Report on Disability Law articles from January 2005

Report on Disability Law archives from January 2005

2005 brings a year.(Slants & Trends)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... 2005 BRINGS A YEAR of expectation and concern for the disability community. Medicaid will be the hot button topic, with advocates especially alert to any attempts to reduce benefits. But Medicaid is only one of the "three mega-issues"--along...

Disability groups look to governors to fight for federal role in Medicaid.
January 1, 2005... Medicaid will be a big issue for disability groups in 2005, predicted Andy Imparato, executive director of the American Association of People with Disabilities. Curt Decker with the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems...

Social security 'fix' could be threat to people with disabilities, Decker says.(Outlook 2005)
January 1, 2005... Trying to sell Social Security privatization "as a 'fix' is a serious threat to people with disabilities," Curtis Decker, executive director of the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, told RDL. Without action, the...

Budget cuts: 'scorched earth' policy for disabilities programs.(Outlook 2005)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... President Bush's pledge to cut the federal budget deficit in half over the next five years "sets the context for everything," Senate Finance Democrats health counsel Alice Weiss told reporters at a National Press Club event last month. ...

New Freedom Initiative.(Other Programs Needing Oversight)
January 1, 2005... * New Freedom Initiative (NFI). The president's FY 2006 budget proposal will tell whether he plans to put teeth into the NFI, which "has some pretty ambitious goals for people with disabilities," Andy Imparato told RDL. One roadmap came in the...

IDEA.(Other Programs Needing Oversight)
January 1, 2005... * IDEA. Disability advocates also will keep a close eye on the Department of Education (ED) as it develops regulations to implement last year's Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (RDP, Nov. 25, p. 177). ED is seeking...

Dual eligibles.(Other Programs Needing Oversight)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... * Dual Eligibles. The scheduled Jan. 1, 2006, expiration of protections for persons who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, the so-called "dual eligibles," is another important issue for the disability community. A new law ends...

Money Follows the Person.(Other Programs Needing Oversight)
January 1, 2005... * Money Follows the Person (MFP). Advocates continue to be concerned about the lack of follow through on President Bush's MFP proposal to help states shift long-term support to community-based options (RDP, Nov. 11, p. 169). Tracking...

Transportation.(Other Programs Needing Oversight)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... * Transportation. Last year's efforts to extend the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century amounted to a series of starts and stops that resulted in failure to pass a six-year transportation reauthorization bill. The process raises...

Many disability groups reluctant to open ADA up to 'restoration'.(Outlook 2005)
January 1, 2005... Disability groups plan to proceed cautiously with the ADA Restoration Act proposed last month by the National Council on Disability (RDL, December, p. 185). While advocates embrace the need to stem further narrowing of the ADA, many worry about...

Employment goals.
January 1, 2005... EMPLOYMENT GOALS. The federal government should work on a coordinated approach to address an "unacceptable level of unemployment of people with disabilities," National Council on Disability general counsel Jeff Rosen told RDL. This will be...

Legal action in disability arena could shift to the state level.(Outlook 2005)
January 1, 2005... Activities in the disabilities field in 2005 will shift to the state level and there will be more emphasis on advocacy in individual states, according to Peter Blanck, the Kierscht Professor of Law at the University of Iowa. He predicted there...

Disability groups bring lawsuit against Archstone housing.
January 1, 2005... The housing industry got a wakeup call last month about the requirement for building accessible multifamily housing. The Equal Rights Center (ERC), American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and United Spinal Association filed...

PVA, AAPD, other disability groups file Norwegian cruise ship brief.
January 1, 2005... The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn a lower court ruling exempting a foreign cruise ship operator from having accessibility requirements, 10 disability groups argued last month in an amici curiae brief. Douglas Spector v. Norwegian Cruise...

Courts examine exemptions to accessibility requirements.(Case Law)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Laird v. Redwood Trust LLC, Dec. 21, 2004 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-2005 An appeals court has upheld a district ruling that a patron with disabilities cannot bring an access suit against the owner of a building housing a...

Court holds diabetic investigator does not present safety risk.(Case Law)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Branham v. Snow, Dec. 17, 2004 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-3599 The 7th Circuit reversed and remanded a Rehabilitation Act case, after finding that a diabetic employee is covered and may not be a safety risk. Gary L....

Emergency evacuation plans must meet needs of all persons with disabilities.(Case Law)
January 1, 2005... Savage v. City Place, Dec. 28, 2004 Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Md. Civil No. 240306 A county court in Maryland has allowed a Title III public accommodation suit to go forward. The court held that the Americans with Disabilities...

Worker failed to resolve conflict between ADA claim and SSDI.(Case Law)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... DeGroat v. Power Logistics, Dec. 10, 2004 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals No. 03-4087 The 3rd Circuit has upheld a Pennsylvania district court ruling that a worker failed to show he was a qualified employee under the Americans with...

Got an idea.
January 1, 2005... GOT AN IDEA? The Department of Education seeks input for developing its regulations on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. Comments are due Feb. 28. Contact: Troy Justesen, (202) 245-7468, TDD via FRS...

Health disparities.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... HEALTH DISPARITIES. Reducing health disparities among people with disabilities is one of the new policy goals of the American Public Health Association. The association called for federal funding for disability and environmental surveillance...

Passenger vessel access.(Americans with Disabilities Act)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... PASSENGER VESSEL ACCESS. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board has proposed accessibility guidelines for passenger vessels under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A public hearing was held Jan. 10, with written...

Housing.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... HOUSING. Elderly and disabled tenants comprise 58 percent of Section 515 rural rental housing, a government contractor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Housing Service has concluded. The ICF Consulting Team presented its findings...

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.(People in the News)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Kenneth L. Marcus has been appointed staff director for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He has worked on special education issues at the Education Department and fair housing issues at Department of Housing and Urban Development. Contact:...

FTA/United we ride.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... FTA/United We Ride. The Federal Transit Administration has announced the award of state coordination grants under the United We Ride program, designed to make transportation more accessible to persons with disabilities. The grant recipients are...