From the Nebraska Appleseeed organization:  (www.neappleseed.org)

As Nebraska moves forward in implementing the Affordable Care Act, a crucial part is in the creation of an Exchange, and it is imperative that your voice is heard!

The Exchange will serve thousands of Nebraskans, and will be the place many access health insurance and get premium tax credits. As a result, it is critical that the exchange focus on consumers and work for all Nebraskans.  But for that to happen the Department of Insurance needs to know what Nebraskans want.  Please consider attending one of the following meetings in your area to learn about the exchange and tell the Governor and Department of Insurance how to make health care more accessible to you.

Governor Heineman has specifically invited many groups to give testimony at two meetings which are also open to the public.  Those meetings will be held at the Holiday Inn in downtown Lincoln on:

September 4: 9:00 am (for consumer advocacy groups) and 1:00 pm (for providers)

September 6: 1:00 pm (for insurers)

In addition, the Department of Insurance has announced that they will be holding a series of informal public meetings throughout Nebraska to get input on the creation of the new health insurance exchange in Nebraska.

August 27 – Gering (Gering Civic Center, 1050 M Street) 6-9 PM

August 28 – Kearney (Ramada Inn, 301 2nd Ave) 6-9 PM

August 30 – Nebraska City (Lied Lodge, 2700 Sylvan Rd) 6-9 PM

September 10 – Omaha (Omaha Ramada Plaza, 3321 S 72nd St) 6-9 PM

September 12 – South Sioux City (Marina Inn Conference Center, 385 E 4th St) 6-9 PM

Please attend the meeting in your area.  Your voice is needed to make sure the exchanges are focused on consumers and work for all Nebraskans.  There aren’t many opportunities for consumers to give feedback. Don’t pass up this opportunity!

As our new Omaha Leadership Council starts to gain momentum we wanted to take a moment and call upon our Omaha metro community to provide us with some information.

Please take a few minutes to answer a few questions about your family and needs.  Thank you!

Click here to take survey

Struck by the number of abuse cases against individuals with disabilities appearing in the media, the Disability and Abuse Project of Spectrum Institute created a survey on the attitudes, beliefs and experiences of many demographic groups that have encountered abuse as victims and through their profession. This survey was created to help advocates and professionals better understand what victims are saying about their abuse experiences and how professionals view their experiences with abuse/crime victims.

With over 6,000 respondents and counting, this survey will provide useful information that can help better serve our community. But the project’s leaders need more respondents to ensure the results are representative. The survey takes about 8 minutes, is completely anonymous, and all results will be published online. Persons with a disability, family members, or a professional in the disability field are welcome to take the survey.

Please share this important survey with your network so that professionals in our field can learn more about how to prevent abuse and the needs of victims.

Leigh Ann Davis
Project and Information Specialist, The Arc

Thank you to everyone who attended the June 18th Omaha Leadership meeting.  We are excited for this upcoming year!   You are going to see some changes coming your way.  For some in our community this might be difficult but we promise you it is going to be a great year!

As you all know, the Autism Society – Omaha is a support network that is part of the statewide organization, the Autism Society of Nebraska.  The Autism Society of Nebraska is a chapter of the Autism Society of America.  Because Omaha has such a large community and such diverse needs the Autism Society – Omaha needed to bulk up their leadership process to help them accomplish so many important goals.

The Autism Society – Omaha Support Network has established a Leadership Council to guide the Omaha activities.  There are still have a couple of vacancies!  If you are interested in volunteering for a council position or even helping out on a committee please email ASN_Omaha@autismnebraska.org.

ASN-Omaha Leadership Council

President – Shawn Neff
Vice President – Stephanie Lichtenberg
Secretary – Sharon Kazmierski
Treasurer – Kathy Sangimino
Advocacy Committee Chair – Melissa Schop
Family Resource Committee Chair – Gina Barber
Fundraising Chair –  VACANT
Event Chair (Preschool) – Renee Kiernan
Event Chair (Elementary) – VACANT
Event Chair (Middle School) – Sruti Prathivadhi
Event Chair (High School) – Rachael Caruso / Julie Czepa
Event Chair (Adults) – Carol Salber
Event Chair (Family Support) – Shawn Shea / Renee Kiernan
ASN Board Representatation – Robyn Roberts / Wendy Hamilton / Marvin Brinkman

Interested in volunteering?  Wanting to help?  There are always ways to help out!

Our committee leaders are posting their events with opportunities for you to sign up to help.  Click on the SIGNUP GENIUS button below and see if there is a way for you to contibute!

Please…and thank you!

Please read the following message from Nebraska Appleseed below. If you or someone you know fits into one of these categories, please contact Nebraska Appleseed to offer your story. You can contact Nebraska Appleseed at (402)-438-8853 or 800-845-3746.  This is relating to a denial from Medicaid / Megellan and not related to a denial from private healthcare providers.

On May 18, 2012, Nebraska Appleseed and the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) filed a class action lawsuit against Vivianne Chaumont and Kerry Winterer, in their official capacities as officers of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The lawsuit challenges Nebraska Medicaid policies that deny coverage for certain mental and behavioral health treatments for children with particular diagnoses and conditions, including developmental disabilities and autism.  The lawsuit, if successful, would effectively strike down Nebraska’s Medicaid policies as in violation of federal law and would ensure that Medicaid eligible children would receive necessary early behavioral health interventions as recommended by their providers.

Appleseed would like to speak with parents/caregivers of children who may have been affected by these policies as well as attorneys and providers who have worked with children in this situation. Read the rest of this entry »

The Autism Society of Nebraska’s Omaha Autism Network NEEDS YOU!

