UPDATE ON D.C. DDS RESPONSE TO COVID 19

On Friday I wrote about my concern that there wasn’t adequate information coming from DDS or the Bowser administration with respect to contingency planning about COVID 19.  On Saturday I called in for a remote townhall by the mayor’s office about general arrangements, but I was unable to ask my question about getting targeted information out to people with developmental disabilities.

Yesterday I heard from Andy Reese, director of the Department on Disability Services, who directed me to this link:  https://dds.dc.gov/publication/dds-operating-status-during-covid-19-emergency.  He tells me that there will be a letter coming out today for self-advocates and families – I hope that will be distributed widely, including hard copy where needed.  In the call on Saturday I learned there was to be a mailing to people served by the Office on Aging (or maybe to senior citizens generally, I was not sure).  This mailing also should go to those in the community receiving supports and services from DDS and DCOA under the IDD and EPD waivers, and I sincerely hope this message is being heard.

I’ll share information as I get it.  In the meantime, read this and distribute this information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) widely:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/prevention.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fabout%2Fprevention.html

Please stay safe, and do your best to keep others around you safe as well, by practicing social distancing to the extent possible.

KEEPING UP TO DATE ON CORONAVIRUS - AND THE CENSUS!

As I hope you know, Mayor Bowser declared an emergency a couple of days ago with respect to the coronavirus.  This is the website for the latest, up to date information:  https://coronavirus.dc.gov/., and here is an announcement out today about D.C. government closures:  https://mayor.dc.gov/release/mayor-bowser-adjusts-district-columbia-government%E2%80%99s-operating-status.  Note that all libraries are going to be closed starting Monday until April 1. 

MUCH MORE needs to be done to keep the DC online information up to date in these unsettled days, though.  When I go on the DDS website, https://dds.dc.gov/, there’s a small ribbon across the top about coronavirus information, but nothing at all about what’s being done with respect to the population being served by DDS (or if it’s there, it’s buried too far down in the website).  I realize that DDS doesn’t control its own website, but the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (https://octo.dc.gov/page/district-agency-support) needs to put more effort behind this, and NOW.  (By the way, OCTO is also the agency we have to thank for the exceptionally messy and user-unfriendly Zixcorp mail system, but more on that another time.) 

The DDS website doesn’t even mention the event postponements that were announced yesterday in an email from Emily Ornstein (emily.ornstein@dc.gov) - including today’s DC Supporting Families Community of Practice, but hopefully the word got around.  The Voices of Change conference on March 26 also is postponed, and more to come.  The DD Council meeting scheduled for March 19, 3:00-5:00 is in the process of rescheduling, so stay tuned for that as well.

When the DD Council meeting goes forward, we expect to have someone there to talk about the census and how it’s rolling out in D.C. (https://dccensus2020.dc.gov/).  But as we all know, the census is already under way – cards arrived in the mail yesterday – and there needs to be specific information on the DDS website saying exactly how the people served are going to get counted – Address by address?  Provider by provider?  Some other way?  Tell us!  It’s not too soon!

Earlier this week, when we were all still in the mood for a party, many of us shared a great event, Quality Trust’s Better Together Reception (https://www.dcqualitytrust.org/better-together-reception-2020/).  You missed the event, but while you’re sitting home you can make a remote donation to this important organization that does so much for people with developmental disabilities in D.C. and beyond.  Here’s the link:  https://www.dcqualitytrust.org/support/donors/ (and yes, I serve on the QT board – because I know how important it is!

Stay safe, all of you – and let’s get some more information!

Judy Heumann Rocked the Place! (and more)

What a turnout it was at Politics and Prose for the reading and discussion by Judy Heumann (https://time.com/5793652/judith-heumann-100-women-of-the-year/)  of her new book, Being Heumann (https://www.politics-prose.com/book/9780807019290).   The place was packed, and all the books sold out, as she read passages from her book and held a dialogue with former government official and rights attorney John Wodatch about her many accomplishments, including the 504 Sit-in.  I saw several people I know there, and many other activists and allies who turned out for this great event.

Coming back down to earth, it’s Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, and here are a few reminders about upcoming local events:

·       On March 11, it’s Quality Trust’s Better Together annual reception - https://www.dcqualitytrust.org/better-together-reception-2020/

·       On March 12, the Family Support Council’s bimonthly public meeting - https://dds.dc.gov/event/family-support-council-public-meeting-march-12-2020

·       On March 13, the Supporting Families Community of Practice meeting - https://dds.dc.gov/event/supporting-families-community-practice-march-13-2019

·       On March 19, the quarterly public meeting of your DD Council (https://ddc.dc.gov/)

·       On March 30, the big Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month celebration - https://dds.dc.gov/event/dds-developmental-disabilities-awareness-month-celebration, and

·       On March 31, DDS will brief on its proposed budget for 2021 - https://dds.dc.gov/event/dds-budget-forum-flyer

Surely you can make it to at least one of these!  If I’ve missed another local event, please leave a comment!*  And get ready for April, when the DD Council will host its second annual Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month event – watch this space!

