This Session’s Victories Happened Because of You

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

Thank you for your help in achieving some significant successes during the 2013 Legislative Session. Once again, you increased the presence of the disability community at the Legislature and increased contacts with legislators.  Many of you worked directly with your legislators to advocate for increased state revenues, and you stayed in close contact with them throughout this session.

Because of you, we were able to help pass legislation to:

• Decrease and/or eliminate parental fees for thousands of Minnesota families.
• Greatly expand the availability of therapies for thousands of children with autism.
• Increase self-directed options for individuals receiving personal care assistance.
• Increase Medical Assistance rates for physicians, dentists, and therapists by five percent.
• Increase the amount of staff training to limit the use of restraints and instead engage in positive behavioral practices to manage behavior challenges.
• Give the Department of Human Services more authority to manage the waivers to move resources around the state as needed. 

As members and supporters of The Arc, you were also busy testifying, participating in news conferences, attending Tuesdays at the Capitol, and making your presence known at our most successful Disability Day at the Capitol ever.  More than 750 people signed up for Day at the Capitol and had personal contact with more than one-third of the legislators.

Thanks to all of you who came to Day at the Capitol.  Thanks to our testifiers who shared their stories on parental fees, MA Income Standards, and the proposed budgets.  Thanks to all who attended our news conferences in St. Cloud, Rochester, the State Capitol, and Willmar.  Thanks to everyone who participated in Tuesdays at the Capitol. 

To be sure, we did not get everything this year that people with disabilities needed and deserved.  For example, we were very disappointed that disability services funding received only a one percent increase after so many years of budget cuts, and the anti-bullying bill did not pass the Senate.  Without your involvement, though, we would not have achieved the successes that we did.  Kudos to you all!

Crunch Time at the Capitol – Final Decisions Pending on Budgets, Bucks, and Bullying

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

It’s crunch time at the State Capitol.  The official end of session is only a week away, and the House & Senate must finalize their bills by May 20th.  For the disability community, outstanding issues involve budgets, bucks, and bullying. 

Significant movement occurred yesterday (May 12th), as the Governor, House, and Senate agreed on overall revenue and spending levels.  The revenue package raises income taxes on the wealthiest two percent of Minnesotans, increases taxes on tobacco, extends the sales tax to an undetermined set of business services, and adds a temporary surcharge to those with the highest incomes to pay back money owed to local school districts.  It also provides property tax relief, and it does not extend sales taxes to consumer services or consumer goods like clothing.  

On the spending side, there will be more money for schools and smaller cuts in health and human services (HHS).  The HHS target is now $50 million below projected spending, instead of $150 million as the House and Senate originally proposed.  There is still negotiating going on to reduce the HHS cut further.

These increases in revenues and the reductions in the human services cuts came about because of your advocacy and the stories you have shared with legislators and the Governor.   To ensure that we come out of this session with the best possible outcome, we need your help as we make a final push this week.

Here is some of the unfinished business where we might need your voice again:

• The HHS omnibus bill (the budget part) still has several unresolved issues:  whether parental fees will be reduced, how large a funding increase disability services will receive, and whether autism therapies will be included in private health care coverage, to name a few.
• The final revenue bill must pass the House and Senate (the bucks part).  Pressure on legislators in swing districts could be intense to switch their vote from yes to no on higher revenues.  Join us at Invest in Minnesota’s Day of Action for Tax Fairness tomorrow (May 14th), and help ensure that the revenues we need are raised.
• The Safe and Supportive Schools Act (the bullying part) is working its way through the Senate.  It will be heard in the Senate Finance Committee this afternoon (May 13), and it could be brought to the Senate floor for a vote soon after that.

Your advocacy has been great this session.  Get ready for more action alerts on any of the above issues, and respond to them as soon as you see them!

 

Be on Call Until the End of Session

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher

The 2013 Legislative Session will end on Monday May 20th, four weeks from today.  These will be critical weeks if we are to make progress on our legislative agenda, and we will call on you several times to help out.  Your response to our requests for help can have a big impact on how this legislative session turns out.

This morning, we e-mailed an action alert asking you to contact your state legislators about the need to raise revenues.  Tomorrow, we will host a news conference at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23rd in Room 181 of the State Office Building.  We will highlight the need for new revenues, the need to raise the budget targets of the health and human services (HHS) committee’s omnibus (or spending) bills, and the impact current legislative proposals will have on the lives of persons with disabilities.  We will host a similar news conference in Willmar on Wednesday, April 24th. 

