|
Congressional Schedule
The House and Senate are both in recess gearing up for the November elections. AUCD is still hopeful that Congress will take action on several important issues during the post-election lame duck session besides appropriations. These include the ABLE Act, Disability Treaty (CRPD), and the reauthorizations of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Child Care and Development Block Grant. AUCD also continues to advocate for additional co-sponsors for important legislation that will be reintroduced in the next session of Congress, such as the Keeping All Students Safe Act and the Full Funding for IDEA Act. Strong support for the bills in this Congress will help move the bills in the next Congress. For more information about these and other bills AUCD supports, see the online Action Center.
Long-Term Services and Supports/Direct Care Workforce
The Department of Labor announced last week that they will delay enforcement of Fair Labor Standards Act regulations scheduled to take effect January 1, 2015. The regulations, finalized on October 1, 2013, extend minimum wage and overtime protection to home care workers who had long been exempted from the rules under the category of "companionship" services. While the change in regulation was strongly supported by labor unions and the White House, some disability groups like the National Council on Disability and National Council on Independent Living have been concerned that it could lead to reductions in community services that support people to live independently. State associations like the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services and National Association of Medicaid Directors asked DOL to delay implementation of the rule to give states more time to plan. They have welcomed the change.
The Department will not bring enforcement actions against any employer as to violations of FLSA obligations resulting from the amended regulations for the first six months, until July 1, 2015. For the following six months, from July 1 to December 31, the Department will use "prosecutorial discretion" in determining whether to bring enforcement actions, including consideration of "good faith efforts" to bring their home care programs into compliance with the FLSA. For more information, visit DOL's resource page on the rule.
Health
The Department of Health and Human Services has opened a public comment period on a series of proposed new objectives for Healthy People 2020, the agency's effort to provide science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans. There is also an opportunity to propose new objectives. The comment period is open from October 20 to November 7. They are specifically requesting input on several topic areas, including maternal, infant, and child health.
Community Engagement
AUCD staff presented at several conferences last week. AUCD Executive Director Andy Imparato gave a keynote address that rallied the crowd about the future of the self-advocacy movement and a future presence for SABE in DC. Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered held their national conference October 9-12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. AUCD policy staff Liz Weintraub and Rachel Patterson, along with Julie Petty of Partners from Inclusive Communities, the Arkansas UCEDD, also gave a presentation on managed care and Medicaid Long Term Supports and Services.
AUCD's Director of Public Policy Kim Musheno provided a federal policy update at the 14th Annual Coleman Institute's National Conference on Cognitive Disability and Technology. She also participates on the Advisory Committee for the State of the States in Developmental Disabilities. The conference included an update on The Rights of People with Cognitive Disabilities to Technology and Information Access, of which AUCD is signed on. In addition, featured speakers discussed the implications of such rights and provided updates on technology and cognitive disability with respect to health, security and privacy, and the state of the science.
AUCD Policy Staff
Liz Weintraub has joined the AUCD policy staff as an Advocacy Specialist. Liz, who has been working for AUCD since December 2010, joins the policy department from the UCEDD technical assistance team where she helped organize the 2011-2012 Self-Advocacy Summits. Liz has been a leader in the self- advocacy movement since the early nineties. She is a member of the President Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities. Her past leadership roles include vice president of Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, chair of the Maryland's Developmental Disabilities Council and president of a provider agency in Maryland.
AUCD Annual Conference
AUCD's 2014 Conference will be held this November 9-12 in Washington, DC. We have an exciting line up of sessions and speakers, including a pre-conference workshop on translating research findings for policymakers, and plenary sessions featuring leaders from federal government agencies and advocacy community. Register today!
Follow AUCD on Facebook and Twitter
Follow our Executive Director @AndyAUCD and policy staff @kmusheno and @racheljpat
For definitions of terms used in In Brief, please see AUCD's Glossary of Legislative Terms.
For copies of this and previous issues of Legislative News In Brief please visit the Public Policy Page of the AUCD website: http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=164
|
