Health Care, Disability, and Development

Health Care, Disability, and Development: Law and Policy

What's New? | Disability and Development Policy | Budget and Finance | Disability Law | Cultural Competency and Equity Issues in Disability and Development Policy | Environmental Health Issues in Disability and Development | Governmental Bodies in Disability and Development Policy | Assocations and Professional Organizations in Disability Policy Disability Policy Glossary |

What's New?

GAO Reports on Local and State Government Fiscal Challenges from Health Care Issues
November 19, 2008. The Government Accountability Office has provided testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on the threats to state and local government fiscal well-being from health care costs. Stanley Czerwinski, Director of the GAO Strategic Issues unit provided evidence to Congress that "Rapidly rising health care costs are not simply a federal budget problem. Growth in health-related spending also drives the fiscal challenges facing state and local governments. The magnitude of these challenges presents long-term sustainability challenges for all levels of government." Summary p. 1. The testimony provides an analysis on long -term and as well as near-term issues.
Read the GAO testimony.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Show Continuing and Growing Problems
October 20, 2008. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has published its reports on 2007 data. The National Health Disparities 2007 Report shows worsening trends across a range of measures for many minorities. The National Healthcare Quality 2007 Report shows that quality is improving but that the rate of improvement is declining.
Access National Health Disparities 2007 Report in .pdf.
Access National Healthcare Quality Report for 2007.

Mental Health Parity Act Passes as Part of Bailout Bill
October 9, 2008. When Congress passed and the president signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, H.R. 1424, they also included the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. The legislators chose to use that bill for a variety of procedural reasons to be the vehicle to carry the bailout package. That is why the mental health legislation is actually buried in Subtitle B, of Title V, of Division C of the new legislation which now carries the proper designation of P.L. 110-343. The easy way to find it is to click on the link below and then use you Adobe search tool and type in mental health. It will get you to the mental health parity part.
Access P.L. 110-343.

GAO Reports Major Gaps in Dental Care for Children
September 24, 2008. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report entitled "Extent of Dental Disease in Children Has Not Decreased, and Millions Are Estimated to Have Untreated Tooth Decay" which indicates a serious lack of dental care particularly for children not covered by private insurance. "Nationally representative data from the 2004 through 2c005 MEPS survey -- which asks participants about the receipt of dental care for household members -- indicate that only one in three children in Medicaid ages 2 through 18 had received dental care in the year prior to the survey. Similarly, about one in eight children reportedly never sees a dentist. More than half of children with private health insurance, by contrast, has received dental care in the prior year. Children in Medicaid also fared poorly when compared to national benchmarks, as the percentage of children in Medicaid who received any dental care -- 37 percent -- was far below the Healthy People 2010 target of having 66 percent of low-income children under age 19 receive a preventive dental service." Report summary, p. 1.
Access the report.

Congress Passes the ADA Amendments Act of 2008
September 19, 2008. Congress has passed and President Bush has promised to sign S3406, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. The legislation was designed to reverse a number of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that limited eligibility for Americans with Disabilities Act protections and a variety of other purposes.
Read S. 3406 as approved by the House and Senate.

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 Becomes Law
August 28, 2008. Congress has enacted and the president has signed H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 which is now P.L. 110-314. The new statute responds to broad criticism of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the fact that the agency lacked authority and resources to do its work. The criticism and congressional investigations followed revelations of numerous toys and other children's products that were imported into the U.S. from China with high lead levels. The new legislation not only reauthorizes the CPSC and makes changes to the commission's authority and operations, but Title I of the act, entitled Children's Product Safety also specifically addresses a range of issues concerning toys and other products designed for children, including "Children's products containing lead; lead paint rule; Mandatory third party testing for certain children's products; Tracking labels for children's product; Standards and consumer registration of durable nursery products; Labeling requirements for advertising toys and games; Mandatory toy safety standards; Study of preventable injuries and dealths in minority children related to consumer products; and Prohibition on sale of certain products containing specified phthalates."
Read H.R. 4040.

Inspector General Finds that Its Contractor Found that a HHS Contractor Missed Errors
August 26, 2008. The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a report assessing error rates in inappropriate payments for durable medical equipment in which it found inappropriate payments by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In addition to the substantive findings, it is interesting to note that the Inspector General hired its own contractor to assess the work of the contractor hired by CMS to check for errors in CMS payment programs. The HHS IG concluded that "Based on the 20 errors that both the CERT contractor and KePRO found and the additional 73 errors that KePRO found, we estimated that the error rate in the FY 2006 CERT DME sample was 28.9 percent." Id., p. 2. For further information and link to the HHS IG report see the Public Contract Management page of this website.

GAO Examines Transition Issues for Young Adults with Mental Illness
June 30, 2008. The U.S. Government Accountability office has issued a report on transition challenges for young adults with serious mental illness entitled Young Adults with Serious Mental Illness: Some States and Federal Agencies Are Taking Steps to Address Their Transition Challenges. The report looked into programs in four states and the federal government designed to address the special needs of these young adults.
    The GAO study published in 2006 is still an interesting and useful document in its own right in discussing challenges of coordination of transition services at the state and federal levels. That report stemmed from a conference convened by GAO to examine challenges in transitions for youth with disabilities to work or postsecondary education at the state and local level which used California as a case study.
   Access June 2008 GAO report on transition and serious mental illness.
    Read the GAO 2006 Transition Report.

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 Signed Into Law
May 28, 2008. Congress has passed and the president has signed H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. One title of the act addresses discrimination by insurance companies on the basis of genetic information and the other major title deals with disrimination by employers based on genetic information about employees.
Access H.R. 493.

Oregon LEND Program Multilingual Resources on Disabilities Page
May 28, 2008. Trainees in the Oregon LEND (Leadership Education for Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) program have created a multilingual web resource on disabilities and development.
Access the LEND site.

