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News Highlights For September & October 2009
From Inclusion Daily Express Disability Rights News Service

ADVOCACY
Disability Rights Advocates Praise Senator Baucus
Groups Rally For Continued Support Of Bus Service
Arizona Advocates Sue State Over Diapers
Ohio Drops "R" Word From Agencies
ADAPT Demands Compliance With High Court's Olmstead Ruling
ADAPT To CNN's Gupta: Get Message Right About Community Choice In Healthcare Debate
More Than 100 Protesters Stage Five-Day Vigil At Governor's Office

COMMUNITY LIVING
Advocates Sue Over California's In-home Care Cuts
Disability Rights In Florida Get A $27 Million Boost
Judge's Ruling A Victory For Californians With Disabilities
Proposed Measure Would Reform Community Services In DC
HUD Releases $511 Million In Housing Aid

CRIMES AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Measure Proposes Outside Watchdog To Investigate Adult Abuse Cases
Judge Orders Mom To Stand Trial For Daughter's Death By Neglect
DOJ Study: People With Disabilities Targeted More For Violent Crimes
Criminals Slipped Through Illinois Nursing Home Background Checks
Police: Uncle Chained Nephew To Couch
Governor Signs Law Granting Protections From Swindling Guardians
Americans With Disabilities To Gain New Protections Under Hate Crimes Bill
Jury Sentences Institution Employee To 4 Years In Prison Over Night Fights

EDUCATION
Educators Unhappy That Students With Disabilities No Longer Must Pass Exit Exam
Arbitrator Says Teacher Accused Of Mistreating Students Must Keep Job
Mom Says Educators Stripped, Locked Up 9-Year-Old Son
Educators' Council Adopts New Restraint And Seclusion Policy
State Board Considers Accepting Wheelchair Athletes On High School Teams
College Students Protest Cuts To Adaptive PE
Students With Disabilities Fight For Equal Access On Campus
Suit Claims Taking Off Fridays Violates Students Rights

EMPLOYMENT
EEOC Sues Funeral Service Company for Employment Discrimination
State Pays $275,000 To Settle Corrections Employee's Discrimination Claims
EEOC Sues Starbucks Alleging Disability Discrimination
Student Says Voc Rehab Threatened To Take Away Van
EEOC Proposes Changes To Expand Employment Coverage Under ADA
Sears Employment Discrimination Settlement Is EEOC's Largest Ever
White House Makes Push For Agencies, Contractors To Hire People With Disabilities
Administration Takes To The Road To Promote Employment For Workers With Disabilities
U.S. Army Must Pay $4.3 Million For Mistreating Soldier

INSTITUTIONS
Glenwood Tops Care Facilities In Iowa Fines
Judge Rules New York Violated Rights Of Thousands With Mental Illness
Texas' Largest Private Institution To Close
Troubled Beatrice Center Loses Medicaid Funding
JRC Director Fined For Calling Unlicensed Staff "Psychologists"
Massachusetts Lawmakers Seek Apology For Cold War Experiments At Fernald
Residents Start Moves From Howe Developmental Center
Advocates Call For Investigation Into Death At Oregon State Hospital
Many Transferred From BSDC Are Now Housed In Substandard Nursing Homes
Panel's Proposal Would Shut Kansas Institution, Move Many Residents Into Community
Lawmakers Propose Ban On JRC's Aversive Treatment
Investigation: Psychotropic Drugs Given To Nursing Home Patients Without Cause
Groups Sue To Block State's Plan To Rebuild Institution

TECHNOLOGY
Silver Alert Deployed To Find Missing Indianans
Inventors Design Trash Can Helper

IN OTHER NEWS
Bank Apologizes For Requiring Thumbprint From Armless Man
Town Hall Hecklers Shout Down Woman Who Calls For Compassion On Health Care
Judge Orders Abercrombie & Fitch To Pay For Discriminating Against Teen Customer
Court Blocks Medi-Cal Cuts For Low-Income Adults
Role Of Disabilities Ignored For Tens Of Millions Experiencing Income Poverty
Governor's Vetoes Outrage Disability Advocates
District Council OKs Segways . . . Just For Residents With Disabilities
Helen Keller Statue Unveiled At Capitol
Jury Commissioner Asks Potential Juror With A Service Dog To Prove His Disability
In Reversed Position, Judge Permits Disney To Ban Segways
Walter Cronkite School To Be HQ For Center On Disability & Journalism
Federal Judge Rules Woman's Monkey Is Not A Service Animal
Rights Advocates Sue County Over Conditions At Youth Detention Center

ACCESSIBILITY

Disabled In Action Victorious In Transit Case
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA--A U.S. District Judge has ordered the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to build elevators at two major transit stations in Philadelphia, in a suit filed six years ago by Disabled in Action of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit argued that SEPTA should have installed elevators when escalators and stairways in those areas were replaced in 2002 and 2003.

