Roman Catholic Priest Charged with Sexual Assault of Developmental Disabled Center Resident in Illinois

Richard Jacklin, 65, booking photo via Illinois State Police.

 (Illinois State Police)

by the Associated Press | Nov. 2, 2017                                                                                            
ILLINOIS - Bond has been set at $1 million for a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually assaulting a resident of a developmental center outside Chicago.

The Rev. Richard Jacklin was arrested by Illinois State Police on Tuesday for the alleged assault on the resident at Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee.

Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe on Thursday told the judge a nurse walked in on Jacklin performing a sex act on a 39-year-old man. The alleged victim has been a patient at Shapiro since 2010 and is paralyzed and has an intellectual disability.

The 65-year-old Jacklin has been charged with criminal sexual assault by force and sexual misconduct of a person with a disability.

The Diocese of Joliet says Jacklin was ordained June 2, 1984, and has been assigned to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Goodrich since 2005.

Teacher in Michigan Slapped and Also Taped Disabled Female Students Mouth

Ann Arbor, Michigan - The mother of a severely disabled student is suing the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and educators for allegedly taping her mouth shut and other abuse dating back more than a decade.

article by Mark Hicks for The Detroit News | Nov. 1, 2017                                                        
Doreen Smith alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court that she withdrew her daughter from Ann Arbor’s High Point School after learning about a February incident in which a staffer reportedly slapped the now 27-year-old. But, according to the complaint, it was the latest in a series of troubling episodes at the school that serves special needs students.

According to the lawsuit, teacher Nesa Johnson forcefully taped the student’s mouth shut in March 2016 because “she was ‘making noise,’ ” then texted a photo to Smith captioned: “Help. She won’t be quiet!!!”

Smith’s daughter, who has cerebral palsy, cognitive disorders, seizures and other issues, had been attending the school since 2004. She cannot speak, weighs less than 70 pounds and relies on assistance, the court filing read.

That same year, the student received third-degree leg burns when scalding hot coffee was spilled on her, the suit claims. Staffers claimed she hurt herself, but Smith’s daughter “lacks the manual dexterity to move her arms in such a way that she would have the ability to reach out and knock over a container of liquid,” an attorney said in the lawsuit.

After Smith complained, her daughter was transferred to a classroom led by Johnson, but she “continued to suffer abuse and neglect,” according to the complaint.

The student sustained significant arm injuries while under the teacher’s care in 2007, Smith claims.

Smith asserts her daughter also was locked in a bathroom and had returned home on other occasions with bruises, facial scratches, soiled diapers and appearing to have been over-medicated. She claims her complaints to the district and then-principal Anne Nakon did not result in any immediate action.

The suit alleges that the student’s rights were violated and the incidents affected her health. It seeks damages and attorney fees.

The lawyer representing the district, Tim Mullins, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.

In a statement Wednesday, district officials said: “The Washtenaw ISD wants to assure the parents of our district that we take the health, safety and education of all of our students very seriously. As to the subject of this lawsuit, the family did not report this, or any other complaint to the district until nearly a year after it occurred. During that subsequent year, the student continued attending school, in the same classroom, with the same teacher. When we were first informed of the family’s concern, we immediately conducted a complete investigation and took appropriate remedial action.”

Neither Johnson nor Nakon work for the district any longer, spokeswoman Emma Jackson said late Wednesday.

Efforts to reach Johnson were unsuccessful.

In an email, Nakon told The Detroit News: “I was unaware of this suit and had no reason to suspect there was any harm to a student while working at the WISD. I was contacted regarding these allegations several months ago and shared that I was unaware of any misconduct toward this student or any student. I have not been contacted since. I would never condone such a behavior and, had I been made aware of or suspected any mistreatment of a student, would have immediately investigated the situation to protect the student.”
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/11/01/ann-arbor-suit-disabled-pupil-mouth-taped-shut/107255358/

Report: Many 2016 Voting Sites Lacked Full Disability Access

DES MOINES, Iowa — Fewer than one in five polling places were fully accessible to voters with disabilities during the 2016 general election, a government report shows — a finding that has prompted federal officials to recommend the Justice Department adopt stricter compliance rules.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | NOV. 2, 2017                                                                          

The report released Thursday by the non-partisan Government Accountability Office comes less than a week before mayoral elections in Atlanta and New York, elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia and a special U.S. House election in Utah, and gives a window of only a year to address problems before the 2018 congressional elections.

