CILebration of the signing of the ADA!

On Wednesday, August 2, 2023, we celebrated the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The day included a Community Resource Fair with almost 20 different vendors, music by Flame the Band, a comedic performance from Gab Bonesso, and lunch provided by Eat & Run Catering.

Signed on July 26, 1990, this important civil rights law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.

The purpose of the law is to make sure people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.

PHOTO GALLERY

Candidate Forum 2023

The purpose of this forum is to allow the disability community to have a platform to address unmet needs within the county with candidates for the Lycoming County Commissioners' race as well as the seats for Judge.

The candidates in attendance for the forum were William Carlucci, Ryan Gardner, Mark Mussina, and Denitra Moffett.

RTFCIL attempted to reach all candidates to participate in the forum. Commissioner Metzger was not available on this date, Candidate Sortman did not have campaign contact information posted publicly, and Candidate Pulizzi was delayed in court and unable to attend as planned.

A few topics the candidates answered questions on were accessibility, emergency preparedness, and guardianship.

ACCESSIBILITY

When addressing access in the community, Mr. Mussina recalled a protest by the disability community that occurred in 2020 at a City Council meeting in the former Williamsport City Hall. Mr. Mussina recognized that the City Administration and Council members could have provided an accessible meeting location by simply relocating the meetings to promote inclusive civic engagement. Advocates had been meeting with the Administration and City Council members for over three years, prior to that, to encourage the city to hold public meetings at an accessible location. RTFCIL appreciated Candidate Mussina’s acknowledgment that access is a civil right.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

When asked to speak on the topic of Emergency Preparedness, Candidate Mussina stated “Emergency Preparedness is 911.”

Calling 911 is not an emergency plan. Lycoming County needs to develop a plan to proactively ensure that first responders have the training and tools to assist people with functional and access needs.

In 2020, RTFCIL saw firsthand what happens when the County does not develop such plans and had to reactively set up a program to access Category B FEMA funds to provide emergency relocation services to individuals living in congregate facilities. Having a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in place with the county emergency management agency (EMA) prior to an emergency declaration could have potentially saved lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.

GUARDIANSHIP

The loss of autonomy by the overuse of guardianship is of great concern to the disability community. The Area Agency on Aging (AAA) is often the petitioner for emergency guardianship through its protective service arrangements.

D.A. Gardner spoke of guardianship oftentimes being the “court’s go-to answer” for individuals while recognizing that the court has an “obligation to look for reasons not to do this.”

Judge Carlucci spoke of his experience with guardianship hearings and noted that if an individual is present in his courtroom and asks the guardianship order not to be signed, he will most likely respect this wish.

As advocates, we have seen multiple cases where the individual and their federally mandated CIL service provided are not present at the hearing or afforded the opportunity to speak to the judge.

RTFCIL would like to further this conversation with Judge Carlucci, D.A. Gardner, and others involved in guardianship orders.

You can learn more about the proposed update HERE.

You may submit comments to this proposed rule by any of the following methods. Please do not submit duplicate comments.

Federal eRulemaking Portal

You may submit electronic comments at http://www.regulations.gov by searching for the Docket ID number HHS–OCR–2023–0013. Follow the instructions at http://www.regulations.gov online for submitting comments through this method.

Regular, Express, or Overnight Mail

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights

Attention: Disability NPRM, RIN 0945–AA15

Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 509F

200 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, DC 20201

Please note that comments submitted by fax or email, and those submitted or postmarked after the comment period, will not be accepted.

Submit comments on or before November 13, 2023.

Unlocking the Virtual Front Door: Ensuring Accessible Government Technology for People with Disabilities, Older Adults, and Veterans

You can read Chris' testimony HERE.

You can watch the full Committee Hearing HERE.

Pennsylvania's Department of Aging

invites you to visit aging.pa.gov/MasterPlan to learn about the Master Plan for Older Adults and to contribute your thoughts on the plan's priority goals, objectives, and initiatives to support the highest quality of life for older adults. 

Are you ready to help people live the quality of life they want and deserve?

Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) seeks input on a proposed rule to establish the first-ever federal regulations for Adult Protective Services (APS) programs.

The proposed rule aims to improve the consistency and quality of APS services across states and support the national network that delivers APS services, with the ultimate goal of better meeting the needs of adults who experience or are at risk of maltreatment.

How to Provide Feedback:

ACL seeks feedback from all who are seeking to improve the implementation of APS programs. Input from the aging and disability networks and the people served by APS programs is particularly crucial.

Comments can be submitted:

• Online

  Regulations.gov (Enter "2023-19516 " in the search bar, select ACL's proposed rule, and then click the blue "comment" box at the top left of the page.)

   

• Mail
  Administration on Aging
  Administration for Community Living
  Department of Health and Human Services
  Attention: Stephanie Whittier Eliason
  330 C Street SW
  Washington, DC 20201

   

Comments will be accepted until November 12, 2023.

We accept donations of gently used medical equipment and then give them away to people who cannot get what they are looking for through other channels, such as insurance.

To learn more about any of our Assistive Technology (AT) services, please click the Contact Us! button below.