The day after these news conferences, Thursday, April 25th, we will hold Disability Day at the Capitol.  We need your presence there to demonstrate to the Governor and legislators that we are serious about our need for a strong service system in Minnesota for people with disabilities and their families.  We need to be loud and visible about our need for a cost of living increase for all of our programs and share with legislators our other critical priorities.

Also this week, the health and human services omnibus bills will be heard on floors of the House and Senate.  This is a great opportunity for you to watch members of the House and Senate debate programs that affect you and your family.  During this debate, e-mail your legislators, and tell them how they should vote on the bills, what is or isn’t in those bills, and how this will or will not help you or your family.

Shortly after both HHS bills pass, a conference committee will be formed, made up of ten legislators – five each from the Senate and House.  Senators Tony Lourey and Kathy Sheran will be on the committee for sure, and Senators Jeff Hayden and Julie Rosen are strong possibilities.  In the House, Representatives Huntley, Liebling, Abeler, and possibly Representative Norton and one other representative will likely be on the conference committee.  Expect an action alert from us outlining what we like and don’t like in the bills and what positions the conferees should support.  Even if your legislators are not on the conference committee, you will need to let them know what you like and dislike so they can lobby the conferees accordingly.

Please respond to all of our requests for help.  How successful we are will depend greatly on how loud our voices are during the next four critical weeks.

Increase Revenues, Not Disability Service Cuts: Getting This Message to Legislators

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

The House Health and Human Services (HHS) Omnibus Finance Bill favorably funds services for persons with disabilities overall, compared to what we feared when the House announced human service spending levels (or “targets”) that were $150 million below current spending.  We need to thank Rep. Tom Huntley, chair of the House HHS Finance Committee, and other committee members for their work.  BUT — the favorable provisions in the HHS omnibus bill are all contingent on raising adequate revenue.  The Governor’s budget depends on raising $2 billion in new revenues.

With support from the Minnesota Council for Nonprofits, The Arc and its chapters are increasing our efforts to raise revenues.  Our efforts include several news conferences, meetings with legislators, and outreach to increase attendance at Disability Day at the Capitol on April 25th.  (The official registration deadline for that even is today, April 15; register now if you haven’t already!)

In addition, we have a new role for members of The Arc – Trusted Local Leaders.  Legislators in swing districts will find it hard to vote for new revenues.  It is our responsibility to give them information about why new revenues are necessary and support them as they stand up for persons with disabilities and other human service needs.  Trusted Local Leaders will be in regular contact with their swing district legislators by e-mailing them weekly, calling them with key messages, and meeting with them in person.  Thank you to the members of The Arc for volunteering for this.

Working with our partners, we have great information to share with legislators and members of The Arc.  We have recently completed fact sheets on the importance of new revenues and on the budget cuts and service reductions that people with disabilities have faced in the past decade.  This information will help you make your case to your legislators, and we ask you to forward these materials to them.  Thank you in advance for helping us protect disability services this session!

An APP-propriate Tool to Share Your Story & Help Us This Session

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

In mid-March, the Governor released his revised budget proposal.  The major change he made was eliminating the 1.67% cut to disability services, scheduled to take effect for six months starting July 1, 2013.  Right before their recess, the House and Senate released their budget targets, with the unpleasant surprise of $150 million in cuts to human services below projected spending and $320 million less than the Governor’s budget.  Human services advocates are working change the House and Senate targets.  On Thursday April 4^th the House announced it would not cut nursing homes or services for persons with disabilities.

In other words, get ready for a roller coaster ride between now and the end of session.  We’ll continue working to increase state revenues, increase the health & human services budget targets, and avoid cuts to disability services and supports.  All our efforts are greatly enhanced if you share your individual or family story.  We can’t emphasize enough that legislators need to hear from you, their constituents.  We’ll only be successful this session if you share your story with your legislators.

The Arc Minnesota, working with the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, is promoting the use of the Council’s new IPad app, “Telling Your Story.”  The app was originally designed to be used on the IPad.  If you don’t have an IPad, we also developed a way to help you create your story in Microsoft Word similar to app users.

You can access the app online.  It is also helpful to review the “Tips for Using the iPad App” document we have created to help you use the app most effectively.  Here’s a sample story created with the app.  When you complete your story, please send it to Jean Bender at JeanB@arcmn.org .

We all need motivation to get our stories done, so:

• If you send in your story by May 20^th (the last day of the 2013 Legislative Session), you will be eligible for an all-expense paid trip to attend The Arc Minnesota state conference in the Twin Cities, which will likely be held in the first part of November. This includes registration and a one-night stay at the conference hotel.
• Each week, starting April 8^th, we will have a drawing for a $25 Target gift certificate for those stories submitted that week.

