Spring 2015: In The News
SAVE THE DATE!
June 13, 2015, 2 PM
Disability Pride ADA25 Georgia Parade
The ADA25 Georgia Parade route starts at 2:00 PM at the Hyatt Regency on Peachtree Street and proceeds half a mile to Centennial Olympic Park, ending in front of the new National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR).
ABLE Account Planning: Six Next Steps in 2015
So how can you plan ahead for you, your child or other family member when ABLE accounts become available later in 2015?
Here’s how in six steps:
1. Identify your need for savings.
2. Identify potential sources for income.
3. Consider an ABLE account as part of long-term financial goals.
4. Be aware of some disadvantages to an ABLE account.
5. Make sure Georgia is moving forward to establish an ABLE account program.
6. Start saving now!
For additional information on the ABLE Act and ABLE accounts, please visit the National Disability Institute website: www.realeconomicimpact.org
ABLE Act Becomes Law
In December 2014, President Barack Obama signed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act into law marking a significant achievement in disability rights. The ABLE Act allows people with disabilities to open savings accounts, similar to 529 college savings plans, where they are able to save up to $100,000 without risking eligibility for Social Security and other government programs. Additionally, individuals can also keep their Medicaid coverage regardless of how much money is accrued in an ABLE account.
Although people with disabilities may be able to start opening ABLE accounts as soon as 2015, each state must put regulations in place to make this offer available. GCDD will continue to provide updates on the ABLE Act and how it is being implemented in Georgia.
Augusta Girl Chosen to Attend ABLE Act Speech in Washington, DC
T.W. Josey High School homecoming queen Adejah Nesbitt was chosen to visit Washington, DC upon the passage of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. Nesbitt, who is diagnosed with autism, attended a speech given by Vice President Joe Biden to create savings accounts without losing Medicaid and Social Security benefits. The 17-year-old was chosen from a pool of applicants by the Institute for Educational Leadership.
A leader in her own right, Nesbitt is Richmond County School System’s first student with a disability to be chosen for homecoming queen and is a junior varsity cheerleader.
Disability Leaders and Advocates Mourn Warren Lee Hill
After being denied clemency, Warren Lee Hill, 54, was executed at 7 p.m. on Jan. 27 for the murder of a fellow prison inmate. Hill was sentenced to serve life in prison for the 1986 killing of his 18-year-old girlfriend, and in 1991, a jury convicted Hill of murder and sentenced him to death. Hill’s case has sparked debate as his lawyers tried to convince the courts that the defendant was a person with an intellectual disability, and therefore, should not be executed. State law and the 2002 US Supreme Court decision of Atkins v. Virginia both prohibit the execution of people with intellectual disabilities.
However, Georgia has the toughest-in-the-nation burden of proof for capital defendants seeking to avoid execution on grounds of intellectual disability.
State court judges found Hill to have an intellectual disability and experts for the State who testified 15 years ago changed their diagnoses due to better scientific understanding leading them to believe Hill had a mild intellectual disability. But, the State argued that Hill failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had an intellectual disability.
Hill was granted temporary stays in July 2012, February 2013 and July 2013 so courts would have time to consider challenges filed by Hill’s lawyers. State and federal courts rejected his lawyers’ filings this time around, and the US Supreme Court declined his request for a stay of execution.
Disability Rights Advocates March in Atlanta MLK Parade
Honoring the birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., leaders and advocates of disability rights took to the streets of Downtown Atlanta on Jan. 16 to celebrate and advocate for disability rights and equality for all.
Eleanor Smith was one of the many disability leaders in the community leading the parade. “A lot of people didn’t know there was a disability rights movement,” said Smith, who founded Concrete Change. “It’s a rights issue and a social justice movement, and we wanted to make people aware of why the passage of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was so important, and why we continue to advocate today.”
Concrete Change is an international network whose goal is making all new homes visitable, a construction practice so that new homes – for people with and without disabilities – offer features making the home easier for mobility-impaired people to live in and visit.
Along with Smith, over 120 people from various organizations such as disABILITY Link joined in to raise awareness for disability rights. Additionally, planning for an ADA Parade in June 2015 is also underway and continues to seek volunteers. “The ADA was a significant civil rights movement, and by marching in the parade, we are raising awareness in the community about the next 25 years of disability rights,” added Smith.
For more information on June’s ADA Parade, email .
Tags: Making a Difference, In The News