The Arc of Northern Virginia

04/21/2020

In responding to COVID-19, Congress must not overlook people with severe disabilities - Roll Call

"Congress must address this aspect of the crisis in two ways. One, it must provide dedicated resources for the retention and recruitment of this unique group of residential caregivers by offering “hazard pay.” Two, it must provide additional funding for providers to buy the personal protective equipment, or PPE, and other high-demand medical supplies that are needed to combat the virus. These funds must be made available to Medicaid providers of in-home care — and made available quickly."

https://www.rollcall.com/2020/04/20/in-responding-to-covid-19-congress-must-not-overlook-people-with-severe-disabilities/

Opinion — Caregivers for people with severe disabilities need hazard pay and PPE funding to serve a vulnerable population during the pandemic.

04/21/2020

Talk Text Connect!

This brand new program is designed to provide a “check-in” service for members of The Arc of Virginia who have signed up to participate. Many members of our community face loneliness during this current health crisis as we all isolate at home to keep everyone safe. While we stay at home, let's stay strong together and Talk Text Connect!

Sign up here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpTVELSJ2ls7wbINMPoKCDEHefDYFU_OFQ2zclKZ1eZ8hERQ/viewform

04/21/2020

Contact Members of Congress and tell them to pass a bill that addresses the specific and critical needs of people with disabilities NOW! We need funding for a Medicaid grant program to support access to home and community-based services and to support the Direct Support Professionals workforce. Congress should pass the Coronavirus Relief for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act.
#WeAreEssential

04/20/2020

What Is a Trust?

Someone told you you need a trust for your child, but what does that even mean? This short video explains the basics of how a trust works, and why The Arc of Northern Virginia has the unique expertise to manage a Special Needs Trust for you or your loved one.

To learn more, please contact our Director of Trusts Tia Marsili at [email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpIMPXW3uoA&feature=youtu.be

Someone told you you need a trust for your child, but what does that even mean? This short video explains the basics of how a trust works, and why The Arc of...

04/20/2020

We are SO GRATEFUL to our donors and supporters! Thanks to you, we're nearly 75% of the way toward our goal! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Now let's reach that goal, so we can keep serving families who depend on our programs. Make your donation here: https://bit.ly/2wRX035

04/20/2020

Important updates on how coronavirus is impacting SSI, unemployment, special education, and more. All in this issue of ReSources, the e-newsletter from The Arc of Northern Virginia - https://mailchi.mp/thearcofnova/resources_2020-04-20

04/20/2020

Special Education During the COVID-19 Crisis

This 3-Minute Webinar gives people with disabilities and their families some information on Special Education services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar reviews what we know to be true, what is still unclear, and gives tips on how to navigate this challenging time.

https://youtu.be/w44FoHILFKU

This 3-minute webinar will give people with disabilities and their families some information on Special Education services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ...

04/19/2020

The reality of COVID-19 has forced many individuals to address the “what if” scenarios that no one ever wants to talk about, or keep putting off because they're difficult to deal with. That means establishing or modifying estate, end-of-life, and long-term financal plans. For parents who are aging while caring for an adult child with an intellectual or developmental disability, this can be especially difficult, because there are so many unique factors to consider. Our Special Needs Trust team at The Arc of Northern Virginia is meeting the need for both expertise and peace-of-mind during this crisis.

This Is How We Respond: Special Needs Trust Services

People are reaching out to complete Trusts they have put off finalizing and signing. Others are calling to establish new Trusts they admit they should have started years ago. Here are just a few of the situations where The Arc of Northern Virginia continues to provide this vital program to families across our region:

• Individual trust consultations are taking place utilizing remote meeting technology.
• We are utilizing remote signature and notarization apps that respect social distancing guidance while still meeting legal requirements.
• Twenty new Special Needs Trusts have been established since the stay-at-home order was issued.
• We hosted a live webinar about creating long-range plans and writing a letter of intent, to document the wishes of aging parents for their adult child with a disability.
• Small group roundtable discussions about the intricacies of a Special Needs Trust are being held in a virtual, on-line format.
• Disbursements from individual trusts continue despite the difficulties, including delivering pre-loaded debit cards the client could use to pay for food and essential medications.

While much of the world is focused on the current crisis, we CANNOT forget that there will be life after the crisis. The mission of The Arc of Northern Virginia will always be the commitment to creating opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live inclusive and meaningful lives, and to work with families to help them put their wishes on paper and their plans in place.

We can think of no greater measure of our commitment to our mission, than to do whatever it takes to serve our families. Thank you for believing, like us, that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve every chance for a healthy, happy, inclusive life.