* An earlier version of this post said there would be a Project ACTION! (https://www.dcqualitytrust.org/families/join-project-action/) meeting March 14, but I've since learned the March meeting has been cancelled – next ones are April 4 and May 16 – come, join and learn!

Disability at the DC Budget Engagement Forum Last NIght

We needed more disability advocates at the budget engagement forum with the mayor at UDC last night!  The folks who get the most attention are the ones who show up in matching T-shirts and spread out across all the tables.   

I know many of you had turned out for the February 18 forum on Franklin Street NE, and hopefully more of you will be at the final one tomorrow morning at the Kenilworth rec center (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mayor-muriel-bowser-presents-the-2020-budget-engagement-forums-tickets-89658337501).  I saw Andy Reese, DDS director, and Alison Whyte, DD Council executive director, there, but it’s important to have a groundswell of determined advocates who can make a lot of noise!  I've heard there was an overflow room - maybe you were there and I missed you?*

I made my views known about funding the DSP bill (see more at http://dc-coalition.org/) and about expanding eligibility for DDS disability supports to people with autism and other developmental disabilities (https://www.ddinwdc.com/search?q=expansion), both at my table and in a direct conversation with the mayor as well.  I was pleased that our issues made it into my table’s priorities and I found new allies in colleagues who care about early childhood education and immigrant rights, but I would have liked to hear other tables reporting out more on disability-related issues as well.  I was tweeting furiously the hashtags #FundtheDSPWageAct (https://twitter.com/hashtag/FundtheDSPWageAct?src=hashtag_click) and #DDeligibilityDC (https://twitter.com/hashtag/DDeligibilityDC?src=hashtag_click), and I appreciate those of you who retweeted or liked my @DDinWDC tweets (https://twitter.com/DDinWDC).  Let’s keep the groundswell going!

*Thanks to Ian Paregol from the DC Coalition, who was apparently at a neighboring table, and also thanks to others who've let me know they were redirected to overflow!

Another Chance to Testify about D.C. Performance on Disability Issues: February 18

On Tuesday, February 11, councilmember Nadeau held a performance review hearing for the D.C. Office on Disability Rights (ODR) and the Department on Disability Services (DDS).  The link for the video of that hearing is here:  http://dc.granicus.com/viewpublisher.php?view_id=2 – scroll down to the Committee on Human Services hearing on February 11 to view it.  There were many important witnesses at the hearing, but here is some of the key testimony:

-          ODR  https://odr.dc.gov/release/director-mathew-mccollough-provides-fiscal-year-2019-performance-oversight-testimony

-          DDS  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1i_m4PTI-kV5831JJ3ounTefuXuWizE5E

-          Quality Trust https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ALppjfjo2iaDBLYMomhZO3YlylHNrU7M

-          ULS/DRDC https://drive.google.com/open?id=1h4ZWJSYVDCR8vNSIkYXkpNPl-b7G4Lka

-          DD Council https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Gyf0N3_cuzGxLh3dfyEUxvdrOW191UZA

You can submit written testimony until February 25 by email to HumanServices@DCCOUNCIL.US.  But the committee is also providing an opportunity for anyone who couldn’t attend the daytime hearing to come to the RISE center (2730 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE) on Tuesday evening, February 18, 6:00-10:00 p.m.:  https://www.brianneknadeau.com/committee-human-services-performance-oversight-evening-community-hearing-rise-center.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, the need for DDS to expand eligibility for the I/DD Medicaid waiver across the spectrum of development disabilities (not just to those who meet an IQ cutoff) received a great deal of attention in this hearing.  If you’re on Twitter and you want to let the mayor (@MayorBowser) and the committee chair (@BrianneKNadeau) know you care about this issue, use hashtag #DDeligibilityDC, or retweet my texts @DDinWDC .  Also let the mayor know you care about this at one of her budget engagement forums (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mayor-muriel-bowser-presents-the-2020-budget-engagement-forums-tickets-89658337501) and while you’re there, ask the mayor to fund bill 23-0214 (https://www.ddinwdc.com/2020/02/dds-performance-fair-wages-for-dsps-and.html)!

I’ll see you at next Thursday night’s budget forum, at UDC!

Tell Mayor Bowser Next Week: People with Developmental Disabilities Need Her Support!

Next week, Mayor Bowser will be holding budget engagement forums (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mayor-muriel-bowser-presents-the-2020-budget-engagement-forums-tickets-89658337501) to help her administration shape the D.C. budget for the fiscal year starting in September.  Find the forum nearest to you, and attend. 

