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The Arc
Michigan
1325 S. Washington Ave.
Lansing, MI 48910-1652
Phone: (800) 292-7851
or (517) 487-5426
Fax: (517) 487-0303
Driving Directions |
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Roster of
Local
Arc Chapters
MS Word
PDF
Excel
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June 12 - 14th
The Arc Michigan's 57th Annual
Conference
Bay City, Michigan
Early Deadline
May 31, 2008
Registration Form & Information |
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Friday Mail, News & Action Alerts |
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Friday, May 9, 2008 |
We Need Your Feedback
We are in
the process of adding and updating information to the new Arc Michigan
Web site and appreciate your feedback. Please send comments and suggestions to:
Web site Feedback |
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Thursday, May 1 - ADAPT
Press Release: Dems Blast
McCain's Treatment of ADAPT
Instead of meeting with disability
rights activists to explain why he refuses to co-sponsor the
Community Choice Act of 2007, Senator McCain's staff allowed
more than 20 activists to be arrested in front of his Senate
office. [Associated Press, 4/29/08]
Click
here to read. For more
information on ADAPT, go to:
www.adapt.org
(posted 5/2/08) |
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Local and
State Impact of Implementation of Rehab Option Restrictions
Pending changes in the amount
of Federal Financial Participation (FFP) in Michigan's
Medicaid Specialty Services and Supports Waiver program will
negatively impact the capacity of Michigan's pre-paid
inpatient health plans (PIHPs). Read
memo from Mike Head, Deputy Director, Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Administration.
(posted 5/5/08) |
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Save the date! June
12-14, 2008
The Arc Michigan's 57th Annual Conference
Bay City, Michigan
"Making Stepping Stones out of Stumbling Blocks"
Norman Kunc,
Keynote Speaker
Conference Information and Registration Form
(new)
(Events, Session
Topics, Scholarships, Children's Program)
Registration fees
include all conference activities
two continental
breakfasts, one lunch and two dinners.
Doubletree Hotel
Phone: (989) 891-6000
Fax: (989) 891-9680
1 Wenonah Park Place, Bay
City, Michigan 48708
Block of rooms held until May
22, 2008 |
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(New)
Blue Cross Blue Shield Reforms Passed
The
Senate-passed versions of the Blue Cross Blue
Shield reform bills –
HBs
5282 &
5283 – are a victory for consumers, especially those
that are older and have pre-existing health conditions. The
bills preserve state oversight of the Blues and do not
include a high risk pool, which
would have raised premiums dramatically for sicker
consumers. We concur with Mary Ablan of the Area Agencies on
Aging Association that advocates should take a moment to
thank them for voting YES! Most importantly – thank the
first two names on the list – they are the Majority and
Minority Leaders in the Senate.
Senators voting yes
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Mike Bishop
Mark Schauer
Jason Allen
Jim Barcia
Patti BIrkholz
Cameron Brown
Nancy Cassis
Alan Cropsey
Valde Garcia
Tom George
Jud GIlbert
John Gleason
Bill Hardiman
Mark Jansen
Ron Jelinek
Roger Kahn
Wayne Kuipers
Michelle McManus
John Pappageorge
Randy Richardville
Alan Sanborn
Tony Stamas
Gerald Van Woerkom |
senmbishop@senate.michigan.gov
senmschauer@senate.michigan.gov
senjallen@senate.michigan.gov
senjbarcia@senate.michigan.gov
senpbirkholz@senate.michigan.gov
sencbrown@senate.michigan.gov
senncassis@senate.michigan.gov
senacropsy@senate.michigan.gov
senvgarcia@senate.michigan.gov
sentgeorge@senate.michigan.gov
senjgilbert@senate.michigan.gov
senjgleason@senate.michigan.gov
senbhardiman@senate.michigan.gov
senmjansen@senate.michigan.gov
senrjelinek@senate.michigan.gov
senrkahn@senate.michigan.gov
senwkuipers@senate.michigan.gov
senmmcmanus@senate.michigan.gov
senjpappageorge@senate.michigan.gov
senrrichardville@senate.michigan.gov
senasanborn@senate.michigan.gov
sentstamas@senate.michigan.gov
sengvanwoerkom@senate.michigan.gov
(posted
5/9/08) |
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Supportive Housing for
Individuals with Down Syndrome and other Developmental
Disabilities
Thursday, May 15, 2008 |
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(Updated)
The International Conference on
Self-Determination
Tuesday
- Thursday, May 27 - 29, 2008
Scholarship - Deadline May 16,
2008
Tom Watkins Op-ed, "Michigan -
the Center for Innovation and Self-Determination"
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Choices for
Independence II - 21st Annual Conference
May 28 & 29, 2008
Kellogg Hotel and
Conference Center
East Lansing, MI |
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Summer Autism
Conference - Work With Me,
Not On Me
June 23 - 25, 2008
University of San Diego
(posted 4/18/08) |
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The
Arc's 2008 National Convention
Albuquerque, New Mexico
November 6 - 8, 2008 |
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Mt. Pleasant Census as of 4/02/08
(posted
4/11/08) |
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(New)
Public Policy Update - May 9, 2008
from Wiener and Associates
Click
Here to read.
