Integrated Services Bill Re-Introduced for 2009 NYS Legislative Sess= ion

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Assemblywoman Roann Destito w= ith multiple cosponsors has re-introduced The Integrated Services Bill and move= d it to the Governmental Operations Committee in the Assembly. It has a new bill number - Assembl= y Bill 5112. Senator Joseph Gr= iffo has also re-introduced it in the Senate - “same as” Senate Bill 3265 and committed it to the Senate Committee on Investigations and Governm= ent Operations.

&nb= sp; The Integrated Services bill represents the essential de-segregation legislation for New Yorkers with disabilities that remain trapped in service systems by the thousands. When people are secluded in settings that are separate from the mainstream community, they have little chance to make friends, work, interact with family, and contribute to their communities in meaningful ways The Integrated Services bill would require state agencies to develop policies t= hat promote community-based service systems and provide individuals with disabilities the legal basis to assert their right to the least restrictive setting appropriate to their needs. The community-based approach would also save millions in public spen= ding for services year after year.

<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> It is essential that our state repr= esentatives who have not already signed onto The Integrated Services Bill as a co-spons= or or multi-sponsor for 2009 be encouraged to do so at once. Although the Most Integrated Setti= ng Coordinating Council (MISCC) was cited by Governor Paterson as the entity responsible for working on identifying barriers to independent living in the state and making recommendations to remove them, the MISCC has failed to identify and recommend that legislation necessary to prohibit the state from continuing in its discrimination.

&nb= sp; The MISCC had their quarterly meeting in Albany on April 6, 2009 and received testimony requesting their support of the Integrated Service Bill = once again and were urged to contact the Governor’s office to pass the critical legislation this session.

Individuals with disabilities who reside in and have remained trapped in nursing homes, state-operated developmental centers and psychiatric facilities have been appearing before the MISCC for over seven (7) years giving impassioned test= imony, begging for action and leadership.= Their cries continue unanswered.

People with disabilities are = sick of waiting, of being patient for the State to act to protect their right to receive services without having to give up their lives and futures. New York State Health and Disabilit= y Agency Commissioners have seats at the MISCC table and need to be held accountable= for the services they direct and fund! Call your Assembly and Senate members TODAY and voice your support f= or The Integrated Services Bill (A 5112/S 3265) and if they’re not alrea= dy signed on to the bill, please ask them to support it. (= current sponsors are listed below). <= /p>

( In the Assembly, current sponsors of The Integrated Services Bill A 5112/S 3265) i= nclude Destito, Boylan, Brook-Krasny, Carrozza, Gunther, Kavanagh, Koon, Pheffer, Rivera J, Schroeder, Stirpe, Titus, Errigo, Finch, Molinaro, Townsend, Walk= er, Eddington, Abbate, Amedore, Bacalles, Calhoun, Christensen, Clark, Crouch, Galef, Glick, Jacobs, John, Lopez V, Lupardo, Magee, Maisel, mcEneny, Millm= an, Perry, Rabbitt, Reilly, Robinson, Rosenthal, Saladino, Sayward, Scozzafava, Sweeney, Towns, Weisenberg.)

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