Disability Groups Sue Caltrans For Ignoring Access Laws
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA--A trial on a statewide class-action lawsuit filed against the California Department of Transportation by disability rights advocates got under way in federal court in mid-September. Californians for Disability Rights, Inc. and the California Council of the Blind allege that Caltrans engaged in discrimination by preventing adequate access for people with mobility and vision disabilities along sidewalks throughout the state. The suit also claims that the state has not installed curb ramps at many intersections throughout California, including on some local streets that are technically state highways and are thus maintained by the agency.

Court Reinstates Class Action Suit Over Bus Lifts
NEW YORK, NEW YORK--The Federal District Court in Manhattan has reinstated a breach of contract action against ABC Bus Inc. for selling buses equipped with wheelchair lifts that do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said the company’s ‘refusal to do the right thing’ was particularly troubling because the non-compliant lifts have been installed in tens of thousands of buses operating across the country.

Donna’s Cafe, Landlord Settle ADA Complaint
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND--The Donna’s café in Baltimore’s historic Mount Vernon neighborhood will soon be accessible to patrons with disabilities, thanks to a long-awaited settlement with the Department of Justice. Under terms announced in late September, the 109-year-old brick building will get an inclined platform lift up the stairs from the lobby to the first floor, and the bathrooms and counter area will be modified to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

City Council Approves Wheelchairs In Bike Lanes
FORT COLLINS, COLORADO--On October 6, the Fort Collins City Council gave initial approval to an amendment to the city's traffic code that would allow a person using a wheelchair to travel in bike lanes when the condition of a sidewalk would interfere with that person's ability to travel. While saying they had concerns about the safety of wheelchair users, council members also said they wanted residents with disabilities to be able to get around the city safely.

Council Adds Pedestrians and Wheelchair Users To Bike Harassment Law
COLUMBIA, MISSOURI--Wheelchair users and pedestrians are now covered under a Columbia ordinance that prohibits motorists from intentionally intimidating or harassing cyclists. The Columbia City Council voted unanimously on October 19 to add the two groups to an anti-harassment ordinance passed in June. The local law makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail to threaten bicyclists by yelling, honking or throwing objects.

City Council Passes Law To Protect Bikes, Pedestrians And Wheelchairs
AUSTIN, TEXAS--Just more than four months after Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a bill that would have required vehicles to maintain a distance of three feet from “vulnerable road users” statewide, the Austin City Council took matters into its own hands, adopting a “safe passage” ordinance designed to protect bicyclists, pedestrians and people in wheelchairs. The vote was 6-0. Violations of the new ordinance -- the first of its kind in a major Texas city -- are Class C misdemeanors, which carry a fine up to $500.

Federal Judge Orders Social Security To Make Notices More Accessible
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA--The Social Security Administration must give the nation's 3 million recipients with vision-related disabilities the option of receiving benefit notices in Braille or by audio computer disc, a federal judge in San Francisco has said. Ruling in a nationwide class-action suit, the judge said on October 27 that by sending notices only by mail and phone calls, the agency is violating a law that guarantees the disabled equal access to its programs. He ordered the government to make the additional choices available by next April 15.

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ADVOCACY

Disability Rights Advocates Praise Senator Baucus
WASHINGTON, DC—The grassroots disability rights organization ADAPT has praised Senate Finance Committee Chair, Senator Max Baucus of Montana, for including the Community First Choice Option in his healthcare reform legislation. The proposed option would give states an enhanced federal Medicaid match for providing attendant services and supports in the community as an alternative to placing people in nursing facilities or other institutions. The Community First Choice Option amendment was included in Sen. Baucus' "Chairman's Mark" which automatically incorporated the language into the legislation.

Groups Rally For Continued Support Of Bus Service
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO--More than 150 people turned out on September 23 for a community rally to turn back proposed cuts to Colorado Springs’ public transportation services. The group -- many with disabilities -- echoed concerns that the city is balancing its budget at the expense of poor people and those with disabilities. The city announced last spring that it was trimming bus lines to save money. It later announced plans to deepen cuts to public transportation, essentially trimming busing hours by half to help bridge an estimated $25.4 million budget shortfall.

Arizona Advocates Sue State Over Diapers
PHOENIX, ARIZONA--A group of Arizonans with disabilities has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System for denying payment for adult-incontinence briefs prescribed by a doctor. The lawsuit claims that, because AHCCCS denies payment for the briefs, care providers are forced to use their own money to pay for the briefs. By not providing the briefs, according to the lawsuit, it is preventing some people with disabilities from integrating into society.

Ohio Drops "R" Word From Agencies
HAMILTON, OHIO--The effort to wipe the word retarded out of your vocabulary has reached a new level in the Buckeye State. The Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (MRDD) across Ohio is dropping "mental retardation" out of its name. The transition is already in the works in Butler County. A black "X" marks out the M-R for mental retardation on the sign outside the Hamilton office.

