Gov. Carney released his annual budget proposal, which includes several million dollars in spending increases for Medicaid and school “Opportunity Funding”; across-the-board pay raises for state employees and a $30 million Covid contingency fund. Carney’s budget would also maintain grants-in-aid funding, which support non-profit organizations, including many that serve people with disabilities, at essentially the same level as last year.
One of the largest voting machine manufacturers in the United States, Dominion Voting Systems, is suing for defamation former President Trump’s confidant and lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani linked Dominion’s founding with long-dead Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. The company actually started in Toronto, manufacturing assistive technology that enabled people who were blind to mark paper ballots.
Parents with disabilities and advocates have expressed concern that remote instruction can be a significant burden when teachers ask for parental support without providing accommodations. Schools are bound by the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability legislation not to discriminate against parents with disabilities, although a specialist in the field says that schools’ obligations during Covid have not been litigated in court.
The state will supply by the end of the month rapid Covid tests to Delaware group homes, day programs and other congregate settings for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. An administrator from the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services says the tests – which return a result in 15 minutes – will greatly benefit care providers, who sometimes need to break Covid safety guidelines on the job.
Home health care nurses and family members of people with disabilities who receive in-home care have expressed concerns about a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and job instability due in part to to low wages. As nurses quit to take care of family members or avoid Covid contagion, remaining in-home nurses become more burdened and people with disabilities face a greater risk of not receiving essential care.
