PWDF Files New Complaint Against SSA for Discriminating Against Persons with Mental/Developmental Disabilities By SSA Work Termination Policies

Free Video Distribution Campaign Has Begun (See Press Release)

Program Updates

Advocacy Update

As of April 1, 2009:

1. On behalf of John Doe (pseudonym used to protect his identity), PWDF filed a new complaint in federal district court against the Social Security Administration (SSA) for violations of Plaintiff John’s Fifth Amendment due process rights and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination by federal entities based solely on a person’s disability. Doe v. Astrue, Case No. 9-980-MHP (N.D. Cal. 2009).

John is known to SSA as an individual with cognitive and psychiatric impairments. As soon as his application for disability benefits were approved, SSA began reviewing his continued eligibility, repeatedly and for different reasons, over and over. The slew of reviews resulted in numerous notices sent to John. Unfortunately, the vague language and frequency of the notices and forms created severe anxiety that resulted in persistent hallucinations of SSA sending agents after him. John lived in fear that his small monthly benefit checks would be terminated and that he would become homeless. His supplemental security income (SSI) checks have been terminated.

For more information, please see our press release dated March 9, 2009.

2. If you are interested in attending a do-it-yourself Social Security overpayment workshop, please send your contact information to ahsia@pwdf.org. When we have enough interested parties, we will announce a time and date for this event, which will be held in an easily accessible location in the Bay Area.

4. PWDF has begun a volunteer intern program. A paralegal intern from the San Francisco State University paralegal program has been assisting with various advocacy-related tasks since February 2009. PWDF should be announcing a new summer law student intern soon. If you are interested in volunteering or interning with PWDF, please contact Annie Hsia, Interim Program Director, for additional information.

Education Update

As of April 1, 2009:

1. PWDF will hold our next free public seminar on May 15, 2009, in the San Francisco bay area, tentatively titled Understanding Employment Issues for People with Psychiatric and/or Developmental Disabilities. Claudia Center, Senior Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society/Employment Law Center in San Francisco, will be a co-speaker. Ms. Center represented Barnett in US Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, 535 U.S. 391 (2002), before the U.S. Supreme Court, a case that helped clarify the scope of “reasonable accommodations” for disabled employees. Dr. Janice Cohen, a psychiatrist, has agreed to provide the psychiatric overview component of the seminar. Buckelew Programs, a nonprofit organization that works to enhance the self-sufficiency for adults with mental illness, has agreed to send a job placement professional. Buckelew serves Marin, Napa, and Sonoma counties.

The seminar will include a question-and-answer session. Subtopics include:

1. The Mental Health Parity Act of 2008 and its effect on employees who work for organizations with 50+ employees;
2. Changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) that went into effect January 1, 2009; and
3. Employment issues of special concern to veterans.

We are seeking other organizations to co-sponsor this seminar. While the beneficiaries of this seminar, as always at PWDF, are people with psychiatric/developmental disabilities, we hope to include friends and family members, case managers and social workers, psychologists/psychiatrists, human resource managers, vocational rehabilitation counselors, lawyers, veterans, etc.

We will offer continuing education credits from the State Bar of California (MCLEs), California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (pending approval).

The next PWDF seminar after this employment seminar will be on health care issues

If your agency is interested in possible co-sponsorship of this or future seminars, please contact Spencer Williams, Program Manager, at (415) 931-3070, or via email at education@pwdf.org. Additional information can be obtained through our website or by contacting us directly. (PWDF welcomes suggestions on all of our seminars.)

People With Disabilities Foundation
Attn: 2009 Video Distribution Campaign
507 Polk Street, Suite 430
San Francisco, CA 94102

To request free copies of our training videos and accompanying workbooks for your organization, please contact Spencer Williams, Program Manager, at (415) 931-3070, or via email at swilliams@pwdf.org. Please note that only groups are eligible to receive the videos, as individuals do not necessarily lead to wide distribution. An organization’s video request will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

3. PWDF’s latest training video, Understanding Employees and Job Applicants with Psychiatric Disabilities© (2008), has been recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as a media campaign of note. Further details can be read on our featured page on SAMHSA’s ADS Center website.

3. We are still exploring topics for our next training video and would like to solicit your opinions as to what issues you believe need to be addressed in relation to psychiatric disability on a nationwide level. Please take a moment to complete our brief online survey.

5. PWDF welcomes two new members to our Advisory Board, Jo Ellen Brainin-Rodriguez, M.D., and John Wilde, Ph.D. Dr. Brainin-Rodriguez is an associate clinical professor at University of California at San Francisco’s Department of Psychiatry, and was previously the medical director of Bridge to Wellness in San Francisco. Dr. Wilde is a professor and counselor in the Disabled Students Department of City College of San Francisco, and formerly served as President of the San Francisco Mayor’s Council on Disability.

5. PWDF has been expanding our online presence. PWDF now has sites up and running on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and Make the Difference Network. Please check them out through our website.

PWDF Profile

Who We Are

People With Disabilities Foundation is an operating 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California, which focuses on the rights of the mentally and developmentally disabled.

Services

Advocacy: PWDF advocates for Social Security claimant's disability benefits in eight Bay Area counties. We also provide services in disability rights, on issues regarding returning to work, and in ADA consultations, including areas of employment, health care, and education, among others. There is representation before all levels of federal court and Administrative Law Judges. No one is declined due to their inability to pay, and we offer a sliding scale for attorney's fees.

Education/Public Awareness: To help eliminate the stigma against people with mental disabilities in society, PWDF's educational program organizes workshops and public seminars, provides guest speakers with backgrounds in mental health, and produces educational materials such as videos.

Continuing Education Provider: State Bar of California MCLE, California Board of Behavioral Sciences Continuing Education, and Commission of Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.