Thank you to everyone for rallying behind the Autism Puzzle Walk & 5K!  Thanks to the amazing outpouring of support and your hard work we are primed to continue growing our local mission!

There is much to do!

*Advocacy    * Family Events    *Educational Opportunities    *Teen Events

*Adult Supports    *Sibling Supports    *Scholarships   *Fill in the blank

All of us at the Autism Society are volunteers.  As our mission grows so must our volunteer base.  We have come together around a common cause and we all share many of the same hopes and dreams.

We know that so many of you are full of passion and talent. And we want to invite you to join us so that we can work together to make all of those dreams become a reality!

Please join us for an organizational meeting for the Autism Society’s Omaha Autism Network.

Monday, June 18th

6:00pm – 8:00pm

Autism Center of Nebraska @ 9012 Q Street

Food and beverages wll be provided.

Please RSVP online HERE.

Saturday, May 19

6:30pm

20 Grand Theatre

14403 W Maple Street

Please join the Autism Society for a group rate of  $6 per person.   RSVP HERE online or by emailing us at ASNOmahaRSVP@autismnebraska.org.   (Please note that the Eventbrite RSVP says “free”.  There is no fee to RSVP but there is a $6 ticket price at the theatre.)

RSVP is required by Saturday at noon in order to guarantee the group rate.

Download a flyer and please help spread the word!

Susan Swearer, professor of psychology and co-director of the Bullying Research Network, will lead a panel discussion following a free showing of the documentary “Bully.” The event is 9 a.m. May 12 at Lincoln’s Grand Theatre, 1101 O St.

A limited number of free tickets will be available at the theater box office. Doors open at 8:15 a.m.

The discussion will be taped and aired on government cable access channels 5 (City-TV), 10 (Health) and 21 (Educational Access).

According to the American Justice Department, one out of every four children is a victim of bullying, and at least two children are bullied every seven minutes. The 98-minute documentary tells the stories of five families dealing with bullying, including two who lost children due to suicide. “Bully” is rated PG-13 for its intense themes, disturbing content and strong language.

The presentation is sponsored by the Lincoln Community Foundation and Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital.

http://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/todayatunl/1274/7642

Anyone who wishes to become a foster parent in Nebraska must go through a sponsoring agency, and here in Nebraska those agencies are desperately looking for families or individuals who have the skill set to help children in foster care that have special needs.

The Autism Society received a request from KVC Behavioral Heathcare to share their information with our community.  Please take a moment to read their letter.

If you or anyone you know has ever considered becoming a foster parent, please give KVC a call.  KVC is dedicated to recruit, train, and support foster parents. They offer classes (that are required by the State of Nebraska) to become foster parents, that begin every month.

Contact Information:

In Omaha:
Jayne Stickman, Recruitment Coordinator
402-578-3173
jstickman@kvc.org

In Lincoln:
Erin Wilcox, Recruitment Coordinator
402-806-5930
ewilcox@kvc.org

For more information about KVC, requirements to become a foster parent, and to check our start dates for the PS-MAPP classes, visit our web site at www.kvc.org

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to educate Nebraska’s Legislature on the importance of passing insurance coverage for people with autism. We made a great showing during this session, and have a lot to be proud of!

Getting a bill passed this session, we knew, was going to be extremely difficult. Because this session is only 3 months long, and there are hundreds of bills, many still in committee, LB 1129 will not be advancing this session.  But, here’s the good news!

The Nebraska Legislature is primed and ready to hear our issue again next session, and much of the ground work has been laid to get us off to a fantastic start.  Senator Colby Coash remains committed to this issue, and discussions will be in progress with him as soon as this legislative session is over to begin planning for next session. We are VERY optimistic that we will get a bill passed next session, and we are looking forward to working with his office on this.

Although much has been done, there is still so much to do. We will be working very closely with Autism Speaks, a national organization that is helping many states all over the US get legislation passed. Autism Speaks has already provided us with critical financial information, outlining the fiscal impact insurance coverage will have on Nebraskans with autism (which is minimal). Additionally,  Autism Speaks has offered to hold grassroots training sessions and conference calls to educate Nebraskans on how to best advocate for insurance legislation to our Senators, for which we are extremely grateful!

This spring, messages and information will be posted on how you can get involved, (or stay involved) and how you can help for the 2013 Nebraska Legislative Session. WE NEED YOU (and your friends!).  Our Senators listen to their constituents, and it is imperative that we make sure every State Senator in Nebraska understands the need for insurance coverage for people with autism, and how the lack of coverage is impacting their own constituents.

Please stay tuned for this information. If you are interested in helping to lead this effort, we want to talk to you!  Please contact me at cmcnair@neb.rr.com if you would like to help.

Again, thank you for all your hard work during this session. Although it is disappointing LB 1129 will not advance, there is much hope for 2013, and we will be working hard throughout the spring, summer and fall of 2012 to continue this effort.  Working together, we can get this done!!

Sincerely,

Chrissy McNair, Nebraska Autism Insurance Steering Committee

_____________________________________________________________________

Autism Speaks remains committed to helping Nebraska enact autism insurance reform.  During the upcoming interim session (April 2012 – January 2013) it is crucial that we continue to work together to expand our grassroots network of advocates and educate our legislators.

To assist in organizing this effort, Autism Speaks will be hosting monthly conference calls with Director of Grassroots Development, Shelley Hendrix.  We also hope to arrange a meeting in Lincoln and/or Omaha prior to the beginning of the 2013 session for direct grassroots training and Q&A.

Michael Wasmer, Associate Director, State Government Affairs, Autism Speaks