D.C. Circuit Strikes Rules that U.S. Paper Currency Violates the Rehabilitation Act
May 20, 2008, 2008. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has ruled that the current manner in which U.S. paper money violates Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The panel ruling rejects the position of the Department of the Treasury that the fact that all bills are the same size does not violate the statute because of the difficulties faced by blind or severely visually impaired persons in using the money. Even if it does, Treasury argued, the judiciary should limit its response because of the costs and burdens imposed in changing the paper currency. However, the D.C. Circuit panel rejected both arguments.
Access the opinion.

Legislation Introduced to Increase Regulation of Human Growth Hormone
March, 2008. Following on recent publicity about the abuse of human growth hormone, legislation has been introduced to add this drug to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The legislation was introduced by Representative Stephen Lynch (D, MA). The House Government Oversight Committee, Chaired by Henry Waxman (D, CA), held hearings in February on the "Myths and Facts about Human Growth Hormone, B-12, and Other Substances. These hearings are also related to other hearings on the use of performance enhancing substances in sports. The proposed legislation and the video or transcripts of the February hearing are provided below.
Access H.R. 4911.
Access House Oversight Committee Hearing.

FDA Publishes Guidance on Publicity by Drug Companies of Off-Label Uses of Drugs
February 16, 2008. The Food and Drug Administration has published a proposed new guidance document on the ways in which drug companies can use reprints from existing journal articles to promote off-label uses of currently licensed drugs. The FDA accounced this proposed guidance on its website on February 15, but publication is still pending in the Federal Register.
   Read the Press Release.
   Read the Proposed Guidance in the Federal Register.
   Read the Proposed Guidance as published on the FDA website.

Administration Medicaid Rule to Eliminate Key Reimbursable Expenses to Schools for Children Disabilities
February 3, 2008. The administration has issued a final rule that prohibits reimbursements to school districts for special transportation for children with special needs, the costs of enrollment of those children in Medicaid and related programs, and for service coordination. The rule was to go into effect in February but Congress placed a moratorium on it until June. Action is also being taken in Congress to invoke the Congressional Review Act, but the joint resolution required by that legislation to block the rule faces a veto threat.
Read the Medicaid final rule.

Study Points to Genetic Findings on Chromosome 16 and Autism
January 10, 2008. The New England Journal of Medicine has published online an article by researchers for the Autism Consortium. The article entitled, "Association between Microdeletion and Microduplication at 16p11.2 and Autism," by Lauren A. Weiss and colleagues, presents findings about a relationship between some persons with autism and a Chromosome 16 issue.
Access the article.

Oregon Supreme Court Rules on OHSU Liability Cap
January 8, 2008. The Oregon Supreme Court has issued its long awaited ruling in the case testing the validity of the Oregon Tort Claims Act liability cap asserted by Oregon Health Science University. The provision was challenged under Article I, Section 10 of the state constitution. For more information a link to the opinion, click on the Oregon page of this website.

Head Start Program Reauthorized
December 13, 2007. The Congress has passed and the president has signed the "Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007," H.R. 1429. The president praised the fact that the bill "increased competition among Head Start providers, improved coordination of early childhood delivery systems, and stronger educational performance standards." He was not happy that it authorized more funds and that it did not provide for faith-based provider hiring autonomy.
. Access H.R. 1429.
Access the President's statement on signing H.R. 1429.

Congress and President at Deadlock Over Health Spending Continues
December 13, 2007. President Bush has vetoed H.R. 3963, the "Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 which is the latest effort by Congress to reauthorize the SCHIP program. The last effort, H.R. 3043, the "Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations, 2008" was vetoed by President Bush in November. At this point the relevant agencies are operating under continuing resolutions. At this point it is not clear whether the administration and congressional leaders will resolve this matter through negotiations or whether there will be an omnibus spending bill adopted later. The following links take the teader to the both versions of the legislation as they passed both houses of the Congress and to the veto messages issued by President Bush.
   . Access H.R. 3963.
   . Access the President's veto message on H.R. 3963.
   . Access H.R. 3043.
   . Access the President's veto message.

Urban Indian Health Commission and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Issue Report "Invisible Tribes" Report
December 5, 2007. The Urban Indian Health Commission has issued a report entitled Invisible Tribes: Urban Indians and Their Health in a Changing World. With chapter on "A Population in Crisis; Urban Indian access to Health Care; Challenges in data Collection; Depression among Urban Indians; Type 2 diabetes among Urban Indians; Cardiovascular disease among Urban Indians; and Models of success, the report offers a variety of findings regarding a population often ignored in discussions of health disparities.
Access the Report

National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study Published
November 29, 2007. The National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study was published in 2007. The study, entitled Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and their Families: Participants, Services, and Outcomes, tracked 3,338 children who entered early intervention between September 1997 and November 1998. The study identifies the key questions for the study as follows: "Who are the children and families receiving EI services? What EI services do participating children and families receive? What are the costs of the EI services? What outcomes do participating children and families experience? How do outcomes relate to variations in child and family characteristics and services received?" The study was funded by the Office of Special Education Programs of the U.S. Department of Education and conducted by SRI International in collaboration with the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, RTI International, and the American Institutes for Research. SRI International.
. Access the NEILS Report.
. Access the NEILS Website.

GAO Issues Report on VA Health Care Contracting
October 31, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee entitled "VA Health Care: Status of Inspector General Recommendations for Health Care Services Contracting." The report examines the recommendations made by the VA Inspector General for fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006. For more information and a link to the report see the Public Contracting Management page of this website.

National Academy Releases PTSD Report
October 19, 2007. The Committee on Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder of the National Academy, Institute of Medicine's Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice has issued a report entitled Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Assessment of the Evidence. The report, requested by the Veterans Administration, assesses existing evidence on treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome in the wake of national debate on services available to returning veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
. Access the PTSD report.

