Delaware saw 10,790 unemployment claims for the week of March 15-21, shatterring the record for any month over the past three decades. According to data from the Delaware Department of Labor, there were 2,384 claims just one month ago.
Nearly 30 members of Congress have sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Attorney General William Barr, urging them to issue guidance to state agencies to protect people with disabilities from being discriminated against during the outbreak.
Coronavirus and the measures to control it are posing extra challenges to many people with special needs and their families, and to the organizations that serve them. Some with disabilities could be particularly vulnerable should they catch the virus. And the practice of social distancing conflicts with decades-long efforts to include all people with intellectual disabilities as fully as possible in their communities.
Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement, Delaware Community Foundation, Philanthropy Delaware and United Way of Delaware are partnering to coordinate fundraising, grants and volunteer activities to maximize impact statewide during the coronavirus crisis.
People with disabilities are asking the federal government to end policies by states and hospitals that could lead to the rationing of care — and deny them treatment for the coronavirus. Disability advocates have filed a complaint against Washington state, while other supporters of the community allege that similar policies target people with disabilities in New York, Alabama, Tennessee, Utah, Minnesota, Colorado and Oregon.