We need your stories to build up momentum for a successful 2013 Legislative Session.  Thanks in advance for contributing to that success!

A Busy Seven Weeks of Advocacy Coming Up; How You Can Help

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

Our past civic engagement work and the great response from local chapters of The Arc when asked to meet with their legislators this year have given us a great new opportunity.  We received a grant from the Stoneman & Bauman Foundations to promote increased state revenues (new taxes) by the end of this legislative session. Increased revenue is vital to ensuring adequate funding for services for people with disabilities.  The Governor’s budget, which we support, is contingent upon raising $2 billion in additional revenue over the next biennium.

As part of this grant, we will host several news conferences around the state.  At each event, we will highlight the need for new revenues and share stories of individuals with disabilities and their families about how services and supports are working or not working for them.  In addition, some local chapters will host meetings with their legislators in their home districts to discuss the need for new revenues.  We will also write and send opinion editorials (Op Ed pieces) to newspapers around the state and submit letters to the editors.  Some members of The Arc will be asked to be Trusted Local Leaders, which involves regular and frequent contact with a key legislator to make sure that senator or representative supports increased revenues.

We also need YOUR help, and there are two activities where you can help the most.  The first is the weekly Tuesdays at the Capitol, sponsored with the Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) at 10 a.m. every Tuesday in the State Office Building Cafeteria.  Tomorrow’s gathering (April 2nd) will include joining other disability advocates outside the House & Senate chambers at noon to urge state legislators to protect disability services from cuts. 

The other way to help is our 2013 Disability Day at the Capitol on Thursday April 25^th, which begins at 10 a.m. with registration in the State Capitol Great Hall.  Our goal is to meet with 60 legislators on April 25th, and we really need YOU to make that happen.

The next seven weeks are critical to ensure we have a strong system of services and supports for persons with disabilities.  I look forward to seeing you at a news conference, a home visit, or the Capitol!

Are Legislative Leaders Taking Us For Granted?

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

The Arc Minnesota and many other human services agencies were put in a difficult position last week. The Arc Minnesota has been a member of the Invest in Minnesota coalition for several years, advocating for a balanced approach to state budget challenges which includes new revenues.  We have vocally and publicly supported a $2 billion increase in taxes to help fund our programs.  So when the budget targets came out last week, we were aghast.  Both the House and Senate released budget targets for health and human services (HHS) that spend $150 million less than the Governor’s proposal.  Thus our dilemma — we are working hard to raise revenues at the same time our programs could be cut.  Are we being taken for granted?

Our first response was to alert you, urging you to tell your legislators to lobby their leadership for higher budget targets.  Your attendance at public meetings that your legislators hold this week is crucial.  Please give them this message:  “Don’t cut $150 million from health and human services programs, and raise the HHS budget target to the same level as the Governor’s ($11.6 billion).”  We are already seeing results from these visits.  In a meeting with constituents on March 23rd, Rep. Sheldon Johnson (DFL, St. Paul) agreed to push for reversal of this cut when he meets with fellow House DFLers.

Despite the proposed cuts, we still need to support revenue increases, or our programs will be vulnerable to even more reductions.  The Governor’s supplemental budget eliminates the six-month, 1.67% cut to our programs scheduled for July 1st.  Programs for persons with disabilities have not received budget increases in years, and we want to see that changed this legislative session.  

We will be vocal and public about the need to raise revenues; at the same time, we will raise our objections about the House and Senate budget targets.   Starting in April, we will host news conferences around the state and at the Capitol to inform the public and legislators about the need for more revenue to support people with disabilities and their families.  

Reminders of How Important Your Stories Are

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

On March 11th, I presented to the Partners in Policymaking class.  This class of 30 consists of persons with disabilities, siblings, and parents.  They’d spent the previous weekend learning how to tell their stories and participating in mock committee hearings with former legislators.  In my presentation, I stressed that sharing those stories with legislators and other public officials is one of the most important things they can do.  I also stressed to the class that they are the experts on their stories and their lives, not legislators or policy makers.  Most legislators know little about services for persons with disabilities when they are elected, and it is the responsibility of family members and self-advocates to share that expertise.

Later last week, I ran into one of the parents in this class at the hearing on March 13th on the bill to reduce parental fees (SF 980).  She said that once I told them that they are the experts on their lives, she felt more relaxed and confident about sharing her story with her legislator, which she did.