ADAPT Demands Compliance With High Court's Olmstead Ruling
ATLANTA, GEORGIA—Gov. Sonny Purdue agreed to meet with members of the grassroots disability rights group ADAPT on October 12, after 400 activists took over the Georgia State Capitol Building and demanded Georgia work to finally comply with the US Supreme Court 1999 Olmstead decision. In that ruling, the state of Georgia was ordered to stop institutionalizing people that receive long-term care services rather than serving them in the community. ADAPT was in Atlanta for its fall action to demand an end to the institutional bias in long-term care funding.

ADAPT To CNN's Gupta: Get Message Right About Community Choice In Healthcare Debate
ATLANTA, GEORGIA--Hundreds of ADAPT activists blocked the main entrance of CNN’s headquarters on October 14, to get the network and its medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, to provide coverage of efforts to pass the Community Choice Act. The measure would allow recipients of government long-term care funds to receive services in the community rather than in nursing homes and other institutions. ADAPT’s week-long action in Atlanta had been covered by various media outlets around the city and the nation except for CNN. Activists felt it was just part of the pattern of the major national media failing to cover what 700 supporting organizations know to be true: that we need a bill like the CCA to remove the institutional bias.

More Than 100 Protesters Stage Five-Day Vigil At Governor's Office
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS--Calling for a moratorium on further cuts to services, more than 100 protesters camped outside Gov. Deval Patrick's office on October 15, starting a five-day vigil they hoped would spare the Department of Disability Services from additional cuts. The demonstrators, made up of people from several advocacy groups, displayed white stickers with sayings such as "where will we go?" and "no service is no care," to request Patrick not cut services for more than 10,000 people with disabilities.

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COMMUNITY LIVING

Advocates Sue Over California's In-home Care Cuts
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA--Advocates for more than 130,000 recipients of in-home supportive services filed suit on October 1 in federal court in San Francisco to block about $82 million in state budget cuts that would eliminate or drastically reduce their services. The suit is the latest example of legal challenges and administrative appeals that may delay tens of millions of dollars in expected budget cuts to health and human services, from adult day care centers to respite and home health aides.

Disability Rights In Florida Get A $27 Million Boost
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA--The Florida Health Care Administration and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs must spend $27 million to improve access to community-based programs for nursing home residents under a settlement agreement announced in early October. The agreement is a result of a class-action lawsuit brought against the state in 2008. The case involved 8,500 people with disabilities living in nursing homes who said they were “unnecessarily institutionalized” because Medicaid would not cover services in the community.

Judge's Ruling A Victory For Californians With Disabilities
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA--A federal judge has halted a slashing of the In-Home Supportive Service program which would have affected 130,000 Californians starting Nov. 1. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken issued the preliminary injunction at the end of a two-hour hearing. The plaintiffs in the case argue the state's cuts would have meant 40,000 Californians losing services entirely, and 90,000 more seeing their services significantly reduced.

Proposed Measure Would Reform Community Services In DC
WASHINGTON, DC—The D.C. Council has proposed a Developmental Disabilities Reform Act, to encourage people living in group homes to move into smaller residential settings and create new grievance processes for families that have long felt ignored by one of the District's most dysfunctional bureaucracies. But the proposed law would also eliminate what has been one of the system's most powerful safeguards, ending the role of D.C. Superior Court judges in ensuring that people in the system receive the services they need. And the bill envisions, for the first time in the District's history, wait lists for services.

HUD Releases $511 Million In Housing Aid
WASHINGTON, DC--The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced $511 million is available to provide interest-free capital advance funds to non-profit organizations to produce affordable rental housing with supportive services for seniors and persons with disabilities. HUD will provide the Section 202 and Section 811 funds to non-profit organizations in two forms: Capital Advances, and Project Rental Assistance Contracts.

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CRIMES AND ABUSE AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Measure Proposes Outside Watchdog To Investigate Adult Abuse Cases
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA--Legislation pending in Pennsylvania's legislature proposes added protections from abuse and neglect for people with intellectual disabilities. The Adult Protective Services Law would extend to adults the kinds of state-governed protections that are already in place for children and the elderly. The new law would mandate that an outside agency investigate charges of abuse and neglect.

Judge Orders Mom To Stand Trial For Daughter's Death By Neglect
WYOMING, MICHIGAN—A Wyoming district judge has ordered Tammy Jefferson, 48, to stand trial for murder and vulnerable adult abuse in the death of her 21-year-old daughter, Taryn. Judge Steven Timmers made the decision after a forensic pathologist described how Taryn’s severely malnourished body was covered with multiple bedsores, and social workers said her mother, who was her care provider, failed to take her to medical appointments as her condition deteriorated.

