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History Note
■ Pete’s reflections–pg 3 ■ Access Press history–pp 4-5 ■ Chrestomathy turns 25–pg 7
“With confidence, you have won before you have started.” – Marcus Garvey
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Volume 21, Number 6
Minnesota’s Disability
Community Newspaper
June 10, 2010
Legislation signed
A century later, state is sorry by Access Press staff After more than a century of public policy that took disabled Minnesotans away from their families and home communities, and subjected them far too often to cruel treatment, state officials have made an apology. May 26 marked the official end of the long quest to have Minnesota lawmakers apologize for the past treatment of people with disabilities. House File 1680 and Senate Fill 1135 passed unanimously before the 2010 Minnesota Legislature adjourned May 17. Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the apology into law May 26. The action was hailed by disability rights advocates and family members whose loved ones spent most, if not all of their lives in state institutions. The legislation has been sought for many years as part of the work of the Remembering With Dignity project, which is part of Advocating Change Together (ACT). Remembering With Dignity
(RWD) has marked 7,300 of 13,000 numbered grave markers at now-closed Minnesota state institutions. The project is continuing to place headstones with former residents’ names, birth and death dates on what have been anonymous graves. Passage of the apology legislation is seen as providing a key impetus to continue this work. ACT and RWD shaft were pleased with the state action. In a statement, the two organizations said, “For most of the 20th century, persons with mental illness, developmental disabilities and other disabilities were institutionalized in Minnesota; their treatment was often less than humane and frequently very cruel.” Sen. John Marty, DFLRoseville, authored the legislation in the Senate. Rep. Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, was the House author. Marty said that after 13 years of pushing for its passage, it is Apology - cont. on p. 10
Good sports Kids are enjoying a new scoreboard at West Metro Miracle League’s field at Bennett Park in Bloomington. The Daktronics scoreboard is a first in Minnesota. Read about the new scoreboard, the league and other Minnesota young people and sports on page 8. Photo courtesy of Stephen McKean
Legislative session brings mixed results for community by Access Press staff For Minnesota’s disability community, the 2010 legislative session may be remembered, like so many others, as one which there could have been much worse consequences. As it turned out, most existing services were spared but few gains were made as the Minnesota Legislature adjourned May 17. Leaders of statewide disability organizations and self-advocates are already planning for 2011 and what promises to be an extremely difficult and challenging budget session. The 2010 session adjourned following a brief special session that extended into the day May 17. Gov. Tim Pawlenty and House and Senate leaders worked to plug a $3 billion
budget hole. The hole grew wider this spring after the Minnesota Supreme Court found that unallotments Pawlenty made to balance the state budget last year were unconstitutional. The budget actions taken by state lawmakers and signed into law by the governor ratified the unallotments. But solutions chosen to fill the gap will come back to haunt the next governor and future House and Senate members. About $2 billion of the $3 billion deficit was eliminated by delaying state payments to school districts. No source was identified to repay that in the future although the state is required to pay that money back in the budget cycle that begins in July 2011.
Also, no final resolution is in place on a proposal that would allow early Medical Assistance/Medicaid enrollment. That will have to be decided by the next governor, as Pawlenty isn’t seeking re-election. A decision needs to be made by mid-January for the state to qualify for matching federal funding. Disability advocates and members of the Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (MnCCD) were pleased that there were no rate cuts for providers of some disability services, including waivered services, day programs, and personal care attendants (PCAs). The 2009 rate cuts for physical, occupational, and speech therapies
were partially restored. Pawlenty had proposed eliminating rehabilitation therapies for those on Medical Assistance (MA) but that didn’t happen. General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) The session began with a high-profile clash to save General Assistance Medical Care, a program which provides health care for many of the state’s poorest and sickest residents. More than 30,000 single adults and childless couples were covered. It was proposed that GAMC recipients move to MinnesotaCare, but the move would most likely have depleted MinnesotaCare’s resources. GAMC was to end
March 1, then April 1, as lawmakers scrambled to find a compromise program to cover at least some clients. Pawlenty vetoed the first GAMC compromise bill in February, criticizing its potential costs to the state. After long hours of discussion, another “bare bones” version of GAMC bill was brought forward and approved before the session ended. The program is taking a 75 percent funding cut, which means many who were covered may not receive help any more. At the eleventh hour, an additional $10 million went into the program. Larger hospitals have been asked to join a coordinated care delivery system—meaning the hospi-
tals would get a lump sum of money to care for a certain number of GAMC patients. That still may not be enough incentives for hospitals to opt in. Only four Twin Cities area hospitals have signed up, with no outstate hospitals opting in. The Minnesota Hospital Association has expressed disappointment with the legislation passed; saying it only passes on more patient care costs to hospitals and creates risks for hospitals. In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Sue Abderholden, executive director the Minnesota chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said her organization works with mental health criMixed results - cont. on p. 10