December Newsletter
P&A Service Highlight: Systemic Advocacy
P&A staff work to improve laws, regulations, policies, or practices to prevent abuse or neglect of individuals with disabilities, and work to enable individuals with disabilities to gain greater independence and full inclusion in the community and workplace. P&A does this by producing oral and written comments in response to requests and also creates materials that can be used to educate lawmakers and the public. P&A closely follows any legislative changes that may affect the disability community and advocates for changes as needed.
Save the Date
Our Annual Gala, Celebrating Abilities, will be held on Friday April 24, 2020 from 6 to 9 pm at Nelson Mullins in Columbia, SC.
Advocacy Watch: New Employment First Bill
To make integrated employment the first consideration for any individual with a disability applying for or receiving services, state Rep. Neal Collins, Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell, P&A, Able SC, and other organizations have created the Employment First Initiative Act. The newly proposed bill H.4678 would establish a commission that would recommend strategies to help state agencies, local government, and the private sector adopt new approaches to support individuals with disabilities obtaining employment. Learn more about this bill by reading the recently published blog post by Turner Padget.
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Listening Session
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) wants to hear and learn from people with disabilities, and their families and caregivers, about their experiences during times of emergencies or disasters. We want to learn how you plan, respond, and recover from these emergency situations. Your experiences will help us to understand how we can improve our support, training, and technical assistance in times when emergencies and disasters.
WHEN:
Thursday, February 13, 2020 2:30 – 4:30 PM
WHERE:
South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Department HR Development Center 1410 Boston Avenue, Columbia, SC
RSVP: https://www.acllistens2019.com
New Plain Language HCBS Toolkit
The Home and Community-Based Services Settings Rule, or HCBS Settings Rule, allows people with disabilities to access resources needed to live in the community. Learning about the rule is important. That’s why the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) has released a new plain language toolkit, all about the HCBS Settings Rule.