Census Bureau Report Shows 30 Percent of Adults Receiving Government Assistance Have a Disability

from theUnited States Census Bureau:
Among the 46.0 million adults who received income-based government assistance in 2011, 30.4 percent of them had a disability, according to a report released today from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The report, Disability Characteristics of Income-Based Government Assistance Recipients in the United States: 2011, offers information about the occurrence of disabilities among people 18 and older who received income-based government assistance. The information is based on data from the 2011 American Community Survey.
"On average, people with disabilities have lower employment and earnings; therefore, understanding what assistance people with disabilities receive may help governments better coordinate and administer their programs," said Bernice Boursiquot, a Census Bureau statistician and co-author of the report.
People with a disability include those having vision, hearing, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care or independent living difficulties. Among recipients of public assistance, 18.2 percent had difficulty walking or climbing stairs, 14.6 percent had trouble leaving home to go shopping or visit the doctor without assistance, and 14.2 percent encountered trouble with memory, concentration, or making decisions.
Recipients received assistance in three forms: cash assistance (cash or money income), in-kind assistance (services, goods or vouchers) or both cash and in-kind assistance. Among people who received both cash and in-kind assistance, 58.3 percent had a disability. Among recipients of only cash assistance, 33.2 percent had a disability. Recipients of only in-kind benefits had the lowest disability rate at 22.6 percent.
This report also found that 22 states had disability rates above the national estimate of  30.4 percent among those receiving assistance. In comparison, 15 states had rates below the national estimate.
States west of the Appalachian Mountains had higher rates of disability among recipients of income-based assistance. In comparison, states in the Southwest and along the Eastern Seaboard had lower rates.
West Virginia, Kentucky and Arkansas were three of the top five states for disability prevalence in the total population, as well as in the total population receiving government assistance. In West Virginia, 26.8 percent of people with disabilities reported having ambulatory difficulty, defined as severe difficulties walking or climbing stairs.

People with down syndrome go straight to heaven, says PM's wife

from Hurriyet Daily News:

Istanbul - Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wife Emine Erdoğan attended a meeting 12/4/12 organized for people with down syndrome by the Transportation, Marine and Communication Ministry in the capital of Ankara, the daily Radikal has reported.

Emine Erdoğan told reporters that she had a relative who had down syndrome.

"I had a close relative who had down syndrome. His name was Hayrettin. He was the mascot of the family. We loved him so much. The Prime Minister loved him very much too. He died a few years ago." she said. "I wish all disabled people had down syndrome. Because, if I'm right, they are going to go directly to heaven after death according to Islam. I hope we will go to heaven too, for loving these people," she added. The meeting was aimed at presenting the Ministry's assistance project for people with down syndrome. Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım and Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Şahin also attended the ceremony.

Gaps in the Map Survey Released by DSAIA, NDSC & NDSS

National organizations partner to help ensure access to support and information 

Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action (DSAIA), the National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) and the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) have partnered to ensure that all families have access to support and information from a local Down syndrome affiliate through the "Gaps in the Map" Project. The project's goal is to locate and document all Down syndrome support groups in order to identify what areas are not being served and then explore ways to provide that support to the "gap" areas.

We need YOUR help to make this project a success by doing the following:

1. Complete this BRIEF survey before July 31, 2012 by clicking here.
2. Forward this newsletter to all your friends in the Down syndrome community nationwide! Encourage them to fill out the survey!
3. Tweet and share the survey link with other group leaders via social media!
4. Talk about this project with at least one organization in the Down syndrome community today.
5. Be creative! The more we share this project, the more families will receive the support and information they deserve!

Stay tuned for a variety of fun and cool ways to share this project with your friends and friend organizations. Click here for all the latest project details or visit us on Facebook!

For more information, contact Deanna Tharpe, DSAIA Executive Director, at director@dsaia.org or 701-425-7129 or Allison Wixted, DSAIA Gaps in the Map Chair, at dsagrstepup@yahoo.com or 804-920-9643.