The legislative session adjourns May 20. As Access Press went to press, legislators and Gov. Mark Dayton were continuing to work on the tax bill. Numerous potential revenue sources are in play, ranging from increased income on the wealthiest Minnesotans to taxes of clothing, cigarettes, many consumer services and even over-the-counter drugs.

Most disability advocacy groups, including the Arc Minnesota, are staying neutral as to how the state should raise revenues. But they are urging that something be done.

“For a decade, Minnesota often cut disability services to help balance the state budget,” said Steve Larson, senior public policy director of The Arc Minnesota.

“People with disabilities and their caregivers saw hundreds of millions of dollars in funding reductions, service reductions and fee hikes.” He and others are asking that the disability community be spared further cuts.

Larson said he and others were “surprised and shocked” when House and Senate health and human services budget proposals showed a $150 million cut.

One issue is parental fees, which affect about 8,000 families statewide. Parental fees coupled with high out-of-pocket costs are hitting families hard. Over the past two years the Kasemodel family of Excelsior has had to withdraw more than $800,000 from retirement savings, to survive the recession and help pay for their son Thomas’ needs. He is 15, lives with multiple medical conditions and autism. Gastrointestinal issues have resulted in very aggressive behaviors when he is in pain.

Tim Kasemodal, Thomas’ father, said the family had to place Thomas in a group home in spring 2011. Then their family was hit by salary cuts. “Parental fees go up immediately with increases in incomes, but decreasing them due to local income is a cumbersome process, and the decrease is sometimes minimal,” Kasemodal said. “Fees for Medical Assistance services are not adjusted unless your income drops by over 10 percent.” His family’s parental fees are at the same level or exceed their federal income tax each year.

The Kasemodels also pay high out-of-pocket costs for out-of-state medical treatment and supplements for Thomas. The nutritional supplements alone cost almost $400 per month, a cost not covered by insurance or Medicaid. Co-pays for medication are covered by insurance but not by Medicaid. Parents can seek a credit for out-of-pocket expense but only after a long appeal process.

“Does it seem fair that the current parental fee calculations only add to the financial hardship of families already struggling with such tough financial decisions?” Kasemodal said. He is urging state lawmakers to reduce parental fees. “Does it seem fair to balance the budget on the backs of already financially and emotionally drained parents?”

Other families are also struggling to pay for therapies which benefit their children. Apple Valley resident Kelly Kausel has an autistic son. Noah Kausel is four and has benefitted greatly from applied behavior analysis or ABA therapy. He interacts with other people and can go out in public without being afraid.

But after a private insurance provider stopped paying for Noah’s therapy, the family had to apply for Medical Assistance. “From a financial standpoint, the cost of treating young children with autism using applied behavioral therapy is actually a huge cost savings to the state,” Kausel said. “It’s a lot easier and less expensive to treat people when they are children.” Kausel is asking state leaders to fund early intervention programs and that insurance coverage for therapies be mandated. Kausel also asked that a $12 million allocation for early intervention be supported, as proposed by Dayton.

For updates in the final days of the session, go to Larson’s blog on The Arc Minnesota website, at http://tinyurl.com/Larson-blog  

Another source of information is the Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities blog, at http://mnccd.org/?page_id=344

Many areas have sidewalks on only one side of the street or have no pedestrian connections at all. The Green Line Walkability Study: Routes to Rails in the Central Corridor was recently released by the District Councils Collaborative. It is seen as the first step in making changes. The collaborative, which includes representatives from several Minneapolis and St. Paul neighborhoods, wants more input from people with disabilities as it works on future connection plans.

The light rail line, which opens in 2014, will connect downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. Not all of the connections to its 16 stations would be in the form of sidewalks. One huge gain could be a $1.4 million elevator in downtown St. Paul, at the Central Station at Fifth and Cedar streets. The so-called “vertical connection” would provide access between the skyway system and the rail line.

Without an elevator those trying to get to and from downtown destinations riders would have to travel several blocks out of the way and outside.

Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, and Sen. James Carlson, DFL-Eagan, have authored bills to require the City of St. Paul and Metropolitan Council to include the elevator. St. Paul-based Advocating Change Together is among the groups calling for the connection. ACT Co-Director Rick Cardenas has testified before state lawmakers this spring. “I’m more confident of this getting done than I have been,” Cardenas said. He is a downtown resident.

Metropolitan Council, which is building the rail line, has about $800,000 in grant funding available for the elevator. Having the city pay part of the cost has been debated but city officials have no funding for a match. That’s where the state could help.

The connection would be on a vacant lot where the old Bremer Bank stood for years. The area has been eyed for development. In one online discussion group, a commenter described an elevator as “beautification.” Cardenas said it is a need, not an extra.

More input is needed all along the light rail line from people with disabilities. “I don’t walk, I wheel. How’s that going to work?” said Darrell Paulson, a disability rights advocate who is working with ACT.

Paulson said the access to and from stations will not only determine rail ridership by people with disabilities, it will also determine whether people with disabilities can take advantage of new housing and job opportunities along the rail line. He pointed out that obstacles that others can easily step around or over, ranging from outdated curb cuts to overhanging brush and branches are barriers for people in wheelchairs.

Much of the work on the survey was done by volunteers and a Macalester College student intern. In summer 2012 more than 400 people traveled central Corridor to check sidewalk conditions. Surveys were done in neighborhoods and online. More than 2,000 comments were collected. Data was then pulled together to reach a set of conclusions.

Broken and uneven sidewalks, and place where there are no sidewalks are the biggest needs to be addressed, according to the survey. But the biggest obstacle to new or improved sidewalks may be costs. Last month the St. Paul City Council approved sidewalks in the West Midway over the objections of a number of property owners. Owners are assessed for part of the cost of sidewalk installation and are then responsible for keeping sidewalks clear of ice and snow.

Another high priority found in the survey is the need to address environments that are challenging, such as narrow sidewalks, sidewalks where there are no buffers between walkers and traffic, and traffic signals that don’t allow enough time for safe crossings. Some of the most dangerous places for walkers are Interstate 94 exit and entrance ramps, and private parking lot curb cuts. Improved crosswalk markings, warning signs, extended signal times and a public safety campaign are suggested as ways to counter the problems.

A third priority identified in the survey is the need for more trees, green space and benches along walking routes.

While all stations had concerns raised about pedestrian safety, lighting issue and sidewalk conditions, some issues are unique to each area. One concern raised in the Snelling area is that there isn’t a comfortable way to get across Interstate 94. The freeway bridge has narrow sidewalks and the Aldine Avenue pedestrian bridge feels deserted and unsafe to some. At Fairview Station, respondents also said they didn’t feel safe going beneath I-94 on the Fairview sidewalks.

Minneapolis City Council Member Cam Gordon said the survey is “an incredibly proactive step to take.” He wishes Minneapolis neighborhoods had done a similar study before the Hiawatha or Red Line light rail began service. He said sidewalk connections to that light rail line, as well as community development, haven’t worked as envisioned. Gordon said there may have been too much focus on moving cars during the Hiawatha planning and not enough focus on bikes and pedestrians.

The University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Neighborhood Partnerships for Community Research program and more than 30 community groups were involved in the study. It can be seen at http://dcc-stpaul-mpls.org/special-projects/walk

Honor that exceptional person or group with the 2013 Access Press Charlie Smith Award. The award is a high-profile way to thank those who go above and beyond in service to Minnesotans with disabilities. Nominations are now open and will close June 30.

Get out your calendars and reserve Friday, Nov. 1 for the 11th Annual Charlie Smith Award Banquet. The banquet returns to the Minneapolis Airport Marriott.

The highlight of the banquet is the presentation of the Charlie Smith Award and the winner’s speech. The award is given in honor of the late Charlie Smith Jr. founder of Access Press, and a longtime disability community activist and journalist.

The banquet, organized by Access Press, honors a member, group or organization in Minnesota’s disability community for outstanding service. Winners are always very pleased and moved by the award. Last year’s winner, activist Charles “Chuck” Van Heuveln, said it was one of the greatest things that had ever happened to him. “All the Charlie Smith award winners have been very humbled, gracious and appreciative of being honored by their community,” said Tim Benjamin, Executive Director of Access Press. “Charlie was very influential in the way the disability community thinks today and his indirect influence is still strong in each of the winners.”