The bottom line in the report, provided to The Associated Press in advance of its publication, is that accessibility for voters with disabilities has not kept pace with the increase in early voting that has occurred in many states since the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 2002 Help America Vote Act. Both early voting and the disabilities access improvements are top goals in making it easier to vote.

Instead, Republican President Donald Trump has urged action on unfounded allegations of voter fraud. More than a dozen Republican-controlled state legislatures have enacted tighter restrictions on voting this decade.

"With the increase in early voting, this research is timely. Are our guidelines and regulations and practices keeping up with the changing patterns of voting in America?" asked Wendy Underhill, elections program director for the National Council of State Legislatures.

Just 17 percent of the 178 polling places officials examined nationwide in the days leading up to last year's election, and on Election Day, were without any impediments to voters with disabilities, despite the vast majority of states reporting they'd taken adequate care before voting started.

Most of the problems were found outside the buildings where the voting was taking place, such as steep ramps, poor parking accommodations or hazardous path surfaces. The report included a photograph of a collapsed folding table laid between a street and the curb as a makeshift wheelchair ramp.

Most polling places examined had at least one voting station that was usable by people with physical disabilities.

The 2002 voting law, enacted after problems revealed during the 2000 presidential vote notably in Florida, included money to replace voting equipment. However, it did not include money to retrofit polling places for disabled voters.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., among lawmakers who requested the study, criticized Republican officials around the country, arguing they'd pursued voter restrictions based on largely unfounded allegations of voter fraud, while needs of disabled voters were not being met.

"The debate we've had is almost totally contrary to the reality," said Casey, ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Aging. "The assertion by GOPs has been voter fraud, which they haven't proven, so we spend our time debating that which is fiction, instead of debating the impediments to voting."

Said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.: "We need to do more to restore Americans' confidence in our political system. Our first step should be making it easier for their voices to be heard on Election Day."

President Donald Trump commissioned a panel to investigate as yet unfounded claims that millions voted fraudulently last year, when Trump was elected by winning a solid majority of Electoral College votes but receiving roughly 2.9 million fewer overall votes than Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Before that, Republicans in statehouses across the country had been enacting voter identification requirements with similarly little evidence of fraud.

Since the elections of 2010, when Republicans made big gains in governorships and GOP legislatures, 15 states have enacted, or made stricter, voter identification requirements.

Opponents say the measures are aimed at giving Republicans an advantage, because those who do not have such identification are disproportionately racial and ethnic minorities, groups that are less likely to vote Republican.

In Iowa this year, the GOP-controlled Legislature passed such a measure, which was signed by Republican then-Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican. The law was signed despite the state's top elections official saying he'd been informed of only 10 improper votes out of roughly 1.6 million counted in the 2016 election.

Illinois Interagency Committee for Employees with Disabilities (ICED) 2017 Outstanding Employee of the Year John Eckert

Springfield, IL – For John Eckert, working as senior policy advisor at the Illinois Department on Aging isn’t so much a job, as it is a calling – a vocation. The Illinois Interagency Committee for Employees with Disabilities in October named John Eckert its 2017 Outstanding Employee of the Year. Jean Bohnhoff, director of the Department on Aging, and Mr. Eckert’s nominator said, “For John, it’s about helping people. Whether it’s ensuring an individual can transition to a community with access to needed housing, or making sure a person has the supplies necessary to set up a new, independent living apartment, John’s always there. It’s not about the titles for him, but a mission of serving others. That’s why he’s our outstanding employee – and now, the committee’s as well.”

Mr. Eckert, with a Master’s in Rehabilitation Administration and Services from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, maintains a primary focus on rebalancing the long-term care system to ensure that individuals with disabilities and the elderly have every opportunity to live independently in their communities. This commitment to mission is reflected in the long list of social initiatives that bear his indelible imprint of leadership.

