This Friday, June 22, 2018, is the 19th Anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision cementing the ADA’s integration mandate. To commemorate the day, NCIL is joining other national disability organizations in hosting a National Call-In Day for the EMPOWER Care Act (S. 2227 and H.R. 5306).

Since Money Follows the Person (MFP) began in 2005, over 75,000 disabled people have been liberated from institutions, and CILs have played a critical role in that. But MFP expired on September 30, 2016, and states are starting to scale back and end their programs. In fact, last year was the first time the number of people transitioned into the community declined. We need your advocacy to get the House and Senate to pass the EMPOWER Care Act to reauthorize and fund MFP! 

Take Action!

Congress must save and fund MFP, and they need to hear from us! Please urge your Senators and Representative to continue the Money Follows the Person program by co-sponsoring the EMPOWER Care Act!

• Participate in Friday’s National Call-In Day! Call your Senators and Representative and urge them to co-sponsor the EMPOWER Care Act! All members of Congress can be reached by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or (202) 224-3091 (TTY). Find more information, including talking points, at the Facebook event. RSVP and share widely!
• Use Social Media! Post on Facebook and Tweet at your members of Congress. Find your Members’ Twitter handles and other contact information on Contacting Congress. Make sure to use the hashtag #FundMFP in your posts. You can find more information, including sample Tweets, at the Facebook event.
• Email your members of Congress! Customize a message to your Members of Congress online.

Continue sharing your stories with us! See our previous alert for more details about the stories we’re looking for. Our original deadline passed, but we’re still looking for your stories about the importance of community living

The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking public comment on amending its Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation on transportation of service animals. In the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Traveling By Air with Service Animals the Department seeks comments on: 

1. treating psychiatric service animals similar to other service animals;
2. distinguishing between emotional support animals and other service animals;
3. requiring emotional support animals to travel in pet carriers for the duration of the flight; 
4. limiting the species of service animals and emotional support animals that airlines are required to transport;
5. limiting the number of service animals/emotional support animals required to be transported per passenger;
6. requiring service animal and emotional support animal users to confirm that their animal has been trained to behave in a public setting; 
7. requiring service animals and emotional support animals have a harness, leash, or other tether with narrow exceptions;
8. limiting the size of emotional support animals or other service animals that travel in the cabin and the potential impact of such a limitation;
9. prohibiting airlines from requiring a veterinary health form or immunization record from service animal users without an individualized assessment that the animal would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others or would cause a significant disruption in the aircraft cabin; and
10. no longer holding U.S. airlines responsible if a passenger traveling under the U.S. carrier’s code is only allowed to travel with a service dog on a flight operated by its foreign code share partner.

Comments can be submitted via Regulations.gov thru July 9, 2018.

It is time to ask for nominations for the Michel Lechner Advocacy Award. 
The deadline for nominations is July 31^st. 

Every year the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns (KCDC) recognizing one or more persons or organizations for their advocacy work to improve their community or the State of Kansas for people with disabilities.  To nominate someone or an organization you need to provide a summary of the nominee’s advocacy activities including: the issue/situation; nominee’s activities that improved the condition or situation; and the geographic area of Kansas in which the improvement occurred. It also helps to have a support letter from someone else praising the nominees advocacy efforts. 

You can read more about it on their website.

Deadline has been extended to Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

Your child’s original artwork could win them a trip to Washington, D.C.
to meet with Members of Congress about the Disability Integration Act! 

2018 Disability Integration Act Artwork Contest Guidelines

The Disability Integration Act (DIA) is a bill that was introduced by Senator Schumer in the Senate and Representative Sensenbrenner in the House to help people with disabilities and older people live at home instead of having to go to a nursing home or other institution. Sometimes people who need extra help with the things they do every day, like getting dressed or eating, are forced to go to a nursing home to get that help instead of living at home. That’s not fair. This bill would make it the law that we would help people in their own homes! You and a grown up can look up the bill on congress.gov by searching the bill numbers: S. 910 and H.R. 2472. You can also learn more at www.disabilityintegrationact.org. 

