Resources and Issues

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Employment and Housing:

How to Gain Access

How to Gain Access (PDF) - Letter from Dan Lundgren regarding access problems and building inspectors.

Health Insurance:

Health Insurance is governed over all by the Department of Corporations, call (800) 400-0815 to lodge a complaint against the insurance company.

Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP):
This is a federally-funded State Department of Aging program to assist you with health insurance problems. Their web site can be found at http://www.aging.ca.gov/information_on/hicap.asp.

IHSS Consumers Union

There are big movements afoot for re-organizing the IHSS program. Read about it at Duals Integration Demonstration (http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/provgovpart/Pages/DualIntegrationDemonstration.aspx). Several organizations in the state: unions of care providers, Public Authorities, County Welfare Directors, health insurance companies, and other organizations have all given comment. Current IHSS consumers, however, those most affected by these changes, were seldom, if ever, consulted in many of the proposals put forth.

The formation of the IHSS consumers Union is the answer to a long wished for organization that speaks and advocates for our needs. Current IHSS Consumers' lives are radically affected by changes to the IHSS Program and need to have a say in the program. In response to some of the more difficult points made in some of the proposals, we have put together this list of demands that represent our views on our rights to determine our lives and hard won civil rights. We have also added demands that have always been missing from a true continuum of care.

We also strongly oppose passive enrollment into any program that would deprive us of our individual providers, be they family members or the providers we have chosen from the community. This is viewed by the IHSS Consumers Union as a bad faith effort to trick us out of our genuine choice of how we receive our most intimate personal choices in in-home supportive services. Many of our people have difficulty responding to mail in time, which is especially egregious because the state no longer allows our providers to open our mail or read it to those who are visually impaired. We view this as a hostile attempt to trick us out of our true choice.

The following demands were put together to express what we cherish as our rights to control our own lives. If you agree, please sign on and join us as a Current IHSS Consumer Member (voting) or Supporting Member (nonvoting) whose support and input we value!

NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US!!!

The In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program is a time-proven, cost-effective, exemplary model of person-centered care. In order to live independently, everyone would appreciate having consumer-directed, in-home care and assistance as an alternative to costly institutionalization. The California program has served as a beacon for all who age or acquire a disabling condition. The Disability Rights Movement has always been devoted to self-determination, therefore we demand:

  • Creation of a carve-out for the Individual Provider (IP) mode for self-directing IHSS consumer for those who choose it.
  • The right to choose the mode of delivery we most prefer.
  • The right to use the IP mode, the most cost-efficient, stripped down method of attendant services because the money goes directly to the provider who delivers a service to the IHSS consumer. Some IHSS consumers prefer staying with the method they currently have, while others choose case management.
  • Right to Active Enrollment: Passive enrollment into any program that would deprive us of our individual providers is viewed as a hostile attempt to trick us out of our true choice for the IP mode.
  • That IHSS remain a person-centered social model rather than a medical model. Paramedical services and scheduling must conform to the IHSS Consumer's life: work, school, personal needs and preferences rather than any medical agency's shifts or procedures.
  • Recognizing that there is a wide diversity in the capacities of IHSS consumers and that "One-Size-Does Not-Fit-All." Self-Directing IHSS Consumers who do not request case management must not be burdened with multiple visits by IHSS workers, case managers, nor required to have a care coordination team.
  • IHSS Consumers retain their authority as the employer with the right to hire, fire, supervise, schedule, train and retain any Individual Providers (IPs) including family and community members and not limited to any person listed by a registry.
  • Family member or significant other providers should not be made to give up portions of their attendant hours to strangers coming into their home.
  • Self directing IHSS consumers have the right to train their own providers in the personal-care methods they prefer. Stipends should be paid to incoming providers being trained by the consumer.
  • Providers wanting additional training to improve their skills and employability may receive that training in educational settings, outside of the self directing consumer's home.
  • IHSS program paramedical services such as suppository, digital stimulation and catheter insertion, routine daily injections of prescribed medications (i.e. insulin), wound, ostomy, and catheter care will continue to be safely administered by a family member provider or attendant of the consumer's choice, as it has in the IHSS program for decades.
  • No entities shall interfere in the independent relationship between the consumer and their provider.
  • Profits / Administrative costs must never be at the expense of Consumer hours. Administering entities must have diligent oversight by both the State of CA & CMS (federal). Data collecting, tracking, outcomes stats and monitoring must be thorough, transparent & readily available to the public and cap of administrative costs must be upheld.
  • As funds become available from reduced E. R., hospital, institutional care and profits, etc, these monies must be directly invested direct service rather than the administration and profits.
  • Access to a universal standard of rehabilitation approved by National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation, adequate to give people with newly disabling conditions proficiencies in Activities of Daily Living. Discharge planning must require discharge planners to secure a hospital trained family or community provider and connect the PWD with IHSS, California Community Transition program, Linkages, MSSPs or other ongoing community supports.
  • People with newly disabling conditions who cannot return to inaccessible housing should be transferred to step-down, transitional housing until accessible housing can be acquired.
  • Access to ancillary services to support community living, (i.e. Section 8 certificates and 24/7 emergency response services.)
  • No care team, managed-care entity or individual provider has any standing or authority to monitor, inform on, or determine the self-directing IHSS consumer's decisions. IHSS consumers view this as patronizing and a flagrant violation of our self-determination and civil rights.

