ADVOCACY TOOLS
Our Legislative Message

On behalf of those who wait, for those citizens of this Commonwealth who are most in need, those who are least able to advocate for themselves, we are appealing to you, to lend your voice and your support for the proposed budget legislation regarding the Waiting List. And, we ask that you do all that you can to help resolve the funding issues surrounding the Waiting List, so that we may reduce, and eventually eliminate, the long wait for services. Remember, each additional dollar added to the Waiting List Initiative by the PA legislature can be matched with Federal Medicaid dollars!

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Current legislative issues:
Vision for Equality is working on in concert with many others disability groups

The PA Waiting List
To secure quality services for persons with disabilities and their families who have been waiting for services and supports. For more information, please see www.pawaitinglistcampaign.org.

The Adult Protection Act
To forward statewide legislation that will provide protective services for people with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 59, no matter where they live.

Pennsylvania is one of the relatively few states left that does not have statutorily authoritative protective services for people with disabilities between these ages. Special state laws presently only guard children, domestic violence victims, elderly and those in state-regulated facilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. When people with disabilities are dependent on others for support there is always an increased risk of abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Vision for Equality feels very strongly that there must be laws that provide protective services so as to safeguard the most vulnerable against danger of mistreatment of any kind. Vision along with these other advocacy groups is developing Adult Protect Services Legislation to bring to the legislature for consideration in this up-coming year.

Death Penalty for People with Mental Retardation
We support the U.S. Supreme Court’s Atkin’s Decision to ban the death penalty for persons with mental retardation.

The Atkin’s Decision supports legislation in the Pennsylvania General Assembly that will properly implement the U.S.Court’s decision in Pennsylvania by first, identifying defendants protected by Atkins’ through application of an acceptable definition of mental retardation, and secondly, determining whether a defendant meets the definition before he or she is tried for the capital crime of which he or she is accused. Along with a number of statewide advocacy organizations we are urging the Pennsylvania legislature to adopt legislation that protects the rights of persons with mental retardation and ensures fair and effective Constitutional procedures and protections and ensuring both of these mandates are included in any legislation they adopt.

Cost of Living – Recruitment and Retention of Direct Care Staff
To raise the wages for direct care staff, the (heart) of the service system