January 22, 2013 Legislative Update

January 22, 2013

Martin Luther King Day always heightens my humility. Dr. King was a great leader and humanitarian who fought to support freedom for all Americans. What a legacy he left! I can’t help but think about how folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) aren’t so different from those for whom he battled.

One of my favorite Dr. King quotes states, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

And because of that, I’ve attached a handy, dandy list of updated Johnson County legislative contact information!  There may be a few errors on this, but it’s as good as it gets for now.  I’ll send you an amended version when I get some corrections.

Follow Dr. King’s admonition by making contact with your Legislators either by telephone or email.  Let them know you care about individuals with I/DD. Encourage your delegates to take positions which support the freedom to access funding for I/DD services, maintain superior community-based services, and enhance quality of life.

If your time, patience or confidence is in short supply, here’s an easy way to connect with your Legislators.  Go to www.invisiblekansans.com and click on the ACT NOW button.  Fill in your information and off it goes through another invisible entity called cyberspace.

By spending these three minutes, you have accomplished three things:

Hopefully, you are encountering less and less confusion with KanCare.  The State has methods in place to help you resolve your concerns.  These are:

The KanCare program is starting two workgroups and is looking for volunteer members. One group will help guide the KanCare program, and the other will help to decide how to run and evaluate how well it is working. Interested? Go to: http://kancare.ks.gov/advisory_council.htm for information.

I’ll start next week giving you a blow by blow of what’s happening in the Statehouse. In the meantime, don’t be silent, but do save some of your voice. It’s going to be a wild ride and you’ll need it!

Warm regards,