Governor Schwarzenegger proposes deep cuts to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)

“The proposed cuts will endanger people who use the services and devastate those who provide them,” according to Deborah Doctor, legislative advocate at PAI. IHSS provides personal care and domestic services enabling 408,000 California seniors and people with disabilities to remain at home safely and avoid unnecessary, expensive and unwanted institutionalization. Read more here in the California Progress Report ...

Governor's May Revise cuts deeper

A quick summary of the cuts to Medi-Cal, SSI/SSP and IHSS ...

No easy access to compromise for disability litigation reform

SB 1608 by Senator Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, seeks to defuse anger between businesses that violate access laws and people with disabilities who still encounter barriers to access - 39 years after California passed laws requiring businesses to provide access for all. Supporters of the bill include the California Center for Independent Living Facilities and Protection and Advocacy. Both organizations want amendments that would include greater representation of people with disabilities on the commission. Read more in a Daily Journal article about the ongoing struggle to remove barriers ...

Boy's medical care imperiled by state budget crunch

California's ominous fiscal forecast is threatening to disrupt 13-year-old Derek Longwell's ability to see his doctors in a timely manner or get leg braces to fit his growing body. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed cutting 10 percent from the California Children's Services program, which funds part of Derek's care - a move that parents and advocates say would mean the state's sickest children will have to wait longer for care. Read more here about how budget cuts will affect children with disabilities ...

New Section 811 Supportive Housing Program legislation introduced in US Congress

Representatives Christopher Murphy (D-CT) and Judy Biggert (R-IL) have introduced groundbreaking permanent supportive housing legislation – the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2008 (HR 5772) – in the U.S. House of Representatives. This important legislation will help address the housing crisis faced by millions of low-income people with disabilities and will spur creation of thousands more new 811 units every year. Read more about the new Section 811 housing legislation and how it may help people with disabilities ...

Ellen Goldblatt receives 2007 Key Person Award

At its annual conference, the California Supported Living Network presented its 2008 Key Person Award to Ellen Goldblatt, a senior attorney in PAI's Oakland office. She received the award for her years of tireless work on behalf of people with disabilities in California. Learn more here about the award ...

Save the date - June 27, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

PAI's San Diego office invites you to an open house. Celebrate 30 years of advocacy and join us in honoring clients and community partners. Find out more here about San Diego's June 27th open house ...

More than 150 attend Oakland office open house to celebrate PAI’s 30th anniversary

PAI’s Bay Area office in downtown Oakland was brimming over with representatives of government agencies, and social justice, disability rights and community organizations. Speaker pro tem of the California State Assembly, Sally J. Lieber, presented a framed Assembly resolution recognizing the “tremendous value” of PAI’s work over the last three decades. Read more about the gala celebration and success stories from the Bay Area ...

Recommended reading:

Give people with disabilities access to information technology, Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary General, 5/15/08

Overview of the ADA - debut video podcast in sign language, with voice narration and subtitles, ASL Disability Law Lowdown, 5/13/08

Palomar athlete never let disability get in the way of her sport, The Telescope, 5/13/08

'Mad Pride' fights a stigma, The New York Times, 5/11/08

Harlan Hahn, 68; USC professor fought for disability rights and sued the university to improve access, Los Angeles Times, 5/10/08

Dyslexic makes good 'bAd' movie, Monterey County Herald, 5/9/08

Disability Blog Carnival #37 is up NOW, Disability Studies, Temple University, 5/8/08

Disabled residents sue Caltrans, ABC 7, 5/7/08

Mental health help hit by budget crunch, The Mercury News, 5/5/08

Editorial: The mentally ill deserve equal health coverage, The Mercury News, 5/2/08

New patient dumping cases investigated in Los Angeles, California Healthline, 5/6/08

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