DOJ Study: People With Disabilities Targeted More For Violent Crimes
WASHINGTON, DC--People with disabilities are 1.5 times more likely to be victims of violent crime than those without disabilities, according to a Justice Department study. According to the study, the first of its kind, the violent crime rate was 32 per 1,000 for people with disabilities 12 or older. That's compared to 21 per 1,000 for the rest of the population in the same age group. Nearly 1 in 5 of the violent-crime victims believed their disability was the motivating factor.

Criminals Slipped Through Illinois Nursing Home Background Checks
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—A Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that background checks designed to identify dangerous new residents of Illinois nursing homes often miss ex-convicts' violent crimes and downplaying the risks they pose to others. Some of the offenders went on to commit assaults and other serious crimes inside the facilities where they lived. A review of confidential reports in 45 recent cases showed that in many instances the assessments were incomplete, leaving out some criminal convictions and other crucial details.

Police: Uncle Chained Nephew To Couch
SOUTH SALT LAKE, UTAH—Police in South Salt Lake have arrested Tai Ngo, 42, on suspicion of felony child abuse or neglect. Officials say Ngo was care provider for his 14-year-old nephew, who has an intellectual disability and cannot talk. Ngo is accused of latching one end of a chain to his nephew’s ankle and the other to a 3-foot nylon rope tied to the leg of a couch.

Governor Signs Law Granting Protections From Swindling Guardians
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY--Gov. Jon S. Corzine has signed into law a bill designed to protect beneficiaries with developmental disabilities by requiring the trustees and guardians designated in a will to post a bond and periodically provide accountings to the court. Under the terms of the bill the court will determine the amount and conditions of the bond required where a will names a person with a developmental disability. The bill was written in response to a 2003 case in which the executor of a $1.2 million estate swindled a man with developmental disabilities out of his share of his inheritance from his father.

Americans With Disabilities To Gain New Protections Under Hate Crimes Bill
WASHINGTON, DC—President Barack Obama has signed into law a measure to expand hate crimes protections to include people with disabilities. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act would add federal protections against crimes based on a person's disability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The law is named in part for James Byrd, Jr, a man with intellectual disabilities that was murdered in rural Texas in June 1998.

Jury Sentences Institution Employee To 4 Years In Prison Over Night Fights
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS--Former Corpus Christi State School employee D’angelo Riley has been sentenced to four years in prison and eight years probation for his role in staging fights between residents. Riley, 23, pleaded guilty in July to three counts of injury to a disabled person. The jury sentenced him to four years in prison on each of the three counts but recommended that the prison time be suspended on two counts. Riley was one of six former state school employees indicted in connection with the staged fights, some of which were filmed on a cell phone. He is the second to receive prison time.

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EDUCATION

Educators Unhappy That Students With Disabilities No Longer Must Pass Exit Exam
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA--Educators are calling the agreement to suspend the high school exit exam as a graduation requirement for students with disabilities a disservice to the students' education. An agreement between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature during July's budget negotiations suspended the California High School Exit Exam as a graduation requirement for eligible students with disabilities beginning this school year. Students with disabilities who have individualized education plans that indicate they are on the diploma track and have satisfied any other requirements will not be required to pass the exam in the 10th grade as a graduation requirement.

Arbitrator Says Teacher Accused Of Mistreating Students Must Keep Job
SARASOTA, FLORIDA--A Sarasota County school district has been told that it cannot fire a teacher for mistreating students because it failed to follow proper procedure in warning her about behavior. Diana O'Neill was arrested after her aides reported that she had hit and kicked her students with disabilities as well as hitting them on the head with a water bottle and pulling skin off the lip of one child. Although she was acquitted of those charges, O'Neill's school district attempted to fire her for her "flagrant violation of her responsibilities as a teacher".

Mom Says Educators Stripped, Locked Up 9-Year-Old Son
COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE--Maury County judge has issued an emergency injunction against educators at Joseph Brown Elementary School after a 9-year-old student with developmental disabilities was allegedly stripped down to his underwear and locked in a seclusion room. Michelle Parks alleges she was called to the school to pick up her son after he had acted out in his special education class taught by Tasha Walker. Parks said she was led to a door with a small window where she saw her son standing and crying in the middle of the room wearing only his underwear.

Educators' Council Adopts New Restraint And Seclusion Policy
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA--The Council for Exceptional Children, the leading association for special educators, has released a policy on physical restraint and seclusion in school settings saying they should be implemented only as a last resort when a child or others are in immediate danger. CEC further recommends that new legislation or regulations be established to formally require data on restraint and seclusion be reported to outside agencies, such as state or provincial departments of education. The Council also states that additional research is needed on the use of physical restraint and seclusion with children or youth across all settings.