Your message:  Supports from the DDS Developmental Disabilities Administration must not be limited to people with an intellectual disability. People with other developmental disabilities need to be eligible for the I/DD waiver administered by DDS.

Yesterday’s hearing before the D.C. council’s Human Services Committee attracted an impressive turnout of witnesses, about half of whom came out to tell committee chair Brianne Nadeau that it’s time to extend eligibility for the I/DD waiver to people with autism and other developmental disabilities in the District.  But when it came time for DDS Director Andy Reese to testify, the councilmember asked if a bill would need to be passed by the council in order to make this change. Andy said yes, and that was that.  This is where the conversation always ends.  Not everyone agrees that DDS’ hands are tied without specific legislation, but even if that’s the case, nothing except a lack of political will prevents the administration from presenting a bill to the council to make this change:  after all, they did it two years ago with the Disability Services Reform Amendment Act calling for a rollback of civil commitment.

When I first started this blog back in 2014, the memory of the Developmental Disabilities Reform Act, which died in the D.C. council in December 2010, was still relatively fresh (https://www.ddinwdc.com/2014/12/).  And in late 2015, the issue was still alive as then-committee chair Yvette Alexander asked DDS for a report on what it would mean to expand services:  https://dds.dc.gov/release/dds-report-committee-health-and-human-services-re-fy16-budget.  But it just drifted away.  Now, it’s clear we’re all just going to keep circling around on this issue, since DDS insists a bill is needed but has no intention of presenting one.

We have to take it to the mayor, folks.  Get out there and let the mayor and her budget folks hear that expanding eligibility for the I/DD waiver is a priority!  It’s a matter of justice.

Project ACTION! and an Important Healthcare Survey

An observant reader asked that I send an additional reminder about Saturday's (tomorrow's) Project ACTION! meeting (Feb. 8, 10-12, at the Kennedy Institute, 801 Buchanan St. NE).  This is an important monthly meeting of self-advocates, and worth every minute!

This month, after the meeting lunch will be provided, and then the Georgetown University School of Medicine’s Community Based Learning will hold a focus group on healthcare experiences - communication problems or other barriers - of people with developmental disabilities in our community.   The information they collect will help generate recommendations to improve education for healthcare providers in the D.C. area, so a good turnout will have a great payoff!

Come to the Kennedy Institute tomorrow!  Don't miss it - and don't miss next Tuesday either (see my last post, below) -

DDS Performance, Fair Wages for DSPs, and Progress Toward D.C. Statehood!

First off, go back and re-read my January 23 blog post:  https://www.ddinwdc.com/2020/01/disability-advocacy-events-in-dc-that.html.  There is such a lot happening in February!  

I know everyone reading this will be in room 412 of the Wilson Building for the hearing on DDS performance at 10:00 Tuesday, February 11.  Here’s the link on the D.C. council website:  https://dccouncil.us/event/performance-oversight-hearing-committee-on-human-services-4/.  Contact the Human Services Committee at humanservices@dccouncil.us if you’d like to testify.  Here's some late-breaking news, DDS answers to the committee's questions:  https://dccouncil.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/dds.pdf.  I’ll be testifying on behalf of the Developmental Disabilities Council (https://ddc.dc.gov/page/ddc-members), and I look forward to seeing you there!

At the very same time on February 11, the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (NY), will meet to consider and mark up H.R. 51, the “Washington, D.C. Admission Act” (see D.C. Representative Norton’s announcement here:  https://norton.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/norton-bowser-mendelson-and-oversight-committee-chairwoman-maloney).  You’ll remember the hearing back in September that was presided over by the late Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland (https://www.ddinwdc.com/2019/09/keep-celebrating-direct-support.html) - it was only due to his untimely passing that consideration of the bill has taken this long – it has more than enough sponsors to pass in the House! 

I’m also very happy to report that bill 23-0214, the Direct Support Professional Payment Rate Act of 2019, received its final (favorable) vote in the D.C. council at the legislative meeting, on February 4.  So from here on, the issue is whether the bill will be funded – and you’ll be hearing plenty more about this next Tuesday if you come!  If you don’t know what this bill is about, enter “DSP” in the Search box over to the right at the very top, and you’ll find all the information you could want.

Before closing, I want to remind folks of some links you’ll want to keep handy:

-          The DDS complaint process, whose development has been under way for some time, is now up and running, as of January 1.  The link is here:  https://dds.dc.gov/page/dda-formal-complaint-system.  The new system was announced in a memo from Kirk Dobson (kirk.dobson@dc.gov), who succeeded Erin Leveton as deputy director of the Quality Assurance and Performance Management Administration in November.  (Current DDS organizational chart:  https://dds.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dds/publication/attachments/DDS%20Org.%20Charts%2011.25.19.pdf)

-          Also, periodically people approach me with questions for people they know who need some sort of support but don't know which agency can help.  They should be told about the DC Support Link, http://dcsupportlink.networkofcare.org/, also known as No Wrong Door.  For anyone you encounter who is trying to obtain services but is not sure which agency to approach, this is the place to go first.