Government Accountability Office Publishes Study of Pediatric Drug Research
October 19, 2007. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has published a study of the experience thus far under the 2002 Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act. The legislation was enacted because of the fact that most drugs prescribed for children were only tested on adults.
. Access the GAO report.

President Vetoes SCHIP Reauthorization Act
October 3, 2007. President Bush has vetoed the SCHIP reauthorization bill H.R. 976. He asserted in part that: "If this bill were enacted, one out of every three children moving onto government coverage would be moving from private coverage." He also claimed that the bill would not produce enough revenue to support the expanded coverage of SCHIP.
. Read the president's veto message.
. Read H.R. 976.

GAO Provides Report on Federal Global Health -- Infectious Disease Surveillance Programs
October 4, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the operation of the four major U.S. global health -- infectious disease surveillance programs, including Global Disease Detection (CDC); the Field Epidemiology Training Programs (CDC, USAID); Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (WHO's Regional Office for Africa with CDC and USAID); Globale Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (DOD) .
. Access the GAO Global Health report.

Administration Adds Restrictions to State Expansion of SCHIP Eligibility
August 21, 2007. Dennis G. Smith, Director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations, issued a letter to state directors of State Childrens' Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) that places conditions on the discretion of the states to increase SCHIP coverage over 250 percent of the poverty level that includes requirements for proof that those covered have been uninsured for at least a year and that "Monitoring and verification must include information regarding coverage provided by a noncustorial parent." (See letter p. 2.) The letter also requires the states to provide "Assurance that the State has enrolled at least 95 percent of the children in the State below 200 percent of the FPL who are eligible for either SCHIP or Medicaid (including a description of the steps the State takes to enroll these eligible children." It also mandates "Assurance that the number of children in the target population insured through private employers has not decreased by more than two percentage points over the prior five year period." (Id.) These actions are explained in the letter by the administration's efforts to avoid "crowd out" actions in which public coverage is allegedly crowds out private alternatives. (NOTE: This file loads slowly even on a high speed system.)
. Read the letter.

U.S. Government Accountability Office Holds Forum on Moderning Federal Disability Policy
August 13, 2007. The U.S. GAO has published the highlights of a forum entitled "Moderning Federal Disability Policy" that was convened in April of this year and involved representatives of some twenty federal agencies operating programs concerned with persons with disabilities.
. Read the GAO Forum HIghlights.

Federal Appeals Court Rejects Demands by Terminal Patients for Access to Research Drugs
August 8, 2007. A panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected a challenge to the Food and Drug Administrations restrictions on experimental drugs where those seeking the medications are under a terminal diagnosis. In affirming the district court ruling, the D.C. Circuit panel concluded: "that there is no fundamental right 'deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition' of access to experimental drugs for the terminally ill." The challenges had argued that there is such a right and that it is protected by the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.
. Read the Abigail Alliance v. von Eschenbach.

Ongoing Charges by Former Surgeon General Include Blocked Global Health Report
July 29, 2007. Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona testified earlier in July before a House committee concerning political interference in the operation of his office, including allegations of efforts to block presentation of medically significant information on political grounds by political appointees without expertise in the field. One of the specific examples was a 2006 draft "Surgeon General's Call to Action on Global Health." That draft report has now been made available via the Washington Post website.
. Read the Draft 2006 Global Health Report via the WashingtonPost site.

GAO Finds Loss of Coverage for Patients Believed Qualified Under Citizenship or Immigration Status Proof Requirements
July 29, 2007. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report finding that significant numbers of persons whom the state governments considered should have been eligible under the proof of citizenship of immigration status requirements imposed on Medicaid by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 could not receive benefits because of problems of proof and implementation issues. States reported significantly increased costs and difficulties with particularly burdensome requirements of the statute and implementing regulations such as the requirements "(1) that documents must be originals and (2) the list of acceptable documents was complex and did not allow for exceptions."
. Read the GAO Report.

Oregon and Other State Education Departments Develop New IDEA Rules Based on New U.S. Department of Education Regulations.
May 17, 2007.Oregon and other state education departments are completing rulemaking processes to put in place new rules, following the issuance in August of 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education of final regulations implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004.
    Access the U.S. Department of Education IDEA regulations.
    Access the 2004 IDEA Legislation.
    Access the Oregon Department of Education IDEA page Regarding Rulemaking.
    Read Oregon Proposed IDEA Rules.
    Read Oregon IDEA Rules "Hot Topics."

GAO Finds More Work Still Needed on FDA Postmarket Drug Assessments
May 10, 2007. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has issued the second in a series of reports on improvements needed in the Food and Drug Administrations processes for postmarket assessment of drugs. While the report finds progress underway in three areas of its previous recommendations, there is still work to be done as well as a need for careful implementation of the recent initiatives at the regulatory agency.
Read the GAO Report.

Report Finds One in Five Latinos in the U.S. Faces Food Insecurity
December 20, 2006. The National Council of La Raza has issued a report entitled Sin Provecho: Latinos and Food Insecurity. Among the conclusions reached by the report is the finding that: "Nearly one in five Latinoes (19.6%) faces food insecurity each year, which compromises their health and well-being. If the trends of food insecurity within the Latino community persist, the impact of insufficient nutrition will greatly increase the risk that the next generation will become even less healthy." p. iii.
Read full report.
Read the executive summary.

Senator Wyden Proposes National Health Care Policy
December 14, 2006. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) has announced a broad new national health policy proposal that he has entitled the Healthy Americans Act to be introduced in the new Congress. In announcing the proposal, Wyden indicated that the plan will "guarantees private health care coverage that cannot be taken away for all Americans; provides benefits for all Americans equal to those of Members of Congress; provides incentives for individuals and insurers to focus on prevention, wellness and disease management; provides tough cost containment and saves $1.48 trillion over 10 years; and is fully paid for by spending the $2.2 trillion currently spent on health care in America." Press Release at URL below.
   Read the press release.
   Read the "Cost and Coverage Estimates" for the Wyden proposal.
   Read the Full Text of the proposed Healthy Americans Act
   Read a "Section by section explanation of the legislation."

