Work Incentives Legislation Made Law
On December 17, 1999, the President signed into law the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (Public Law 106-170) passed by both houses of Congress in mid-November.
This legislation makes it far easier for people with disabilities to work because it -
- Increases access to personal assistance services and prescription medication
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Includes reader services and transportation to/from work for people with vision impairments as part of personal assistance services
- Extends Medicare Part A coverage for people with disabilities who return to work after being on SSDI, for an additional 4 1/2 years
- Lets states remove the income level of 250% of poverty, allowing disabled working people who may not have access to private health insurance to buy into Medicaid.
The Act also provides funding for two demonstration programs, one to evaluate the effectiveness of providing Medicaid coverage to prevent a person's disabling condition from getting so bad that he cannot work, and another to assess the costs and benefits of allowing SSDI beneficiaries to reduce their cash benefits by only $1. for every $2. in earnings instead of losing benefits entirely. It also will permit SSI and SSDI beneficiaries to obtain vocational rehabilitation and employment services from their choice of participating providers, public or private. As incentive, if a beneficiary goes to work and achieves substantial earnings, the service provider whose services made that possible would be paid a portion of the benefit saving by the government.
Music Notes
People often ask us for recorded music. The recordings we make available are spoken word books and magazines only, because of legal constraints. We have recently learned of two private organizations that are able to lend musical recordings.
Suncoast Tape Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped has music from classic to rock available on free loan across the nation. For an application, contact them at 401 Fifth Street N, St. Petersburg FL 33701 or call them at (727) 896-0904.
Recordings for Recovery has an extensive collection of taped music from the 1900s to the present, along with sound effects, ethnic and religious music, and exercise tapes. They also lend print books on music therapy. An individual membership costs $10/year, a facility pays $25/year To contact R4R, write P. O. Box 270, Midland MI 48640, call them at (517) 832-0784, fax them at (517) 832-0261, e-mail them at staff@r4r.org or visit their website at www.r4r.org.
Inca Mummies Discovered
Just last year, archaeologists unearthed the mummified remains of three Inca children atop a remote and icy mountain in Argentina. All were remarkably well preserved, thanks to 500 years of extreme cold and oxygen-poor air. The bodies were surrounded by offerings of jewelry, sea shells, small statues of gold and silver, utensils and grains. The archaeologists believe they may have been sacrificial offerings, buried alive after being given a powerful mixture of corn liquor and hallucinogenic drugs.
The Incas were the most powerful and widespread civilization in South America until the Spaniards arrived in 1532. They are remembered for their skills in engineering, agriculture, and architecture. This find will extend our knowledge of their complex culture.
To extend your knowledge, try books like Gods, Graves & Scholars; the Story of Archaeology (RC 27978) The Incas (RC 22783) or History of the Conquest of Peru (RC 19160). To receive such books regularly, add Archaeology to the list of subject interests in your file.
Science Fiction - Aloud on the Web!!
Fans of science fiction who are equipped with a computer, sound card and speakers may enjoy visiting the Seeing Ear Theatre. The site was not designed for print-handicapped people, but aims to bring the pleasures of listening to science fiction to a wide audience. You'll find SET at www.scifi.com/set.
Remember Old-Time Radio Drama?
"Return with me now to those days of yesteryear . . ." when folks gathered around the radio to hear voices, music and sound effects work on their imaginations to produce laughter, tears and shivers. A marvelous group in North Carolina is reviving these days with full-cast Original Radio Dramas on cassette, and they are kind enough to send us copies of their productions! We now have 45 shows available for your listening pleasure.
AFTERWARD from a story by Edith Wharton
ANIMAL TALES for children
The BLUE HOTEL from a Stephen Crane story
The BRIGHTEST & THE BEST an original Christmas play
The CASK OF AMONTILLADO from Poe
The CAT AND THE PLUMBER by the young Arthur Miller
The CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG... from Mark Twain
DAN SICKELS an original tragedy
The DEVIL'S DISCIPLE by G.B. Shaw, condensed
The DREADFUL DRAGON OF OZ an original play
The GIFT OF THE MAGI from O. Henry
GOLDIE an original comedy
HELP WANTED another original
HOW SANTA CLAUS CAME TO SIMPSON'S BAR from Bret Harte
INSOMNIA an original play
JANE EYRE based on Charlotte Bronte's classic novel
JEFF PETERS from O. Henry
JEFF PETERS vs. MATRIMONY also from O. Henry
JIMMY VALENTINE another O. Henry
JURY OF HER PEERS an original
The LAW OF AVERAGES an original comedy
LOUIS BRAILLE & THE BAKERS' DAUGHTER an original play
The LOVERS an original drama
The MILLION POUND NOTE based on the Twain story
Well, you get the idea! Please give us a call if you'd like to enjoy listening to any of these fine shows. Most are a half-hour long, and all are recorded at the standard commercial speed of 1/78 ips.