04/19/2020

Group homes for disabled adults grapple with the spread of coronavirus

We are thinking about our sister chapter The Arc Montgomery County and all of the residential providers during this challenging time.

The death of a disabled man at a Montgomery County group home highlights advocates’ worst fears.

04/18/2020

It’s Time to Recognize the Essential Value of Direct Support Professionals

"DSPs are on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak. They are essential workers who are risking their own health daily to provide critical support to people with disabilities. We hear about other health care professionals – nurses, doctors, nursing assistants – but direct support professionals remain largely invisible." #WeAreEssential

https://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2020/04/its-time-to-recognize-the-essential-value-of-direct-support-professionals/?fbclid=IwAR1Ft1fnhhvzchNozAYwsslMzp3Yd4r4MN-8RZsN-0JVml16Kyu_UdV74Uo

04/18/2020

More than a month ago, we made the decision to close our office in response to calls to begin social distancing. However, our commitment to those we serve and the assistance we provide have never waivered. We thought we'd share with you the amazing work our staff continues to deliver. These next few messages will focus on a specific program The Arc of Northern Virginia provides to our community. Today, we start where many families start with us, our Information & Referral program.

This Is How We Respond: Information & Referral

As our "new normal" throws new challenges and new questions at our families nearly constantly as the crisis evolves, much of our work has been dedicated to finding the right person or agency, asking the questions our families have, and getting the answers. Here are just a few of the situations where The Arc of Northern Virginia has been able to assist a family in need:

• Assisted a family in determining how they could proceed with asking to have a parent present if their daughter is admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.
• Supported a family in finding the new policies on visitations for their loved one residing in a group home under COVID-19 protections.
• Showed a family the new rules allowing caregivers to receive unemployment benefits without being laid off if the pandemic is preventing them from going to work.
• Gave information to enable a family so they could request and receive additional nursing support hours as a result of having a child home from school suddenly.
• Helped a family whose Medicaid application for their daughter was repeatedly denied figure out why, gave information on how to re-submit and who to talk to in order to resolve the issue.
• Gave a family suggestions for apps and toolkits to help a young man getting his first job plan out his budget.
• Created a 3-minute webinar on how to determine rent for an adult living at home and receiving SSI based upon a mom's concerns in navigating this process.

You see that some issues we helped with are coronavirus crisis related, and some are not. While much of the world is focused on the current crisis, we CANNOT forget that there will be life after the crisis. The mission of The Arc of Northern Virginia will always be the commitment to creating opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live inclusive and meaningful lives - not just in times of crisis - but for their whole lives.

We can think of no greater measure of our commitment to our mission, than to do whatever it takes to serve our families. Thank you for believing, like us, that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities deserve every chance for a healthy, happy, inclusive life.

04/17/2020

Disability Rights Groups Say Virginia Emergency Medicaid Waiver Doesn’t Go Far Enough

"Tonya Milling, executive director for The Arc of Virginia, says a lot of smaller providers have closed programs for now because they’re not able to get flexibility to continue serving clients through alternative means.

“My big fear is we’re going to come out of this with only large, for-profit providers surviving,” Milling said. “You want to protect small providers, you want to protect non-profits who often are able to be more individualized and provide more inclusive services.”

https://vpm.org/news/articles/12568/disability-rights-groups-say-virginia-emergency-medicaid-waiver-doesnt-go-far

Over a month ago, the federal government announced it would start accepting emergency Medicaid waiver applications from states seeking extra support for providers during the pandemic. Disability rights groups say Virginia has been late to apply and hasn't developed a sufficient plan.

04/17/2020

Bob Williams COVID Advocacy Video 041320

In this captioned video, Communication First Senior Strategic Advisor Bob Williams discusses challenges people with significant disabilities experience obtaining personal assistance in good times, how COVID-19 will worsen matters, and why Congress must act now. #COVID19 #WeAreEssential

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQFGCym-Rm0&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3tolDcsPw-D1G6Z0bS5q1bez7a5ejiArp1BdzOwotqHB1LcsfHBwP22SQ

In this captioned video, CommunicationFIRST Senior Strategic Advisor Bob Williams discusses challenges people with significant disabilities experience obtain...

04/17/2020

As long as people with intellectual and developental disabilities are being discriminated against or excluded from relief packages, we will be raising our voices on their behalf. This is why our campaign is so criticial. Help us raise the remaining 30%. https://bit.ly/2wRX035

04/17/2020

We can think of no greater measure of our commitment to our mission, than to do whatever it takes to serve our families. The mission of The Arc of Northern Virginia will always be the commitment to creating opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live inclusive and meaningful lives – not just in times of crisis – but for their whole lives.

