July is Disability Pride Month
Show Your Pride By Kimberly Gatewood My name is Kimberly Gatewood and today, July 7th, 2022, is my first-time hearing about Disability Pride Month. I would like to learn more about how to get involved in disability pride events. If other groups have made a positive impact with pride events to support their communities, then the […]
Olmstead Lawsuit Anniversary
Twenty-Seven Years Ago Today By Jon Taylor Twenty-Seven years ago today, Sue Jamieson, an attorney with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, filed a lawsuit on behalf of Lois Curtis (and later added Elaine Wilson). Both Lois and Elaine possessed an intellectual disability and a mental health diagnosis, and at the time of the lawsuit, were trapped […]
Funding Opportunity Announced During DDAM 2022
How Organizations Can Help GCDD Reach Its Goals By Jon Taylor Every other year, the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities develops and distributes Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for its Competitive Grant Program. Any RFPs must be specifically designed to achieve the goals and objectives of the Council’s Five-Year State Plan. The Plan has three goals: The […]
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
DDAM 2022 By Jon Taylor March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. DDAM 2022’s theme is Worlds Imagined. My initial thoughts around Worlds Imagined were “What Ifs…” What if every person who had a disability: I could go on. You could too. But the longer I asked myself, “What If?”, I realized I was asking the […]
Arkansas Managed Care System – Meet the New PASSE
CareSource PASSE CareSource PASSE is a Provider-Led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE) Program and is a new option for Arkansans with complex behavioral health and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities starting January 1, 2022. CareSource PASSE’s office is in Little Rock and employs local, community-based care coordinators statewide. Five leading Arkansas health care organizations […]
Learning About the Arkansas Managed Care System
What is a PASSE and what is supposed to do? By Jon Taylor In October and November, I travelled the state discussing Competitive, Integrated Employment. The best part of those the discussions was the Q & A. Most questions focused on employment, but I always had a few questions regarding services for people with disabilities. I […]
Getting Involved with the Medicaid Client Voice Council
Find your seat at the table. Let your voice be heard. By Jon Taylor There are countless sayings about the consequences of inaction. Here’s a few: “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt “We constantly change the world, even by our inaction. Therefore, let us […]
Reflecting on National Disability Employment Awareness Month
An Inch Away: Opening the Glass Door to a Better WorkforceBy Jon Taylor (Adapted from an Op Ed that ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on 10/21/21) The CDC reports that 35% of Adult Arkansans – one out of three – live with disabilities, which is nearly 10% higher than the national average. This means that […]
NDEAM 2021 – Share or Take Our Employer Survey
Preaching to the Choir By Jon Taylor Over the last several weeks I’ve had the privilege to speak about Competitive, Integrated Employment to audiences across Arkansas (Zoom and in person!). Every group asked great questions, offered powerful insights, and shared some very personal experiences. In every group I spoke with there were employers who were already […]
National Disability Employment Awareness Month-Week 4
PamBy Jon Taylor Two weeks ago I wrote about two summers with Ahmad and Alik. They came to me through a program sponsored by Arkansas Workforce Services (AWS). During that time, I was building a partnership with another state agency that also focused on Disability and Inclusion: Arkansas Rehabilitation Services. ARS’ mission is to prepare Arkansans […]