Oregon Senate Interim Commission on Health Care Access and Affordability Announces Plan to Introduce a Comprehensive Health Plan for the State in the Upcoming Legislative Session
December 14, 2006. The Senate Interim Commission on Health Care Access and Affordability created by Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney held a news conference recently to announce a plan for a comprehensive health care program for the state. A formal report has not yet been issued, but members of the commission announced that a bill would be forthcoming in time for the upcoming state legislative session.
Read Senator Courtney's Release at Creation of the Interim Commission.
Read the Portland Oregonian article announcing the Commission's proposal.

Institute of Medicine "Future of Drug Safety" Report Challenges Food & Drug Administration Practice
September 23, 2006. The Institute of Medicine is releasing a study entitled the "Future of Drug Safety: Promoting and Protecting the Health of the Public" that criticizes the Food & Drug Administration's drug oversight activities. This report follows on a lengthy period of criticism of FDA practices that has been intensified as a number of high visibility lawsuits have suggested a series of issues first with the licensing of drugs, but later and more particularly with the lack of monitoring of evidence showing serious problems in previously licensed drugs. As the executive summary of the report indicates; "In response to growing public concern with health risks posed by approved drugs, the FDA had requested that the IOM concene an ad hoc committee of experts to conduct an independent assessment of the current system for evaluating and ensuring drug safety postmarketing and make recommendations to improve risk assessment, surveillance, and the safe use of drugs." Executive Summar, S-3. The study was done at the request of the FDA Acting Commissioner. The study group was called the "Committee on the Assessment of the U.S. Drug Safety System." The executive summary of the report is available in a standard pdf format while the full report is only available at present for purchase on the IOM website. However, it can be read chapter by chapter without charge on the site. The Committee has also published online a report brief entitled ""The Future of Drug Safety: Action Steps for Congress."
   Read the executive summary of the Institute of Medicine Report.
   Read the report brief "Action Steps for Congress."
   Read the full Institute of Medicine Report Chapter by Chapter.
   Read the FDA Acting Commissioner's Press Release in Response to the IOM Study.

U.S. Department of Education Inspector General Issues Report Critical of the Department's Administration of the "Reading First" Program
September 24, 2006. The Department of Education Inspector General has issued a report sharply critical of the administration of the "Reading First" program. Among other things, the IG found that the program's administrators "Developed an application package that obscured the requirements of the statute; Took action with respect to expert review panel process that was contrary to the balanced panel composition envisioned by Congress; Intervened to release an assessment review document without the permission of the entity that contracted for its development; Intervened to influence a State's selection of reading programs; and Intervened to influence reading programs being used by local educational agencies (LESs) after the application process was completed. These actions demonstrate that the program officials failed to maintain a control environment that exemplifies management integrity and accountability." The Reading First Program's Grant Application Process: Final Inspect Report at 2.
Read the IG Report.

GAO Reports Vulnerabilities in Medicare and Medicaid Data Networks
September 6, 2006.The Government Accountability Office has issued an additional report on vulnerabilities in data communications networks for Medicare and Medicaid both with respect to the agencies themselves and contractors. This comes as these agencies are seeking to increase networked operations.
Read the GAO Report.

Federal Report Identifies Concerns with Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare contractors Outsourcing to Offshore Operations Involving Health Care Records
September 6, 2006.The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on the fact that many of these programs have outsourced services with organizations that, in turn, have outsourced some aspects of their work to offshore firms such that health care records are placed at risk for breaches of privacy. The report is entitled, Privacy: Domestic and Offshore Outsourcing of Personal Information in Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE. The GAO then notes that: "In responding to our survey, over 40 percent of the federal contractors and state Medicated agencies reported that they experienced a recent privacy breach involving personal health information. By survey group, 47 percent of Medicare Advantage contractors reported privacy breaches with the past 2 years, as did 44 percent of Medical agencies, 42 percent of Medicare FFS contractors, and 38 percent of TRICARE contractors." (p. 5.)
Read the GAO Report.

GAO Issues Report on Implementation of National Health IT Policy
September 1, 2006.The Government Accountability Office has issued its latest report on progress toward implementation of the National Health IT policy which is a priority of the Bush administration. The report finds that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and HHS have made progres and have awared contracts in five areas of the policy effort: "(1) defining certification criteria for and certifying electronic health records, (2) identifying interoperability standards to facilitate the exchange of patient data, (3) defining requirements for the development of prototypes for the Nationwide Health Information Network, (4) addressing privacy and security issues associated with the nationwide exchange of health information, and (5) taking steps to integrate public health into a nationwide health information exchange." (Health Information Technology, p. 2)
Read the GAO Health IT Report.

Oregon Department of Human Services Issues Medicaid Citizenship Verification Policy
August 8, 2006. The Oregon Department of Human Service has issued policy guidance to Medicaid services as to the way in which the citizenship verification requirements of the Deficit Reduction Act will be implemented in the state beginning on September 1, 2006. (CAF -- Children, Adults, and Families] [SPD Seniors and People with Disabilities]
    "CAF Child Welfare Policy and Procedures."
    "CAF Self-Sufficiency Policy and Procedures".
    "SPD Policy and Procedures."
    " Process Flow Chart."
    "Questions and answers."

GAO points to a Need for Coordination in Federal Autism Program Activities
August 8, 2006. The Government Accountability Office has published a report on federal autism programs in which is indicates that there a number of useful programs and increased resources to support them operated by such federal agencies as HHS, the Department of Education, CDC, and NIH. However, GAO also contends that more effective coordination is needed among those agencies, nothwithstanding the fact that interagencies committees already exist. The DOEd and HHS disagree with GAO's assessment, but the report provides an interesting study of coordination issues in this complex field.
Read the GAO Federal Autism Activities Report.