“Last year’s winner and his work were not very well known. I think his selection surprised many for this reason,” said Brigid Alseth, chairperson of the Access Press Board. “Once his story was shared, however, I heard comments such as ‘Now I understand!’ Nominating someone for the Charlie Smith Award is a community process and helps us celebrate an extraordinary citizen and sometimes, we get a valuable history lesson.”

The 2013 award nomination period closes June 30. Early nominations are appreciated. The nominations are open to any Minnesota individual, family, organization or group that serves Minnesotans with disabilities. Self-nominations are not accepted.

The nominations remain confidential and are known only to the newspaper’s board and staff until the winner is announced.

The newspaper board will review the nominations in July and select a winner in August. Read about the winner and the nominees in the September issue of Access Press.

Nomination forms are available on the newspaper’s website, www.accesspress.org or by calling the office at 651-644-2133. Contact the newspaper board at CSAnominations@accesspress.org if there are question. Anyone needing accommodations to make a nomination may call the newspaper office.

The banquet will again be held at the Minneapolis Airport Marriot in Bloomington. This setting offers a very accessible and comfortable space for the silent auction and raffle, cash bar, pre-dinner music and conversation and the banquet itself. The facility offers plenty of parking and easy front-door drop-off.

Previous winners of the award are:
2012—Charles “Chuck” Van Heuveln, community activist
2011—Jeff Bangsberg, consultant, legislative activist
2010—Steve Kuntz, Minnesota DEED
2009—Anne Henry, Minnesota Disability Law Center
2008—Pete Feigal, co-founder of Tilting at Windmills
2007—Jim and Claudia Carlisle, People Enhancing People
2006—John Smith, University of MN
2005—Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (MN-CCD)
2004—Rick Cardenas, co-director of Advocating Change Together (ACT)
2003—Margot Imdieke Cross, Minnesota State Council on Disability

Making the banquet a success means relying on many community members for support. One way to help the banquet is to serve as a sponsor. Three levels of sponsorship are offered, using titles that reflect terms used historically in the newspaper industry.

Keyliners Level – $200.

The keyliners pasted up newspaper pages. If you are a keyliner sponsor:

• Your logo will be displayed at a table
• Your organization/company name will be listed in the 2013 Charlie Award Banquet program
• Your organization/company will be recognized in our November and December 2013 newspapers
• You will have one (1) free website ad (your month of choice), a value of $100

Proofreaders Level – $300.

The proofreaders would check newspaper pages for errors. If you are a proofreader sponsor:

• Your logo will be displayed at a table
• Your organization/company name will be listed in the 2013 Charlie Award Banquet program
• Your organization/company will be recognized in our November and December 2013 newspapers
• You will have two (2) free rotating website ads (your months of choice), a value of $200
• Your organization/company will be listed on a special banner (on display) during the 2013 Charlie Award Banquet

Editor-in-Chief Level – $400.

This denotes the leader of the newspaper. If you are an editor-in-chief sponsor:

• Your logo will be displayed at a table.
• Your organization/company name will be listed in the 2013 Charlie Award Banquet program
• Your organization/company will be recognized in our November and December 2013 newspapers
• You will have two (2) free rotating website ads (your months of choice), a value of $200
• Your organization/company will be listed on a special banner, on display during the 2013 Charlie Award Banquet
• Your organization/company will be recognized by our emcee during the 2013 Charlie Award Banquet
• A table will be named in your organization/company’s honor the evening of the event
• A free Access Press subscription, a value of $30
• One (1) Directory of Organizations listing, good for one year, a value of $60

Donations will also be needed for the newspaper’s annual silent auction and “pick your prize” raffle. Past prizes have included theater and sports tickets, gift certificates, art and more.  Access Press Office Manager, Dawn  handles the sponsor, silent auction and raffle. Contact Dawn at 651-644-2133 or at dawn@accesspress.org to be a sponsor or to make a donation.

