disability

[dlcaa...@yahoo.com]

Millions of people become disabled or are born with disabilities. Many
state and federal programs freeze the lives of the disabled in poverty,
deprive them of the opportunity for meaningful work and waste talents
and abilities that could add to the social capital of our communities.

We support raising the level of Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
above the poverty level, and raising the asset level for SSI
recipients. An experiment on a guaranteed minimum income in New Jersey
showed the people with the highest minimum income got the most jobs

We support "Ticket to Work." This allows people of disability to
keep their health insurance when they go to work.

We support those in assisted-living facilities or nursing homes to
retain 15% of their income or $100.00 whichever is greater to meet
their daily needs outside of those provided for by the facility.

We support MiCASSA (HR910, S. 401). This legislation would eliminate
the institutional bias in Medicaid and provide equal access to
community services for people with disabilities and the elderly. This
would enable people to live in less restrictive places such as their
own homes with attendants rather than in a nursing homes.

We support equal access to health care for those with mental
disabilities, regardless of Medicaid status.

I offered this resolution at Americans for Democratic Action convention
and the the national board plans the it after more research.