Tag: Covid-19

20 United States Senators Push for Disability Specific Relief in Next Covid-19 Stimulus Package

In response to constant advocacy efforts by the disability community, a bi-partisan letter signed by 20 U.S. senators was sent to congressional leadership requesting disability specific funding in the next stimulus bill. The letter proposes a $50 billion increase in funding for Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) programs, paid sick leave for people with disabilities and their caregivers, a boost in Medicaid funding, and emergency income relief. The letter also calls for a 12% increase in the Medicaid matching rate and calls for the permanent reauthorization of Money Follows the person.

A copy of the letter can be read here.

CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLYMEMBERS SEEK TO PROTECT SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES DURING PANDEMIC

As California continues to battle the Covid-19 pandemic and our state’s budget outlook looks bleaker by the week, several members of the Legislature are stepping forward to make sure services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are protected. Last week members of the Assembly Select Committee on Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities, led by the Chair of that committee, Assemblyman Jim Frazier (D – Contra Costa), sent a letter to the Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, Assemblyman Phil Ting (D – San Francisco) requesting that the Budget Committee “hold harmless” services and supports and protect people with I/DD and their families during this extraordinary budget process. Specifically, the letter stated:

“Historically, services and support for people with I/DD have been overlooked, with high direct support staff turnover due to low wages, long waitlists for early intervention and other services, essential programs closing across the state, and unmanageable regional center caseload ratios. The state’s own rate study concluded that DDS services and supports were underfunded by $1.8 billion. That critical need and continued lack of funding is compounded by the current pandemic, resulting in greater need for direct service providers and a much greater need for family supports at home.

Earlier this year I proposed a plan to continue to close the massive underfunding to developmental services and implement the rate study over three years. The recent changes in our budget and your subsequent April 6 memo makes that plan currently untenable. However, reductions to the investments made last year to this community – a community that is still recovering from budget cuts made in the last recession – should not be included in this budget.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen direct support professionals answer the call, risking their own health to continue to support Californians with I/DD. Families and caregivers too face new challenges while sheltering in place with their loved ones with I/DD.

If ever there was a time to honor our commitment and obligation to the entire I/DD community and those who are helping to keep them safe and healthy, it is now. We have made modest gains to promote and provide necessary services to this vulnerable population, and any further attempt to erode or eliminate services should not be considered in the cuts that will surely take place in this current budget.”

The full letter can be read here.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Staying Healthy During the COVID-19

There is a lot of information going around about how to stay healthy during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Not all of it is correct, so here are a few basic do’s and don’ts to protect yourself and the people around you.

DO:

  • Stay at home whenever possible
  • Wash your hands several times a day for at least 20 seconds, especially before and after going out of your house
  • Cover your mouth and nose with your elbow when you cough or sneeze
  • Wear a mask when you are out of your house
  • Stay at least 6 feet away from people when you go out
  • If you feel sick stay home
  • If you feel really sick call or email your doctor to ask if you should come in to the hospital
  • Continue taking all of the medicine that you have been prescribed just as you did before the pandemic unless your doctor tells you to stop

DON’T:

  • Take medicine that you haven’t been prescribed
  • Drink or otherwise ingest bleach or other household cleaning products; they will make you very sick!
  • Visit friends and family members in person
  • Go to crowded locations like parks or beaches

This is a hard time and many of us are lonely and afraid. So please DO take care of your mental health. Visit your friends and family members online or on the phone and share your feelings. Read, draw, dance, or build model aircraft carriers – now is a great time to do any hobby that you love or try out something new. Most of all, stay safe!

URGENT: Parents on Social Security Must File with the IRS by 4/22/2020

 

The Department of the Treasury announced in a press release today that parents on Social Security will need to fill out the IRS Non-Filers information by THIS WEDNESDAY 4/22/2020 to receive the $500 economic impact payment per child.

The press release says:

“WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service today urge social security, railroad retirement and veterans benefit recipients who have qualifying children and did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return to go to the IRS Non-Filer tool by Wednesday, April 22, and enter basic information to receive the $500 per eligible child added to their automatic $1,200 Economic Impact Payment.

“Social security recipients and other federal benefit recipients will get their $1,200 automatically, but if they have dependents and did not file in 2018 or 2019, they need to use the IRS Non-Filers tool as soon as possible to input information to get their $500 per child,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “If the IRS does not receive this essential information by Wednesday, their payment will be $1,200 and the $500 per child will be paid to them with a return filing for tax year 2020.”

Those receiving federal benefits – including Social Security retirement, survivor or disability benefits (SSDI), Railroad Retirement benefits, or Veterans Administration benefits – who have qualifying children and who were not required file a tax return in 2018 or 2019 should go to IRS.gov and click on the “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here” button.”

This unexpected deadline is a huge burden on parents with disabilities who are on SSDI and other Social Security recipients, including survivor beneficiaries such as windows and widowers with young children and retirement beneficiaries such as grandparents raising adopted children under the age of 17. The IRS Press Release explains that another deadline is coming shortly for parents who receive SSI or VA benefits. We are registering our concern with this deadline, especially that it is in less than 48 hours and that the non-filer portal has only been in existence for 10 days, with the IRS and SSA and will keep you posted with any updates.

Clearly this time frame is appalling, so please share this information widely and quickly.