(Posted 5/09/08) |
(new)
House Democrats Attach
Bill to Delay Medicaid Regulations to Supplemental War
Appropriations Legislation
Democrats have attached a bill (HR 5613)
thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.5613: that
would block for one year seven new Medicaid regulations
to "must-pass" supplemental war appropriations
legislation, CQ Today reports (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/6).
The Medicaid legislation would delay implementation of
the regulations until April 1, 2009. Under the
regulations, proposed by the Bush administration, states
could not use federal Medicaid funds to help pay for
physician training. The regulations also would place new
limits on Medicaid reimbursements to hospitals and
nursing homes operated by state and local governments
and limit coverage of rehabilitation services for
individuals with disabilities and mental illnesses. In
addition, the bill would provide $25 million annually
for efforts to fight Medicaid fraud (Kaiser Daily Health
Policy Report
www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=51729,
4/24).
The war appropriations bill will include three sections
that Democrats will propose as separate amendments to
base legislation (Rogin [1], CQ Today, 5/6). According
to CongressDaily, the "strategy is designed to ensure
passage of the bill, which would likely not win approval
as a whole" (Sanchez/Bourge, CongressDaily, 5/7). The
first amendment would provide $96.6 billion for the
military in fiscal year 2008 and $66 billion in FY 2009.
The second amendment includes conditions for the funds.
The third amendment includes funds for a number of
domestic and military programs. In addition, the third
amendment includes the Medicaid legislation (Rogin [1],
CQ Today, 5/6).
The war appropriations bill would cost a total of $183.6
billion (CongressDaily, 5/7). President Bush has
threatened to veto the legislation in the event that the
cost would exceed $108 billion in FY 2008 (Rogin [2], CQ
Today, 5/6).
Prospects
The attachment of the Medicaid bill to the war
appropriations legislation could help with passage in
the Senate, where the "bill has become tied up" because
of filibusters by Republicans, CQ Today reports.
According to CQ Today, the move will allow Democrats to
"avoid an extra set of cloture votes," and, although
"Republicans could filibuster the war spending bill
itself or offer an amendment to strip out the Medicaid
provisions," such efforts would "probably be
unsuccessful" (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/6).
In the House, the move "drew criticism from fiscally
conservative Democrats," CQ Today reports (Rogin [2], CQ
Today, 5/6). House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.)
on Tuesday said that the House might vote on the war
appropriations bill on Thursday (Bourge/Sanchez,
CongressDaily, 5/6). "Democratic sources said that so
far they do not appear to have the votes for passage of
the measure," but "Democratic leadership aides predicted
that they would ultimately get the measure approved,"
according to CongressDaily (CongressDaily, 5/7).
(Posted 5/9/08) |
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Medicaid changes could
cost Michigan
Plans' possible
effects on state's economy debated
by
Todd Spangler - Detroit Free Press Washington Staff -
April 16, 2008
"Using
one of the U.S. Government's own formulas for figuring
out the impact of regulatory change, a group advocating
affordable health care argued Tuesday that Bush
administration plans to change Mediciad could cost
Michigan billions of dollars in lost business and
thousands of jobs." Click
here to read.
(posted 4/18/08) |
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Help Retain Funding for Vital Home
and Community-Based Services |
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A key Michigan House of Representatives Committee has a
great opportunity to
improve the
funding and choices for Michigan Long-Term Care consumers and
their families.
Our loved ones deserve the right to receive the long-term care services
they need in the setting of their choice.
A proposal pending before the Michigan House of
Representatives (Senate
Bill 1094)
would eliminate $27 million in proposed funding for home and
community-based
services. Please call the AARP Long-Term Care Reform
Hotline today
and ask your state representative to restore the Governor’s original
spending
proposal for community-based services that were eliminated by the
Michigan Senate and to ensure full quality long-term care choices.
The
toll-free AARP Long-Term Care Reform Hotline is 1-888-232-6829
(posted 4/11/08) |
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March 26, 2008 -The full Senate passed
Senate Bill 1094, the FY 2009 budget bill for the Department of
Community Health. It passed on a vote of 20-18. Below is a
link to the bill, and a summary, as passed yesterday.