Please visit our Coronavirus Crisis Response web page for resources and assistance: https://thearcofnova.org/coronavirus/

04/16/2020

Pre-ETS, Customized, Supported, Creative Employment WEBINAR
Friday, May 1 from 10:00 am - 12:00 noon

During this webinar, our guest speaker will provide an overview of services provided by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). You will learn about Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) and Vocational Rehabilitation, including the range and types of services that are available, how to apply, and how these services can help support you or a loved one towards a goal of competitive integrated employment.

Presenter: Tyler Schreffler, Unit Supervisor, Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS)

Register Now: https://thearcofnovatrust.org/events/

04/16/2020

Op-ed: Two-thirds of our team is autistic. That's helping us survive the coronavirus

"The coronavirus crisis has led to the largest experiment in remote work anyone has ever seen, with many companies switching to telecommuting almost overnight. Our company has been part of the experiment - and it's taught us some surprising lessons on the power of neurodiversity in a crisis like this."

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/16/our-it-team-is-autistic-thats-helping-us-survive-the-coronavirus.html

An IT consulting company CEO explains how his autistic employees excel as remote workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

04/16/2020

TOMORROW, FRIDAY APRIL 17th at 10:00 am!!

Impact of Unemployment Insurance on Social Security Disability Benefits and Medicaid Waivers - WEBINAR

Presenter: Marilyn Morrison, Work Incentives Coordinator, vaACCSES

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this presentation will provide information on economic impact payments, how to apply for benefits, working with the Social Security Administration (SSA) during this time, and how Unemployment Insurance impacts SSA benefits and Medicaid Waivers.

Register here: https://bit.ly/34w8vcU

Contact Diane Monnig at [email protected] if you have any questions.

04/16/2020

Opinion: Commentary: Do Not Forget About People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities – And Those That Care for Them

Thank you to the Gazette and Connection Newspapers for including our Op-Ed!

http://www.alexandriagazette.com/news/2020/apr/15/opinion-commentary-do-not-forget-about-people-inte/

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04/16/2020

The Arc of the United States

Fantastic News!!

Exciting news! Thanks to the advocacy of people with disabilities and their families and friends, the Treasury Department announced today that it would automatically issue Recovery Rebate payments to people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) via the method by which they usually receive their SSI benefits.

04/15/2020

Millions of Americans will get a stimulus relief check this week. Here’s who won’t.

Thanks to Rachna Sizemore Heizer and Nancy Hemenway for shedding light on how some adults with disabilities are ineligible for the government stimulus relief payments.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/millions-of-americans-will-get-a-stimulus-relief-check-this-week-heres-who-wont/2020/04/15/86911ad6-6ab6-4ad8-8ec9-4dd80e0dea84_video.html

The Post’s economics reporter Heather Long explained how certain groups of people are ineligible for the government stimulus relief payments.

04/15/2020

EmployMate Promotional Video 1080p

EmployMate acts as a virtual job coach to provide users with the ongoing support needed to complete daily tasks and projects in the workplace. EmployMate walks the employer, job coach, or trainer and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities step-by-step through their work tasks and soft skills with customizable images, text, videos, and other supports.

To learn more about EmployMate, please contact Peter Leisen at [email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DL_u2EGmHg&t=111s

EmployMate acts as a virtual job coach to provide users with the ongoing support needed to complete daily tasks and projects in the workplace.

04/15/2020

CONGRATULATIONS to The Arc of Northern Virginia's Support Coordinators!! They have been selected for a 2020 Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Spirit of Excellence Partnership Award!! Our amazing team includes Director of Services Cheryl Lynne Johnson, Assistant Director of Services Lisa Fong, and Support Coordinators Alexandra Chevez, Caroline Girgenti, Ana Hughes, and Hillary Rodak. The award will be presented at a CSB ceremony sometime in the fall.

Congratulations to our staff on this richly deserved recognition! This incredible team goes above and beyond for our clients and families each and every day!!

04/15/2020

Our People First for Young Adults club had a really fun Zoom meeting last night!! Everyone practiced their prepared speeches using gestures, in addition to doing a lot of socializing.

To learn more about People First for Young Adults, please contact Diane Monnig at [email protected]

04/14/2020

Virginia’s Urgent Need to Modify Medicaid Waivers for Virginians with Disabilities

Virginia’s Urgent Need to Modify Medicaid Waivers for Virginians with Disabilities

We urge Governor Ralph Northam to finalize and submit Virginia’s Appendix K to CMS, today. Virginia’s unconscionable delay in doing so is putting the lives of thousands of very vulnerable Virginians at serious risk of harm and even death.