New Medicaid Proof of Citizenship Requirements Go Into Effect July 1
June 30, 2006. The new policy requirement poof of citizenship to obtain Medicaid benefits goes into effect on July 1, presenting a wide variety of challenges to service providers and state agencies. These requirements originated with the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) P.L. 109-171, actually passed earlier this year. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has posted policy guidance and related materials for those who must participate in implementing the new law. In particular, CMS has issued a June 9 policy letter to state Medicaid directors that specifies the requirements and the acceptable forms of identification and a "fact shee" to add further explanations. A reading of the policy guidance letter and examination of the charts provided in it provides and indication of some of the many complexities that will be involved in implementing the law.
    Access the citizenship requirement portion of the Deficit Reduction Act
    Access the CMS Guidance Letter of June 9, 2006 explaining the policy.
    Access the CMS Fact Sheet on the citizenship identification policy.

U.S. GAO Publishes Report on Transition from Secondary School to Work or Postsecondary Education for Youth with Disabilities
June 22, 2006. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has published a report on findings and recommendations from a conference convened by GAO to examine challenges in transitions for youth with disabilities to work or postsecondary education at the state and local level. The conference was held in San Francisco and used California as a case study. "First, they noted that the education system as they experience it in California does not provide adequate training in vocational and life skills or transition preparation for students with disabilities. While acknowledging the importance of academic studies, the panelists noted that for those youths who will not pursue postsecondary education, there are few vocational programs in high school and inadequate time during school to study vocationald and life skills. Second, panelists indicated that lack of coordination and differences in program structure between organizations responsible for assisting these youths hind the seamless provision of services." p. 3 The brief report (only 27 pgs) was prepared for the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce as well as the House Rules Committee.
Read the GAO Transition Report.

Institute of Medicine Issues Reports Finding the Nation's Emergency Room Care In Critical Condition
June 14, 2006. The Institute of Medicine has issued three reports on the dramatically stressed condition of the nation's emergency medical services. These reports were produced by the Committee on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System created by the Institute in 2003. While the first of the reports has drawn considerable media attention, the reports are best understood together. The third report specifically addresses emergency services for children and considers "The role of pediatric emergency services as an integrated component of the overall health system; System-wide pediatric emergency care planning, preparedness, coordination, and funding; Pediatric training in professional education; and Research in pediatric emergency care."
    Access the "Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point" Report.
    Access the "Emergency Medical Services At the Crossroads" Report.
    Access the "Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains" Report.

"Lessons Learned for Protecting and Educating Children after the Gulf Coast Hurricanes"
May 11, 2006. The Government Accountability Office has issued a report on concerning the lessons that were learned about protecting children from the experiences of the Hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast in the fall of 2005. This brief report provides a number of thought-provoking findings such as: (1) the four states hit by the hurricanes had high rates of children in poverty, ranging from 20.5% to 27%; (2)2,000 of Louisiana's foster children were displaced by the hurricanes of whom 370 were displaced outside the state; (3) 900 employees of the Louisiana Deparment ot Social Services were diverted to emergency shelters for five weeks and only then were able to return to full-time child welfare assignments; and (3) 29 Louisiana schools "were destroyed and half of the state's schools were damaged" while for Mississippi "29 schools were destroyed."
Read the GAO Report.

CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Releases Autism Report
May 5, 2006. The CDC has released its MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) which provides results of recents studies on autism entitled "Parent-Reported Estimates of Autism Prevalence." The report was released in a webcast yesterday. The CDC Autism Research Fact Sheet notes that: This study presents parent-reported data from two national surveys. Estimates of diagnosed autism were 5.7 per 1,000 school-aged children from the National Health Interview Survey and 5.5 per 1,000 school-aged children from the National Survey of Children's Health. Together, these two national surveys of parents suggest that at least 300,000 school-aged children had autism in 2003-04." (Autism Research Fact Sheet, p. 1)
    MMW Report for May 5 containing the Autism Study.
    Read the Autism Research Fact Sheet.
    Read the Fact Sheet: MMWR -- Parental Report of Diagnosed Autism in Children Aged 4-17 Years, United States, 2003-2004"

GAO Report Raises Questions About the Role of Infant Formula Advertising in Level of Breastfeeding for Mothers in the WIC Program and Those Who Are Not
Fenruary 9, 2006. The Government Accountability Office has issued a PowerPoint report to Congress considering several questions raised recently regarding the relationship between rates of breastfeeding as encouraged by Healthy People 2010 and the marketing of infant formula. Specifically the study considered: "(1) What are the estimated breastfeeding rates for infants in the general population and for infants on WIC, and how do these rates compare to recommended breastfeeding rates? (2) How is infant formulat market to women in general and to women on WIC in particular? (3) What is known about the impact of infant fomular marketing on the breastfeeding rates of women in the general population and women on WIC?" (p.2)
Read the GAO Report.

Government Accountability Office Report Raises Concerns About Lack of Testing to Protect Against Children's Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water
January 26, 2006. After elevated levels of lead were found in the drinking water in Washington, D.C., Congress asked he U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to do a national study to determine whether there were risks that children might be exposed to lead in their drinking water. The GAO has published a report calling upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to do more to ensure protection against such exposures, particularly with respect to schools and day care facilities. While the GAO found that the EPA reported progress in eliminating lead from drinking water over the years, there had been little reporting of any systematic test results from the states to the federal regulator. "On the basis of the limited data available, it appears that few schools and child care facilities have tested their water for lead, either in response to the Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 or as part of their current operating practices. In addition, no focal point exists at either the national or state level to collect and analyze test results. Thus, the pervasiveness of lead contamination in the drinking water at schools and child care facilities -- and the need for more concerted action -- is unclear." Highlights, p. 1.
Read the GAO Report.

