Family Voices Indiana

By Emily M cKinley, Health Information Specialist The Affordable Care Act received increased attention from the media during the latter half of March.Not only was the act celebrating its second anniversary but it was also trying to withstand claims of unconstitutionality which landed the act, its supporters and opponents in the United States Supreme Court. The nine justices of the US Supreme Court heard four oral arguments regarding the ACA and dedicated more hearing time to the act than any previous issue brought before the Court. The first argument, presented on Monday, March 26, centered on whether the Court could even rule on the case at the present time. That is to say, the act was tested against the Anti-Injunction Act, which states that a tax cannot be challenged until it is enforced. This argument relates directly to the provisionof the ACA which states that come 2014, individuals who have not enrolled in or purchased insurance coverage will have to pay a penalty that will

Family Voices Indiana shares the following press release from DDRS regarding proposed changes to the DD/Autism and Support Services waiver system. We have also embedded the Sec 144 report in its entirety. We will be working to provide a family-friendly document and/or webinar to help our members better understand the implications of this report. DDRS will also be hosting meetings around the state for families to attend and ask questions. One has already taken place in Fort Wayne, and there will be another in Richmond . Please don't hesitate to call us at 317 944 8982 or email info@fvindiana.org if you have questions/concerns. We will do our best to address those. [FSSA] Report Outlines Plans to Improve Services for People with Developmental Disabilitites Start Date: 4/5/2012 End Date: 4/5/2012 Entry Description For Immediate Release April 5, 2012 (INDIANAPOLIS) –Indiana’s Division of Disabilities and Rehabilitative Services (DDRS) issued a report outlining several proposed chan

FUSE and Family Voices Indiana are partnering to bring you To Your Child’s Health, a series of health care finance trainings designed to help families raising children with disabilities learn more about the systems that can help meet their child’s health needs. If you were unable to attend the first session, Understanding the Funding Maze, you can now watch the online Webisode and use the Webquest to learn about all the health care financing resources touched upon in the training. View the Webisode at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-cuRWEMcqE&feature=youtube . Click here to access the Webquest The second training in the series is Filling the Funding Gaps Saturday, April 21, 2012 Ameriana Bank Community Room 1810 N State Street Greenfield 9:30 am –11:30 am Cost: no charge Online registration is now open. Click here to register. Raising a child with special health care needs or disabilities brings unexpected and added expenses. This training will explore the variety of grant, phil

Family Voices encourages its members to learn more about upcoming changes to the waiver system. The Arc of Indiana is hosting a meeting ( Thursday, April 12, 2012, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Marriott East, 7202 E. 21st Street, Indianapolis. The meeting is free to attend and includes lunch) . For those who can not attend, materials will be posted on the web. Family Voices Indiana and ASK are also working together to provide online options for additional learning once DDRS releases the report detailing the changes in the near future. We want to share this additional opportunity for a local meeting to learn more. From DDRS: DDRS would like to reinvigorate the Power Parents work group in order to: Create a network of family contacts within the districts Share information on available resources for families Make DDRS plans and initiatives transparent in how they affect your family Listen to how DDRS can make connections for your family needs Meeting Dates Thursday, April 19, 2012 from

by Emily McKinley, health information specialist Each month, Family Voices Indiana will provide the families we serve with a summary of the month’s hottest items. If you missed us on Facebook , fear not, here is the latest! Awareness: March hosted multiple awareness and commemorative days, including: Disability Awareness Month. More than 19% of all Hoosiers have a disability. To learn more about raising awareness in your community, visit http://www.indianadisabilityawareness.org/ . Trisomy Awareness Month. For more information about and support for families of individuals with trisomsy 18, 13, and other related disorders, visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/ . Brain Injury Awareness Month. To learn more about brain injury, treatments, and support, please visit http://www.biausa.org/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=82897#.T05OYGlc7Do.facebook . Poison Prevention Week , March 18-24. Program the Poison Help number 1-800-222-1222 into your home and cell phones. More informa