State Board Considers Accepting Wheelchair Athletes On High School Teams
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA--The Florida High School Athletic Association's Board of Directors is considering allowing wheelchair athletes to become official members of high school track teams and recognized wheelchair events. The board voted unanimously to approve the concept and form a subcommittee to report back to the board at the November meeting. Perhaps it will look at neighboring Georgia, which has had adaptive track for seven years.

College Students Protest Cuts To Adaptive PE
VISALIA, CALIFORNIA--About 50 people, mostly students, some in wheelchairs, gathered October 13 to protest the cancellation of the Adaptive Physical Education courses at College of the Sequoias. The students stood on both sides of Mooney Boulevard, picket signs in hand, seeking signatures to raise support for Adaptive PE, which offers physical assistance and therapy to COS disabled students. Currently three Adaptive PE classes are offered, with an enrollment of 57 students.

Students With Disabilities Fight For Equal Access On Campus
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA--The Disabled Student Cultural Center of the University of Michigan is lobbying the Board of Regents to put funds toward making Scott Hall accessible to all students on campus -- including those with disabilities. DSCC has approached the board with the issue of Scott Hall accessibility for the past three years, but each time received no action. University of Minnesota building Scott Hall has multiple stairways and lack of ramps that make it inaccessible for students using walkers, canes or wheelchairs.

Suit Claims Taking Off Fridays Violates Students Rights
HONOLULU, HAWAII--A civil rights lawsuit has been filed in U.S. District Court seeking to block the Hawaii Department of Education's actions of imposing Friday furloughs at schools statewide. The lawsuit asks the court to stop the furloughs to preserve the quality and integrity of the special education and related services children with disabilities now receive. The lawsuit alleges that the furloughs constitute an unlawful unilateral change in the programs and services these children receive. Federal law prohibits such changes unless parents agree or a hearing officer or court determines that the changes are appropriate for the child.

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EMPLOYMENT

EEOC Sues Funeral Service Company for Employment Discrimination
NEWBERG, OREGON--The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a discrimination lawsuit against funeral services company S.C.C. Inc. The suit claims that Barbara Jackson successfully worked at Attrell’s Newberg Funeral Chapel as a secretary for nearly two years while using a prosthetic leg. However, when the leg failed, and Jackson was required to use a wheelchair, her employer refused to allow her to return to work. It eventually terminated her, saying she wouldn't be able to carry out her duties in a wheelchair and that having an employee in a wheelchair would upset customers attending funeral services.

State Pays $275,000 To Settle Corrections Employee's Discrimination Claims
MADISON, WISCONSIN--The state will pay $275,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a parole agent who resigned in 2005 after the Department of Corrections failed to accommodate her disabilities. The settlement came after a federal judge ripped the department for moving too slow to implement accommodations requested by Wendy Sturz, whose degenerative joint disease makes it hard for her to walk and stand without pain. The department's inaction may have actually exacerbated her condition, to the point where she was routinely throwing up at the end of a day's work, the judge wrote in July.

EEOC Sues Starbucks Alleging Disability Discrimination
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS--The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks, claiming the coffee house chain discriminated against a job applicant because he has multiple sclerosis. The lawsuit says Chuck Hannay applied for one of six open barista positions in Russellville, Arkansas, in 2007. Although Hannay was not contacted for an interview, he showed up for one anyway, the EEOC said. The agency says Hannay was qualified for the job and that, based on its investigation, it believes Starbucks did not hire him because he has MS.

Student Says Voc Rehab Threatened To Take Away Van
SPRINGVILLE, UTAH—A student pursuing a career in film was led to believe he was facing the loss of his wheelchair-accessible van because the state claimed he wasn't working toward his employment goals. Brent W. Reiche, who goes by his professional name, Brandyn Cross, received a letter from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in August threatening to reclaim the van because his case was apparently going nowhere. Kyle Walker, case service director for the Utah Office of Rehabilitation, said Cross' caseworker had tried to contact the student on numerous occasions without success. The letter, Walker said, "was to get his attention." Cross, on the other hand, claims the state ignored his efforts to pursue his goals.

EEOC Proposes Changes To Expand Employment Coverage Under ADA
WASHINGTON, DC--The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a proposal that would revise the agency's own regulations to bring them into line with a new law that makes it easier for people that seek employment protection under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC's proposed changes were needed because of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which was signed into law one year ago, and went into effect in January of this year. Among other things, the measure was written to protect people from discrimination "on the basis of disability", instead of "against an individual with a disability", expand the ADA to apply to people who are "regarded as having" a disability, and cover disabilities or conditions that come and go over time.

Sears Employment Discrimination Settlement Is EEOC's Largest Ever
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--Sears Holdings Corp. has agreed to pay a record $6.2 million to settle a 2004 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that accused the retailer of illegally firing former Sears service technician John Bava after he was injured on the job. The consent decree represents the largest settlement ever for the agency in a single lawsuit alleging violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the EEOC said. According to the agency, Sears terminated hundreds of other employees who had taken workers’ compensation leave without the company seriously considering reasonable accommodations to return them to work.

