|
The House and Senate are expected to vote on the budget tomorrow—please take a moment TODAY to urge your State Representative and Senator to vote YES on the budget, which includes the partial COLA for Direct Care & Support Services in January 2026.
We are in the home stretch, and your voice continues to make a real difference. Once you've taken action, please help amplify our message by sharing the alert with your networks: Take Action Now Thank you for your continued advocacy! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. New Vision for Accessible Living Virtual Lunch & Learn!Wednesday, June 25th at 11:30am
Be Part of the Movement to Fix Maine’s Housing Crisis for People with Disabilities and Direct Care Workforce. Join us for a deep dive into 3i Housing of Maine’s Caring Communities™ model—a bold, urgently needed solution to make housing truly accessible, affordable, and supportive for people with disabilities, caregivers, and direct care workforce. Why this matters now: Maine faces a critical shortage of inclusive housing. 3i HoME is on a mission to change that—and we need your voice at the table. This event will cover:
Click here to register! New Resource now available from the OADS Youth Transition Team
The OADS Developmental Disability Service Youth Transition Team has developed a new training video called "A Path for Me: Transition to Adult Services" posted on the OADS' Transition Planning webpage. The target audience for this new video is service providers and case managers and the video should take less than 30 minutes to watch. This training was developed in conjunction with the National Disability Institute in support of the Provider Readiness Initiative for the proposed Lifespan Waiver. The webpage also highlights important information regarding transition and includes a printable timeline that can be used as a guide during youth transition planning. Click to view video. The OADS Youth Transition Team was created as a pilot project supported by Children’s Behavioral Health Services (CBHS) and the Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) to improve the transition process for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and other related conditions (ORC). This initiative is funded by the Federal American Rescue Plan Act under Section 9817. The focus of this project has been to provide training, quality oversight, and resources that offer more consistent approaches to supporting youth with IDD, ASD, and other related conditions as they transition from the children’s system to the OADS adult system. The OADS Youth Transition Team has developed and shared information and resources for cross-training school personnel and community case managers to provide person-centered support to youth as they seamlessly transition to adulthood. This work could not be done without the ongoing partnership of other transition leaders in Maine such as the Department of Education (DOE), Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), along with several youth leaders, family members, and local school administrative units. For more information, visit the Transition webpage at OADS or send email to [email protected]. You are receiving this because the Maine Parent Federation values your work in the State of Maine for Individuals with Disabilities.
After taking the week to receive technical assistance about the impact of the proposed 2026 Presidential Budget to not only our agency but many disability agencies in our state we are reaching out to ask for your support. We realize you may have received a similar sign on letter but that letter was composed prior to the release of the actual budget and therefore did not include all the proposed reductions. In an effort to provide the most accurate information to our national Congressional Delegation, MPF has composed this letter which we hope you consider signing onto. As you will see in this letter if passed this budget would eliminate federal funding to Preschool Grants, Parent Training and Information Centers (Maine Parent Federation), Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights (Disability Rights Maine), University Centers for Developmental Disabilities (Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies), and Centers for Independent Living (Alpha One). Additionally, there is a significant reduction in funding for Offices of Civil Rights and the Boston office which serves Maine has already been shuttered. Please consider signing onto this letter to show bi-partisan support for individuals with disabilities living in Maine. Thank you for your support. Maine Parent Federation Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) CAHPS® Announcement
The State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) wants to make Home and Community Based Services better. We would like to hear about Medicaid beneficiary experiences with waiver services. To do that, for the third consecutive year, the State of Maine’s Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) is completing the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems (CAHPS®) Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) survey. A survey firm, Knowledge Services, will again be assisting the State with survey administration. Beginning in June 2025, Knowledge Services will contact randomly selected HCBS waiver program participants by mail and telephone to offer a participation opportunity. Survey participation is voluntary. Additional information about the CAHPS® survey is available here: Join us for a screening of invisible: personal stories from the front lines of disability A screening of short videos by and about people living with disability in Maine, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers. Thursday, June 5, 6:30 p.m. York Public Library 15 Long Sands Road, York Village (fully accessible facility) Free and open to the public. Registration required at: https://yorkpl.librarycalendar.com/event/screening-invisible-14053 Home and Community-Based Services Quality Assurance Project
Town Hall Announcement In December 2024, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) started a project to improve the quality of home and community-based services (HCBS). DHHS is working with a group called Alvarez and Marsal (A&M). This project is meant to help many groups that interact with HCBS, including the people who provide residential services such as home and community support for people who have an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder. Some key terms you might have heard during this project are:
