The best jobs for people with disabilities (Forbes, Nov. 4)
As of March 2014, a 1973 federal law designed to protect disabled people from job discrimination got additional teeth, prompting companies to be more proactive about hiring people with physical or mental challenges.
Justice department monitoring disability access at polls (Disability Scoop, Nov. 4)
Despite federal protections, a report from the National Council on Disability found that 1 in 5 voters with disabilities were prevented from casting their ballot independently during the 2012 election.
Home health workers struggle for better pay and health insurance (Kaiser Health News, Nov. 3)
Under the Affordable Care Act, there are financial incentives for hospitals and doctors to keep patients healthy. Ross says home care workers should be considered – and compensated – as vital front-line personnel in reaching the new goals.
Report: Changes fail to curb restraint, seclusion (Disability Scoop, Nov. 3)
During the 2011-2012 school year, the U.S. Department of Education found that kids with disabilities accounted for three-quarters of those who were physically restrained and 58 percent of students who were placed in seclusion or some other form of involuntary confinement at schools across the country.
Bracing for the falls of an aging nation (The New York Time, Nov. 2)
As the population ages and people live longer in bad shape, the number of older Americans who fall and suffer serious, even fatal, injuries is soaring. So the retirement communities, assisted living facilities and nursing homes where millions of Americans live are trying to balance safety and their residents’ desire to live as they choose.
‘We have depression’ (Choices, Nov. 1)
“The stigma surrounding depression makes people feel like they can’t talk about it openly—or at all,” says Eva. “And in turn, those people are not getting the help they need.”
Efforts to enable Americans to age in place are expanding, survey shows (The Washington Post, Nov. 1)
A new survey of hundreds of federally sponsored local agencies that assist aging Americans has found increased efforts to help the elderly remain in their homes as they grow older, a policy known as aging in place.
Medicare weighs paying for end-of-life counseling (Associated Press, Oct. 31)
Medicare said Friday it will consider paying doctors to counsel patients about their options for end-of-life care, the same idea that spurred accusations of death panels and fanned a political furor around President Barack Obama’s health care law five years ago.
The White House plans an aging conference (Forbes, Oct. 30)
Plans for the 2015 White House Conference on Aging — the first in 10 years — are beginning to take shape. No date has been set, but organizers are setting the agenda, reaching out to interest groups and gathering ideas from the general public through a new website and social media.
Medicare changes could limit patient access to ALS communication tools (Kaiser Health News, Oct. 29)
Starting December 1, people with ALS could lose access to technological advances that allow them to better communicate, thanks to a federal review of what Medicare is allowed to cover. ALS hit the national spotlight this summer with the viral “Ice Bucket Challenge.” But while public awareness about the disease soared, Medicare changes that could curtail coverage of communication tools were already in the works.
For many with disabilities, special education leads to jail (The Hechinger Report, Oct. 28)
When the special education system fails youth and they end up in jail, many stay there for years or decades. The vast majority of adults in American prisons have a disability, according to a 1997 Bureau of Justice Statistics survey. Data hasn’t been updated since, but experts attribute the high percentage of individuals with disabilities in the nation’s bloated prison population — which has grown 700 percent since 1970 — in part to deep problems in the education of children with special needs.