This week our focus is still on mental health following Thursday’s news of the latest in mental health reform legislation. We’re also gearing up to celebrate the 16th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision later this month, we’re reading up on the intersection of disability and employment, with a cover story from Governing magazine. More on education outcomes, pay for home-care workers, and the custody battles facing some parents with disabilities.
- POLITICO is reporting Rep. Tim Murphy (PA) reintroduced his mental health reform legislation last Thursday. The new version of his 2013 legislation – H.R. 2646, “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act” – purportedly has been ‘softened,’ including: removal of the proposed requirement of states to have court-ordered treatment programs; narrowed revisions to HIPAA (i.e., who can get patient information, and what information they can get, in cases where patients pose threats to themselves or others); and removal of the formerly proposed cuts to protection and advocacy (P&A) activities. More: Modern Healthcare.
- Governing’s June 2015 cover features what the magazine is calling the Americans with Disabilities Act’s “biggest failure”: integrated, equitable employment of individuals with disabilities.
- More on disability and employment: Inc. is sharing the story of Specialisterne, a Danish company working ‘to change the professional prospects for people with autism.’ And, from John Chambers of Cisco to Nancy Brinker of Susan G. Komen, a number of influential business leaders around the world have learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, writes Quartz.
- Al Jazeera’s America Tonight – as part of a multi-part series – is following several parents with disabilities through the legal system amid efforts to retain custody of their children.
- Home-care workers in Los Angeles County are awaiting pay following a postal mishap with the local time sheet processing center, reports the Los Angeles Times. Related: U.S. Census Bureau is recording an increase of more than 5,400 new businesses and approximately 300,000 new workers providing services for older adults and individuals with disabilities.
- A little coffee-break reading: The National Center on Educational Outcomes is out with their annual report assessing outcomes for K-12 students with disabilities, by state and territory, for the 2012-13 academic year. Skipping to page 22: The report suggests ‘[t]he achievement gaps between students with and without IEPs in reading and mathematics continue.’