AAMR F.Y.I. Vol. 3, No. 2

Watch for Year in Review, a special issue of AAMR F.Y.I. on significant events in mental retardation/developmental disabilities in 2002

Dear AAMR Friends and Colleagues:

IN THIS ISSUE:

President Bush to commit $1.75 billion to help Americans with disabilities move from institutions into community settings
Move toward evidence-based research too restrictive, says AAMR in a Resolution to U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education
Employers can allow persons with disabilities to telework and enjoy federal benefits, according to a new EEOC initiative
Jim W. Ellis, attorney who argued Atkins v. Virginia to speak on how states can implement the U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning execution of persons with mental retardation
Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) urges all U.S. senators to sponsor State Budget Relief Act
AAMR receives grant to explore how environmental toxins and pollutants affect mental retardation
AAMR calls for nominations on the Robert Guthrie Award for advances in biochemical and molecular genetics
Success story on the federal Ticket to Work program
Supreme Court ruling may have affected decline in executions in 2002

AAMR SAYS THE MOVE TOWARD EVIDENCE-BASED RESEARCH IS OVERLY RESTRICTIVE, IN A LETTER TO U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
AAMR Board of Directors recently passed a "Resolution on Evidence-Based Research and Intellectual Disability" and brought it to the attention of Robert Pasternack, Assistant Secretary of Education. The AAMR leadership called for the use of a full array of research methodologies in education, psychology, and child development, and urged policymakers not to restrict evidence-based research to randomized clinical trials.

PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES CAN WORK FROM HOME AND EMPLOYERS ENJOY FEDERAL BENEFITS, ACCORDING TO A NEW INITIATIVE BY THE U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION (EEOC)
The EEOC announced on February 3, 2003, that it would offer benefits to employers considering allowing persons with disabilities to telework as a 'reasonable accommodation' under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA requires employers to provide 'reasonable accommodations' to the physical and mental limitations created by a disability. Employers can now use teleworking programs to meet this obligation.

TWO REPORTS ON MEDICAID CUTS AND STATE BUDGET DEFICITS
Read two new reports by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
State Budget Deficits for Fiscal Year 2004 are Huge and Growing at http://www.cbpp.org/12-23-02sfp.htm and Proposed State Medicaid Cuts Would Jeopardize Health Insurance Coverage for One Million People at http://www.cbpp.org/12-23-02health.htm

WHAT SHOULD STATES AND COURTS DO TO ENSURE THAT LAWS ARE IN FULL COMPLIANCE WITH CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN THE WAKE OF THE HISTORIC ATKINS V. VIRGINIA RULING?
Find out from Jim W. Ellis, the attorney who argued the historic Atkins v. Virginia case, at the AAMR Annual Meeting in May 2003. Ellis, past president of AAMR, will present a half-day workshop on May 20 addressing the next steps states and other legal entities need to take to ensure full compliance with constitutional requirements. Ellis, a lawyer and faculty member at the University of New Mexico Law School led the association’s advocacy efforts to abolish the death penalty for persons with mental retardation.

HOW DO ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS AND POLLUTANTS AFFECT MENTAL RETARDATION?
AAMR received a generous grant from the John Merck Fund to explore the linkages between environmental pollutants and toxins and the occurrence of disabilities, including mental retardation.According to the Collaboration on Human Health and The Environment, the health problems resulting from environmental toxins cost a staggering $325 billion annually. Stay tuned for more on AAMR activities in this arena.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS ON AWARD FOR ADVANCES IN BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR GENETICS
The Health Promotion and Prevention Committee of AAMR is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2003 Robert Guthrie Award for Advances in Biochemical and Molecular Genetics. The recipient of this award will receive $5,000 at the AAMR awards luncheon at the association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago from May 21-23, 2003. Nominations should be sent in by March 15, 2003.

Read more on the guidelines for this award at http://www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/pdf/guthrie_awards.pdf

TICKET TO WORK SUCCESS STORY
In February 2002, the Social Security Administration (SSA) began implementing the Ticket to Work program to help its disability beneficiaries go to work. As of February 2003, approximately 700 service providers signed up to be Employment Networks (ENs) and more than 2100 beneficiaries expressed an interest in pursuing a job.

FEWER PEOPLE EXECUTED IN 2002
Fewer people were executed in most states in 2002 than in 2001. Texas was a stark exception to the trend, executing 33 people in 2002, compared to 17 in 2001. The decline in implementation of the death penalty can be attributed partially to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2002 ruling banning the execution of people with mental retardation (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12/28/02).

This summary has been taken from RADAR, an online database that tracks national headlines on developmental disabilities. Visit RADAR at www.radaraamr.com

MORE ON THE AAMR ELECTION RESULTS—NAME CHANGE AND NEW LEADERSHIP
The votes are in and members have spoken-on who the new leaders of AAMR should be, and whether the Association should change it's name to the American Association on Intellectual Disabilities. AAMR welcomes its new leadership, to be sworn in like every year, at the Association's Annual Meeting in Chicago from May 20-23, 2003. Leadership counts and leaders matter, and the Association prides itself on having some of the best and most dedicated leaders in the field of mental retardation.

On the name change, members voted overwhelmingly to retain the Association's current name—the American Association on Mental Retardation.

ROBERT H. BRUININKS, PAST PRESIDENT OF AAMR, TO BE SWORN IN PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
On February 28, 2003, Robert H. Bruininks, president of AAMR from 1990-91, will be formally sworn in as the president of the University of Minnesota. Bruinink's career has centered on accountability, policy research and development, and strategic improvement in the fields of preK-12 and higher education. He founded and co-founded several research-interdisciplinary education-outreach centers, including the National Center on Educational Outcomes, the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Community Living, and the Institute on Community Integration. AAMR wishes him all the best in his latest professional endeavor.

AAMR F.Y.I. is compiled by Anna Prabhala, Editor. Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to annap@aamr.org