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Disability Rights California - Derechos de Discapacidad California

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Hot Topics in Disability News

Impact of California budget cuts on people with disabilities

- Analyses - News items - Meetings about budget cuts -

Summer internships for college students with disabilities

Numerous organizations, such as Mitzubishi, Microsoft and the Federal Government, need Summer interns. Check out the lists of internship possibilities today, as some deadlines are drawing near ...

December 31 summary of Governor's 2009-2010 budget

Sacramento (CDCAN) - Department of Finance director Mike Genest released late this morning an 84 page summary of major parts of the Governor's proposed 2009-2010 State Budget that the Governor will officially release next week. The summary outlines over $40 billion in proposed solutions, including $17 billion in spending cuts and about $14 billion in revenues, with significant reductions proposed for health and human services. The budget deficit is now estimated to be over $41 billion by the end of the 2009-2010 State Budget year (June 30, 2010). Find out here where the budget cuts fall hardest ...

Woodrow Falls, Jr., named plaintiff in Chambers lawsuit, moves out of Laguna Honda Hospital into community

On December 10, 2008, Mr. Falls, a San Francisco native and a Vietnam veteran, moved into a one bedroom, fully accessible apartment in a senior housing complex. The building is brand new, and provides on site services including social workers and medical staff. In addition to these services, the building boasts a variety of common areas, including a rooftop where residents can garden or enjoy the views of San Francisco, or both. It is a far cry from Mr. Falls' open ward at Laguna Honda. Read more here about Mr. Falls' new apartment and his visitor, the Honorable William Alsup ...

Accessibility at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration

For information about accessibility options for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, including sign language interpreter locations and open captioning options, click here; or contact Mazen Basrawi, Disability Liaison for the Presidential Inauguration, at mbasrawi@pic2009.org.

copyright © 2001, 'Tiime to Remember', mixed media, 22 x 30; Robert Thome, Montebello, CA, USA; Discipline: Visual Arts; Media: PaintingCall for exhibition proposals about disability & culture - February 20, 2009

VSA arts encourages curators, researchers, and artists from the university and museum communities, including those with disabilities, to incorporate the work of artists with disabilities into their exhibitions. Learn more here about the call for exhibitions proposals ...

January 8 is the deadline to apply for settlement of claims about the inaccessible Target website

Target logoIf you are legally blind, live in the United States, and have tried to visit the Target.com website since February 7, 2003, you may have a claim. To learn more about possible claims, read the notice of settlement here ...

Recommended reading

Lilly M. Ledbetter lost her sex-based pay discrimination case at the Supreme Court in 2007, a decision that other courts have cited in rejecting lawsuits. Congress may overturn the ruling. Photo: Erik S. Lesser for The New York TimesJustices’ ruling in discrimination case may draw quick action by Obama, The New York Times, 1/5/09

Metodi, left, and Kiril Mitsev, twins with schizophrenia, went to live at a special home in Pravda, Bulgaria, in 2000. Their brother Julian, their court-appointed guardian, has never visited. Photo: Matthew Brunwasser for The New York TimesIn Eastern Europe, lives languish in mental facilities, The New York Times, 1/5/09

SadieCreature comforts, The New York Times Magazine, 1/4/09

New laws to aid ADA access, North County Times, 1/1/09

New laws to hit the books in 2009, Santa Ynez Valley Journal, 12/31/08

After fifteen years living years living in seclusion in the Western State Hospital in Staunton, Virginia, a patient now lives alone in a three room suite that the hospital recently fixed up on a ward, seen Monday Dec. 15, 2008. Photo shows his living room with television. (AP Photo/Don Petersen)Mental patients isolated for years despite laws, Associated Press, 12/23/08

Senator Tom Daschle - What's he said about long-term care, Steve Gold, 12/8/08

Number of Americans with a disability reaches 54.4 million, Business Wire, 12/18/08


Hot topics and Recommended reading
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Disability Rights California is a nonprofit disability rights organization, working since 1978 to advance human and legal rights of Californians with disabilities. We strive to create a barrier-free, inclusive society that values diversity and each individual. Our services are available throughout the state and we assist tens of thousands of people with disabilities each year. Click here for links to our offices. Additionally, hundreds of thousands of Californians with disabilities and their families benefit from our legislative advocacy, class-action court suits and collaboration with other groups.

We have more than 200 staff and Board members with a wide array of legal and advocacy expertise. They have developed innovative programs for Californians with developmental, psychiatric, sensory and physical disabilities. We collaborate on the state and federal levels with other advocacy groups throughout the U.S.

Link here to see the 10 services we provide free of charge.