Because the IP mode of IHSS requires nothing more than the actual cost of delivering services (i.e. money to the provider to care for the consumer), it is a particular blessing to governments in times of fiscal difficulty. As the baby boomers age and need these services, its cost efficiency and utility will be undeniable. We, the undersigned current IHSS consumer members and our supporters of the IHSS Consumer's Union, believe there is no place like home for all citizens as they age or acquire a disabling condition. The above-mentioned demands are put forth in order to safeguard the dignity and self-determination of all persons who need In-Home Supportive Services.

Join the IHSS Consumer Union on Facebook today at
https://www.facebook.com/groups/IHSS.ConsumersUnion/.

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Independent Living Centers:

  • California Foundation for Independent Living Centers
  • Other ILC's:
    If you are looking for an ILC in the following cities you need to go to the Department of Rehabilitation website at http://www.rehab.cahwnet.gov/ils/ilclist.htm, or in the phonebook under government Department of Rehabilitation and call them to get the Independent Living Center phone number.
    The CFILC website lists CFILC members only; a link is provided at the top of the list to DOR that has all ILCs listed county by county.
    Non CFILC ILCs are:
    • Chico
    • Modesto
    • Van Nuys
    • Eureka
    • Sacramento

Lawyers:

Please note: The material on this web site is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The material is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up to date. Information provided by or cited to third parties does not necessarily reflect the opinions of CDR. CDR is not a lawyer referral service.
Firm Name/Principal Phone Number(s) City Websites/Emails Type of Practice
Western Law Center on Disablity Rights
Shawna Parks, ED		 Tel: 213-736-1334
DRLC's video relay number: 866-912-8193
TTY 213-736-8310
or nationwide 866-999-DRLC (3752)
We accept collect calls.

Si tiene un problema legal por favor llame al: 213-736-1334, numero de video telefono: 866-912-8193, numero de telefono gratuito: 866-999-DRLC (3752)
Aceptamos llamadas por cobrar		 Los Angeles www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org/
Disability Rights Legal Center
Loyola Law School Public Interest Law Center
800 South Figueroa St, Suite 1120
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Programs By Phone:
Cancer Legal Resource Center
Tel: 213-736-1455 or
866-843-2572
Fax: 213-736-1428
Email: CLRC@lls.edu

Civil Rights Litigation Program
Tel: 213-736-1031
Fax: 213-736-1428

Community Outreach Program
Tel: 213-736-8365
Fax: 213-736-1428
Email: john.longoria@lls.edu

Education Advocacy Program
Tel: 213-736-8366
Fax: 213-487-2106

Inland Empire Program
Tel: 909-460-2034
Fax: 909-460-2094
Email: DRLC@lls.edu		  

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Litigative Resources and Archives:

Online Legal Sources:

Archives:

Service Animals:

New ADA Title III regulations from the state DOJ , at 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(6):
Inquiries. A public accommodation shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person's disability, but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. A public accommodation may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A public accommodation shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Generally, a public accommodation may not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person's wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability).

Support Groups:

Placerville Spinal Cord Injury Support Group

  • Mission: To foster improved physical, mental and emotional health for mobility-impaired persons
  • Mantra: Get up! Get out! Get better!
  • Founded: 2007; Incorporated: 2011; Nonprofit status: in progress
  • Address: PO Box 1327, Placerville, CA 95667
  • Group meeting: Fourth Monday monthly at Marshall Community Health Library, 681 Main, Placerville
  • Board meeting: First Monday monthly (same location)
  • Growth: five on rolls initially - now, 50
  • Scope: West to Sacramento, East to Pollock Pines, North to Auburn, South to Jackson
    Activities include: participation in disabled sports events sponsored by Access Leisure (Sac P&R), DSUSA-Far west, BORP and Reno P&R Abilities Program; cooperation with City of Placerville to achieve ADA compliance; partnering with area businesses to achieve ADA compliance without litigation; hosting first annual Hangtown Cranker Classic, charity ride for disabled and able-bodied, June 23, 2012.
  • Contact: Lynn Murray, lynnmurray2684@att.net, Phone - 530-417-1457 (work), 530-295-7620 (cell)

Polio Survivors Association

Richard Daggett, President
(562) 862-4508
12720 La Reina Avenue
Downey, CA  90242
Richard@polioassociation.org
richarddaggett@ca.rr.com
www.polioassociation.org

Through The Looking Glass

www.lookingglass.org
3075 Adeline Street, Suite 120
Berkeley, CA 94703
Phone: 1.800.644.2666 (VOICE)
TTY: 510.848,1005
Local: 510.848.1112
Fax: 510.848.4445
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm Pacific Time
Mission:  Through the Looking Glass (TLG) is a nationally recognized center that has pioneered research, training, and services for families in which a child, parent or grandparent has a disability or medical issue. TLG is a disability community based nonprofit organization, which emerged from the independent living movement, and was founded in 1982 in Berkeley, California. Our mission is “To create, demonstrate and encourage non-pathological and empowering resources and model early intervention services for families with disability issues in parent or child which integrate expertise derived from personal disability experience and disability culture.”

