Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, joined by 22 state attorneys general including Delaware’s Kathy Jennings, is challenging the Trump administration’s rollback of a landmark civil rights provision in the Affordable Care Act. It protects those who face discrimination in the health care system, including people with disabilities. The Trump administration is attempting to weaken protections for transexual and gender-nonconforming individuals.
St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Md., and Lori’s Hands, a nonprofit organization in Newark, Del., won grants from the Administration for Community Living to establish volunteer programs aiding people with disabilities and the elderly. St. Agnes will offer chaperones to help patients navigate the hospital campus. Lori’s Hands volunteers will provide nonmedical services to Baltimore residents with chronic illnesses, such as medication and grocery pick-up, as well as companionship.
Eighteen UD senior education majors will participate in a new residency program starting this fall, receiving a $25,000 stipend to work closely with a mentor teacher through the entire 2020–2021 school year. Funded by the Delaware Department of Education, the program seeks to strengthen teacher retention by requiring participants to work in Delaware schools for three years after graduation. The program is continuing despite uncertainty about how schools will operate during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens has launched a redesigned version of their DisABILITY Hub website. The site contains resources for young adults with disabilities transitioning out of school and into higher education, a career or other pursuits, as well as parents, caregivers and educators. The DelAWARE DisABILITY Hub can be accessed at https://deldhub.gacec.delaware.gov.
The Delaware Division of Developmental Disabilities Services announced their programs for adults with developmental disabilities will begin to reopen in early August with limited in-person participation. Suspended in mid-March, these programs offer independent living support, social activities, job training and other services.
