Pennsylvania House of Representatives Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 2
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE HEARING STATE CAPITOL HARRISBURG, PA MAIN CAPITOL BUILDING ROOM 60, EAST WING MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2 014 11:02 A.M. PRESENTATION ON THE IMPACT OF THE OLMSTEAD DECISION ON PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND THE WAITING LIST FOR SERVICES BEFORE: HONORABLE GENE DiGIROLAMO, MAJORITY CHAIRMAN HONORABLE MINDY FEE HONORABLE DOYLE HEFFLEY HONORABLE TOM MURT HONORABLE BERNIE O ’NEILL HONORABLE BRAD ROAE HONORABLE JESSE TOPPER HONORABLE PAMELA DeLISSIO HONORABLE MADELEINE DEAN HONORABLE PATTY KIM HONORABLE STEPHEN KINSEY HONORABLE MARK PAINTER HONORABLE EDDIE DAY PASHINSKI Pennsylvania House of Representatives Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 2 I N D E X TESTIFIERS ~k ~k ~k NAME PAGE MAUREEN CRONIN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE ARC PENNSYLVANIA......................... ...... 9 CELIA S. FEINSTEIN CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE ON DISABILITIES, UCEDD; ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF URBAN EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF TEACHING AND LEARNING COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, TEMPLE UNIVERSITY..... ..... 13 THOMAS KASHATUS PRESIDENT, WHITE HAVEN CENTER RELATIVES & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION.............. ..... 20 KAYE LENKNER COORDINATOR, SELF-ADVOCATES UNITED AS 1 .................. ..... 25 CARL MANDO SELF-ADVOCATE.................................. ..... 28 LEROY HAMMOND SELF-ADVOCATE.................................. ..... 34 SAVANNAH LOGSDON-BREAKSTONE SELF-ADVOCATE.................................. ..... 39 SHEILA MCLEOD MANAGER, CONSUMER/FAMILY SATISFACTION TEAM........... ..... 44 ROBERT STAUFFER TEAM LEADER, CONSUMER/FAMILY SATISFACTION TEAM............ ..... 47 SYLVIA GILLOM EMBREEVILLE CLASS MEMBER..................... ..... 50 3 I N D E X TESTIFIERS (Cont’d) ~k k k NAME PAGE VIVIAN MCLEOD DIVERSITY MANAGER, VANGUARD, INC., AND FAMILY MEMBER........................................ 53 AUDREY COCCIA CO-FOUNDER, CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VISION FOR EQUALITY..................................56 LISA TESLER POLICY COORDINATOR, PENNSYLVANIA WAITING LIST CAMPAIGN................. 66 NANCY MURRAY PRESIDENT, THE ARC OF GREATER PITTSBURGH.......................74 SUBMITTED WRITTEN TESTIMONY ~k ~k ~k (See submitted written testimony and handouts online.) 4 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 ~k ~k ~k 3 MAJORITY CHAIRMAN DiGIROLAMO: Thank you, and to 4 everyone that’s here today, welCome to this hearing. Good 5 to see the familiar faCes that are out there in the crowd. 6 Just a Couple of ground rules when we start out, 7 the Cameras are on. My understanding is that PCN is 8 Covering this live, so I’d like everybody to be aware of 9 that. 10 And also we have a very ambitious agenda today, 11 so what I thought we might do is let everybody testify 12 first. Then at the end after everybody has testified, if 13 any of the Members have questions, if you Could stiCk 14 around, then we'll bring you baCk up to answer some of the 15 questions if that would be okay. 16 And first, I'd like to give everybody, the 17 Members that are present here today, a ChanCe just to say 18 hello and let you know where they're from. 19 Pam. 20 REPRESENTATIVE DeLISSIO: Good morning. Pam 21 DeLissio. I represent the 194th, whiCh Covers parts of 22 Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. 23 REPRESENTATIVE TOPPER: My name is Jesse Topper. 24 I represent the 78th DistriCt, whiCh Covers parts of 25 Bedford, all of Fulton, and parts of Huntington County. 5 1 REPRESENTATIVE MURT: Tom Murt, 152nd DistriCt. 2 I represent Philadelphia and Montgomery County. 3 MAJORITY CHAIRMAN DiGIROLAMO: Gene DiGirolamo, 4 Chairman of the Committee. I ’m from the 18th Legislative 5 DistriCt in BuCks County. 6 REPRESENTATIVE PASHINSKI: Good morning, 7 everyone. Eddie Day Pashinski, 121st DistriCt, Luzerne 8 County. 9 MAJORITY CHAIRMAN DiGIROLAMO: And I know some of 10 the other Members of the Committee will be Coming in and 11 out; it’s a very busy morning up here in Harrisburg on 12 Monday. 13 I just have a Couple opening Comments before we 14 get started. 15 In 1999 the IntelleCtual Disabilities Waiting 16 List started and it provides vital information for planning 17 not only for the individual but also for the loCal and 18 State level. That same year in ’99 a landmark Case known 19 as the Olmstead DeCision, the Supreme Court held under the 20 AmeriCans with Disabilities ACt States are required to 21 plaCe qualified individuals with mental disabilities in 22 Community settings rather than institutions. 