type of program." Crystal McCormick expressed concerns about the schools' transportation policy. She explained how the current policy does not allow school bus drivers to transport her special needs son 2/10 of a mile outside of his school district to an after-school daycare provider. "Our special needs kids do not have the luxury of picking or choosing which daycares they can attend. The majority of providers in the area will not even accommodate special needs kids," she said. McCormick explained that when she lived in Henrico County, the Henrico schools would transport her son "over 20 minutes outside of his school zone in an effort to make sure they provide the best efforts to accommodate their special needs students." She added that Hanover Schools' inability to travel 2/10ths of a mile out of her son's school zone "has placed an undue hardship on me and my family" and asked the policy be re-evaluated. Hamilton Holloway, vice president of Hanover Arc, brought up another sort of transportation concern. He identified himself as a resident of the Beaverdam area, and as such, one of his daughters attends Beaverdam Elementary. However, his other daughter, a special needs student, is required to go to South Anna Elementary School. He commended the quality of South Anna, but he said, "[Beaverdam students] don't understand why she's not a part of the Beaverdam community. ... I think it's a disservice to the other students in Beaverdam. "I think that they aren't exposed to students with special needs in their own community and [do not] understand who they are and what they're about-and that they're not so different and they don't have to be afraid of them, and that they can actually be their friends." Of the Hanover Hawks Connection program, Holloway stated, "I think that's fantastic. I just wish the students at Beaverdam and other elementary and middle schools in the county would not have to wait until high school to get that exposure." Charles Udriet, a board member for Hanover Arc, mentioned how his special needs daughter had to attend five different elementary schools, with none of them being in her home district. Teelo Rutledge, president of Hanover Arc, spoke last and tied all the previous comments together. He reiterated three main priorities. "First, you heard about the after-school program. I know you're going to do the right thing. We need to have it expanded to Lee-Davis and continued at the current schools and consider going to the middle schools whenever that time comes. "Secondly, we ask that you commit to the inclusion of our children that are students with disabilities to their neighborhood schools. ... Transporting their kids away from their neighborhood causes an unbelievable stress on our kids and it has detrimental effects to their health, to their educational success, and to their development. ... Will you please enable our children to attend their local schools with their brothers, their sisters, and their friends?" Finally, he brought up the transportation policy. "We can transport our children from Old Church to South Anna to meet their needs, but we can't go 2/10ths of a mile [to an after-school daycare], so we're asking you please, to modify this rigid policy and allow our children to be transported to after-school sites so they can continue to grow as individuals." Copyright © 2004-2007 The Hanover Herald-Progress Updated 03/07/2008 |