U.S. Supreme Court Decides Two Important Health Care Related Cases
January 20, 2006. The U.S. Supreme Court has handed down rulings in two recent cases that are important for health care. The first opinion rejected the claims by the U.S. Attorney General to authority under the Controlled Substances Act to block the Oregon Death With Dignity act. The second recognized the challenge to the New Hampshire parental notification law in abortion cases because it lacked exceptions for situations involving serious health risks to the patient, but narrowed the authority of courts in fashioning a remedy for that problem which struck down the entire statute.
Read the Opinion in the New Hampshire Case.
Read the Death with Dignity Opinion.

Government Accountability Office Releases Study on the Implementation at the State Level of the Family, Infant, Toddler Program with Oregon as a Primary Research Site
December 14, 2005. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released a study on the implementation of the Family, Infant, Toddler program, Part C of IDEA, at the state level with attention to variations among states and also attention to transitions from FIT program to the Part B program in schools. While the study draws on nation-wide data, it is primarily based on on-site studies in seven states of which Oregon was one. The study provides a good deal of useful descriptive information on FIT as well as interesting comparisons of differences in program operation across states. "GAO recommends that Education provide states with additional guidance on transition planning and services, especially for children who would enter Part B during the summer." Summary, p. 1.
Read the GAO Study.

NIH Announces Study Challenging Presumed Unwillingness of Minorities to Participate in Health Studies
December 6, 2005. The NIH has just announced that a group of researchers, David Wendler, Raynard Kington, Jennifer Madans, Gretchen Van Wye, Heidi Christ-Schmidt, Laura A. Pratt, Otis W. Brawley, Cary P. Gross, and Ezekiel Emmanuel has published a study entitled: "Are Racial and Ethnic Minoriies Less Willing to Participate in Health Research?" in the on-line journal PlosMedicine which concludes: "These findings . . . suggest that racial and ethnic minorities in the US are as willing as non-Hispanic whites to participate in health research. Hence, efforts to increase minority participation in health research should focus on ensuring access to health research for all groups, rather than changing minority attitudes." p. 1.
Access the article in pdf format.
Access the article in html.

U.S. Supreme Court Rules that the Burden of Proof in IDEA Hearings Rests on the Family Challenging an IEP
November 14, 2005. Writing for the majority in Shaffer v. Weast Docket No. 04-698, Justice Sandra O'Connor rejected a call by parents that the burden of proof in a due process hearing challenging the adequacy of an Individual Education Plan under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) should be on the school district. Justices Breyer and Ginsburg dissented.
Read the Schaffer v. Weast Opinion.

U.S. Education Departmet Issues Guidance on New or Changed Elements in Reauthorized IDEA.
October 13, 2005. The U.S. Department of Special Education Office of Special Education Programs has published guidancde materials on processes and requirements that have changed under the provisions of the reauthorized IDEA enacted last December (see item below on New IDEA rules). They are relatively brief documents and do not provide the full language of the statute or the rules, but indicate the agency's understanding of new directions. There are a variety of items here that are very new and will likely surprise those who have been involved with IDEA programs in one way or another previously. One of the key features of the new approach by the DOE is to integrate IDEA implementation with the No Child Left Behind initiatives.
   "Alignment with the No Child Left Behind Act" Read the Document.
   "Changes in Initial Evaluation and Reevaluation" Read the Document.
   "Children Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools" Read the Document.
   "Discipline" Read the Document.
   "Disproportionality and Overidentification" Read the Document.
   "Early Intervening Services" Read the Document.
   "Highly Qualified Teachers" Read the Document.
   "Individualized Education Program (IEP), Team Meetings and Changes to the IEP" Read the Document.
   "Individualized Education Program (IEP)" Read the Document.
   "Local Funding" Read the Document.
   "National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS)" Read the Document.
   "Part C Amendments in IDEA 2004" Read the Document.
   "Part C Option: Age 3 to Kindergarten Age" Read the Document.
   "Procedural Safeguards: Surrogates, Notice and Consent" Read the Document.
   "Procedural Safeguards: Mediation and Resolution Sessions" Read the Document.
   "Procedural Safeguards: Due Process Hearings" Read the Document.
   "Secondary Transition" Read the Document.
   "State Funding"
   Read the Document.
   "Statewide and Districtwide Assessments" Read the Document.

U.S. Department of Education Has Already Opened and Closed Opportunities for Input on New IDEA rules.
October 6, 2005. The U.S. Department of Education published notice of proposed rulemaking for rules to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), reauthorized by Congress late last fall, on June 21, 2005 in the Federal Register. It then set a closing date for comments and participation of September 6, less than 60 days after the publication of the notice. The public meetings that were scheduled to discuss the notice of proposed rulemaking took place in only 7 cities, including D.C. and began on June 17, before the publication, and ended with a meeting in D.C. on July 12, a surprisingly short period for a policymaking action as complex and significant as this one.
   The legislation was signed on December 3, 2004. The agency gave notice on December 29 that it would hold public meetings in January and February about the new law. However, it did not publish its notice of proposed rulemaking until June 21.
   Read the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
   Read the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act of 2004

U.S. Surgeon General Issues Call to Action document to "Improve the Health and Wellness of Persons with Disabilities"
October 6, 2005. The U.S. Surgeon General has issued one of the Call to Action documents sometimes issued by that office. This one focuses on current findings about and strategies for improving the health and wellness of persons with disabilities.
Read the Call to Action document

GAO Reports Health Care Access Problems in the Indian Health Service
October 6, 2005. The Government Accountability Office has reported that there are a number of factors making access to health care difficult for Native Americans, even at Indian Health Service facilities.
Read the GAO report