He has long-served as the Department on Aging’s leader for the Federal Money Follows the Person Demonstration Program, a Medicaid improvement project aimed at better serving the elderly and those with disabilities. He is the chair of Illinois’ Inter-Agency Long-Term Services and Support rebalancing project for Medicaid, and serves as the agency’s co-lead for Older Americans Services Advisory Committee. Mr. Eckert is also co-lead for both the implementation of the Federal Person-Centered Planning Requirements and the Nursing Facility Deflection Project.
 
Mr. Eckert has long been considered a dedicated advocate for individuals with disabilities as well as the elderly, and he works tirelessly to serve them through policy and inter-agency collaboration. He is seen by his Department on Aging colleagues and peers across all other statewide human services agencies as a subject matter expert and patient, thoughtful mentor to others. This award and its recognition validates the views of his colleagues, clients, and the communities he serves.

• IDoA ICED Release

About the Illinois Department on Aging
The mission of the Illinois Department on Aging is to serve and advocate for older Illinoisans and their caregivers by administering quality and culturally appropriate programs that promote partnerships and encourage independence, dignity, and quality of life.

Establish or Join the 'REV UP' Disability Voting Coalition in your State

The purpose of REV UP State Disability Voting Coalitions is to influence election and policy outcomes at the local, state, and national level. We have Coalitions established and developing in 21 states and are working to expand to more! We are looking for leaders who can pull together and organize advocates in their state to work together around voter registration and engagement activities and help establish a strong, diverse Coalition. The 2018 midterm elections are one year away - contact us at zbaldwin@aapd.com if you are interested in getting involved.

REV UP! AAPD from channelAustin on Vimeo.

Encourage Others to REV UP and Get Out The Vote

People with disabilities accounted for nearly 17% of eligible voters in 2016. When we include our families, we account for 25% of the total electorate. 

We can influence our family, friends, advocates, educators, professionals, providers, and bureaucrats to vote in favor of disability rights!

source: American Association of People with Disabilities

Webinar: Important Upcoming Tax Cut Battle - Nov. 8, 2017

The Hugely Important Upcoming Tax Cut Battle: Why it Matters If you provide services and/or advocate for low/moderate-income people, trillion$ in tax cuts pose a direct threat to everything you care about Webinar: Wednesday, November 8 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m., Central; 11:00 a.m. Mountain; 10:00 a.m. Pacific) Register Here Co-sponsored by FRAC and CHN  Presenters include:  Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) Frank Clemente, Americans for Tax Fairness Deborah Weinstein, Coalition on Human Needs Jim Weill, FRAC (Moderator) The tax cut plan to be taken up in the House Committee on Ways and Means startingNovember 6 will blow a hole in the deficit, leading to enormous pressure to cut domestic programs of all kinds – SNAP, Medicaid and other health care, low-income tax credits, child care, Head Start, housing, education, job training, SSI, environmental and consumer protection – all threatened with cuts now or in the years to come. The plan will be a massive shift of resources from meeting the needs of low/moderate-income people and to tax breaks for high income people and corporations. This webinar will explain how services you care about will be affected, explain the main provisions in a jargon-free way, and tell you how to fight back. Senator Patty Murray is one of the Senate's most effective leaders. She is Ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and serves on the Senate Appropriations and Budget Committees. She has helped to achieve bipartisan negotiations to protect human needs programs, including health care. Frank Clemente, Executive Director of American for Tax Fairness, will describe what's in the tax cut bill, including winners and losers, and the strategy for opposing it.Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs, will explain how the proposed tax cuts threaten essential services, and action steps you can take.  Jim Weill, President of the Food Research and Action Center, bringing unparalleled experience advocating to reduce hunger and poverty, will moderate. Register Here  Please forward this invitation to your networks and contacts at national, state, and local organizations nationwide. source: Coalition on Human Needs

Webinar: Web Content Accessibility Guideline Resources (November 28)

The next U.S. Access Board webinar in the Section 508 Best Practices Webinar Series will take place November 28 from 1:00 to 2:30 (ET) and review available resources explaining the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Issued by the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), WCAG 2.0 is a globally recognized, technology-neutral standard for accessible web content. The U.S. Access Board's updated Section 508 Standards reference WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria Level A and AA and apply them to web-based content and to other electronic content. This session will cover various technical assistance materials issued by the W3C's WAI to support use of the WCAG 2.0, including a customizable reference guide and guidance on developing conformant web content.