White House Makes Push For Agencies, Contractors To Hire People With Disabilities
WASHINGTON, DC—On October 5, President Obama kicked off National Disability Employment Awareness Month by strongly recommending contractors and grantees join agencies in providing more employment opportunities for people with disabilities. "Across this country, millions of people with disabilities are working or want to work, and they should have access to the support and services they need to succeed," the President said in a statement.

Administration Takes To The Road To Promote Employment For Workers With Disabilities
WASHINGTON, DC--Playing a key part in an Obama Administration-wide effort to advance opportunities for workers with disabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will hold town hall meetings throughout the nation and offer workshops on new federal regulations and hiring procedures. The Office of Personnel Management and the Departments of Labor and Justice will also play major roles in the initiatives, which the President announced as part of National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

U.S. Army Must Pay $4.3 Million For Mistreating Soldier
DETROIT, MICHIGAN--A former Michigan soldier who lost his hand after an explosion while trying to disarm a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2004 won a $4.3 million verdict against the U.S. Army in a disability discrimination civil case. James McKelvey, 38 said in a discrimination that a boss and coworker derided him as "the cripple, " refused to provide him with computer equipment and door handles to accommodate his disabilities, excluded him from meetings and told him to stay in his office cubicle for months on end. He said superiors also objected to him parking in a designated space at the Warren tank arsenal even though he had a state permit.

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INSTITUTIONS

Glenwood Tops Care Facilities In Iowa Fines
GLENWOOD, IOWA—The state-run Glenwood Resource Center has racked up more state fines over the past year than any other Iowa care facility, the Des Moines Register reported. Between July 2008 and July 2009, the institution was fined $52,500 for inadequate resident care - more than any of the 710 other care facilities, public and private, in Iowa. Another facility managed by the Iowa Department of Human Services has racked up the third-highest set of fines over the past year - the Woodward Resource Center, Glenwood's central-Iowa sister facility. Woodward was recently cited for leaving a resident strapped to a toilet for 40 minutes.

Judge Rules State Violated Rights Of Thousands With Mental Illness
ALBANY, NEW YORK--In a potentially wide-reaching decision, a U.S. District Court judge has ruled that about 4,300 people with mental illness have not been receiving adequate care in the much-criticized adult-home system. The conditions violate the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, which mandates that people with disabilities live in the least restrictive setting possible, Judge Nicholas Garaufis said in a 210-page ruling. Disability Advocates Inc., a non-profit group, sued the state six years ago on behalf of adult-home residents in New York City.

Texas' Largest Private Institution To Close
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS--The Willows Development Center, Texas' largest privately run institution, housing 177 people with developmental disabilities, will voluntarily close by March 2010, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services announced. The residents will have the choice to move in with their families, small group homes, or their own apartments as the facility is shut down. The department said transfers to the community would be funded through a federally funded program. The state did not explain why the facility made the decision to close.

Troubled Beatrice Center Loses Medicaid Funding
BEATRICE, NEBRASKA--The Beatrice State Developmental Center has officially lost its federal Medicaid certification, and the state could soon lose the $25 million a year in federal funds used to run the institution. An administrative law judge's decision authorizes the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to terminate Medicaid funding. The law judge's decision provided examples of problems at the Beatrice center before decertification.

JRC Director Fined For Calling Unlicensed Staff "Psychologists"
CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS—The state’s Division of Professional Licensure has fined Dr. Matthew Israel, director of the Judge Rotenberg Center, $29,600 for allowing 14 unlicensed clinicians at the facility to use the title "psychologist." In total, Israel and JRC have paid over $200,000 to the state in fines, according to a court settlement in July of this year. JRC is believed to be the only facility in the country that uses electric shocks and other aversive methods to change behaviors of students with disabilities.

Massachusetts Lawmakers Seek Apology For Cold War Experiments At Fernald
WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS—Two Massachusetts lawmakers want the state to apologize to former residents of the Fernald Developmental Center for Cold War era experiments performed on them. Between 1946 and 1953, some Fernald young residents were fed radioactive breakfast cereal as part of research by MIT and Harvard University. The research, which was sponsored by Quaker Oats, was designed to study the absorption rates of certain enriched cereals and milk.

Residents Start Moves From Howe Developmental Center
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--Ten residents have moved out of the Howe Developmental Center since Gov. Pat Quinn ordered the facility shuttered in August. Seven have transferred to other state-run development centers, while three have moved into homes in the community. As of the end of October, there were still 240 people with developmental disabilities housed at the state-run facility, a state official said.