Professional lobbyists like myself, no matter how well-intentioned, are not as effective in educating legislators as their own constituents who have disabilities or have family members with disabilities.  The March 13th hearing demonstrated this.  Tim Kasemodel shared his family story with the Senate committee that passed SF 980 without a dissenting vote.

Not everyone can come to the Capitol and testify like Tim, but everyone can share their story.   This week is an excellent opportunity to do that.  Minnesota House and Senate leaders will set their spending targets for the state budget over the next two years.   We need to see spending targets in human services and special education like those set in the Governor’s budget in order to meet the needs of all Minnesotans with disabilities.  If you haven’t responded to the alert we sent out last week on this topic, please do so now. 

This year it is even easier to tell your story if you have an IPad. The Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities has created an app you can download.  We also created a tips sheet on using this app most effectively.  Whether you share your story through your IPad, e-mail, phone, letter, or personal visit, thanks for your advocacy.  You are making a difference for thousands of other Minnesotans with disabilities and their families!

Special Education Funding in the Spotlight Last Week

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

Special education funding and policy were highlighted at the Legislature and in the media this past week.  On March 3rd, the Star Tribune published a story titled, “Rising Special Ed Cases are Huge Cost to Schools,” which we felt was biased and created a negative picture of special education.  Then on March 6th, the Office of the Legislative Auditor released its report on special education.  Last Saturday, March 9th, the Star Tribune commented on the auditor’s report.  Their editorial emphasized that the costs of special education have increased and that one reason for the increase is “that about 75% of state special education rules exceed what is required by federal regulations.” 

This report, the article, and the commentary have all created a challenge for the advocacy community. We’ve long fought for inclusive education for students with disabilities.  The auditor’s office and the Star Tribune point out important issues that we should be prepared to discuss, but they do not do a good job of talking about the benefits of special education. 

I guess that is the job of us advocates.  The Arc Minnesota has submitted letters to the editor to the Star Tribune and worked with parents to send letters of their own; one of them has already been published. We will dust off past reports on the benefits of Minnesota rules that exceed the federal government’s, and we’ll develop fact sheets and speaking points as necessary to highlight this information.  

You can help, too.  If you have not written your story about how educational services have helped your child, we have resources to aid you:  our template for creating your story, and a link to an IPad app that the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities has created along with tips on using the app most effectively. 

After finishing your story, please e-mail it to us.  We are creating a library of these stories so we can share them with policy makers and (with your permission) the media.  Please share that story with your legislators, and be prepared  to respond if we alert you to contact state officials.

A Much-Needed Boost for Disability Services

By Steve Larson, The Arc Minnesota Senior Policy Director

Steve Larson (Photo: Peter Bartz-Gallagher)

Programs for persons with disabilities have experienced a series of cuts over the past decade, including a 3.9% reduction over the past four years.  You appreciate what these cuts mean and the importance of the direct support professionals (DSPs) who provide these services.  More cuts have meant fewer staff for all programs, higher staff turnover, and no wage increases for several years for remaining staff. 

Rep. Tom Huntley, House Health and Human Services (HHS) Finance Committee Chair, says he has an increasing appreciation for the work DSPs do as well.  For much of his career, he taught biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Minnesota – Duluth.  Now retired from that job, he lists his current occupation as “personal care attendant.”  Rep. Huntley’s wife has experienced some health challenges over the last year, and he has spent significant time providing support to her.

Earlier this year, Rep. Huntley challenged us to get more people with disabilities to the Legislature to advocate for disability services.  In his view, people with disabilities were still invisible to many new state legislators.  Tomorrow on Tuesday, March 5th, you have an opportunity to meet that challenge, show state legislators your appreciation of the vitally important work of DSPs, and urge those legislators to fund disability services adequately to retain good staff.

At 10:00 a.m. on March 5^th, a bill to increase the budgets for programs funded by Medical Assistance for persons with disabilities will have its first hearing in the House HHS Finance Committee. The bill is HF 777, authored by Rep. Jerry Newton (Coon Rapids); its companion in the Senate, SF 599, is authored by Senator Kent Eken (Twin Valley).  Tomorrow is also ARRM’s Day at the Capitol, and they are hoping that more than 1,000 people will attend and rally in the Capitol Rotunda at 1:00 p.m. to support HF 777. 

The snowstorm now upon us might limit attendance at the Capitol, but you can help build support for this crucial bill even if you can’t make it there.  If you live in a district of a state representative who serves on the HHS Finance Committee, share with them why they should support HF 777.  You can find out who your state representative is online; thanks in advance for speaking up for services for people with disabilities and their staff!