In one piece of artwork, show us what the Disability Integration Act means to you and how your life will be impacted when the bill passes. You can also include 1 to 5 sentences with your artwork.

Deadline: June 26, 2018 at 11:59 p.m.

For any questions, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Artwork Contest Rules 2018

Eligibility: Children ages 12 and under are eligible to participate in this contest. Children do not need to be disabled, but must use their artwork to demonstrate how the Disability Integration Act would impact them. The artwork may be no bigger than a standard poster board. 

Content and Judging: Drawings or other artwork must be the original work of the child. All decisions of the judges are final.

Submission: 

All entries must be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. In the body of the email the entrant must include their name, age, and their parent or guardian’s email address and phone number. The drawing/artwork should be attached in a separate document to the email.

If the artwork or an image of the artwork cannot be sent via email, it can be mailed to: 

NCIL Art Contest
Center for Disability Rights
497 State Street
Rochester, NY 14608

• To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Your drawing will be disqualified if it does not meet the requirements or is submitted after the submission date of 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 26, 2018. For mailed submissions, the package must be postmarked no later than June 26, 2018. 

Prizes: The artist of the winning drawing will receive an all-expense paid trip to the nation’s capital from anywhere in the U.S. for the winner and a parent or guardian to attend the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) Conference from July 22 to July 26, 2018. The winner will have the opportunity attend a rally on Disability Rights and attend legislative meetings to discuss the importance of the Disability Integration Act. The winner will also receive $200.

The artwork will become the property of the National Council on Independent Living once it is submitted, and will not be returned. 

Thank you for your artwork submission and good luck!

See also: Disability Integration Act Essay Contest for young adults between the ages of 13 and 22. 

Deadline has been extended to Tuesday, June 26, 2018.

Your essay could win you a trip to Washington, D.C.
to meet with Members of Congress about the Disability Integration Act! 

2018 Disability Integration Act Essay Guidelines

The Disability Integration Act (DIA) is a bill that introduced by Senator Schumer in the Senate and Representative Sensenbrenner in the House to address the fundamental issue that people who need Long Term Services and Supports can be forced into nursing homes and other institutions in order to receive the assistance they need. This means that people are losing their homes, family and freedom simply because they need assistance with daily living. The legislation (S. 910 / H.R. 2472) would ensure that seniors and people with disabilities are able to receive home and community-based services as an alternative to institutionalization.

In 500 – 2000 words tell us what the Disability Integration Act means to you and how your life will be impacted when the bill passes. 

Deadline: June 26, 2018 at 11:59 p.m.

For any questions, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Essay Contest Rules 2018

Eligibility: Young adults between the ages of 13 and 22 years are eligible to participate in this contest. Young adults do not need to be disabled, but must be able to demonstrate how the Disability Integration Act would impact them. 

Length: Your essay should be at least 500 words but should not exceed 2000 words (word count does not apply to the list of sources).

Content and Judging: Successful entries will answer all aspects of the prompt and demonstrate an understanding of the Disability Integration Act. Essays must be the original work of the young adult. All decisions of the judges are final. 

Sources: Essays need not include additional resources, but if a young adult chooses to use sources, the sources must be formatted consistently throughout using any citation format the individual prefers.

Submission:

• All entries must be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. In the body of the email the entrant must include their name, age, email address, and phone number. The essay should be attached in a Microsoft Word file with a title. Entries must be typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Calibri or an equivalent font with a one-inch margin on all sides of the page.
• To request a reasonable accommodation, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• Your essay will be disqualified if it does not meet the requirements or is submitted after the submission date of 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 26, 2018. 

Prizes: The writer of the winning essay will receive an all-expense paid trip to the nation’s capital from anywhere in the U.S. for the winner and one other person (for minors, the other person must be a parent or guardian) to attend the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) Conference from July 22 to July 26, 2018. The winner will have the opportunity attend a rally on Disability Rights and attend legislative meetings to discuss the importance of the Disability Integration Act. The winner will also receive $200.

Your essay will become the property of the National Council on Independent Living once it is submitted, and will not be returned. 

Thank you for your essay submission and good luck!

See also: Disability Integration Act Art Contest for children 12 and under.