Bethesda Voices Alerts and e-News


State Spotlight

State legislatures are beginning to put together their budgets for the 2011 Fiscal Year and, as they do so, we are beginning to see how the budgets are affecting social services agencies. Listed below is the current financial situation in the states Bethesda operates in.  To find out how your state may be affected, click through.

ILLINOIS ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITY

A recent change in Illinois law created an opportunity for citizens across the State to provide direct input into the FY11 budget. Governor Quinn has developed a website devoted exclusively to allowing you to electronically submit your recommendations on the FY11 budget. Visit Gov. Quinn's budget site here

Focus on Washington

HHS Secretary Sebelius recently announced that Sharon Lewis has been anmed HHS Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities at the Administration for Children and Families.

 

Ms. Lewis has extensive experience as a disability policy advocate. She has worked as the Senior Disability Policy Advisor to U.S. House Committee on Education & Labor Chairman George Miller since 2007. In that role, she has advised Chairman Miller on legislative strategy and disability-related policy in education, employment and healthcare, and has served as the lead staffer on the disability provisions of key pieces of legislation and on implementation oversight.

Read more...

Featured Resource

The Kennedy Foundation  Public Policy Guide was developed to provide an orientation about public policy work with and on behalf of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

The Guide provides information and articles about making federal policy, including the federal budget process. It briefly describes key Congressional committees, Executive branch agencies, federal legislation and judicial decisions that are, in our judgment, the most significant for people with disabilities.

Bethesda Voices Success Stories

Governor Ted Kulongoski recently appointed Ione Johnson, Quality Enhancement Director for Bethesda Lutheran Communities, to the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities. Johnson will serve as a provider representative member and will offer the unique perspective and ideas that come from working for a nationwide service provider. 

To read more about Ione and her new position, visit our archives.

Bethesda Voices Action Center

Ask your Senator to Cosponsor Rosa's Law - Replace "Mental Retardation" with "Intellectual Disability" in all Federal Laws GO>>

Great Opportunity for Illinois Advocates! Help Establish Gov. Quinn's Budget Priorities GO>>

Contact Your Senator and Demand that the Community First Choice Option Be Included in Health Care Reform. GO>>

VISIT THE ACTION CENTER POWERED BY CAPWIZ GO>>

 

  Congress Considers S.3000 - A Temporary Increase in State Medicaid Assistance
Ask Your Senator to Support an Extension of the Enhanced Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage

The inclusion of an extension of an increase of the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (FMAP) in the U.S. Senate remains a critical issue for states across the country. Please contact your Senators today and ask them to support a six-month extension of the enhanced FMAP as outlined in S. 3000 and sign on to the Dear Colleague letter being coordinated by Senator Michael Bennet's office.

Ask Your Senators to Support Extension of Enhanced FMAP GO>>

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