CDCAN
CALIFORNIA DISABILITY
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK
DISABILITY RIGHTS
NEWS REPORT
Remembering Former Assemblymember Marco
Firebaugh
#032-2006 March 26, 2006 - Sunday
Advocacy Without Borders:
Connecting people with disabilities
& seniors to rights and unified
action
1225 8th
Street Suite 480 - Sacramento, CA 95814 916/446-0013 Fax:
916/446-0026
Marty Omoto - director email: martyomoto@rcip.com
website: www.cdcan.us
California State
Budget
* Assembly Budget Hearing 3/29 on SSI/SSP
* Advocates Urge
Rejection of Governor's
Proposal
* Mental Health Assembly Budget Hearing
Monday
* 3/30 Senate Budget Hearing on Community
Care
Licensing
SACRAMENTO - The Governor's proposal to withhold federal money
specifically meant to offset cost of living increases for Supplemental Security
Income/State Supplemental Payment (SSI/SSP) grants to the lowest income
Californians with disabilities, the blind and elderly will be heard in the
Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services, chaired by
Assemblymember Hector De La Torre (D-Southgate) on Wednesday, March 29 at 1:30
PM at the State Capitol in room 444.
Other issues to be heard on
March 29 by the Assembly Budget Subcommittee is the food stamp program,
also under the Department of Social Services, senior programs under the
Department of Aging and low income programs under the Department of Community
Services and Development including Low Income Heat and Energy Assistance
Program, Community Services Block Grant.
Last year the Governor proposed
and the Legislature approved the withholding of federal funds for cost of living
increases for people who receive SSI portion for first three months of January
2006 and 2007, and a two year suspension of State funds meant for cost of living
increases for the SSP portion of the grant, beginning January 2006.
The full Senate Budget and Fiscal
Review Committee, chaired by Sen. Wes Chesbro (D-Arcata, 2nd District), in a
rare early action, rejected the Governor's proposal on SSI/SSP, during its first
meeting in January. While no action by either house is final until the
budget is actually signed by the Governor - a rejection by the Assembly Budget
Subcommittee would likely mean the issue is dead - an action that advocates for
people with disabilities, seniors and low income people are pushing hard
for. Advocates and some legislators are also pushing for repeal of last
year's action and to restore state and federal cost of living money due to
people on SSI/SSP.
Impact to People with Disabilities and
Seniors
* Over 800,000 people with
disabilities, over 21,000 persons who are blind and over 350,000 low income
seniors are recipients of SSI/SSP.
*
Advocates for people with disabilities and seniors strongly oppose the
Governor's proposal, which would extend the withholding back of federal money
for another 15 months, beginning April 2007. [ Note: CDCAN issued a CDCAN
Action Alert on this issue, and people can submit letters to the budget
subcommittees and other legislators by going to CDCAN's website or clicking
on: http://cdcan.us/letter/budget_issues.html
CDCAN Telemeeting On SSI/SSP, IHSS Issues Set for March
28
A CDCAN Disability Rights Townhall Telemeeting focusing on SSI/SSP,
and also updates on In-Home Supportive Services, especially the Quality
Assurance Program is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, featuring the several
special guests including the new director of the Department of Social Services
which oversees both programs, Cliff Allenby, who formerly directed for 8 years
the Department of Developmental Services. Also scheduled is Christian
Griffith, Assembly Budget Committee consultant on these issues, Joe Carlin,
Deputy Director, Department of Social Services, and several advocates.
Townhall Telemeetings are free and anyone is permitted to
participate.
March 28, 2006 Tuesday 1:00 PM to 2:30
PM
CDCAN Disability Rights Townhall Telemeeting
Dial toll free number for
3/28/06 CDCAN Townhall Telemeeting: 1-866-682-6100 (NO
passcode!)
* Tell the operator you want to join the CDCAN
Townhall Telemeeting hosted by Nancy Chance and Marty Omoto
* The operator
will connect you
Note: Questions, comments are encouraged by all those who
participate - and instructions will be given during the townhall on how to ask a
question
For more details on the CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings and how to
participate see CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us
Other Budget Hearings
Impacting People with Disabilities and Seniors This Week
Monday -
March 27, 2006 4:00 PM
Issue: Mental Health (Dept of Mental Health,
Budget Item 4440)
Other Budget Issues To Be Heard: None
Assembly Budget
Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services
State Capitol - Room
127
Priority: Important
Alert Issued: No
Should People Come to Hearing:
Yes
Wednesday - March 29,
2006 1:30 PM
Issue: SSI/SSP (Dept of Social Services,
Budget Item 5180)
Other Budget Issues To Be Heard: Food Stamps (Dept of
Social Services Budget Item #5180), NSP, LIHEAP, CSBG (Dept of Community
Services and Development, Budget Item 4700) and Senior Programs (Dept of Aging,
Budget Item 4170)
Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human
Services
State Capitol - Room 127.
Priority: Very High
Alert
Issued: YES - see CDCAN Action Alert at http://cdcan.us/letter/budget_issues.html
Should People Come To Hearing: Yes
Thursday - March 30,
2006 (meets at 10 AM or on adjournment of Senate Floor session)
Issue:
Community Care Licensing (Dept of Social Services, Budget Item 5180)
Other
Budget Issues To Be Heard: Dept. of Child Support Services (Budget Item
5175); Office of Systems Integration/Statewide Automated Welfare Systems
(SAWS) and the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT), CA Health and Human Services Agency (Budget Item 530).
Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 on
Health & Human Services
State Capitol - Room
4203
Priority:
Important
Alert Issued: No
Should People Come To Hearing: Yes
How To Receive CDCAN Capitol
News Reports and Alerts
The California Disability Community Action Network is a
non-partisan link to tens of thousands of Californians in every community,
including people of color, people of every type of disability, including people
with physical disabilities, people with developmental and other disabilities,
people with traumatic brain and other injures, people with mental health needs,
seniors, people with MS, Alzheimers and others, and all of their families,
community organizations and providers, direct care and other workers, and other
advocates. These action alerts and news reports is for all of them.
If you would like to get on this distribution (and conversely, get off of
it) please send an email with that request to: martyomoto@rcip.com OR sign up via the NEW
CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us Sharing information is part of
our organizing effort. Please feel free to forward or copy this
(attribution is nice but not necessary). We're all in this together!
MANY
THANKS to Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, California NAELA, The University
Affiliated Programs, CHANCE Inc, Parents Helping Parents, Arriba, Strategies
Toward Empowering People, Parents Helping Parents, Asian American parents
groups, Resources for Independent Living and many other Independent Living
Centers, several regional centers, People First chapters, IHSS workers, other
self advocacy and family support groups California Disability Rights Inc ,
developmental center families, and hundreds of individuals like Maureen
Fitzgerald, Terri Lantz, Christal Hopkins, Lisa Brown, Anna Wang, Dennis Dishaw,
Bob Benson, David Engberg, Connie Arnold, and so many others who through their
support and contributions, make the non-partisan CDCAN reports and townhall
telemeetings possible. Thanks also to partnerships and the good people
with the State Council on Developmental Disabilities, and also the Department of
Health Services, the Department of Developmental Services, Department of Social
Services and the CA Health and Human Services Agency and other agencies, and the
State Legislature and staff, the Legislative Analyst Office. Good people
who do good things can make a difference
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