Thank You! Thank you to everyone who participated in the HCBS Quality Assurance project’s town halls and focus groups back in January and February. Thank you as well to everyone who participated in the focus groups in April where A&M introduced initial ideas about how to strengthen the incident management system. Your feedback on what does work and what does not work in the incident management system, and whether certain ideas would help to make the system better, was incredibly valuable! We Want to Share What We Found With You! DHHS is now at the stage of the project where it is looking to share the final report and next steps with groups involved in incident management. DHHS will host town halls to communicate this information to many people. This is a chance to know what changes might happen to continue trying to keep people safe and healthy. There will be two different town halls where DHHS talks about the final report. One town hall will be for members, self-advocates, families, guardians, and advocacy organizations. The second town hall will be for providers, Case Managers, Care Coordinators, and other interested groups. DHHS encourages you to join the town hall meant for you. In these town halls, DHHS will talk about:
HCBS Quality Assurance Project Report Town Hall for Members, Self-Advocates, Families, Guardians, and Self-Advocacy Groups. Important Details:
HCBS Quality Assurance Project Report Town Hall for Providers, Case Managers, Care Coordinators, and Other Interested Groups. Important Details:
If you aren’t able to join either of these sessions, you can still send your feedback or thoughts by email to [email protected]. Request for signatures against federal elimination of programs supported by Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act ("DD Act"). Please sign https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Caa7LBr7Nkqpk-8CuFnH7gRvXtcIDrxIqYm06Io1MfxUOURES0UyS1YxRDA4RzI2Ulc3TjJTQVNSRC4u
The current budget proposal on Capitol Hill in DC eliminates many programs that support people with disabilities. This includes "DD Act" programs: University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), state councils on developmental disabilities, and protection & advocacy organizations. In Maine, these eliminations would affect UMaine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, and Disability Rights Maine. It would also affect Speaking Up for Us, which is partially supported by Maine DD Council. These programs support advocacy, research, policy analysis, systems change, demonstration projects, and more to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families. Please add your signature--either as an individual or for the organization you represent--to the letter at <https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Caa7LBr7Nkqpk-8CuFnH7gRvXtcIDrxIqYm06Io1MfxUOURES0UyS1YxRDA4RzI2Ulc3TjJTQVNSRC4u> https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Caa7LBr7Nkqpk-8CuFnH7gRvXtcIDrxIqYm06Io1MfxUOURES0UyS1YxRDA4RzI2Ulc3TjJTQVNSRC4 <https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Caa7LBr7Nkqpk-8CuFnH7gRvXtcIDrxIqYm06Io1MfxUOURES0UyS1YxRDA4RzI2Ulc3TjJTQVNSRC4> If you're unable to sign electronically (it's just a google form), you can also email Julia Endicott at [email protected] Forwarded Action alert from Maine Parent Federation
Action Alert Important Public Hearings Restraint & Seclusion, De-escalation Training, Behavioral Health Supports, and Lifespan Waiver Wednesday, April 23rd There are a number of public hearings which will be occurring tomorrow Wednesday, April 23rd at 1:00 PM in both the Educational and Cultural Affairs and Health and Human Services Committees. LD 1248 - "An Act Regarding Physical Escort and Restraint and Seclusion of Students in Schools". The bill would make it easier to physically restrain students, which disproportionally impacts students with disabilities, in two ways:
Additional bills in the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee you may be interested in testifying on are:
There will also be a bill regarding the Lifespan Waiver being heard in the Health and Human Services Committe.
All four of these bills are scheduled for public hearing Wednesday, April 23rd starting at 1:00 PM. You can testify on as many bills as you like, but if you testify online (written and/or zoom) then you have to fill out the form for each bill separately. To testify:
You can upload written testimony or type it into the text box. If you want to testify via zoom then be sure to check the "I would like to testify electronically over Zoom" checkbox, in which case the legislature will email you a link to use to testify. After you've filled everything out, check "I'm not a robot" and click "Submit/Register" If you would like to testify in-person all hearings are held in Augusta at the Cross Building, 111 Sewell Street Augusta. Education and Cultural Affairs is room 208 and Health and Human Services is across the hall in room 209. Please be sure to bring 20 copies of your testimony. Please feel free to disseminate this information to anybody and everybody you think would be interested. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Carrie Woodcock, [email protected]. Kind Regards, Carrie Woodcock - Maine Parent Federation Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice recently signed an agreement with Maine4/14/2025 The Disability Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice recently signed an agreement with Maine that requires the State to make changes to its services for children with behavioral health disabilities. These changes will give parents, children, and young adults (up to their 21st birthday) choices so children and young adults can remain at home with services, or can return home from facilities and get the services they need.
We want to meet with people who will be impacted by these changes, including children and young adults (up to their 21st birthday), families, providers, and advocates. We will be holding in-person meetings at the following times and locations:
We will share information and updates about our agreement with Maine. We will also invite you to share your experiences with the State’s behavioral health services for children. Please feel free to share this invitation with others who are interested in attending. If you have any questions about the meetings, we encourage you to reach out to Margaret Girard, [email protected] (Portland and Augusta meetings) or Victoria Thomas, [email protected] (Fort Kent and Bangor meetings). Margaret Girard Trial Attorney Disability Rights Section Civil Rights Division U.S. Department of Justice (202) 598-5668 [email protected] She/her/hers Please let me know if you need an accommodation for a disability. |
Postings |
RSS Feed