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Advocates Call For Investigation Into Death At Oregon State Hospital
SALEM, OREGON--The death of state hospital patient Moises Perez, 42, has prompted mental-health advocates to call for an investigation. The body of Perez was found on the night of October 17 night in his bed on a ward in the hospital's forensic psychiatric treatment program. A criminal inquiry by Oregon State Police has ruled out foul play or suicide, officials said. However, advocates are calling for an investigation to determine whether hospital staffers neglected Perez.

Many Transferred From BSDC Are Now Housed In Substandard Nursing Homes
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA--Many of the people moved from the Beatrice State Developmental Center to nursing homes appear to be getting substandard care, according to John McGee, an independent expert hired to report on BSDC progress. The state was ordered to move dozens of residents out of the facility earlier this year because the institution could not meet their health and safety needs.

Panel's Proposal Would Shut Kansas Institution, Move Many Residents Into Community
TOPEKA, KANSAS—The Kansas Facilities Closure and Realignment Commission embraced an October 26 recommendation that would require nearly one-third of residents at Kansas Neurological Institute and the Parsons State Hospital to relocate into community-based housing. The panel also voted to send a report to Gov. Mark Parkinson and the 2010 Legislature suggesting KNI be shut down after at least 110 of the 350 residents with disabilities are transferred out of the two facilities into community housing or consolidated at Parsons. The vote reflected a philosophical consensus among commissioners that people with disabilities should live outside large state institutions if possible.

Lawmakers Propose Ban On JRC's Aversive Treatment
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS—Two Massachusetts lawmakers have proposed bans on the use of painful electric shocks and other aversive techniques to control behaviors of people with disabilities. While the proposals don’t specifically mention the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, it is the only facility that uses such techniques. The proposals’ proponents among them lawmakers, advocates for people with disabilities and a former center employee described the techniques alternately as barbaric and even torturous. They argued there are other forms of treatment that will work.

Investigation: Psychotropic Drugs Given To Nursing Home Patients Without Cause
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--The Chicago Tribune has found that residents of nursing homes throughout Illinois are being dosed with powerful psychotropic drugs, leading to tremors, dangerous lethargy and a higher risk of harmful falls or even death. Thousands have been affected, many of them drugged without their consent or without a legitimate psychiatric diagnosis that would justify treatment. In all, the Tribune identified 1,200 violations at Illinois nursing homes involving psychotropic medications since 2001. Those infractions affected 2,900 patients.

Groups Sue To Block State's Plan To Rebuild Institution
CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA--The Arc of Virginia and the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy have filed suit asking a court to stop the state's plan to rebuild the Southeastern Virginia Training Center in Chesapeake. In December, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed closing SVTC and moving residents into the community. Families of residents protested, and legislators instead allocated money to downsize the facility to a $23 million, 75-bed institution. The advocacy groups say that plan violates the ADA.

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TECHNOLOGY

Silver Alert Deployed To Find Missing Indianans
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA-State legislators have implemented a new Silver Alert system, to help police and rescue workers to search for missing adults, particularly those with dementia and other disabilities. The system, which is similar to the Amber Alert system, went into effect July 1. Over the next two months, the program was used five times, with three of the missing people found alive and two dead. By comparison, Indiana's Amber Alert system for abducted and missing children hasn't been used at all in 2009.

Inventors Design Trash Can Helper
EUGENE, OREGON--Two Eugene men have invented the 'CanJack', a device that helps people in wheelchairs take out the garbage. They say it took months and several failed prototypes before they found just the right design. The CanJack lifts up the can and the handle goes over center, so it forces all the weight down to the wheel. A third wheel allows users to swivel the can in any direction for easy maneuverability.

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IN OTHER NEWS

Bank Apologizes For Requiring Thumbprint From Armless Man
TAMPA, FLORIDA—A downtown Tampa Bank of America branch has apologized for refusing to cash a check for Steve Valdez because he could not provide a thumbprint. Valdez, who was born without arms or hands, went on a national media blitz after the branch turned down his request to cash his wife’s check for him. Bank officials later said it would adjust its thumbprint policy to accommodate Valdez and others with similar disabilities.

Town Hall Hecklers Shout Down Woman Who Calls For Compassion On Health Care
RED BANK, NEW JERSEY—During a town hall meeting in early September, Marianne Hoynes, who says she has two auto-immune diseases, read a prepared statement from her wheelchair to urge her Congressman to support health care reform. Her voice was drowned out, however, by opponents of health care reform, who booed, laughed and yelled at her during her statement. One of the loudest hecklers later said, "I don't know how a handicapped woman in a chair has more rights than I do."

Judge Orders Abercrombie & Fitch To Pay For Discriminating Against Teen Customer
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA--A judge has ordered retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch to pay $115,000 for discriminating against a 14-year-old customer with autism at its Mall of America store. The civil penalty, the largest of its kind in at least two years, came four years after store employees refused to let the teen join her older sister in a fitting room because of the clothing chain's anti-shoplifting policy. The store refused to relent even after the sister, and later the girls' mother, explained that the girl couldn't be alone because of her disability.

