Tag: disabled Americans

Centering the Disability and Aging Communities in Federal Emergency Response Efforts

Center for American Progress logoAs the United States continues to grapple with the ongoing devastation of the coronavirus pandemic, it will also soon face extreme seasonal weather. From fires in the Southwest and the West to weather vortexes and floods in the Midwest to hurricane season in the South and the Southeast, the United States must prepare for upcoming disasters within the context of a global pandemic. Powerful hurricanes, heavy downpours, flooding, intense heat waves, and other extreme weather emergencies can endanger public health and safety, cause widespread damage, and make social distancing and stay-at-home orders impossible to implement. As shown throughout the COVID-19 response, older people and people with disabilities often feel the disproportionate effects of poorly handled national preparedness efforts. Unfortunately, these individuals have often been excluded from response strategies and emergency management at the federal level, despite comprising more than 25 percent of the U.S. population.

The Real Emergency Access for Aging and Disability Inclusion (REAADI) for Disasters Act and the Disaster Relief Medicaid Act (DRMA)—two federal bills written with direct input from the disability community—are long-overdue opportunities to center disabled and older people in federal disaster response strategies. Continue reading “Centering the Disability and Aging Communities in Federal Emergency Response Efforts”

The Trump Administration’s Deregulation of Nursing Homes Leaves Seniors and Disabled at Higher Risk for COVID-19

Center for American Progress logoOn March 23, there were 146 nursing homes known to have outbreaks of COVID-19. Just one week later, that number jumped to 400. Nurses and caregivers have started calling in sick, either because they are infected with the new coronavirus or because they fear working in facilities that lack sufficient safety standards and equipment. Many states, including Connecticut, do not track who has contracted the virus, compounding existing concerns. A recent Washington Post investigation revealed that nationwide, 40 percent of the current 650 nursing homes experiencing outbreaks have had multiple violations of infection control. All of these factors have led COVID-19 to spread like wildfire throughout congregate settings.

Why are nursing homes being hit so hard by the outbreak? One reason is that they are a target of the Trump administration’s aggressive deregulation agenda.

In the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, more than half of cases could be traced to the same nursing home in Washington state. Pretty soon, visitors, firemen, cruise ship passengers, and local priests could all trace their illness to the Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington. But what happened in Washington state did not have to become the norm. Continue reading.

House Republican Farm Bill Will Hurt People With Disabilities and Older Adults

The following article by Eliza Schultz and Rachel West was posted on the Center for American Progress website May 16, 2018:

The highly partisan 2018 Farm Bill proposal, which House Republicans released in mid-April, threatens to compound the hardships faced by millions of disadvantaged Americans by substantially increasing hunger and food insecurity for those who rely on food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill’s effects would be especially severe for those with disabilities and for older adults—both of whom disproportionately struggle in the labor market.

During the decade-long recovery from the Great Recession, the job market has gradually improved for most workers. Yet slowly climbing labor force participation and falling unemployment mask significant differences across various groups of Americans. In particular, individuals with disabilities and older adults have faced a decidedly slower recovery. According to recent census data, just 31.6 percent of adults with disabilities ages 25 to 64 participate in the labor force—compared with 81.7 percent of their nondisabled peers—and this group is nearly three times more likely to be unemployed.* Meanwhile, labor market participation among adults ages 50 to 59 is 75.3 percent, nearly 7 percentage points lower than that of people ages 25 to 49. Furthermore, this demographic is disproportionately likely to experience long-term unemployment—that is, unemployment for six months or longer. And since the risk of disability rises precipitously with age, there is considerable overlap between these two populations. As a result, workers in these groups have not been able to reap the benefits of the economic recovery to the same extent as prime-age nondisabled workers. Continue reading “House Republican Farm Bill Will Hurt People With Disabilities and Older Adults”