Arlington Heritage Group, Inc.

Sharing a client’s news! Yesterday BARC Developmental Services hosted Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh to meet with Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A), caregivers and advocates to hear how the proposed investments in the Governor's 2024-25 budget will expand access to support home and community-based services and address the shortage of direct support professionals in our Commonwealth, and set a course to end Pennsylvania's emergency waiting list for ID/A services. “We applaud Governor Shapiro’s proposed investment in ID/A services in Pennsylvania for increased rates, supplemental payments, and more capacity to address the waiting list. The foundation of BARC Developmental Services are the direct support professionals (DSPs) who work tirelessly every day to provide the care needed so our supported individuals can lead happy, fulfilled lives and contribute to their communities,” said Mary Sautter, Executive Director of BARC Development Services. “The Governor’s proposed budget includes critical investments into the ID/A system that will help increase wages for DSPs so agencies like BARC Developmental Services can recruit and retain qualified staff. We are hopeful that the state legislature will maintain this funding in the 2024-25 budget.” “A budget I think is more than just a set of numbers on a spreadsheet – it's a statement of what your priorities are and what your principles are. My priorities and principles are helping folks like you, both the people who are receiving the support and the people who are providing the support,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “This year in our budget, we’re making an unprecedented investment – all in nearly a half a billion dollars of money from the state, money from the federal government – to create more opportunities for services to pay people a higher wage and to be able to hire more people to do this work.” Source: https://lnkd.in/eca3r63i

SSA said that starting this fall it will no longer factor food when determining what’s known as “in-kind support and maintenance.” Read on at https://bit.ly/4cOK65b.

Social Security To Fix ‘Cruel-Hearted’ Overpayment Clawbacks? Check out our new blog - https://bit.ly/3xftIdu

Annie Ray, the orchestra director and performing arts department chair at Annandale High School in Virginia is now a Grammy winner! Ray was selected for her work promoting universal access to music education, in particular for creating a parent orchestra that allows nearly 200 caregivers to learn an instrument alongside their kids and the Crescendo Orchestra program, which teaches students with disabilities to play music. This award, it’s my students’ award 100%,” Ray said during an interview backstage at the Grammys. “They are the coolest kids in the world at Annandale High School.” Ray will receive a $10,000 honorarium and a matching grant for her school’s music program. Sourced from https://bit.ly/49oD993

New in the gym – Down To Box was developed to empower individuals with Down syndrome by teaching coordination, self-defense and physical fitness through boxing... Read on at https://bit.ly/42jnp4a

Walmart ended their trial for Sensory-Friendly hours. And now they are making the program permanent! Sensory-Friendly hours will take place in every store, every day from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. to better meet the needs of customers with disabilities. At these times, stores will lower their overhead lights, turn off radios and replace moving pictures with static ones on televisions.   Walmart held Sensory-Friendly hours at most of its stores on Saturdays during the back-to-school shopping season and said it received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback about the pilot program from both customers and employees. “These changes may have seemed small to some, but for others they transformed the shopping experience,” said Walmart officials. “Our biggest piece of feedback? Keep it going!”

Feds earmark $212 million to improve disability housing. Nonprofits and housing agencies have until Feb. 11, 2024, to apply for the funding. The funds are made available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program. The Section 811 program is aimed at helping low-income people with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 62 access community-based housing.   Half of the funds will go toward developing new or rehabilitating existing supportive housing for low-income people with disabilities and keeping it affordable. The remaining money will be used for grants to housing agencies to subsidize rental costs.  

Arlington Heritage Group is a national partner with ANCOR and just recently participated in their Policy Summit and Hill Day in Washington, D.C. where we helped to lobby Congress members on Capitol Hill for increased funding for workforce initiatives, the creation of a standard occupational classification and the support for career pipeline programs for DSPs. See the whole store at https://bit.ly/3S4Rn8Y