To fill out the IRS Non-Filers information visit: https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here

Visit Our New COVID-19 Resources Webpage

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly shifted nearly every aspect of our lives. Just as quickly advocates have risen up to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities are respected, and that we are included in governmental thinking as they form their response to this singular moment.

For all of us these changes can be a lot to keep up with. For this reason we have created www.thearcca.org/covid a resource page for the intellectual and developmental disabilities community. We will be updating this page frequently as our world shifts and changes so please check back as needed, we hope to answer as many of your questions as possible truthfully and promptly.

SSI Recipients Will Receive COVID-19 Economic Impact Payments

Washington, D.C. – Thanks to the advocacy of people with disabilities and their families and friends, the Treasury Department announced today that it would automatically issue Recovery Rebate payments to people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) via the method by which they usually receive their SSI benefits. This change ensures that people with disabilities on SSI will automatically receive the Recovery Rebate payments authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This money will help millions of the lowest income people with disabilities deal with the economic strain of the COVID-19 pandemic. Treasury anticipates these automatic payments no later than early May.

This means that SSI recipients with no qualifying children do not need to take any action in order to receive their $1,200 economic impact payment. The payments will be automatic.

SSI Recipients with Dependent Children Should Still Go To IRS.gov to Provide Your Information:

If you are on SSI and do have qualifying children under age 17, however, you should not wait for your automatic $1,200 individual payment. You should go to the IRS’s webpage at www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here and visit the Non-Filers: Enter Your Payment Info section to provide their information. By entering information on the IRS website about yourself and your qualifying children, you will also receive the $500 per dependent child payment in addition to you $1,200 individual payment.

Unfortunately, there still exists an inequity for people with SSI who are claimed as dependents. If you are claimed as a dependent then you are ineligible for the $1200 stimulus payment, AND parents who claim adult children as dependents are ineligible for the $500 stimulus per child.

If you are not able to afford internet service at home you may qualify for low income internet service.

COVID-19 Resources and Information

The Arc of California is greatly concerned about the threat of COVID-19 to people with disabilities, their families, and the workforce that supports them. We are compiling resources to help people with intellectual and /or developmental disabilities (I/DD), their families, and service providers to understand this global pandemic.

From The Arc of the United States:

Resources by Subject:

General Info

For Service Providers

Healthcare Rights and Information for People With Disabilities During COVID-19

The COVID-19 Stimulus and Relief Efforts and the Disability Community

Special Education

Accessible Language COVID-19 Resources and Answers to Common Questions

Webinars:

Webinars are seminars or other presentation that take place on the Internet, allowing participants in different locations to see and hear the presenter and ask questions. The following are videos of webinars that have already taken place, so though you won’t be able to ask questions, you can watch them just like any other YouTube video.

Miscellaneous:

CalFresh Emergency Allotments Coming Soon

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state of California has authorized an emergency CalFresh benefit allotment for eligible households. The emergency allotments will bring each CalFresh household the maximum benefit allowed under federal regulation.

Emergency CalFresh benefits for March will be issued on Sunday, April 12 and for April on Sunday, May 10. You may check your benefit balance online at https://www.yourbenefits.laclrs.org/ybn/Index.html or on the DPSS Mobile App.

COVID-19 Federal Economic Impact Payments: Progress for People on SSI

As we reported last week, there has been a lot of confusion about weather or not people receiving SSI and certain Veterans Administration benefits would need to file tax returns to receive the one time $1200 Economic Impact Payment from the CARES Act. Last Friday the IRS released a new electronic portal to assist people on SSI and other non-filers in receiving their stimulus payments.

Individuals can go to the IRS portal, enter their personal information, and that information will be utilized to send them a stimulus payment. This is still a burden on people with disabilities and the people who support them, especially those with limited internet access, so advocacy efforts continue to simplify the process.

To learn more about the Economic Impact Payments, also called Recovery Rebates, read this one page fact sheet.

COVID-19 Federal Relief Payments: What People on Social Security Need to Know

The recent federal COVID-19 relief stimulus package guaranteed a one time Economic Impact Payment of $1,200 to most Americans. It has been unclear if these payments will reach people who rely on Social Security for their income. A lot of advocacy work is going on to make sure that they will. Currently there are many rumors going around about this issue. This article will help you understand where we are right now.

What is the Problem?

The IRS will be issuing these payments as though they are tax returns. The problem stems from the fact that many people who rely on Social Security for their income do not file taxes. This flaw has been addressed for retired people, yet they receive a different form of Social Security from many people with disabilities. The confusion comes from the fact that it is unclear whether or not last week’s solution that works for retired people applies to people who receive SSI or certain Veterans Affairs benefits. As recently as last week it appeared that people with disabilities relying on Social Security would need to file simple tax returns to receive payment.

Where are We Now?

The IRS has been updating both their Coronavirus Tax Relief page and their Economic impact payments: What you need to know page frequently as this process is refined. As of late last Friday the language on the IRS website has been changed to suggest that filing taxes may not be necessary. At the same time, Senators Susan Collins and Kyrsten Sinema sent this letter to the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of the Treasury, and 45 additional Senators sent this letter asking that people on SSI and veterans not be required to file taxes to receive their Economic Impact Payment.

What to Do?

We will update this story as soon as we have confirmation one way or the other so please continue to check the Monday Morning Memo for updates.

If you are concerned and want to fill your taxes just in case you can do it on the IRS website at the Free File: Do Your Federal Taxes for Free page.

We will continue to closely monitor this situation and share further information as it develops.

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