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250% California Working Disabled Program

The California Working Disabled Program: Lessons Learned, Looking Ahead
The California Working Disabled Medi-Cal Buy-In Program (CWD) was implemented in April 2000 to enable disabled individuals to participate in the workforce without the threat of losing their Medi-Cal coverage. Although a relatively new program, policymakers and advocates have already begun considering programmatic and policy changes that would build on the existing program, expand eligibility, and broaden access to certain services.
The 250% California Working Disabled Program Question and Answer Sheet
A guide for workers with disabilities about the new Medi-Cal 250% California Working Disabled Program. A publication of the California Work Incentives Initiative.

Access to Assets

Asking About Disability: A Guide for Individual Development Account Administrators
Many Individual Development Account (IDA) administrators are unaware that they currently serve a large number of persons with disabilities in their programs. Disabled participants go unnoticed because disabilities may be non-visible, such as learning disabilities, chronic illness and psychiatric disability. Furthermore, few people with disabilities voluntarily self disclose their condition. IDA providers help all participants in their programs when providing universal program accessibility. IDA providers can likely improve overall success rates of participants in meeting their goals, by assessing disability status during intake as a matter of practice and by providing support services accordingly.
Integrating Universal Design Principles in Asset Building Programs
We are only beginning to understand the applicability of Universal Design approaches in diverse arenas. Universal Design began largely as physical accommodation practices that revolutionized the way people thought about access issues. This paper proposes ways of expanding Universal Design concepts to Asset Building programs, using concrete examples for implementation. Opening Universal Design principles up to challenging ways of thinking, presenting information, as well as physical accommodation is a major step toward a more inclusive world.
Asset Accumulation and Tax Policy Project (AATPP)
AATPP unites organizations serving persons with disabilities with credit unions and other financial institutions to produce groundbreaking research on barriers and opportunities of tax and public policies. The research and accompanying policy recommendations will improve the economic independence, social empowerment, and community integration of persons with disabilities.
New Beginnings: Making homeownership a reality for people with disabilities
When Barbara Pesante lost her sight five years ago after a staph infection injured her optic nerve, she tried unsuccessfully to obtain assistance in her homeland, Puerto Rico. Only after moving to Florida did she begin receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, which qualified her for job search assistance through Vocational Rehabilitation (VR).
Individual Development Accounts: A Golden Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities
Oppressive poverty persists among people with disabilities in the United States. According to the 1995 Current Population Survey, 39.7 percent of working-age persons with disabilities live in poverty. Sadly, as disability advocates, this statistic may not surprise us. What is surprising is the scarcity of effective new programs addressing economic inequity. Be that as it may, there is one new rising star in the mainstream antipoverty movement; it is called the Individual Development Account (IDA) savings program.
IDA Fact Sheet: Policy Implications
Assets are a key factor in opening doors for the disability community—with assets the purchase of a home, postsecondary education and business capitalization can become a reality for economically marginalized populations such as persons with disabilities. Approximately 19.7% of the United States population (or 52.6 million) live with some level of disability. Over one-third of adults with disabilities live in households with income of $15,000 or less compared to only 12% of those without disabilities.
Use of Individual Development Accounts by People with Disabilities: Barriers and Solutions
Asset development tools are a key element of economic development programs that have been created by Congress – with strong bipartisan support – over the last few years. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), the grandparent of savings programs for the poor, were initiated as part of the welfare reform movement. The original concept of providing savings incentives through a matching program was developed as part of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC).
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and People with Disabilities: What IDA Providers Need to Know
People with disabilities are among the poorest in our nation. About 1 in 5 Americans has a disability, and 1 in 10 has a severe disability. People with severe disabilities have an unemployment rate of 70% and account for only 2.9% of this country's total income. The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is more than twice that of people without disabilities and has remained at that level for many years. This is the poorest rate of participation in the work force and the highest rate of unemployment of any group in American society.
IDA Participants Speak Out
The Individual Development Account (IDA) Pilot Project for People with Disabilities aims to increase opportunities for disabled individuals to participate in IDA programs through the provision of technical assistance and training to IDA providers. The project will yield insight on how to best maximize participation in IDAs by people with disabilities and will provide best practice strategies to modify national IDA programs.
Individual Development Account Question and Answer Sheet: A Guide for IDA Consumers with Disabilities
Individual Development Accounts, also known as “IDAs”, are a savings account. What makes it special is you receive an additional deposit each time you add to your savings. It is called a match and is usually one to four times the size of each deposit you make. For example, if you receive a 2:1 match, each time you deposit $25, you will get an additional $50 toward your savings goal.

