Advocacy

2011 Kansas Disability Caucus Highlights

By Mandy Smith | August 16, 2011

Last week, members of the disability community from across the state came together in Topeka for the Kansas Disability Caucus.  This year’s theme was “Fan the Flame” to get everyone pumped up and excited to accomplish what needs to be done in the next couple of years. Mark Derry, from West Virginia, started the Caucus…

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Olmstead Anniversary Celebration – You’re Invited!

By Mandy Smith | June 15, 2011

The Kansas Association of Centers for Independent Living (KACIL), which RCIL is a member of,  is celebrating the 12th Anniversary of the Olmstead Supreme Court decision Wednesday, June 22 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. Twelve years ago, the United States Supreme Court rejected the state of Georgia’s…

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Advocacy Alert! April 28th

By Mandy Smith | April 27, 2011

Tomorrow April 28th, the Resource Center for Independent Living will unite at the Kansas Statehouse with Kansans for Quality Communities members to urge our Legislators to do what’s right for Kansans. You can read about this Action on the Kansas Health Institute site here. We will be spreading the “Save Our State” message which has…

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Urgent: Advocacy Needed!

By Mandy Smith | March 11, 2011

  While everyone was hopeful that the current fiscal year’s budget Rescission bill would be worked out between the House and Senate yesterday, that did not happen. Today Governor Brownback advised that he will cut $56 million from the current budget. He has not yet specified where that money would come from but indicated he…

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Big Tent Coalition Legislative Reception

By Mandy Smith | January 20, 2011

On Tuesday January 25th from 5:00pm-7:00pm, the Big Tent Coalition is hosting a Legislative Reception. It will be held in Topeka in the Florentine Room of Jayhawk Towers at 700 SW Jackson. This will be an excellent time for members of the disability community to come together and mingle with their elected representatives. We encourage…

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RCIL: Advocates in Red

By Mandy Smith | December 22, 2010

A majority of our staff attended the Big Tent Rally on April 29, 2010.  The leaders of the Big Tent asked us to wear red to be more visible.  Our staff was also spending a lot of time at the Capitol building during this time, so we decided we would order shirts for staff members…

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5 Reasons Kansas Shouldn’t Cut Home and Community Based Services

By Mandy Smith | December 18, 2010

Kansas is facing tough economic times, as we confront budget shortfalls, some are looking to cut Medicaid benefits, including home and community based services (HCBS). Home and community based services are vital to helping seniors and people with disabilities stay in their communities and out of institutions. If home and community based services cuts are…

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Vote for What Matters

By Mandy Smith | October 26, 2010

When we go to the polls on November 2nd we have a huge responsibility not only to ourselves and our families but to our communities as well. Unfortunately, there is an entire portion of our society that is regularly disenfranchised by our government; they are the members of the disability community. While most of us…

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Make your voice heard

By Mandy Smith | October 21, 2010

The election is less than 2 weeks away and we are in danger of losing what we worked so hard to get in the last legislative session. As November 2nd gets closer it becomes more apparent that our next governor will be Senator Brownback. For the disability community this is a very scary prospect. He…

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Yes on 2 Campaign Protects Voting Rights

By Mandy Smith | October 15, 2010

Did you know that the Kansas Constitution sanctions discrimination against all people with a mental health issue? Probably not.  In fact, the issue had basically flown under the political radar until 2008. That’s when a group of mental health consumers and advocates learned that the state constitution allows the Legislature to take away the right…

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FMAP Extension Passed!

By Mandy Smith | August 10, 2010

The  FMAP Extension passed the House and will be signed into law by President Obama! While we did not get the full amount passed that was in the original bill, it is still a victory! The bill that passed maintains the 3.2 % increase in Medicaid funding in the first quarter of 2011 and lowers…

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We Need 1 Republican!

By Mandy Smith | June 11, 2010

The US House of Representatives has passed a Jobs bill that does NOT contain the extension of FMAP (Federal Medicaid Assistance funding) that the KS state budget is relying on. This means a reduction in state Medicaid funding by 21% effective January 1, 2011. We need to ACT NOW and contact our Senators to let…

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