For more details or to register for this or other webinars in the free series, visit www.accessibilityonline.org/cioc-508/schedule.

The Section 508 Best Practices Webinar Series provides helpful information and best practices for federal agencies in meeting their obligations under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act which ensures access to information and communication technology in the federal sector. This webinar series is made available by the Accessibility Community of Practice of the CIO Council in partnership with the Access Board.

Section 508 Best Practices: W3C WCAG 2.0 Resources   
November 28, 2017, 1:00 - 2:30 (ET)
Presenters:
 • Bruce Bailey, IT Accessibility Specialist, U.S. Access Board
 • Judy Brewer, Director of W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative
 • Timothy Creagan, Senior Accessibility Specialist, U.S. Access Board (moderator) 

Registration: https://www.accessibilityonline.org/cioc-508/session/?id=110616

source: United States Access Board

'I Am a Man With Down Syndrome and My Life Is Worth Living' - Congressional Testimony

Congressional testimony that illuminates what a developmental disability means—and doesn’t mean

article by CONOR FRIEDERSDORF for The Atlantic | Oct 30, 2017                                       

Last week, the actor, Special Olympian, and advocate Frank Stephens gave this testimony to Congress: “I am a man with Down syndrome and my life is worth living.”

In fact, he went farther: “I have a great life!”

For those conceived with his developmental disability, it is the best and worst of times. “The life expectancy for someone born with Down syndrome has increased from twenty-five in the early 1980s to more than fifty today,” Caitrin Keiper writes in The New Atlantis. “In many other ways as well, a child born with Down syndrome today has brighter prospects than at any other point in history. Early intervention therapies, more inclusive educational support, legal protections in the workplace, and programs for assisted independent living offer a full, active future in the community.”

But as she goes on to explain, “the abortion rate for fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome tops ninety percent.” In Iceland, nearly every fetus with the condition is killed. CBS News reports that “the United States has an estimated termination rate for Down syndrome of 67 percent (1995-2011); in France it's 77 percent (2015); and Denmark, 98 percent (2015). The law in Iceland permits abortion after 16 weeks if the fetus has a deformity––and Down syndrome is included in this category.”

Many of those living with Down syndrome are understandably dismayed at the implication that their extra chromosome renders their life more trouble than it is worth.

That’s the context for Stephens’s full testimony, which urges allocating federal money to research that would help people with Down syndrome, rather than proceeding as though the best way to address it is prenatal testing and selective abortion:

# # #
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, 

Just so there is no confusion let me say that I am not a research scientist. However, no one knows more about life with Down Syndrome than I do. Whatever you learn today, please remember this: I am a man with Down Syndrome and my life is worth living.

Sadly, across the world, a notion is being sold that maybe we don't need research concerning Down Syndrome. Some people say prenatal screens will identify Down Syndrome in the womb and those pregnancies will just be terminated.

It's hard for me to sit here and say those words.

I completely understand that the people pushing this particular “final solution” are saying that people like me should not exist. That view is deeply prejudice by an outdated idea of life with Down Syndrome.

Seriously, I have a great life!

I have lectured at universities, acted in an award-winning film and an Emmy-winning TV show, and spoken to thousands of young people about the value of inclusion in making America great. I have been to the White House twice––and I didn't have to jump the fence either time.

Seriously, I don't feel I should have to justify my existence, but to those who question the value of people with Down Syndrome, I would make three points.

First, we are a medical gift to society, a blueprint for medical research into cancer, Alzheimers, and immune system diroders. Second, we are an unusually powerful source of happiness: a Harvard-based study has discovered that people with Down Syndrome, as well as their parents and siblings, are happier than society at large. Surely happiness is worth something? Finally, we are the canary in the eugenics coal mine. We are giving the world a chance to think about the ethics of choosing which humans get a chance at life. So we are helping to defeat cancer and Alzheimers and we make the world a happier place. Is there really no place for us in the world?

Is there really no place for us in the NIH budget?