Many unexpected controversies arose in this session, with unpredicted outcomes, considering that the body was single-party-controlled. Maybe the DFL party had forgotten how it works to lead after so many years of not being the majority party. Several of the issues concerning people with disabilities were shelved, although we thought they would be slam-dunks.

There was a lot of controversy over the tax plan that Gov. Mark Dayton laid out, and as I write this on May 7, no tax bill has passed. Obviously, without knowing what the revenue situation is, it’s hard for legislators to vote on other funding bills that will need new revenue. The DFL clearly wants to demonstrate fiscal responsibility. I was under the impression, and it was Dayton’s election platform, that we were going to raise taxes and undo the damage to health and human services programs that had taken place over the last 10 years. I sure didn’t expect our DFL legislature to cut programs and maintain high parental fees and co-pays. But indeed, after the debate over the Health and Human Services Omnibus bill, it seems like program cuts and increases in co-pays and parental fees are in our future.

Without knowing what funds are available, the issues concerning Medical Assistance eligibility remain in limbo. It does look like one hundred percent of the federal poverty guideline (approximately $600) will remain the MA qualifier for people with disabilities, leaving us with less income than nondisabled Minnesotans on the same state-funded programs. In one bright spot for some, it does appear that the spousal disregard will remain in the omnibus bills. That is probably because the spousal disregard does not increase state costs. But the disregard still needs authorization by the federal government, according to the federal Affordable Healthcare Act.

There was a bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL – Minneapolis) that arose from a grassroots idea to increase research funding for traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury (“Get Up Stand Up for the Cure”). Matthew Roderick, the idea man behind the bill, did not expect much opposition, but there was plenty. The late Christopher Reeve learned this lesson in his quest for cure not care, although Reeve eventually did recognize that care is vital, and that dignity and quality-of-life deserve funding as well as research.

Reeve was quadriplegic for approximately nine years before his death, which was caused by infected pressure sores. What killed him was a challenge for all paralyzed people that require care above all, and secondarily, better research about wound care and prevention.

Roderick has written for Access Press a thoughtful summary of his first-year of in-depth legislative experience and the lessons he’s learned. The most important message of his lobbying efforts is that you cannot give up: get up, speak up. There is always one more person you can convince and one more year to introduce your legislation and prove it is good for the state and money spent well. He has an uphill battle to convince legislators and some in the disability community.

He has persuaded a lot of folks in the disability community already, though. If it isn’t funded at the state level, maybe it should be at the federal level, where such legislation may have more of an impact.

We’ve had several false starts, but it looks like spring is finally here after a long, cold and difficult winter. Enjoy the sun, the air, and even the rain…and stay safe.

During this legislative session, the Minnesota Legislature should approve and Gov. Mark Dayton should sign a two-year state budget that increases revenues. Revenue increases raised fairly are necessary to help prevent further cuts to disability services and supports and to increase investments in those services.

Why revenues should be raised

For a decade, Minnesota has faced state budget deficits almost every year. To eliminate these deficits, solutions typically relied on cutting state services, borrowing from schools, and shifting money from other sources of revenue. Disability services bore a significant burden when balancing the budget; hundreds of millions of dollars were cut from these services over the past decade. 

These cuts have not balanced our budget. More importantly, they have caused harm to people with disabilities and

their families and have not enabled Minnesota to meet the needs of Minnesotans with disabilities or adequately invest in their abilities and talents.

• 3,600 Minnesotans with disabilities wait for services that will help them be more independent and be part of our communities.

• One in 88 children is now diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Minnesota families are becoming more vocal

about the need for services so their children can succeed in school and in life.

• Special education funding is inadequate – a barrier to success at school for children with disabilities.

• Many families already pay unaffordable fees for the services that help keep their children with disabilities at home or living in the community.

• People with disabilities continue to have higher rates of unemployment and lower rates of participation in the labor force than people without disabilities.

The state faces a $627 million budget deficit for the next two years, not counting inflation. Failure to raise adequate revenues will mean that disability services will again be among the targets for budget cuts, and that investments in people with disabilities will continue to lag behind current and future needs.