Here's Help for the Shopping-Impaired!
Home Readers is an organization that transfers popular mail-order catalogs, such as Schwann's, L.L. Bean and Sharper Image, onto cassette tapes that play in the Library of Congress machines.
Started by Kathy Eble out of her home in Kansas in 1996, the service grew quickly. She then recruited help from University of Kansas students through the business school programs. With the help of individuals and organizations in the Lawrence KS area , Ms. Eble, who is blind, is making independent catalog shopping a real possibility for people with visual impairments.
Home Readers now offers 36 different catalogs and cookbooks on audio cassette. The cassette listing all of these is available free. To obtain a cassette catalog of catalogs, call Kathy toll-free at 1-877-814-7323. Home Readers is located at 604 West Hulett, Edgerton KS 66021.
Parenting Made Easier
Through the Looking Glass is a nonprofit agency serving families where one member - parent or child - has a disability. It has now opened the first National Resource Center for Parents with Disabilities at its office in Berkeley, California. As some of you know, there's lots of information in print about parenting - even a modest amount about raising a child with a disability - but very, very little about being a parent with a disability.
Their most popular publication is "Adaptive Parenting Equipment: Idea Book 1". TLG also publishes a free newsletter, "Parenting with a Disability." For information or to subscribe, contact TLG by phone at 1-800-644-2666, by e-mail at TLG@lookingglass.org, or visit their website at www.lookingglass.org.
What's Oprah Reading?
Oprah Winfrey, doyenne of daytime television, has been a major force in promoting reading and discussion to her large and loving audience through Oprah's Book Club. The titles she chooses speak to the triumph of the human spirit over oppression and cruelty, abuse and dispair. Although they're often rife with strong language, violence and explicit sex, readers find them to be realistic and inspiring rather than negative.
Here is a quick list of the OBC titles available on cassette. L indicates strong language; S indicates explicit sex; V indicates violence.
- RC 17325 Heart of a Woman
- by Maya Angelou (L,S)
- RC 46770 What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day
- by Pearl Cleage (L, S)
- RC 46001 Breath, Eyes, Memory
- by Edwidge Danticat (V)
- RC 36694 A Lesson Before Dying
- by Ernest J. Gaines (L, S)
- RC 44846 Ellen Foster
- by Kaye Gibbons
- RC 44845 A Virtuous Woman
- by Kaye Gibbons (L)
- RC 29464 The Book of Ruth
- by Jane Hamilton (L, S)
- RC 38888 Stones From the River
- by Ursula Hegi (V)
- RC 45717 Here on Earth
- by Alice Hoffman (L,S)
- RC 46124 I Know This Much is True
- by Wally Lamb (L, S, V)
- RC 36063 She's Come Undone
- by Wally Lamb (L, S, V)
- RC 34438 Jewel
- by Bret Lott (S)
- RC 42874 The Deep End of the Ocean
- by Jacquelyn Mitchard (L, S)
- RC 44955 Songs in Ordinary Time
- by Mary McGarry Morris (L, V)
- RC 46272 Paradise
- by Toni Morrison (L, S, V)
- RC 45715 Black and Blue
- by Anna Quindlen (L, V)
- RC 44391 The Rapture of Canaan
- by Sheri Reynolds (L)
If you'd like to read any of these, just call us at 1-800-491-4200. We don't have room for annotations here, but we can give you a bit of information about any of these books if you'll call.
N.H. Lions Clubs Vision Weekend
Are you tired of winter? Are you ready to pack up the galoshes and shovels, waiting eagerly for the snow to melt away? Why not plan ahead for the N.H. Lions Clubs Vision Weekend?
This year's Vision Weekend will be held in Concord, April 28 through 30. Here's the schedule:
- - April 28 - hotel checkin starts at 3 pm
- 5 - 7 pm a "stadium meal" hot dogs and trimmings
8 - 10 pm a GONG SHOW - bring your "talent"
- - April 29 6:30 to 10:30, continental breakfast
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- Choose one of the activity tracks
- 1) 9 am - 1 pm, bowling
2) 9:30 am - 2:30 pm, sightseeing
New Hampshire Historical Society Museum
Franklin Pierce Manse
and perhaps the New Hampshire State House
3) 9 am - 2 pm, outdoor sports
tandem bike ride
Audubon hike
3) 9 am - 2 pm, literary
book discussion group(s)
poetry reading - your poetry
chat with a New Hampshire author
3:30 pm, a special show at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium
- 6 pm - 10 pm, banquet
- - April 30 6:30 - 10:30 am, continental breakfast
- Noon hotel checkout
The NH Lions are host for the entire event, and will provide transportation if needed. Because of the greatly expanded range of activities, there is a fee of $10.00 per person (family welcome) If you'd like to be included, register before March 24 by calling Colleen Ives at 271-3537 (email: cives@ed.state.nh.us) or Lion David Smith at 528-2663. |
