HUD publishes Section 811 and Section 202 proposed rule (NCSHA Blog, Oct. 9)
HUD published in the October 7 Federal Register a Proposed Rule for implementing statutory reforms made to the Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities and Section 202 Housing for the Elderly programs by the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010 and the Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly Act of 2010. Comments are due December 8.
Pentagon to cut autism healthcare payments in half (The Hill, Oct. 8)
Beginning October 20, the Pentagon will reduce payments (from $125 per hour to between $50 and $68 per hour) to providers who work with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) under TRICARE, the military’s healthcare plan.
Democrat promises to undo Kansas Medicaid change (Associated Press, Oct. 8)
Democratic challenger Paul Davis on Wednesday proposed reversing part of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s overhaul of the Kansas Medicaid program, appealing to vocal advocates for the disabled in a political race that remains a toss-up.
Medicaid ADHD treatment under scrutiny (PEW, Oct. 8)
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects one in seven school-aged children in the U.S., and between 2003 and 2011 the number of children diagnosed rose by more than 40 percent.
State files autism benefit plan to CMS (California Healthline, Oct. 8)
Last week, California health officials submitted a state plan amendment to federal officials, outlining some of the rules dealing with ASD therapy as a Medi-Cal benefit.
Steinberg to launch mental health foundation (The Sacramento Bee, Oct. 7)
Outgoing Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said Tuesday that after he leaves the legislature at the end of November he will form a foundation to work on mental-health policy issues.
Minimum wage and overtime protections are delayed for home-care workers (New York Times, Oct. 7)
With numerous states pushing for a delay, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would put off enforcement of its plan to extend minimum-wage and overtime protections to the nation’s nearly two million home-care workers.
Supreme Court seeks input on IDEA case (Disability Scoop, Oct. 7)
The U.S. Supreme Court is asking the Obama administration to weigh in on a case involving who should pay for private school tuition while special education disputes are litigated.
Ranking names best cities for people with disabilities (Disability Scoop, Oct. 7)
A new ranking offers insight on the nation’s best and worst places for people with disabilities to call home.
Research: Autism as a disorder of prediction (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Oct. 6)
Behavioral and neural measures of prediction might serve as early assays of predictive abilities in infants, and serve as useful tools in intervention design and in monitoring their effectiveness (from Abstract).
From a father’s anguish comes a plan to help mentally ill inmates (New York Times, Oct. 6)
[I]ts main focus is the establishment of better mental health treatment for inmates in the United States, starting with that 25-bed pilot facility.
Lawrence woman discovers undiagnosed brain injury with help of managed care organization (Lawrence Journal-World, Oct. 5)
A case worker with Amerigroup reached out to Harvey and immediately realized her problems weren’t physical in nature: she had an undiagnosed traumatic brain injury. That got her a waiver through the State to start receiving services to support her in living independently.
Former students offered make-up special education services (Disability Scoop, Oct. 1)
A federal judge has ruled that some 1,800 special-education students who did not earn a high school diploma before they aged out of Hawaii’s public school system at 20 years old are entitled to free educational services.
Research: How does household expenditure change with age for older Americans? (Employee Benefit Research Institute, Sep. 30)
In 2011, households with at least one member between ages 50 and 64 spent 8 percent of their total budget on health items, compared with 19 percent for those age 85 or over. Health-related expenses occupy the second-largest share of total expenditure for those ages 75 or older [behind home and home-related expenses].
How ‘Parenthood’ broke down the autism awareness barrier (BuzzFeed, Sep. 25)
With showrunner Jason Katims’ raw storytelling and the passion and dedication of young actor Max Burkholder, the NBC drama has depicted a journey never before seen on network television, shedding light on life on the spectrum.