Featured - Page 4 of 36 - Disability Rights Arkansas

Nov 17 2020

Speak Up Arkansas: The shameful state of our state’s psychiatric residential treatment facilities

All of us have a vested interest in the mental and physical health of our state’s children. They depend on us to make sure they’re safe and healthy, and that their needs are being met so that they can go on to live healthy and productive lives. An important component of child health is their mental health and well-being. Many children struggle with emotional and behavioral disorders such as bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and other challenges. They need specialized care to overcome these challenges. And here in Arkansas, many families turn to for-profit residential behavioral health facilities for that care. These facilities say they provide a safe, secure environment where children are able to continue their education while receiving trauma-focused, specialized services that keep the whole family involved in the treatment process.

It all sounds like a godsend to the concerned parent or guardian of a troubled child. But what’s really going on in our state’s psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs)? Independent monitoring of facilities operating here in Arkansas paint a much different picture than the glossy marketing brochures would have you believe.

Tonight, we’re going to talk about the shameful state of our state’s psychiatric residential treatment facilities: what’s really going on, what’s being done, and how YOU can take action to hold those responsible accountable. Guests include DRA Legal and Advocacy Director Thomas Nichols and DRA Staff Attorney Reagan Stanford.

You can listen LIVE tonight at 5:00 p.m. on KABF 88.3-FM, livestream at kabf.org, or check out the recording on our website at disabilityrightsAR.org/speak-up-arkansas.

SHOW NOTES:

If your child is in a PRTF and you would like to make a formal complaint, you can do so by emailing the state Office of Long-Term Care at complaints.oltc@arkansas.gov.

During the podcast, Thomas Nichols references a blog post he wrote about Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT), a Medicaid benefit designed to increase the duration and scope of treatment provided to children. You can access that blog post at this link: https://k4q.c18.myftpupload.com/epsdt-an-ounce-of-prevention-and-treatment-for-children/

Beginning next week, we will begin an awareness campaign on Twitter to educate the public and policymakers about what our monitoring activities in the PRTFs are teaching us, and how you can take action to change things for the better. Follow DRA on Twitter @DRArkansas, and look for upcoming blog posts to learn more. https://k4q.c18.myftpupload.com/blog

Nov 03 2020

Medical care of adults with Down syndrome

As the parent of an adult daughter with intellectual/developmental disabilities, I can attest firsthand to the challenges of coordinating the medical care of an individual with a disability. The complexity of underlying chronic physical, emotional, and behavioral issues that so often accompany genetic conditions such as Down syndrome is overwhelming at times, making coordination seem impossible. In August 2009 the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), under the leadership of Dr. Kent McKelvey and Dr. Bradley Schaefer, opened Arkansas’s first genetics clinic focusing on providing specialty medical care to individuals living with numerous genetic syndromes, one of which is Down syndrome. In October 2020 Dr. Kent McKelvey, working with a group of 13 researchers, doctors, and social workers from all geographic areas of the country, published the first evidence-based medical care guidelines for adults living with Down syndrome. These guidelines, first published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), are available for free through the Global Down Syndrome Foundation.

To access these guidelines and other useful resources, visit https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/global-adult-guidelines/ .

To read the JAMA article, visit https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2771907?utm_source=undefined&utm_campaign=content-shareicons&utm_content=article_engagement&utm_medium=social&utm_term=110220

I plan to share these guidelines with my daughter’s doctor. I encourage you to share as well.

Jacqueline Gorton is an advocate at Disability Rights Arkansas. Email her at jgorton@disabilityrightsar.org.

Oct 30 2020

Update on In-Person Appointments at SSA Local Offices

On October 22, 2020, the Social Security Administration (SSA) revised the information available on its COVID-19 webpage about who is eligible for an in-person appointment while its local offices generally remain closed to the public due to the pandemic. They divide their instructions into: 1) Those who need help with their benefits; and 2) Those who need help with a Social Security number (SSN).

For those who need help with their benefits:

Generally, SSA will schedule an in-person appointment for those “in dire need situations.” SSA defines a dire need situation as when an individual:

Is without food or shelter, including utilities, or is without medical care or coverage and needs to apply for or reinstate benefits from SSA; or
Currently receives benefits from SSA and has an urgent need for payment to meet expenses for food, shelter, or medical treatment, and the individual cannot receive a payment from SSA electronically.

