Child care harder to find for children and parents with disabilities, CDPAP opposition grows, and more developmental disability news for week ending Sept. 20, 2024.
Spotlight
Think Child Care is Hard to Find? It’s Even Tougher for Children, Parents with Disabilities
While most parents struggle to find child care, parents of children with disabilities — and parents with disabilities themselves — often face additional challenges, according to a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
There are various barriers to finding and using child care programs, including:
- Physically inaccessible facilities
- Early intervention and special ed services provided off-site
- Exclusion from activities
- Suspension and expulsion from programs
- Safety concerns
For one specific example, child care programs often require children to be toilet trained by age 3. “For some parents of children with disabilities—this can be an automatic disqualifier for their child,” the report notes.
You can read the whole report here.
New York
Home care agencies sue N.Y. in federal court over CDPAP change Four home care agencies serving New York City and its suburbs join a wave of opposition against the plan. (Times Union)
Center for Disability Rights Calls on Hochul to Protect CDPAP and the Disability-Led Organizations that Established Them (Center for Disability Rights)
Lawmaker Calls On State Leaders to Reform New York’s Beleaguered Guardianship System A resolution intends to force Albany to take up the cause of those whom judges have deemed incapable of managing their own affairs. (ProPublica)
Tom Golisano Gifts $360 Million to 82 Non-Profits Across Upstate New York They include disability services. (Democrat & Chronicle)
Museum telling history of people with disabilities to open on Long Island Slated to open in the fall of 2025, it reportedly will be the nation’s only brick-and-mortar museum on the topic. (Long Island Business News)
Outside of New York
Fed-up families say N.J. ignores abuse in group homes. But that may change soon The state doesn’t have the authority to impose fines when developmentally disabled get hurt inside state-licensed facilities. Lawmakers are weighing a change. (nj.com)
Conn. airport airline offers children with autism a chance to get used to boarding process Bradley Airport hosted its third “Autism Flies” event in partnership with Autism Double-Checked and Breeze Airways. (NBC Connecticut)
Johns Hopkins health system to pay disabled patients for alleged violations during COVID In one instance, a young woman with intellectual disabilities reportedly was not allowed to bring her mother into the hospital’s psychiatric unit after being admitted after a suicide attempt. (Washington Post)
‘I hope it makes a difference’: Parents who helped spark Maine DOJ lawsuit speak out (New Center Maine)
For Oregonians with disabilities, mental health care can be tough to access (kgw.com)
Down Syndrome
Opinion: Having a Child With Down Syndrome Changed the Way I Think About IQ “As a lifelong overachiever, I’d never questioned the importance of intelligence tests—until I saw my daughter’s unique way of being.” (Wall Street Journal)
Autism
Opinion: Tina Brown, And When Even Autism Becomes Politicized Another take on the media response to Gov. of Minnesota and vp nominee Gus Walz’s neurodivergent son, Gus. “This politicizing of autism and disabilities is not surprising: nearly all issues today are seen through the lens of partisan politics. But in the case of autism, it is especially misplaced and counterproductive.” (Forbes)
Autism CARES Act of 2024 Is Halfway There The bill passes the House, and the Senate’s up next. Deadline: Sept. 30, 2024. (Autism Society)