Disability and Development Policy

U.S. Department of Transportation Publishes a Technical Assistance Manual to Support "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability
July 19, 2005. The U.S. Department of Transportation has published a technical assistance manual to facilitate air travel for persons with disabilities pursuant to the requirements of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act of 2000. The agency does not purport to add any new legally binding requirements in this document, but explains its purpose as facilitative and explanatory. It is intended to assist both carriers and passengers.
Access the Manual

Canadian Supreme Court Raises Complex Questions About the Canadian Health System
June 9, 2005. The Canadian Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a challenge to the operation of the Canadian health care system in Quebec, with important implications for the rest of the country. In the Chaoulli v. Quebec (Attorney General), 2005 SCC 35, case the Court struck provincial legislation that presented barriers to private health insurance in Quebec citing the waiting times for necessary surgical procedures and the infringement of rights to life and security under the provincial and national charters. The ruling has already sparked a nation-wide debate as to the future of the Canadian health care system and the ongoing argument about a two tier option, and this ahead of a promised election sometime late next fall or winter.
Read the Opinion

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Reauthorized
After a prolonged process (and well after the anticipated date) Congress has enacted and the president has signed the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, reauthorizing the Individuals With Disabilities Act.
Read P.L. 108-446
Read President Bush's Statement on Signing the IDEA reauthorization act.

Budget and Finance

White House Announces FY2009 Budget Proposal
February 4, 2008. The president has presented his FY2009 Budget proposal to Congress.
   The President and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget have once again indicated that there are 151 programs that have been marked for elimination or serious reduction which the White House asserts will save $18 billion ("Overview of the President's 2009 Budget, p. 7"). The OMB has not yet released a "major savings and reforms" document as it did the last three years. In the past program major cuts cuts or eliminations were explained in terms of performance ratings from the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) process. The OMB summary spreadsheet listing the ratings for all programs is also provided below.
    The OMB has a website that provides more complete and detailed information on PART assessments for agencies and programs. Entitled ExpectMore.gov, the site provides listings of programs that are "performing," programs that are described as "not performing -- which includes both those rated as "ineffective" and those listed as "results not determined." CAUTION In order to understand the ratings, it is essential not to stop with the summary assessment, but to drill down into the actual rating document for any given program, the links to which are provided on the ExpectMore.gov page.
    Because there is usually a great deal of interest, the page normally provides links to the expanded budget summaries for the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and links to those documents are provided below.
    Access Full Budget Documents.
    Analytical Perspectives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2009.
   Access the Major Savings and Reforms Document for FY09.
    Access OMB PART Summary Ratings by Program.
    Access ExpectMore.gov for Detailed PART Assessments.
   Access the U.S. Department of Education, Fiscal Year 200 Budget Summary and Background Information TBA.
   Access the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Fiscal Year 2009 Budget-in-Brief. TBA

Disability Law

Americans with Disabilities Act
U.S. Department of Justice ADA page provides a great deal of information on the act and regulation.
Access the DOJ page on the Americans with Disabilities Act
Read the ADA

Individuals with Disability Education Act
Read the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act of 2004

The Developmental Disabilities Assistanceand Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act)
Read the DD Act

Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Read the Act.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a website with a range of resources on HIPAA law, regulations and guidance documents.
    Access the HHS website on HIPAA
    Access the HIPAA
    Read the HIPAA Regulatons.

Constitution of the United States
Access the U.S. Constitution via Cornell Legal Education Insittute.

Executive Orders
   Executive Order 13160 To Prohibit discrimination because of "Race, Sex, Color, National Origin, Disability, Religion, Age, Sexual Orientation, and Status as a Parent in Federally Conducted Education and Training Programs"
   Read EO 13160.
   Executive Order 13145 [.pdf format] To Prohibit Discrimination in Federal Employment Based on Genetic Information
   Read EO 13145
   Executive Order 13166 Required Access to Federally Funded Programs for Persons With Limited English Proficiency
   Read EO 13166

Cultural Competency and Equity Issues in Disability and Development Policy

Oregon LEND, OIDD, and CDRC Provide Multi-Lingual Web Resources Site for Disabilities Questions
The Oregon Leadership Education for Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND), the Oregon Institute on Disability and Development, and the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center of Oregon Health Sciences University have provided a website that features multilingual resources that provide information on a wide range of disabilities.
Access the multilingual resources page.

National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care
    The national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services in health care were developed and explained in detail in the Final Report: National Standards for Culturally and LinguisticallyAppropriate Services in Health Care issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesOffice of Minority Health in March 2001. (Note: it is easiest to download the file and then open it offline.} The standards themselves are provided on the website of the Office of Minority Health.
   Access the CLAS Standards National Standards for Culturally and LinguisticallyAppropriate Services in Health Care.
   Access the Final Report.
   Access the Oficina de Salud de law Minor�as en espa�ol.

Addressing Language Access Issues in Your Pratice: A Toolkit for Physicians and Their Staff Members, from the California Academy of Family Physicians
   The California Academy of Family Physicians has created a website to assist clinicians in understanding and addressing issues of culturally competent care. Part of that site is a "toolkit" for dealing with language issues in practice and also a document offered by Molina HealthCare and the California Academy on the problems of medical jargon and the difficulties that poses for clear communications.
    Access the Multicultural Health Site.
    Access the California Medical Leadership Council on Cultural Proficiency site.
    Access the Toolkit.
    Access Medical Jargon & Clear Communication.

National Center for Cultural Competency
   Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (one of the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities See AUCD below under Professional Associations and Family Support Organizations)).
   Access the National Center for Cultural Competency Site.
   Access the National Center for Cultural Competency Site, en espanol Language.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Cultural Competence Resources for Health Care Providers
    Access the HRSA Cultural Competency Site.
    Access the HRSA "Indicators of Cultural Competence in Health Care Delivery Organizations: An Organizational Cultural Competence Assessment Profile."
    Access the HRSA "And the Journey Continues... Achieving Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Systems Serving Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs and their Families."