Numerous
amendments were offered and debated on the floor, with all but a handful
defeated. Defeated amendments included: restore the Healthy Michigan
Fund; restore Medicaid coverage for 10 and 20 year olds; fund pilot
mental health courts; expand the Healthy Kids Dental program into Wayne
and Oakland Counties; fund awareness and prevention programs for
sexually transmitted diseases; increase funding for senior services
through the Older Michiganians Act; and re-invest nursing home savings
into expanded home and community based services.
Among the handful
of amendments that were adopted: $125,000 to expand Healthy Kids Dental
into the city of Roseville; $25,000 for a pilot diabetes management
program in Muskegon; and boilerplate language requiring the Department
to present its plan for a centralized mental health risk pool by January
1.
The bill now moves
to the House for deliberation and negotiation. Details of the House
subcommittee hearing schedule are not yet available, but activity is
expected to begin shortly after the House returns from recess on April
8.
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billengrossed/Senate/pdf/2008-SEBS-1094.pdf
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2007-2008/billanalysis/Senate/pdf/2007-SFA-1094-U.pdf
(posted 3/28/08) |
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Social Security
Disability Income (SSDI) Recipients May be Eligible to
Receive Economic Stimulus Check
If you receive a
Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) payment, Social
Security retirement benefits, Veterans Affairs (VA)
benefits, and/or railroad retirement benefits equal at
least $3,000 annually, you probably qualify to receive
an economic stimulus check.
You do not have to have any tax liability for the year
to be eligible for the stimulus check, but you DO HAVE
TO FILE A TAX RETURN TO GET THE CHECK. See
this document from United Cerebral Palsy
of Michigan for further details.
See
Money Back in Michigan below for free tax help and filing information.
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2008 Tax Guides Available
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This authoritative income tax guide will prove to
be invaluable for tax preparers, parents and others concerned with tax
deductions stemming from the care and support of a minor child or adult
child or other persons with intellectual or cognitive disabilities or
other developmental disabilities. Issued annually for more than two
decades, this edition of the Tax Guide was prepared by Thomas F.
Kendziorski, Esq., Executive Director, Attorney at Law, The Arc of
Oakland County, Inc. Cost per copy to members of The Arc Michigan is
$7.00 and $10.00 for non-members. Click here for order form:
MS Word or
PDFfile.
(posted 1/18/08) |
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Money Back in Michigan and Free Online Tax Preparation
The Michigan League
for Human Services has published the 2008 edition of Money Back in
Michigan. The tax credits explained in this packet bring money back into
households, either by reducing the taxes owed or by providing a refund
to the family. The credits are available both to individuals who file
income tax returns and those who are exempt from filing, and some
credits can be claimed after the normal income tax filing deadline.
The publication can be found at:
www.milhs.org/Media/EDocs/EITC07ForFiling2008withCvrLtr.pdf
A Spanish version is
available at:
www.milhs.org/Media/EDocs/EITC07ForFiling2008SPANISH.pdf
Money Back in
Michigan is also available by calling the League at:
(517) 487-5436.
This website (www.MichiganEIC.org)
has information about local outreach coalitions
and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. It also provides
access to the Michigan Poverty Law Program’s
I-CAN!E-File, a free web-based e-filing system
for taxpayers with household income under $50,000.
Low-income filers need not pay commercial tax
preparers for expensive ‘‘rapid refund’’ loans. Use free VITA services
or filing online for free with
I-CAN!E-File.
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May 27 -
29, 2008
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International Conference on Self-Determination Drawing More than 500 to
Detroit
The May 27–29 International Conference
on Self-Determination is expected to draw more than 500 participants
from as far away as Australia, Russia, Italy and Vancouver in Canada.
These participants represent service and change agents in developmental
disabilities, elder issues, mental illness recovery and the independent
living movement from across the globe. The
conference will highlight different national and cultural approaches to
people with disabilities controlling where and with whom to live, their
genuine membership in the community, their pursuit of positive long-term
relationships and the end to personal impoverishment.
One of the
many conference highlights will be National Public Radio's popular “StoryCorps,"
the largest oral history project of its kind. It will capture the
stories of people with disabilities and archive them for future
generations at the National Library of Congress.