Legislative action in 2013

Dayton’s budget for the next two years includes increased revenues from higher income taxes on the wealthiest two percent of Minnesotans, increased taxes on tobacco products, the end to some exemptions from corporate taxes that include foreign royalties and foreign operations, and taxes on internet sales. The Minnesota House and Senate have proposed raising revenues on the highest income earners, with the House also considering an income tax surcharge on the wealthiest Minnesotans to finish paying school districts back for delayed payments that erased deficits in previous state budgets. The Senate is also considering raising higher revenues from tobacco products, and it is proposing to expand the state sales tax to clothing and a number of services purchased by consumers.

Information provided by The Arc Minnesota

Mammadov spent several weeks on the East Coast and with the Minnesota State Council on Disabilities. He visited many organizations, including Access Press, in his quest to learn about how to create a more favorable environment for children with disabilities in his own country. Although Mammadov’s background is in accounting, he has a strong interest in helping special needs children and a passion to help create a better Azerbaijan. Mammadov was just a young man in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh when armed conflict took place from February 1988 to May 1994 between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Over the years, there have been many attempts for peace in his homeland. Thus far there have been only agreements concerning civil rights between the two parties.

Mammadov was given “Hope” by many adults during the war. Now, he is taking on the personal responsibility to return that “Hope” to the children. “Many people gave me many things but the most important thing I was given was hope, now I have an opportunity to return that hope,” He said.

He went on to say, “with hope and an appropriate education the children from Azerbaijan with special needs will become an asset to their communities. Each Azerbaijani deserves dignity, especially our children with disabilities.” We went on to speak about people first language and as we talked, he recognized how people first language offers a little bit of dignity to the children.”

One learning experience in this country centered on people first language, which is respectful to people with disabilities. “I will remember people first language, it will be my first lesson I give to my associates and coworkers as we creating the new model and methodology in educating
our children with needs; even though it doesn’t translate, in our language well showing dignity is imperative,” Mammadov said.

Benjamin and Assistant Editor Jane McClure also hosted a delegation from the Czech Republic and Slovakia last month. The group of media professionals was part of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International’s Group Study Exchange. The group represented print and broadcast journalists and advertising professionals.

Access Press was one of several media outlets the group visited, in the Twin Cities and in rural Minnesota.

The group discussed how Access Press produces its print edition and also discussed media ethics and challenges facing print media.

Visitors also heard a presentation on the history of Twin Cities neighborhood and community newspapers.

Cuts in 2011

• Funding for disability services was cut by 1.5% in 2012 and another 1.5% in 2013. An additional 1.67% cut is scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013 and will last until the end of this year.

• Wages were cut by 20% for personal care attendants (PCAs) who support their family members with disabilities. This cut was later overturned in a legal challenge by PCAs, their family members and providers.

Higher Fees in 2011

• The fees that some Minnesota families pay for the services to keep their children at home or in the communitywere raised, when Minnesotans as a whole were not asked to contribute more in taxes.

Cuts in 2009

• Funding was cut by 2.58% for services that help people with disabilities live in the community and become more independent.

• More than 900 homes for people with disabilities received an additional cut. These homes previously received extra funding to meet the higher needs of their residents.

• The number of PCA hours that a person with disabilities could receive each month was reduced.

• Cuts were made to dental care and to occupational, speech, and physical therapies. Disability advocates have

only been able to restore a portion of these cuts.

• Funding for new community services for people with disabilities was scaled back, resulting in longer waits by individuals and families for those services.

• The amount of spending money for people with disabilities to cover clothing, hygiene items, transportation and other needs (called the Personal Needs Allowance) was cut by 26% for 10,000 people with disabilities and by 10% for 6,000 others.

• The Renter’s Credit saw $51 million less funding. This provides tax relief to low- and moderate- income Minnesotans, including people with disabilities.

Cuts in 2008

• Programs that help people with disabilities learn independent living skills and that help families with special expenses incurred when raising their child with disabilities were cut 1.8%

• Funding for new community services for people with disabilities was scaled back, meaning $68 million less for those programs and longer waits for those needing those services.