Oregon LEND (Leadership Education for Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) Multilingual Resources on Disabilities Page
Access the LEND site.

Medline
Medline en espa�ol.
Medline in English.

KidsHealth.org for "Parents"
KidsHealth.org en espa�ol.
KidsHealth.org in English.

MCHB Maternal and Child Health Bureau
MCHB Health Resources en espa�ol.
MCHB Health Resources in English.

Oregon Health Sciences University Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology
OHSU CROET
Recursos en espa�ol

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Resources/Publications
Publications
Recursos en espa�ol

National Council on Disabilities Studies and Resources for Native American Communities
    Access the 2004 Summary of the Native American Forum: "Disability Matters in Tribal Communities".
    People with Disabilities on Tribal Land: Education, Health Care. Vocational Rehabilitation, and Independent Living.
    Understanding Disabilities in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities:Toolkit Guide.

Proceedings of the Oregon Cultural Competency Summit
Access the Summit Report

Environmental Health Issues in Disability and Development

University of California at Berkeley Center for Children's Environmental Health Research
US Berkeley Center for Children's Env. Health

Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS)/El Centro de Evaluaci�n de la Salud de las Madres y los Ni�os de Salinas
    CHAMACOS in English
    Educational Materials in English
    CHAMACOS en espa�ol
    Material Educativo en espa�ol

Center for Children's Environmental Health, University of California, Davis
UC Davis Center for Children's Env. Health.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Children's Environmental Health Centers
EPA CEHC

U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Centers for Children's Environmental Health & Disease Prevention Research
    NIEHS Centers Children's Environmental Health & Disease Prevention Research
    NIEHS
    Health & Education Materials
    Kid's Pages

Oregon Health Sciences University Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology
OHSU CROET
Recursos en espa�ol

U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Environmental Health
    CDC Environmental Health Website
    CDC en espa�ol
    National Agricultural Safety site
    Recursos en espa�ol
    Health & Education Materials

U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry
ATSDR
STSDR en espa�ol

"Toxic Children 2006" Report Issued Causing Concern and Rapid Official Response in Canada"
June 2, 2006. A Canadian environmental group issued a report this week entitled "Polluted Children, Toxic Nation: A Report on Pollution in Canadian Families (2006)." It reported the results of a study carried out to determine the current levels of environmental pollutants in children. Although it was a very small study, the number of chemicals found in these otherwise healthy young people caused alarm and prompted Health Canada to promise that a study would be done next year on 5,000 Canadians. The current study indicated an average of 23 toxic chemicals in the children tested, including PCBs that had been banned in Canada three decades ago. The release of the findings prompted the Ministers of Health and Environment to agree to participate as subjects in the study.
Read the "Polluted Children Report.

Governmental Bodies in Disability and Development Policy

Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has a number of responsibilities in the area of disabilities. It also provides an online quarterly news source.
    http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/
    Access the "Disability Rights Home Page."
    Access the "Disability Rights Online News."

Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD)
The ADD is part of the Administration for Children & Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/add/

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The AHRQ, among other things, publishes the National Health Care Disparities Report.
AHRQ Home Page.
Access National Health Care Disparities Report 2006.

National Institute of Mental Health
The ADD is part of the Administration for Children & Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/

DisabilityInfo.gov
This site is operated by the president's New Freedom Initiative.
http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/digov-public/public/DisplayPage.do%3fparentFolderId=500

Title V Block Grant Programs for State for Mothers, Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Children with Special Health Needs
Title V programs are administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureas of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs/default.htm

National Council on Disability
http://www.ncd.gov/

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/osep/index.html

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Access the HRSA Site.

Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCH)
http://mchb.hrsa.gov/

Oregon Institute on Disability & Development
The Institute is part of the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center of the Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU).
http://www.ohsu.edu/oidd/

National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
The Center is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/default.htm

State Councils on Developmental Disabilities
These are state councils whose members are appointed by the governors that receive financing through Subtitle B of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (DD Act). The U.S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities explains that: "State Councils pursue systems change (e.g., the way human service agencies do business so that individuals with developmental disabilities and their families have better or expanded services), advocacy (e.g., educating policy makers about unmet needs of individuals with developmental disabilities), and capacity building (e.g., working with state service agencies to provide training and benefits to direct care workers) to promote independence, self-determination, productivity, integration and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life.
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/add/states/ddcs.html

Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities
One of the state councils on developmental disabilities.
http://www.ocdd.org/

Professional Assocations and Family Support Organizations in Disability Policy

Association of University Centers on Disabilities
http://www.aucd.org/

University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDs)
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/add/states/ucedds.html

Family Voices
http://www.familyvoices.org/
Access the Family Voices "Title V Tookkit" for families

The Sibling Support Project
"The Sibling Support Project is a national effort dedicated to the life-long concerns of brothers and sisters of people who have special health, developmental, or mental health concerns."
http://www.siblingsupport.org/

The ARC
"The Arc is the national organization of and for people with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities and their families. It is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for people with mental retardation and their families. The association also fosters research and education regarding the prevention of mental retardation in infants and young children."
http://www.thearc.org/about.htm

Sources on Children and Environmental Health
EnviroHealthAction, operated by Physicians for Social Responsibility.
   http://www.envirohealthaction.org/children
Children's Environmental Health Network.
   http://www.cehn.org/
Children's Health Enviornmental Coalition.
   http://www.checnet.org/

DisabilityCompass.org
Disabilitycompass.org is an information site operated by Disability Navigators, Inc., of Portland, OR. The organizations describes its site as follows: "Disability Compass is a web-based resource center containing disability-related information and referrals. This site has been specifically crafted to serve Oregonians with disabilities and their families."
http://www.disabilitycompass.org/

Disability Policy and Terms Glossary

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Glossary of Terms in Disability, Aging, and Long Term Care
Connect to HHS Glossary