For those who need help with a Social Security number:

SSA is prioritizing requests for in-person SSN services for:

Individuals age 12 or older applying for their first SSN card.
Individuals who need to update or correct their SSN information (such as their name, date of birth, or citizenship) to obtain income, resources, or medical care or coverage, or other services or benefits (for example filing a tax return, applying for housing, or seeking an Economic Impact Payment).

SSA encourages those who don’t fit into one of these priority situations to request a replacement SSN card through an online my Social Security account, or by mailing an application for a Social Security card (Form SS-5) to their local office, along with original documents to prove their identity, with the assurance that these documents will be mailed back to the individual.

However, SSA concedes that since there are “delays processing mail-in SSN card applications, it may take us between two and four weeks to process the application and return the evidence.” In many states, individuals will be punished if they are found to be driving without having their driver’s license on their person, and the law prohibits immigrants from having their immigration documents out of their possession. SSA’s Program Operations Manual System (POMS) contains this warning on the requirements for replacing an SSN card:

CAUTION: Never ask a noncitizen applicant to mail his or her immigration document to SSA. Under the law, noncitizens 18 years of age or older in the U.S. must have immigration documentation in their possession at all times. If they do not, they are subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

Oct 28 2020

FIRST PERSON: It’s okay to be okay

In recent years we have seen growing support for the idea that it’s okay to not be okay, and that concept has been a great champion against the stigma of mental illness. However, some of us need a reminder that it is also okay to be okay.

It probably isn’t difficult for you to think of a specific moment that you look back on fondly. But how many full chapters of your life do you look back on the same way? Is this the first time it’s occurred to you that full portions of your memory could be seen through positivity? Does your mind organize your personal history as stuff that happened between and around the hard parts?

Experiencing trauma, abuse, or neglect, especially over prolonged periods, makes it hard to reflect warmly on life. That seems obvious, but those experiences inhibit your ability to reminisce on good feelings without focusing on specific moments. You still have fun and remember positive events, but you struggle to internalize your life’s chapters as good. The only “good” seasons come from periods before the trauma began or after you have significantly healed, and even then your brain may have rewired itself to catalogue your history through this new fog. When an emotional wound runs deep enough to dominate a span in your life, it feels impossible to internalize positive memories in a way that outruns the hurt because every event near that mental landmark is obscured by its shadow.

Prolonged trauma conditions you to always be on the lookout for the next hurt. You do not recognize the good chapters because you are not mentally present for them. Life may be objectively good for an extended time, but you spend the good times in dread of what tomorrow brings because that’s when the other shoe has always dropped.

If I just described you, especially if you are still navigating the haze of your trauma, then I need you to take a breath for just a moment. This year has been awful on many levels, but what made you smile today? What made you laugh recently? Your trauma may have robbed you of appreciating a good day, but you deserved that little moment of happiness. It wasn’t something you snuck in while karma had its back turned, so you should not feel guilty about it. Good things do not mean that you are overdue for a setback. Challenges are inevitable, but scars are not. And even if there are more scars in your future, that does not have to diminish today’s warmth. It is okay to be okay.

Mitchell Harlan is an attorney at Disability Rights Arkansas. Email him at mharlan@disabilityrightsAR.org.

Oct 13 2020

Has your family been impacted by youth court fees and costs?

Has your family been affected by youth court fees and costs? We want to hear from you!

Across Arkansas, families whose children are involved in the juvenile court system are asked to pay fees and costs associated with their cases. These costs can include, but are not limited to:

Expenses from stays in detention centers
Electronic monitoring and probation fees
Public defender (attorney) fees
Other court costs

These court fees can easily add up to more than $1,000 per case, a huge burden for many families. Often times, families are unable to cover these costs, leaving parents in debt and children in the court system for even longer.

Especially during the COVID-19 health and economic crises, families might have to choose between paying their bills and
paying court costs—a decision that can be devastating for the well-being of our communities during this time.

Disability Rights Arkansas is reaching out to families to hear how these fees may be affecting you and your community. We want to end this practice and are looking to hear from youth and families with experiences in the juvenile court system. Your identity will be confidential to our advocacy team and will not be shared with the courts or any authorities. The experiences you share can help create a better community for all children and families in Arkansas and we are grateful for any time you may be able to provide.

To share your story or for more information, please contact:

Tom Masseau
Executive Director
Disability Rights Arkansas
tmasseau@disabilityrightsar.org
(501) 296-1775