Advocacy
Compass! Blueprint! Change Is In the Air
A lot of work is underway at the Oregon Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS). Either you have heard about it, or you are going to start hearing about it soon. Changes are coming to processes, forms, service rates, case management, ISPs, and so much more. In order to understand all of this change, we need to revisit some recent history and follow the path to where we currently stand. Hop into the time machine and head back to July 2013, when the K Plan came to Oregon. Caps on in-home service budgets were lifted, children became eligible for in-home services, service eligibility and allocations became tied to a needs assessments, and Oregon’s IDD...
Read MoreEnd of 2021 Legislative Session Recap Pt 2: Bills
The 2021 full Oregon Legislative Session came to an end right on schedule this past weekend, after a session full of twists, turns, and historic investments in the IDD system. As you may recall, this legislative session was the first in Oregon’s history to be conducted remotely, with no public access to the Capitol Building in Salem. Remote legislative work will continue beyond pandemic restrictions, due to Capitol Building construction currently underway. This is part of a long-term project to realize a collective vision of a revamped Capitol, known as the Oregon State Capitol Master Plan. This includes work to “upgrade the seismic strength of the building,...
Read MoreEnd of 2021 Legislative Session Recap Pt 1: Budget
The 2021 full Legislative session came to an end right on schedule this past weekend, after a session full of twists, turns, and historic investments in the intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) system. As you may recall, this legislative session was the first in Oregon’s history to be conducted remotely, with no public access to the Capitol Building in Salem. Our experience as advocates was certainly different than in typical sessions. Our access to the process and insight into the behind-the-scenes work of session was harder to come by without a physical presence there. Nevertheless, legislators, their staff, lobbyists, advocates, and community...
Read More2021 Legislative Session Halfway Point: Advocacy Tools to Raise Your Voice
Here at the mid-point of the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session, we take the chance to reflect on this unusual year of virtual hearings and Zoom meetings, and the progress we have made thus far. Many of the nearly 2,500 bills introduced this session have died, meaning that they will not move forward this session to become law. The work of creating and approving the state budget for the next two years, a major item on the session to-do list, is moving into high gear. There is still a lot of advocacy left to do to share your perspective and priorities with legislators as they make decisions about how to spend money over the coming biennium. Let’s talk about what is...
Read MoreNew Tools and Guidance On Remote Legislative Engagement from OLIS
January 11th, 2021 marks the first official day of the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session. Though bills are being released for review and other familiar processes are moving forward, this is not business-as-usual. The 2021 Session will take place in a mostly virtual fashion–there will be little human presence in the state capitol building, and legislative activities from committee hearings to lobbying will take place remotely. The Oregon Legislative Information System (OLIS) has long been an excellent resource to find out what’s going on in Oregon’s legislative process. For example, you can view a calendar of events on the pgage, and access each...
Read MoreWhat You Need To Know Now That People 16+ with IDD, Their Families, and Support Workers Are Eligible For the COVID Vaccine
People with Developmental Disabilities, their families, and all direct support workers (PSWs, DSPs, and unpaid supports) are now eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine! COVID vaccines have been tested and proven effective and are arriving now in Oregon. We all have questions about how vaccines will get to all the people who need them. We gathered some information to share about the unfolding COVID-19 vaccination process. Our goal is to provide people with the most accurate information so that they can be healthy, safe and informed about the process. The COVID-19 Vaccines are here and Oregon gets more doses each day. Oregon has a plan that says who can get the COVID-19...
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