Michigan Disability Resistance

http://bit.ly/2HXIuvc

The Internal Revenue Service unveiled an online tool Monday to provide easier access to public information about tax-exempt organizations.

The new Tax Exempt Organization Search is actually a replacement for EO Select Check, a tool that’s been available since 2012 but had more limited features. EO Select Check mainly offered information on whether an organization was tax-exempt or not, and whether its status had been revoked, but TEOS provides much more information.

The new tool provides images of newly filed 990 forms available for the first time. TEOS also includes two other significant improvements. Users can find more kinds of information than previously available through EO Select Check. On top of that, the search process has been simplified, enabling users to search across multiple data files for information with one query.

TEOS also works better than EO Select Check on mobile devices, so users can search for information via smartphone or tablet. They can also see images of an organization’s information returns and IRS determination letters. That includes:

• Forms 990, 990-EZ, 990-PF and 990-T (501(c)(3) organizations only) filed with the IRS. Initially, only the 990 series forms filed in January and February 2018 will be available through TEOS, but new filings will be added monthly.

• Favorable determination letters sent by the IRS when an organization applied for and met the requirements for tax-exempt status. At first, only a limited number of recent determination letters will be available via TEOS, but eventually, determination letters issued since January 2014 will also appear on the system.

http://bit.ly/2IhUYx4

In 2015 I wrote an MIA article called “Medication Mechanization: Microchip Sensors in Abilify to Increase Medication Compliance.” The article warned about the FDA considering approval of a new form of Abilify that carries a microchip inside to send digital information about its time-stamped ingestion to prescribers, and also potentially to family members and legal authorities.

The FDA approved the prescribing and sale of this new hi-tech compliance-monitoring “antipsychotic” drug this week. I believe that this new Orwellian pharmaceutical instrument of invasive individual and social control will serve to usher in an even more desolate landscape of oppression and human suffering.

I see that tragic injury coming not just through the emotion-neutralizing drug effects themselves, which have been documented here on MIA by myself and many others (see my “Enslaved to Abilify” blog). I also see tragic personal injury coming via its supporters’ treacherous intent. They intend to use the new digital monitoring form of Abilify to control people’s “antipsychotic” dosing compliance from inside their own bodies, something that I believe would even make dystopian visionaries George Orwell and Aldous Huxley shudder.

Conditions are very ripe for such oppression in California right now, because there is an even more oppressive mental health services “best practice” model and standard of care for people in extreme states that is emerging based on forced in-home treatment or AOT.

Like California, almost every state now has some version of in-home compulsory court-ordered medication treatment based on state law, so that medication compliance for people in extreme states in the community can be ordered by the court.

This is really scary. Note Michigan's shortage projection....

http://bit.ly/2IiQaHP

The shortage of home health aides in the industry is no secret, but the exact pace of demand will far exceed the supply of health care workers over the next few years, according to a new report from Mercer.

The number of new job openings for home health aides by 2025 is expected to reach 423,200, a growth rate of 32%. While that high demand is supported by other research, the expected workforce gap will also hit negative-446,300 workers by 2025, according to the report from Mercer, a human resources consulting firm.

This huge gap is an enormous risk factor in the health care continuum, with the total health care industry accounting for 2.3 million new jobs. More than half of new jobs forecast by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or 1.6 million, will come from personal care aides, home health aides and some types of nurses, according to the report.

“Simply put, Americans are getting older and less active, driving more of a need for home health and personal care aides across the country,” the report reads.

The workforce gap of the future will likely be compounded by the typically low pay across in-home care settings.

“The national average hourly rate for nursing assistants, home health aides and personal aides has stagnated at $10.11, a few cents lower than a decade ago, making recruitment more difficult,” the report said.

Not to mention, low pay increases turnover across caregivers.

However, the geographic distribution of demand is not equal across the country, with some states likely to have a surplus of home health aides and others in dire need.

http://bit.ly/2rn4Z1q

Today’s episode is about activism, disability justice and community organizing. My guest is Sarah Jama, an organizer focused on disability justice and anti-racism based in Hamilton, Ontario. You’ll hear how Sarah became an activist and the various approaches she uses in her work. Sarah talks about how she learned about disability justice and why this framework resonates with her. You’ll also hear Sarah describe some of the major issues facing Canadians with disabilities.

*Please note there will be discussions of eugenics, sexual assault, violence, and institutionalization.

Transcript

[Google doc]     [PDF]

For those of you who believe that repeated pain builds character, the link below will take you to a series of policy initiatives by the Department for implementing the original Section 298 Workgroup recommendations. They are organized by category of policy, and are listed by link with helpful policy categories in the lower half of the page. I'm going to try to do short blog posts on each category over the next few weeks....

http://bit.ly/2HS8xjd 

MDHHS has completed the review of the recommendations from the final workgroup report. As part of this process, MDHHS has identified priorities for implementing the recommendations and also developed action plans to assist with the implementation process. MDHHS developed the following progress report to provide an explanation of the review and prioritization process. MDHHS also developed the following set of plans which outlines the department's strategy for implementing the recommendations. Finally, MDHHS developed a crosswalk that compares the Section 298 Initiative with other statewide initiatives that focus on improving the delivery of behavioral health services and highlights potential linkages between these initiatives. These initiatives include the House C.A.R.E.S. Task Force, the Michigan Inpatient Psychiatric Admissions Discussion (MIPAD), and the Diversion Council.

All of the relevant documents are included below:

Progress Report

Attachment A (Financing Models)

Attachment B (Coordination of Physical Health and Behavioral Health Services)

Attachment C (Substance Use Disorder Services)

Attachment D (Services for Children, Youth, and Families)

Attachment E (Services for Tribal Members)

Attachment F (Continuity of Services)

Attachment G (Complaints, Grievances, and Appeals)

Attachment H (Protection for Mental Health and Epilepsy Drugs)

Attachment I (Self-Determination and Person-Centered Planning)

Attachment J (Governance, Transparency, and Accountability)

Attachment K (Workforce Training, Retention, and Quality)

Attachment L (Peer Supports)

Attachment M (Health Information Sharing)

Attachment N (Quality Measurement and Quality Improvement)

Attachment O (Administrative Layers)

Attachment P (Uniformity in Service Delivery)

Attachment Q (Financial Incentives and Provider Reimbursement)

Crosswalk of Behavioral Health Initiatives