At a time when people with disabilities and senior citizens had very limited access to parks and recreation programs, anyone could attend and sing along.

During World War I, community singing was mandated by many states including Minnesota. Singing was a way to keep spirits up, propagate patriotism, and solidify cultures. A statewide community song chairperson was given the task of making sure that every county and township had volunteer community songleaders and regular gatherings for singing.

Community sings were especially popular in Minneapolis from 1919 through the late 1950s. People would gather in large groups, sometimes 10,000 strong, and sing in neighborhood parks on summer evenings. The city’s parks competed against each other for the annual prize of “the best singing park,” in a competition co-sponsored by the Minneapolis Park Board and the Daily News, and later the Minneapolis Tribune newspaper.

Each park had a small bandstand for the songleader to use. For a long time the Park Board provided an employee to oversee the community sings. But even when funding couldn’t be provided, as happened during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the sings continued.

Winners first got a banner and from 1924, a large silver traveling trophy. If a park won three years in a row, the singers got to keep the trophy and a new traveling prize was created.

The banners and trophies were highly coveted. In 1920 Riverside Park and Logan Park tied in the scoring, and had to have a two-concert sing-off so a winner would be determined. Logan Park won by one point. 

The Tribune extensively covered the sings, publishing pictures, news stories and even every sing’s scoring by judges. The park standings were regularly published. Having a good community song leader was essential to having a park full of singers. One 1930 newspaper headline declared, “Minneapolis is teaching America how to sing.” The accompanying article emphasized that anyone could join and sing, even a “bathtub baritone.”

The article described how about 400,000 people would participate in community sings that year, which earned the city worldwide attention for the events. One sing that year at Powderhorn Park drew about 45,000 people.

For more information about the Minneapolis community sings of the 20th century, read the books Minneapolis Park System by Theodore Wirth and City of Parks by David C. Smith.

The group Minnesota Community Sings is trying to bring those days back, with an event May 18 in Minneapolis. Information about that event is on this month’s Accessible Fun page.

Information for this article came from Minnesota Community Sings.

Would you like to make history?

Access Press is interested in reader submissions for the monthly History Note column, to complement the articles written by Luther Granquist and other contributors. Submissions must center on events, people and places in the history of Minnesota’s disability community. We are interested in history that focuses on all types of disability topics, so long as the history has a tie to Minnesota. We are especially interested in stories from Greater Minnesota. Please submit ideas prior to submitting full stories, as we may have covered the topic before. Contact us at access@accesspress.org or 651-644-2133 if you have questions.

The History Note is a monthly column sponsored by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, www.mncdd.org and www.partnersinpolicymaking.com

I’ve been thinking about it since I got a call recently from Sen. Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) to tell me that the Jablonski Rodreick Spinal Cord Injury-Traumatic Brain Injury Research Grant Bill didn’t make it into the budget. The bill contained a request for an annual $4 million allocation to support curative research.

I wasn’t thoroughly stunned, because the writing’s been on the wall since the Health and Human Services (HHS) budget numbers came out. But I was disappointed. In spite of my tendency toward cynicism, which I’ve always considered a natural response for anyone who’s paying attention, I was still holding out hope that we might squeeze it through.

I Twitter-bombed the film I made with then-Minnesota Viking Chris Kluwe (not truly a disability simulation but rather a shameless effort to use celebrity as a vehicle to draw attention to an intensely personal and publicly important issue) as a last-ditch effort to draw attention to our legislative effort. In spite of several thousand views of the film, it did not generate the traction I was hoping. So we will put our legislative effort to bed for a few months and let support from so many of you act as the antidote for my temptation to be cynical.

I brought this idea to Hayden, my senator, almost two years ago. He graciously listened to our story and consequently offered to author the bill. The idea was born out of my son Gabe’s July 2008 spinal cord injury. Gabe was injured while body surfing on a student exchange program in Costa Rica. In the almost five years since his injury science has made some very significant breakthroughs toward potential curative therapies. But the market is too small to expect an injection of capital.

