“It should be a wrap-around for the youth, to give them the services they need,” he said. “It’s not supposed to turn into a punitive measure. That’s how they get in the [juvenile penal] system.” This quote, attributed to Disability Rights Arkansas Executive Director Tom Masseau, can be found in the article published by the […]
NOTE: the updates provided in this article are all links to articles published by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, as this story continues to evolve: UPDATE 6/1/18: DHS freezes home-based care sign-ups; order results in backlog of unprocessed applications UPDATE 5/24/18: State agency found in contempt of court over rule changes UPDATE 5/22/18: Arkansas judge orders state to end care-hours […]
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an article today about the response by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Youth Services (DYS) to Disability Rights Arkansas’ (DRA) letter informing DYS of concerns DRA has about the ongoing, troubling treatment of youth by staff at the two Dermott juvenile justice facilities. DRA noted in its […]
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an article in Sunday’s paper (May 13, 2018) regarding the current state of employment for people with disabilities. The article explores the Arkansas Promise program, which helps students with disabilities in finding meaningful career paths, and the history of the sheltered workshop system in Arkansas. It explains the United States Department of […]
A free regional training will be held in Jonesboro for self-advocates on May 18, 2018. Lunch will be provided, so be sure to RSVP by May 15 so you can be included in the lunch count. For more details, see below:
“A Purpose in Life: Why Employment First Matters to Self-Advocates” is the title of a publication by Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) and Green Mountain Self-Advocates. This publication defines and explains the concept of “employment first” and shares the perspectives of peer leaders in the Employment First movement about why employment is a critical component of […]
Come and be a part of developing our goals for the upcoming fiscal year! Disability Rights Arkansas will be holding a listening session in Helena at the Delta Health Education Center from 4pm to 6pm on April 27, 2018. We want to hear from people with disabilities and their families and communities about what their […]
H. R. 4547- Strengthening Protections for Social Security Beneficiaries Act of 2018 has now passed both houses of Congress, and is on its way to the President for his signature. The President has indicated he intends to sign this bill. As the title of the bill indicates, the purpose of the bill is to strengthen […]
DRA’s yearlong effort to monitor all of the sheltered workshops in the state culminated in a recently issued a report about the status of sheltered workshops in Arkansas. With major efforts being made, particularly through federal legislation known as the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), for individuals with disabilities to have opportunities to work […]
Spread the Word to End the Word, a rally to raise awareness about the impact of using negative language to describe people with disabilities, will be held March 8, 2018 at 2pm at the Arkansas State Capitol. We hope to see you there!