23 While the Olmstead DeCision impaCts all people 24 with disabilities, today’s hearing will focus on the needs 25 and issues of individuals with intelleCtual disabilities 6 1 and where Pennsylvania is in Complying with this Federal 2 law. 3 I know there’s an awful lot of talk of the 4 waiting list and I think w e ’re all very, very grateful that 5 Governor Corbett in his budget address said that we’re 6 going to put 20-some million dollars into the waiting list, 7 and I think that is really, really good news. But in my 8 mind I hope the goal is someday to eliminate that waiting 9 list. So I think that should be everyone’s goal. 10 But while w e ’re grateful for that good news, I 11 would just like to point out some other facts and some 12 other Challenges that we have. We’re also sitting here in 13 the third year of 10 perCent Cuts for Human ServiCes, $84 14 million a year, so that’s $252 million that we’re down that 15 the Counties get for Human ServiCes. 16 We’re also I think burdened with this Human 17 ServiCes BloCk Grant that 30 Counties are in now. I think 18 that Creates a lot of instability for people trying to play 19 with intelleCtual disabilities and for the providers to 20 provide the serviCes also. 21 And I just want to point out the report that was 22 issued on the Human ServiCes BloCk Grant by the Department 23 of PubliC Welfare reCently. In my mind I think this report 24 is inComplete. There’s nothing about what happened in the 25 prior years before the bloCk grant to Compare to so we have 7 1 nothing to Compare the information in this report. It’s a 2 glowing report but we have nothing to Compare that 3 information with. And from my CalCulations, I believe that 4 the intelleCtual disabilities lines with the bloCk grant 5 have lost somewhere between $6.2 and $6.4 million in the 6 year 2012/2013. That’s money that should have gone to the 7 line items for people with intelleCtual disabilities that 8 were shifted into the other areas of the Human ServiCes 9 BloCk Grant. 10 So I’d just like to point out those things. And 11 I know we’re here today to talk about the waiting list and 12 the good things that it does. 13 And I would also like to reCognize the presenCe 14 of Representative Bernie O ’Neill from BuCks County and also 15 Representative Steve Kinsey from Philadelphia County, also 16 Representative Mindy Fee from LanCaster County. Do you 17 want to say hello, Mindy, just let us know where you’re 18 from? 19 REPRESENTATIVE FEE: Hi. Sorry I’m a little 20 tardy. I ’m in LanCaster in the northern part from Mount 21 Joy Township [inaudible] area. Thank you. 22 MAJORITY CHAIRMAN DiGIROLAMO: Representative 23 Dean. 24 REPRESENTATIVE DEAN: Good morning. Thank you, 25 Mr. Chairman. I’m Madeleine Dean from Montgomery County. 8 1 MAJORITY CHAIRMAN DiGIROLAMO: Okay. Let’s go to 2 the first panel. That will be Maureen Cronin, who is the 3 ExeCutive DireCtor of the ArC of Pennsylvania and Celia 4 Feinstein, who is the Co-ExeCutive DireCtor, Institute on 5 Disabilities, AssoCiate Professor of Urban EduCation, 6 Department of TeaChing and Learning College of EduCation, 7 Temple University. 8 Good morning. WelCome. And whenever you’re 9 ready, you Can begin your testimony. 10 MS. CRONIN: Good morning. It’s really quite an 11 honor to be in front of the ArC of Pennsylvania’s 2013 12 Legislator of the Year awardee and the 2014 Legislator of 13 the Year awardee, Representative Murt and Representative 14 DiGirolamo. So, wonderful. 15 Thank you for the opportunity to provide 16 testimony regarding Pennsylvania’s implementation of the 17 Supreme Court’s Olmstead DeCision. I sit here in a unique 18 position. I worked for the Commonwealth for many years. I 19 worked at Pennhurst Center and Embreeville Center and I’m 20 also parent of a Child who had very, very severe 21 disabilities and was mediCally fragile. And now I’m a 22 full-time advoCate. 23 My testimony will provide baCkground information 24 on Olmstead v. L.C., a Case of disCrimination against 25 people with intelleCtual disabilities. The remaining 9 1 speakers will focus on Pennsylvania’s implementation of the 2 deCision and what should be the next steps in Pennsylvania. 3 I am extremely honored to speak before you today alongside 4 Pennsylvania’s most Committed advoCates for persons with 5 disabilities. 6 The ArC of Pennsylvania is part of The ArC U.S., 7 the largest disability rights organization in the nation, 8 advoCating for and serving people with intelleCtual and 9 developmental disabilities and their families. We 10 enCompass all ages and many types of disabilities, 11 inCluding autism, Down syndrome, and other developmental 12 disabilities. 13 For 65 years, The ArC of Pennsylvania has worked 14 to ensure that Children and adults with intelleCtual and 15 developmental disabilities reCeive the supports and 16 serviCes they need, are inCluded in their Community, and 17 have Control over their own lives. The ArC of Pennsylvania 18 has 34 Chapters and 7,000 members, and we are run by people 19 with intelleCtual disabilities and their families.