Our hope was that we might convince legislators and citizens that this would be a fine example of the need for public investment. We made our case in every committee, and were mostly well received.

Our approach was threefold: 1. Tell the story of what it’s like to live with an injury. 2. Make the case for a return on investment due to the plus-$1 billion dollar expenditure for the ongoing annual healthcare costs of our community and 3. Educate legislators regarding the promise of what is now a rapidly moving field of research.

Legislators were almost unanimously receptive and supportive. During the Senate HHS Finance Committee debate, Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) said “This is a bill whose time has come.” Not everyone agreed.

There was some vocal opposition from within our own disability community early on in the process, and quite possibly some discomfort with the message of some in the community who seek to ameliorate the effects of their injuries. This initially surprised me. But in my efforts to understand the dissenting voices, I grew to recognize that my son and family were beneficiaries of the services that these same voices had fought so hard to win. At the same time my hope is that they have heard the voices of our coalition who seek a more complete healing from their injuries, not unlike the treatment one would seek for a broken leg or a stroke.

At the end of the day, we could not compete with a shortfall that left many stunned and certain to feel shorted in the future. I listened to many make a final and for some a desperate appeal at the last House HHS Finance Committee in hopes that they wouldn’t be left out or wanting.

We are having a political dialogue in our communities and country that hinges on the choice between austerity and investment, notions of personal freedom and responsibility to our neighbors. I refuse to be accused of the cynicism that may be the symptom of a second-rate mind. This “Citizen Lobbying 101 Class” that I’ve taken has taught me many things, but most importantly that we all need to Get Up and Speak Up. While we all tend to pay attention to the big national political issues, it’s the local decisions that likely affect us the most. In our case speaking up is for those who cannot Get Up and Stand Up, without a lot of help.

We intend to be back the next session to do just that, and we hope that you would join us, at www.gusu4cure.org.

Matthew Rodrieck lives in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has asked the 2013 Legislature to approve several components of the initiative, some of which are contingent on federal approval.

Minnesota was at the forefront nationally decades ago in helping people with disabilities move from institutions to homes in the community.

This continuing trend has meant more choices and flexibility in how people with disabilities access and use supports and services as well as more opportunity to lead personally fulfilling and meaningful lives. Being an active participant in community brings more personal responsibility and opportunity but can also bring the possibility of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation.

These risks are mitigated by a strong adult protection system. That is why key components of Reform 2020 include proposals for an improved way to report concerns about these serious issues and for additional resources to support timely response by the adult protection system.

Under current law, each county is responsible for designating a Common Entry Point for receiving and responding to reports of suspected maltreatment of vulnerable adults. Across Minnesota, more than 160 different phone numbers are designated to receive calls reporting suspected abuse, neglect and exploitation. This complexity significantly reduces the effectiveness of the system. People who want to make maltreatment reports sometimes need to make two or more phone calls to reach an appropriate party to take a report.

Gov. Mark Dayton’s Reform 2020 proposal this legislative session would make the reporting process simpler and more accessible. It creates a single, statewide response center anyone can access to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation. This system would be web-based and include a central database that would provide information useful in improving quality of care for people with disabilities and the elderly.

The DHS Office of the Inspector General has also asked the Legislature for additional resources to support timely maltreatment investigations as well as implementation of licensure of some services for people with disabilities not currently licensed.

When the response center is rolled out, a public outreach campaign would begin to raise awareness of issues of maltreatment and provide information on how to recognize and report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation. County adult protection units would have new funding to strengthen their ability to provide for adult protection.

Reform2020’s primary focus is the best outcomes for people. As we aim to ensure people receive the right services, at the right time, in the right way, it’s imperative that we make as strong as possible the means by which the safety and dignity of all citizens are honored and preserved.

Alex Bartolic and Jean Wood are the Minnesota Department of Human Services directors, respectively, of the Disability Services and Aging and Adult Services divisions.

Learn more about Reform 2020 and Minnesota’s adult protection system on the DHS website at www.dhs.mn.us For more information about services for people with disabilities, contact the Disability Linkage Line® at 1-866-333-2466.