Funding over for Police Response Advocacy Program

By ANDREW NASH The Morning Sun
Posted Jul 01, 2009 @ 11:55 PM

PITTSBURG — .It’s getting harder to provide services through the Police Response Advocacy Program these days.
Funding for the program, which sent advocates out to scenes of domestic violence and sexual assault, lost its grant funding Tuesday.
The program was funded by a $400,000 grant every two years that had been renewed once. However, local officials had recently been informed that the grant would not be renewed and announced that news at Wednesday’s Crawford County Domestic Violence Task Force meeting. The last day of funding for the program was June 30.
Now, the Crisis Resource Center will attempt to take those calls on an on-call basis.

Transcript of Governor Mark Parkinson’s Web Address: Responsible Steps on the Path to Recovery

July 2, 2009 to View the video click the read more icon

Hi this is Governor Mark Parkinson, and today I want to spend some time talking about our very challenging state budget situation that we face here in Kansas.

We’re really in the same situation that every state in the country is in, and that is because state governments, unlike the federal government, have to balance our budgets; we have to end the year with at least some money in the bank, we can’t deficit spend like the federal government can, so it makes it very tough on the states.

The particular challenge that we face right now is our recession, and that is because since the start of 2008, the revenues that come into the state to fund all of the state programs have dropped very sharply; in fact, they dropped so sharply that when we started this year out we had no reserves at all, and when the legislature came into session in January 2009, we actually had to cut about 700 million dollars.

Now, 700 million dollars out of a budget of 5.5 billion dollars is a signifigant amount of cuts. Fortunately, we had bipartisan cooperation with the legislature, and through a combination of using money from the Recovery Act and also by making cuts, we were able to balance the budget.

Cuts may mean end to assistance
By Ray Segebrecht  June 30, 2009 - 11:13pm

Christy Tatum resides at the Topeka Rescue Mission’s Hope Center. She is fighting to keep her MediKan health coverage and the $241 she receives from the General Assistance Program. The support is due to end in November.

Christy Tatum says she makes “at least” 100 phone calls every day in an attempt keep her health care and financial assistance.  

Christy Tatum moved four times in two months and is praying for a fifth move to a place she can really call home.

Doctors have diagnosed Tatum, a Topeka resident, with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Social Security Administration, however, has refused her disability application twice, and she has heard the process to appeal that decision could take years she can’t afford.

Tatum now lives at the Topeka Rescue Mission and receives state aid, but she learned in June that the support — MediKan health coverage and $241 each month in general assistance — will disappear in five months.

SKIL to Welcome National Guests       
Written by Annette Tucker    
Tuesday, 30 June 2009 
Parsons, Ks  -  Two officials from the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living known as APRIL have been visiting the SKIL Resource Center based in Parsons this week. 

SKIL is a member of the national organization based in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  Executive Director, Billy Altom noted that services in urban areas are often closer at hand.  Transportation in rural areas can be an issue in getting to places of employment and also medical services.  Altom was accompanied by Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator, Kathy Hatch, who are sharing information about APRIL and learning about how SKIL offers programs.   More Local SEK News at www.sekinfo.com

Certification for domestic violence programs eyed

By Colleen Surridge Parsons Sun--- www.parsonssun.com

Programs to treat alcoholism and drug abuse can be found all across Kansas, but programs to treat domestic violence offenders are almost nonexistent, despite the arrest reports that line the desks of law enforcement and attorneys across the state.

In fact, Family Peace Initiative licensed master social worker Katy Parker said there are only five domestic batterer intervention programs in the state, including one in Parsons.

Those convicted of domestic violence are sometimes ordered by the courts to attend Family Peace Initiative, which consists of an assessment, orientation and 24 weekly group sessions.

Those working with batterers and victims say they have seen an increase in the number of domestic violence cases and the severity, yet little has been done in past years to address it by bringing together prosecutors, law enforcement, court services staff, judges and domestic violence advocates.

That began to change two years ago when Dorothy and Steve Halley, founders of the Halley Counseling ATB Program, now the Family Peace Initiative, moved to Topeka to work in the attorney general's office to get this type of program established across the state, Parker said.

Forming the Batterer Intervention Program board was the first step.

The Barrier Free Healthcare Initiative

Hospitals join disability community to launch initiative to improve access and care for people with disabilities

Announcing  the launch of The Barrier Free Healthcare Initiative (TBFHI) with a new website: http://thebarrierfreehealthcareinitiative.org/ . TBFHI is spearheaded by advocates, non-profit organizations, legal service providers, and lawyers whose goal is to eliminate the physical and programmatic barriers that people with disabilities face in obtaining healthcare. TBFHI aims to develop and support legal advocacy and policy initiatives designed to eliminate these barriers in hospitals and other settings where medical care is provided.

Accessible facilities, programs, services and information are critical components of a just and equitable solution to the health care crisis in the United States. We hope that TBFHI can join with on-going efforts in the disability community to help these issues receive the attention they deserve. We welcome your thoughts and feedback at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

June 26, 2009 — In collaboration with Boston’s disability community and the Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL), Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have begun a comprehensive and landmark effort to improve access and care for people with disabilities. The initiative was announced this morning at MGH where the presidents of both institutions — the founding hospitals of Partners HealthCare – joined individuals with disabilities to present the new collaboration.

Web-Based Library of Digital Video And Audio Books

The Kansas State Library (http://kansas.lib.overdrive.com) has created a web-based library of digital video and audiobooks that can be checked out online.  The audio files, accessed with free software called Overdrive,  will work on both PC and Mac platforms.  The files can be transferred to portable listening devices (iPods, iPhones, Zunes, etc.) or burned onto a CD.  The user has the option of creating pauses on the CD between chapters to make them easier to navigate.  To become a Kansas State Library patron, you will need to register online and then confirm your Kansas residency at a local library (all free).