Wright’s Law
Wrightslaw is a nationally recognized source of accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for all children with disabilities.
Wrightslaw is a nationally recognized source of accurate, reliable information about special education law, education law, and advocacy for all children with disabilities.
Stop Hurting Kids is a campaign to limit the use of restraint and seclusion in schools. Harmful practices are used disproportionatey on students with disabilities and racial/ethnic minority students.
Protection and Advocacy (P&A) agencies provide legal support to traditionally unserved or underserved populations to help them navigate service systems, including special education.
Making a plan can help you find a volunteer position that matches your interests and goals for volunteering. Then, you and your trusted supporters can work together to find volunteer opportunities that fit with your vision and address any challenges and worries that you have.
Enter your information below to download the free “My Volunteer Vision” planning document to help you think through your vision for volunteering.
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People who have disability labels have skills, perspectives, and experience that they can use to contribute in meaningful ways to their communities through volunteering. For volunteering to be a positive experience, there must be a good match between the person and the volunteer position. The linke article includes questions that individuals with disabilities can ask themselves and the organizations as they search for the right volunteer activities for them, and questions that organizations can ask as they assess their own response to a volunteer with a disability.
“What does the Department of Neighborhoods do to encourage persons with developmental disabilities to get involved in neighborhood life?” That question prompted the beginning of a program called Involving All Neighbors in Seattle, Washington. The program was used to explore different ways people could be welcomed and involved in their neighbourhood. This series of stories and strategies from Seattle emerge from that program and describe examples of people with disability becoming involved in the life of the community to the benefit of all. The stories are likely to be helpful for families who are seeking ideas about how their son or daughter could be included, for families wanting to provide guidance and ideas for those working to support their son or daughter and for professionals who are keen to support people with disability develop skills and pursue interests.
The National Inclusion Project operates on three core beliefs works with community organizations and recreational programs, providing them with the training, tools, and support they need so that children with disabilities can be included in all activities and programs.
Special Olympics provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
Best Buddies is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation of the 200 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Best Buddies helpe people with IDD form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, improve public speaking, self-advocacy and communication skills, and feel valued by society.
State: Maryland
Filed: 2016
Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Overview: The brief challenged a series of failures in the Social Security Administration’s notification and review process, including lack of adequate notice of overpayments, a practice of collecting overpayments from those other than the actual recipients of Social Security benefit payments, and failure to provide explanation or evidence supporting the alleged overpayments. The brief argued that SSA should not be permitted to moot claims by unilateral action, thus avoiding judicial inquiry into their ongoing policies and practices and emphasizes the importance of class actions in these cases.
Excerpt: “[T]he challenges of accessing SSA’s appeal procedures can be compounded for beneficiaries with disabilities…Beneficiaries with intellectual disability can have difficulty handling the complex administrative, legal, and financial issues involved in accessing SSA appeal and waiver procedures, which are challenging for people without disabilities.”
Status: In 2017, plaintiffs stipulated to dismiss their appeal and vacate the district court opinion in light of positive steps taken by SSA to address the barriers described above.
Amicus Brief: Hart v. Berryhill (Colvin)
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