Policy Corner: January 29, 2021

BIAA Supports COVID Relief Package for HCBS for Persons with Brain Injury

The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), as a member of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) and the Disability and Aging Collaborative (DAC), signed on to a letter to House of Representatives and Senate leaders urging support for the COVID HCBS Relief Act of 2021, yet to be published. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced the legislation Jan. 28, 2021, and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) introduced the legislation in the House under the same name. Up until now, none of the legislation that Congress has passed has included any dedicated funding for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) upon which people with disabilities and older adults rely to stay safe in their own homes and communities.

CBITF and ACL Plan Awareness Days

The Congressional Brain Injury Task Force (CBITF) is hosting a virtual Brain Injury Awareness Day briefing Wednesday, March 3, 2021 in collaboration with the Brain Injury Association of America and the National Association of State Head Injury Administrators. The theme will be on the impact of COVID-19 on individuals with brain injury and their families. Plans are underway with regard to speakers, the platform, as well as the time. Stay tuned for finalized details.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (ACL) is hosting virtual Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Tuesdays during the month of March at 4 p.m. (ET) in lieu of an in-person stakeholder meeting typically held to celebrate March Brain Injury Awareness Month. This year, ACL will highlight some of the work of the TBI State Partnership Program workgroups on issues such as Underserved Populations; Criminal Justice and Juvenile Justice; Sustainable Partnerships; Advisory Boards & Survivor Engagement; and Return to Learn/Return to Play. Additionally, ACL is planning to include new leaders at ACL and other federal partners engaged in efforts to promote and educate communities on the challenges surrounding this field and the promising practices and initiatives occurring at the national level. More details will be forthcoming.

Van Hollen Introduces Bill to Fully Fund IDEA

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) introduced the Pact Act, S. 72, to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). When Congress passed the Education of Handicapped Children Act, Pub. L. 94-142, in 1975, they promised to cover 40% of the extra cost of special education. Unfortunately, Congress has never come close to fulfilling that promise. The number of students with disabilities served under IDEA has increased by 25% in the past two decades. Yet, the IDEA state grant program was only funded at around $12 billion in 2017. The federal government is only covering 14.6% of the additional cost.

Representatives Introduce Bills Relating to Disabilities

Lawmakers are beginning to introduce legislation, some of which have a bill number and title, but not the bill language. So far, these bills include:

• R.452, introduced by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to amend the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 to reauthorize the grant program for education, training, and enhanced services to end violence against and abuse of women with disabilities.
• R. 77, introduced by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) to addresses access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies for promoting access to public accommodations for persons with a disability. The bill also requires DOJ to complete a study of whether certain web content standards or information services for individuals with disabilities provided telephonically provide the same accommodations as would be available on a website.
• R. 253, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) to expand and enhance existing adult day programs for younger people with neurological diseases or conditions (such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, traumatic brain injury, or other similar diseases or conditions) to support and improve access to respite services for family caregivers who are taking care of such people, and for other purposes.

BIAA gratefully acknowledges the Centre for Neuro Skills and Avanir Pharmaceuticals for their support for legislative action. Click here to read past issues of Policy Corner.