Read the full
opinion piece by Tom Watkins, former
State Superintendent of Public Instruction in
Michigan. If you're interested in assistance to attend the conference,
complete this
scholarship registration form
Click
HERE to learn more about this exciting event or go to
www.self-determination.com
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Choices for Independence II - 21st
Annual Conference
Presented by Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan
May 28 & 29, 2008
Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center
East Lansing
This conference is designed to meet the
training needs of professional working with older adults and people with
disabilities. Click
here for
summary of program, including four general sessions and 28 workshops,
registration form, exhibitor, sponsorship and accommodation information.
Room reservations: (800) 875-5090 by April
26
Sponsorship & exhibitor information: Call
Mary Ablan or Lynn Gustafson at
(517) 886-1029
ADA Accommodations: Send written request
to Lynn Gustafson at:
AAAAM
6105 West St. Joseph, Suite 204
Lansing, MI 48917
Fax: (517) 886-1305
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Summer Autism Conference - Work With
Me, Not On Me
June 23 - 25, 2008
University of San Diego
This unique conference brings
state-of-the-art ideas from national and international speakers on how
to better understand and support individuals who live with autism.
For more information, see
flyer or go to go to
www.sandiego.edu
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November 6 - 8, 2008 - The Arc's 2008 National Convention
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Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico,
"Telling our Story-Weaving our Future"
The Arc
of New Mexico is planning an unforgettable event for attendees,
including Celebration of the Arc, New Mexico author,
Michael McGarrity, stories shared by self advocates, The Arc Nation
Pow Wow and unforgettable
sights and sounds. Click
here for more information.
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Highlights of
the Department of Community Health Executive Budget
Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2009
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An increase in the FMAP
(Federal Match Rate for Medicaid_ from 58.1 to 60.27
(The State Portion reduces to 39.73 cents/dollar)
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An increase in Mental
Health funding, of 3.4% (Actuarial Soundness)
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Full year funding for
Adult Home Help providers at a minimum of $7.50/hr
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24 Million to expand
Community based Long Term Care services for those
otherwise eligible for Nursing Home Level of Care
FY 2009 MDCH Executive Budget Recommendations Overview and
Highlights
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Supportive Housing for Individuals with Down Syndrome and other Developmental Disabilities
A
series of four workshops (see below for details) on how to
create successful supportive housing arrangements is being
offered by the Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan. They
are intended for families or caregivers of individuals
with Down syndrome or other developmental disabilities and
will be held at the Eberhard Center of
Grand Valley
State University
(GVSU) Downtown Campus at
301 West Fulton in
Grand Rapids.
You may attend any or all of the workshops.
Beverages will be provided; you may bring a snack. Registration is required:
Contact the Association at
dsawm@iserv.net or
616-956-3488 (866-665-7451
toll free) for questions or
to register.
Workshop #4 - Thursday, May 15, 2008, 7pm
Learn how to
finance the cost of building the home by accessing governmental
housing funds from HUD, MSHDA, quasi-governmental, and private
sources.
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Presidential Candidates and Disability Issues
Are you interested what positions on disability
issues the Presidential candidates have? Here are
some links to information from the candidates with
active campaigns.
Hillary Clinton:
How her plans affect Americans with Disabilities
www.hillaryclinton.com/files/pdf/dis_impactreport.pdf
Remarks at the Granite State Independent Living
Forum
www.hillaryclinton.com/news/speech/view/?id=4045
John McCain:
www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/
Barack Obama:
Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities, intro
www.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities
Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities, full
www.barackobama.com/pdf/DisabilityPlanFactSheet.pdf
Ron Paul:
www.ronpaul2008.com/issues
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Analysis of positions on senior issues from leading
2008 U.S. Presidential candidates
http://www.naela.org/pdffiles/NAELA_Election08_Candidates.pdf
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Locate and contact
your federal, state and local official and results
of recent primaries. Go to
www.congress.org/congressorg/home |
Autism
Breakthrough: Girl's Writings Explain Her Behavior and Feelings
(ABC News) It's not that parents
give up
on their kid -- but that the system they find themselves in
often presents no option but to
give in.
http://abcnews. go.com/Health/ story?id= 4311223
(2/22/08)
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The Michigan Alliance for Families
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a program of The Arc Michigan, has an extensive and
comprehensive website of education and disability resources. The
website can be found at
www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org.
In addition, The Alliance lists local Arc chapters as resources
for local supports.
We hope this Web site will be useful in
your work at the local level serving people with disabilities
and their families. If you have suggestions for improvement,
please email Kay Moler at
kmoler@arcmi.org.
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Robert and Martha Perske are proud to announce the new home for
Perske Prints
at
www.perskeprints.com -
Click
here
to read announcement.
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DCH Weekly Resident In-House Census Reports and information about the Mt. Pleasant Center
are available on the
Mt. Pleasant Center Page.
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