09/16/2014 PRESS ALERT: For Information: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Brenda Stinebuck (501) 624-7710 Bruce Darling (585) 370-6690 Fran Fulton (267) 275-4479 Jerry Costley (801) 347-0370 WHO: ADAPT WHAT: ADAPT THANKS GUBERNATORIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE MIKE ROSS FOR HAVING HIS STAFF MEET WITH US AND COMMITTING HIS SUPPORT TO THE COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE OPTION WHERE: MIKE ROSS CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS 1023 W 3rd ST WHEN: TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, NOON ADAPT, A NATIONAL GRASSROOTS GROUP OF ACTIVISTS WITH DISABILITIES, MET WITH THE STAFF OF DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE MIKE ROSS AND OBTAINED MR. ROSSS COMMITMENT TO SWIFT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMUNITY FIRST CHOICE OPTION (CFCO) ADAPT would like to thank Gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross for sending his staff to meet this morning with a large contingent of our members and conveying his public support of the Community First Choice Option (CFCO). CFCO would allow all Arkansans who qualify for institutional placement to choose community supports instead. This would end the long waiting list of nearly 3,000 desperate citizens, some of whom have been waiting for over nine years. State officials have developed twelve years of financial projections for implementing CFCO which show that selecting this option will generate savings for the state. This is born out by the experience of other states and studies which have demonstrated that community supports are generally less expensive than institutional placement. This is truly a rare win-win for supporters of civil rights and fiscal conservatives alike. Implementation of CFCO does not require a full vote of the legislature. However, it does require the approval of the Health, Labor and Welfare committee, as well as of Rules and Regulations. The meeting with Mr. Rosss staff came after some initial tense moments in which ADAPT members were arrested on their way to present our demands to the candidate. Once our members arrived at the campaigne headquarters. Mr. Ross and his staff were very gracious and drafted a letter agreeing to all of our demands. These demands are attached as a seperate document. Following the meeting with his staff Mr. Rosss campaign web site was updated to state his support for the CFCO. We believe that voters should know whether the Gubernatorial candidates will support the right of seniors and people with disabilities to live in the community or will continue state policies which force them into unwanted institutionalization and throw away our precious tax dollars, said Brenda Stinebuck, an organizer of Arkansas ADAPT. We are delighted with Mr. Rosss response, said Stinebuck.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 18:31:52 +0000
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