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Traveling with a Disability

The Air Carrier Access Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air travel. The Department of Transportation has a rule defining the rights of passengers and the obligations of airlines under this law. This rule applies to all flights of U.S. airlines, and to flights to or from the United States by foreign airlines.

The following is a summary of the main points of the DOT rule (Title 14 CFR Part 382):

Prohibition of Discriminatory Practices:

  • Airlines may not refuse transportation to people on the basis of disability.
  • Airlines may exclude anyone from a flight if carrying the person would be inimical to the safety of the flight. If a carrier excludes a person with a disability on safety grounds, the carrier must provide a written explanation of the decision.
  • Airlines may not require advance notice that a person with a disability is traveling. Air carriers may require up to 48 hours' advance notice for certain accommodations that require preparation time (e.g., respirator hook-up, transportation of an electric wheelchair on an aircraft with less than 60 seats).
  • Airlines may not limit the number of persons with disabilities on a flight.
  • Airlines may not require a person with a disability to travel with another person, except in certain limited circumstances where the rule permits the airline to require a safety assistant. If a passenger with a disability and the airline disagree about the need for a safety assistant, the airline can require the assistant, but cannot charge for the transportation of the assistant.
  • Airlines may not keep anyone out of a specific seat on the basis of disability, or require anyone to sit in a particular seat on the basis of disability, except to comply with FAA or foreign-government safety requirements. FAA's rule on exit row seating says that airlines may place in exit rows only persons who can perform a series of functions necessary in an emergency evacuation.

Accessibility of Facilities:

  • New aircraft[1] with 30 or more seats must have movable aisle armrests on half the aisle seats in the aircraft.
  • New twin-aisle aircraft must have accessible lavatories.
  • New aircraft with 100 or more seats must have priority space for storing a passenger's folding wheelchair in the cabin.
  • Aircraft with more than 60 seats and an accessible lavatory must have an on-board wheelchair, regardless of when the aircraft was ordered or delivered. For flights on aircraft with more than 60 seats that do not have an accessible lavatory, airlines must place an on-board wheelchair on the flight if a passenger with a disability gives the airline 48 hours' notice that he or she can use an inaccessible lavatory but needs an on-board wheelchair to reach the lavatory.
  • Airlines must ensure that airport facilities and services that they own, lease or control are accessible in the manner prescribed in the rule.

Other Services and Accommodations:

  • Airlines are required to provide assistance with boarding, deplaning and making connections. Assistance within the cabin is also required, but not extensive personal services. Where level-entry boarding is not available, there must be ramps or mechanical lifts to service most aircraft with 19 or more seats at U.S. airports with over 10,000 annual enplanements.
  • Disabled passengers' items stored in the cabin must conform to FAA rules on the stowage of carry-on baggage. Assistive devices do not count against any limit on the number of pieces of carry-on baggage. Collapsible wheelchairs and other assistive devices have priority for in-cabin storage space (including in closets) over other passengers' items brought on board at the same airport, if the passenger with a disability chooses to preboard.
  • Wheelchairs and other assistive devices have priority over other items for storage in the baggage compartment.
  • Airlines must accept battery-powered wheelchairs, including the batteries, packaging the batteries in hazardous materials packages when necessary. The airline provides the packaging.
  • Airlines must permit a passenger to use his/her Portable Oxygen Concentrator during the flight if it is labeled as FAA-approved.
  • Airlines may not charge for providing accommodations required by the rule, such as hazardous materials packaging for batteries. However, they may charge for optional services such as providing oxygen.
  • Other provisions concerning services and accommodations address treatment of mobility aids and assistive devices, passenger information, accommodations for persons with vision and hearing impairments, security screening, communicable diseases and medical certificates, and service animals.

Administrative Provisions:

  • Training is required for airline and contractor personnel who deal with the traveling public.
  • Airlines must make available specially-trained "complaints resolution officials" to respond to complaints from passengers and must also respond to written complaints. A DOT enforcement mechanism is also available.
  • Airlines must obtain an assurance of compliance from contractors who provide services to passengers.

*You may obtain an accessible electronic copy of 14 CFR Part 382 or this fact sheet at airconsumer.dot.gov or call DOT at (202) 366-2220 to request a copy.

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