California Work Incentives Initiative

California’s Comprehensive Workforce Development System: A Disability Access Policy Framework Coming of Age
Whether one grows up with a disability, becomes newly diagnosed while employed, experiences a sudden onset of disability from an accident or is entering the workforce with a disability, the level of support must be based upon assessment of the person to the program(s), not the reverse. By expanding collaboration between the human resource departments of employers, providers of public and private health care services, and generic employment programs such as One-Stop Career Centers, the policies and grants described in this brief will have a greater likelihood for success.
AB 925 Signed into Law!
Many people with disabilities who want to work are dissuaded from doing so by the risk of losing eligibility for Medicare and Medi-Cal, which pays for essentials such as wheelchairs, ventilators and personal care services. AB 925 joins the 1999 Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act and the 250% California Working Disabled Program as part of a continuing effort to address these and other work disincentives.
AB 925 Content Summary
This law, referred to as the Workforce Inclusion Act, requires the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, using existing resources, to create a sustainable, comprehensive strategy to accomplish various goals aimed at bringing persons with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the general adult population.
The AB 925 Questionnaire: Summary Responses from 140 Returned Questionnaires
Summary Responses from 140 Returned Questionnaires, an analysis by Devva Kasnitz, Ph.D. for The California Work Group on Work Incentives and Health Care. Staffed by The California Work Incentives Initiative, A Collaborative of The Center for Independent Living and World Institute on Disability.

Ed Roberts

People in Motion: A Three-Part Innovation Mini-Series Aired on PBS
This is an excellent series that looks at the lives and political, cultural, and social work of several individuals with disabilities (including a segment on Ed Roberts and WID).
A Tribute to Ed Roberts
A look back at the life and work of Ed Roberts (1939-1995), a leader of the Independent Living Movement and former president of WID Included are articles, photographs, and stories that span the years of Ed's life.