On a deeply personal note, I cannot tell you how much it means to me that my extra chromosome might lead to the answer to Alzheimers. It's likely that this thief will one day steal my memories, my very life, from me. This is very hard for me to say, but it has already begun to steal my mom from me. Please, think about all those people you love the way I love my mom. Help us make this difference, if not for me and my mom then for you and the ones you love. Fund this research. Let's be America, not Iceland or Denmark. Let's pursue answers, not "final solutions." Let's make our goal to be Alzheimer's free, not Down Syndrome free. Thank you.

# # #

Testimony like this tends to circulate most widely in anti-abortion circles, but both opponents and advocates of abortion rights should be able to agree on its value for parents.

Parents who carry a fetus with Down syndrome to term, or who are conflicted about whether or not to do so, will almost certainly speak with a medical professional, and perhaps with a counselor or religious adviser. But they are unlikely to hear from an adult with Down syndrome—and perhaps unaware that many are loving their lives, bringing joy to others, and giving themselves to their communities. If those truths were more widely known, I suspect the odds of making it from conception to a long life with Down syndrome would be much higher.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/i-am-a-man-with-down-syndrome-and-my-life-is-worth-living/544325/

EEOC Launches Online Services for Inquiries, Appointments and Discrimination Charges

New EEOC Public Portal Allows Online Interactions with the Agency

Nov. 1, 2017 - Today the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launched an EEOC Public Portal to provide online access to individuals inquiring about discrimination.

"This secure online system makes the EEOC and an individual's charge information available wherever and whenever it is most convenient for that individual," said EEOC Acting Chair Victoria A. Lipnic. "It's a giant leap forward for the EEOC in providing online services."

The EEOC Public Portal allows individuals to submit online initial inquiries and requests for intake interviews with the agency. Initial inquiries and intake interviews are typically the first steps for individuals seeking to file a charge of discrimination with EEOC. In fiscal year 2017, the EEOC responded to over 550,000 calls to the toll-free number and more than 140,600 inquiries in field offices, reflecting the significant public demand for EEOC's services. Handling this volume of contacts through an online system is more efficient for the public and the agency as it reduces the time and expense of paper submissions.

The new system enables individuals to digitally sign and file a charge prepared by the EEOC for them. Once an individual files a charge, he or she can use the EEOC Public Portal to provide and update contact information, agree to mediate the charge, upload documents to his or her charge file, receive documents and messages related to the charge from the agency and check on the status of his or her charge. These features are available for newly filed charges and charges that were filed on or after Jan. 1, 2016 that are in investigation or mediation.

Five EEOC offices (Charlotte, Chicago, New Orleans, Phoenix and Seattle) piloted the new system for six months. Feedback from the public and the EEOC pilot offices led to improvements in the system for this nationwide launch.

The new system does not permit individuals to file charges of discrimination online that have not been prepared by the EEOC or to file complaints of discrimination against federal agencies.

In the next few weeks, the EEOC will also provide online access to charging parties for whom the agency has an email address, who have pending charges that are currently in investigation or mediation and were filed as of Jan. 1, 2016.

Individuals who do not have online access can call 1-800-669-4000 to get basic information about how to submit an inquiry to their local EEOC office.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employ­ment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.  Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.

Source: EEOC press release

Online Family Caregiving Webinar AARP Fair on Nov. 16, 2017

If you’re one of over 40 million adults in the U.S. who provide unpaid care to a loved one, the AARP Online Family Caregiving Fair can help you make the most of your caregiving journey. You’ll find valuable resources, real‑life tips and support to help you care for your loved one.

Whether you’re caring for a spouse, family member or friend, register now and you’ll find resources and support to help balance caregiving with your work and your life. You can:

• Discover helpful how‑tos, tips and online tools • Connect with other family caregivers and organizations • Access a library of resources and local support

Keynote Speaker: Richard Lui, MSNBC journalist and anchor Beyond a demanding work schedule and frequent speaking engagements, Richard flies from NYC to San Francisco each week to care for his father, an Alzheimer’s patient.

REGISTER NOW

 AARP’s Online Family Caregiving Fair on November 16, 2017 from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. – 6 p.m. PT.

source: AARP - American Association of Retired Persons