See you 10 a.m. Tuesday, February 11 at the Wilson Building!

DISABILITY ADVOCACY EVENTS THAT YOU’LL WANT ON YOUR CALENDAR

I like to express opinions in my blog, but sometimes the right thing to do is to make you aware of opportunities to express yours!  What follows is information that should help you with your planning in 2020:

-          Bill 23-0214, the Direct Support Professional Payment Rate Act of 2019, received its first full (favorable) vote in the D.C. council on Tuesday, January 7, and the second vote will take place at the council’s next regular legislative meeting, on February 4.  Take a look at my page entitled “Contacting the D.C. council” (https://www.ddinwdc.com/p/members-of-d.html) and let your representatives know you want to see this bill passed.  Then also let deputy mayor Wayne Turnage (wayne.turnage@dc.gov) know you want the Bowser administration to fund it!  If you don’t know what this bill is about, enter “DSP” in the Search box and you’ll find plenty of information.

-          On Tuesday, February 11, the D.C. council will hold its performance hearing on the Department on Disability Services (https://dds.dc.gov/).  This is the foremost opportunity each year for folks to weigh in on how well the D.C. government is supporting adults with developmental disabilities, so I hope to see (and hear) you there.  Here is the information on where and when, and how to sign up to testify:  https://dccouncil.us/event/performance-oversight-hearing-committee-on-human-services-3/.  (Note:  the council calendar still shows Feb. 7 but the date has changed.)

-          Project ACTION!, D.C.’s very active self-advocacy group, meets monthly at the Kennedy Institute, 801 Buchanan St. NE.  The next meeting is Saturday, February 8, 10:00-12:00.  All are welcome, and there’s always great food, great fun, and a lot to learn.

-          Ever since last summer’s vigorous discussion around the expiration of the DDA Health Initiative contract with the Georgetown University Center (https://ucedd.georgetown.edu/index.php), there’s been a lot of ferment about improving DDS operations and communications.   As part of its follow-up DDS, in collaboration with Quality Trust and others, is launching several workgroups under its Quality Improvement Committee (https://dds.dc.gov/page/quality-improvement-committee-qic), to look at different aspects of its performance.  I’m still trying to get a fuller understanding of this exercise and hope to share more information soon.

-          The D.C. Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) will now be holding four public meetings per year (previously there have only been three public meetings annually).  The first of these public meetings in 2020 is scheduled for March 19 at 3:00 – watch the DDC website for more information: https://ddc.dc.gov/.  We cover a lot of ground in these meetings, and it’s a good place to come to be exposed to the many initiatives affecting people with developmental disabilities in our community.

-          The Family Support Council (https://dds.dc.gov/publication/family-support-council-procedures) also holds public meetings, every other month, and the next of these is on March 12, 12:30-2:30. The FSC looks in-depth at issues affecting people with disabilities across a number of different D.C. government agencies, and recently its focus has been on the Department of Health Care Finance.  For more information about the FSC and its upcoming business, you can contact Emily Ornstein (formerly Emily Price) at emily.ornstein@dc.gov.

-          Later in the spring, there will also be celebratory and informational events, in March for DD Awareness Month and in April for Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month.  I’ll share specific dates as soon as I have them.  And while you’re thinking about celebrating, buy your early-bird tickets to Quality Trust’s annual Better Together reception:  https://qualitytrustforindividualswithdisabilities.networkforgood.com/events/18345-2020-better-together-reception.

That should be enough to help you plan the next couple of months!

NEW YEAR UPDATES ALREADY!

I hope that each and every one of you has had a happy turn of the year, and I wanted to let you know right away about some updates to information I provided in my last post of 2019, only days ago:

-          First, AAPD’s presidential forum on disability, previously scheduled for January 13, has been postponed:  https://www.aapd.com/advocacy/voting/2020-presidential-forum-on-disability-issues/.  Further news to come.

-          Second, bill B23-0214, the Direct Support Professional Payment Rate Act of 2019, is going to be considered by the full D.C. council even sooner than anticipated.  Its first reading and initial vote will take place this coming Tuesday, January 7, with a second vote to come later in the month.  Even if it passes the council and is signed by the mayor, though, there is a chance it will go unfunded by the administration.  Deputy mayor Wayne Turnage (wayne.turnage@dc.gov) will be the one to contact once the bill is passed, to make sure the funding is there.

And the New Year is underway!  Welcome to 2020!