Health Access and Long Term Services: Personal Assistance Services

Sticks and Stones: Disabled People’s Stories of Abuse, Defiance and Resilience
Sticks and Stones is a collection of over fifty stories about facing abuse and violence. The compelling stories are told by a diverse group of people with disabilities, as well as family members, services providers, and other allies, and cover a wide range of mistreatment and recovery experiences. Studies show that abuse and violence are high-priority concerns for disabled people; rates of abuse are shockingly high. Women and children with disabilities are sexually assaulted at a rate that is three times higher than the one for those without disabilities. Disabled men also experience high rates of abuse. The goals of this book include giving voice to people with disabilities who have confronted abusive situations, breaking their isolation, and revealing the complex issues of abuse and violence, particularly the ones faced by those who depend on help from family or paid assistance.
Access to Medical Care: Adults with Physical Disabilities
The twenty-minute video/DVD and training curriculum for physicians, dentists, nurses, and other medical staff covers issues that affect the quality of care for patients with disabilities in outpatient clinical settings. Interviews with expert medical providers and a diverse group of people with disabilities address cultural competence; access and communication issues in the clinic; common myths and stereotypes about disability that interfere with accurate assessment of patients; and barriers to health care delivery.
Directory of Publicly Funded PAS Programs
The data in this page is derived from WID's 1999 Survey of Publicly Funded PAS programs. To gather this data we mailed out a survey and held telephone interviews with respondents at all the PAS programs we could locate. Although our response rate was quite good, some programs did refuse to participate, and there are likely to be others that we did not identify as part of the sample, so even though this list represents our best effort, it may not be an exhaustive list of all PAS programs in the country.
Personal Assistance Services: A New Millennium
For a person with a disability, a personal assistant can make the difference between living in the community or being institutionalized. That's why the World Institute on Disability's (WID) Personal Assistance Services (PAS) Division is engaged in a comprehensive project to determine how PAS can best promote the independent living, economic self-sufficiency, and full integration of people with disabilities into society. This summer, WID teamed up with four other organizations committed to promoting the full inclusion of people into society. Together they brought together 120 key leaders engaged in PAS to accomplish the following...
PAS Systems Change: A Workbook for Improving PAS in Your State
This manual will allow the reader to assess the current PAS system in their state and envision an ideal system, develop strategies to redesign their current system, create a viable plan of action to implement a comprehensive statewide PAS program.
PAS Fundamentals
PAS Fundamentals offers a comprehensive overview of PAS. This manual allows the reader to explore different PAS models, examine the diversity of PAS delivery and funding, learn about national PAS legislation and supreme court decisions and their impact at the state level.
Autonomy or Abandonment: Changing Perspectives on Delegation
"Delegation" allows an unlicensed homecare provider to perform specific tasks currently performed by licensed health care providers, such as nurses. Published by The National Council on Aging, Inc., this report offers highlights of a symposium which explored issues of delegation in home- and community-based settings with a variety of key stakeholders-nurses, state level policymakers, providers and consumers. It also reports the findings of a state survey on delegation, gives an overview of the legal and regulatory issues, and of the factors influencing our approach to delegation in the country today.
Personal Assistance Services Management, Annotated Resource List
This concise, annotated list offers resources on how people with disabilities can find, hire and manage their personal assistance services (PAS).
Liability Issues Affecting Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Services: Report and Recommendations
This manual offers an understandable explanation of liability law as it relates to Personal Assistance Services and suggests practical strategies for meeting legal requirements without sacrificing the needs of people with disabilities. Contents include employment tax, benefits, personal injury (tort law and risk apportionment), and licensure/ certification (nurse practice acts).
Personal Assistance Services (PAS): People with Disabilities Forging Public Policy (Video)
This video, filmed during an international symposium on PAS held in Oakland, CA in the fall of 1991, offers an excellent introduction to PAS. It addresses PAS as an Independent Living and Civil Rights issue. Perspectives from a diverse array of disability advocates from both the U.S. and Europe are represented.
The Cost of Program Models Providing Personal Assistance Services (PAS) for Independent Living
This report analyzes six program models in terms of cost and degree of support for Independent Living using data from WlD's 1989 program survey of all publicly-funded PAS programs in the United States. Both Independent provider and agency models are examined and compared.
Personal Perspectives on Personal Assistance Services
This collection of personal essays explores a wide range of perspectives on personal assistance services. Family issues and PAS concerns for people with different disabilities, of different ages, and as members of minority groups are addressed.
Policy Issues Affecting the Medicaid Personal Care Services Optional Benefit: Full Report
POLICY ISSUES AFFECTING THE MEDICAID PERSONAL CARE SERVICES OPTIONAL BENEFIT: FULL REPORT
Resolution on Personal Assistance Services
This Resolution was passed by the participants of the International Personal Assistance Services Symposium, sponsored by WID in 1991, and outlines the crucial elements of a national PAS policy.
Executive Summary of Attending to America
This summary succinctly presents the findings, analyses and recommendations of WID's research project (below) on attendant services.
Attending to America: Personal Assistance for Independent Living: A Report of the National Survey of Attendant Services Programs in the United States
This unique 1987 report explores the then current publicly provided personal assistance system in the U.S. It contains policy recommendations and action steps, a definition of terms, a directory of attendant service programs in the U.S. and a bibliography.