Court Blocks Medi-Cal Cuts For Low-Income Adults
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA--A federal judge has blocked California from capping health-care services for low-income seniors and adults with disabilities in an attempt to offset the state's budget woes. The judge sided with the plaintiffs, who had argued that cuts to the Adult Health Care program would increase their risk of being hospitalized or institutionalized. The state Assembly had capped the program's benefits at three days per week, instead of the previous four or five days a week.

Role Of Disabilities Ignored For Tens Of Millions Experiencing Income Poverty
WASHINGTON, DC--A new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows the share of people experiencing income poverty who have disabilities is far larger than conventionally understood. The report, prepared from data by the U.S. Census Bureau, shows nearly half of all working-age adults experiencing poverty during the year have a disability, and more than half of household heads will experience a period of disability by their mid-50s.

Governor's Vetoes Outrage Disability Advocates
ALBANY, NEW YORK--New York disability rights advocates called on the state legislature to override Governor Paterson’s vetoes of two critical pieces of civil rights legislation. Both bills were passed overwhelmingly by the state legislature, and would require state law to conform with existing federal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Help America Vote Act. The advocates said that Paterson, who is blind, was denying millions of people with disabilities fundamental civil rights.

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District Council OKs Segways . . . Just For Residents With Disabilities
WASHINGTON, DC--The D.C. Council has decided that residents with disabilities can ride their Segways on downtown sidewalks without fear of being ticketed by police. The bill was inspired by Miles Groves, a resident who was stopped by a police officer for operating his Segway on the sidewalk near the intersection of Sixth Street and Indiana Avenue NW. Groves, 56, suffers from chronic pain.

Helen Keller Statue Unveiled At Capitol
WASHINGTON, DC--A bronze statue of Helen Keller was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on October 7 as lawmakers praised her as a trailblazer and an inspiration for those with disabilities. The statue shows Keller -- who lost her sight and hearing to illness when she was 19 months old -- standing at a water pump as a 7-year-old, a look of recognition on her face as water streams into her hand. It depicts the moment in 1887 when teacher Anne Sullivan spelled "W-A-T-E-R" into one of the child's hands as she held the other under the pump. Keller learned to speak and earned a degree from Radcliffe College and the women's branch of Harvard University. She traveled the world as an adult, wrote 12 books and championed causes including women's suffrage and workers' rights.

Jury Commissioner Asks Potential Juror With A Service Dog To Prove His Disability
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND—Ned Humphrey, a resident of Charles Village, told the Baltimore City Paper that, when he was summoned to appear for jury duty, the jury commissioner told him he could not bring his medical service dog Haku without a doctor's letter explaining his disability and proving the need for the dog. The ADA does not allow businesses and public officials to refuse to serve people that use service dogs to assist them, or to require such documentation.

In Reversed Position, Judge Permits Disney To Ban Segways
ORLANDO, FLORIDA--Walt Disney Co. has won dismissal of a lawsuit claiming a ban on personal two-wheel transporters at its facilities violates federal disabilities laws, after a judge rejected a proposed settlement in the case. Three people with disabilities sued Disney in November 2007 after the company barred them from using the Segway Personal Transporter on family vacations at Florida theme parks. As an alternative to Segways, Disney agreed in December to acquire at least 15 newly designed electric stand-up vehicles to settle the case.

Walter Cronkite School To Be HQ For Center On Disability & Journalism
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS--The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University is providing the first university home for the National Center on Disability & Journalism, which provides resources for journalists covering people with disabilities. Founded in 1998 in San Francisco as the Disability Media Project, the center also aims to raise awareness of how the news media cover people with disabilities. It took its current name in 2000 and was headquartered for some time in Boston.

Federal Judge Rules Woman's Monkey Is Not A Service Animal
SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI—Debby Rose’s effort to have her monkey recognized as a service animal has been denied by a federal judge. The ruling by Federal Judge Richard Dorr is the latest refusal to recognize the Bonnet Macaque named Richard as a service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Dorr also rejected Roses’ claims she is disabled under the federal act. Rose originally filed the case in Greene County Circuit Court seeking fair and reasonable damages, compliance with the ADA and expenses related to the lawsuit.

Rights Advocates Sue County Over Conditions At Youth Detention Center
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI—Disability Rights Mississippi filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court on October 19 claiming that youngsters with mental illness in the Lauderdale County Juvenile Detention Center have been locked in crowded, unsanitary cells for 23 hours a day and that staff members have used pepper spray on children’s faces. The suit also claims juveniles were denied care for mental health and medical issues.

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Briefs from Inclusion Daily Express Disability Rights News Service