duck banding endeavor featured on the "Habitat!" cover

from Freemont Tribune by Tammy Real-McKeighan:

Matthew Roberts is a cover guy.

The 30-year-old Fremont man is featured on the cover of the newest edition of Habitat! magazine set to come out in January 2012. He's also made an appearance in a Kiwanis newsletter and looks forward to seeing his photograph in the Tribune.

Roberts was photographed for the magazine while taking part in a duck banding endeavor last January at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, N.M. There, wildlife biologists and 25 volunteers worked to put bands on more than 180 ducks and to check 60 previously banded fowl.

Biologists also swabbed the throats of ducks to check for aviary flu or any illnesses in the duck groupings. The ducks included pintails, wood ducks and mallards.

Roberts went to the refuge with his parents, Kevin and Joyce, while visiting his aunt, Joanie McMains. Joyce's sister volunteers at the refuge.

To catch the ducks, biologists put bait on a marsh at the refuge and then wait. When the ducks come, they propel a net over the ducks. The biologists and volunteers then have only a short time to get the ducks out from under the net, which holds them down, so that the fowl don't drown, Joyce Roberts said.

Just nine of the hundreds of ducks didn't survive. Those ducks then are used as specimens for biology and zoology classes and for displays in science units, she said.

Once caught, the ducks are divided by gender and placed in coops.

Matt Roberts got to help put the ducks into cages, then take them out and help hold them so biologists and students could measure them and determine their age. He learned to tuck the ducks' heads under their wings, which is less stressful for the bird.

Joyce took notes for two biologists from the fish and game department who were taking the swab samples. Kevin also helped hold ducks while they were being measured.

If a bird wasn't banded, a biologist would put a numbered band on its leg. For ducks with bands, the biologists measured the bird and put findings in a computer. Doing so helps scientists tell where the birds have been and how much they've grown.

The entire process took awhile.

"We had to go at 6 a.m. and wait for them (the ducks) to come in," Joyce said.

Enough ducks had gathered by 10 a.m. for the net to be propelled over the area. Biologists and volunteers worked until 6 p.m.

Matt said he didn't get tired, however.

"I liked it," he said.

During the duck banding process, photographer Joe Zinn shot photos of Matt Roberts working with Ashley Inslee, refuge biologist. Their photograph, along with others, is featured on the "Habitat!" cover.

Refuge biologist John Bradenburg also gave Matt a brown jacket with a patch that reads: "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service."

Matt, who has Down Syndrome, is the first person with developmental disabilities to help with the duck banding process, Joyce said.

Back in Fremont, Matt stays busy at the ITC workshop at ENCOR in Fremont. He is also involved in the Aktion Club, supported through the Kiwanis organization.

Matt was wearing his Aktion Club shirt while at the Albuquerque airport with his parents. A Kiwanis Club member from Minnesota, who was there, asked the Roberts if Matt liked that club.

He loves doing the club's community service projects, his mom said.

The Roberts told Jim Holtam, who help organize the local Aktion Club chapter, about their airport encounter. Matt - decked out in his Aktion sweatshirt - then had his photo taken with Holtam for the Kiwanis newsletter with information about Matt's club promotion at the airport. That newsletter came out last spring.

Joyce Roberts said Sandhill cranes that go through Nebraska winter at the Bosque del Apache refuge.
"They had over 15,000 when we were there," she said.

Data from the refuge website states that tens of thousands of birds, including the cranes, Arctic geese and many types of ducks gather here each autumn and stay through the winter. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge consists of more than 57,000 acres situated along the Rio Grande River near Socorro, N.M. Bosque del Apache is Spanish for "woods of the Apache."

"Habitat!" magazine is published by The Friends of the Bosque del Apache NWR Inc.

So what does Matt want to do now that he's made the magazine's cover?

"I want to be a Hollywood star," he said, grinning.

People with disabilities in Minnesota facing cuts in services

Minnesota is staring at a government shutdown.  The closure will no doubt effect thousands who depend on government aid, but some say the current budget proposed by the legislature is unacceptable.  Leaders and family members of people with disabilities say they have already seen service cuts of 5-8% since 2005. They do not want any more services taken away.

The program coordinator of the Arc West Central says her son, Aaron, who has Down syndrome, is like 2000 others unable to get a Developmental Disorder waiver under the cuts. Because of this he does not have staff to help him learn basic life traits and continue on with his independence.  She fears one day he will end up in a group home.

"He wouldn't get to make choices necessarily and it's just a shame that we don't give people these opportunities." Donna Atherton, Are West Central Coordinator, said.

Senator Keith Langseth says a big reason the governor has reject the current budget is because of deep cuts to programs that help people. Dayton has proposed 1.8 billion - of the 3.6 billion in debt - be taken care of with cuts. He would like the other 1.8 billion to be taken care of in the form of revenue. Though, Langseth says it would be an impossibility to for the state to come to an agreement like that before June 30th.

wanting to live as independently as possible

from miamiherald.com:

How will my child fare when he leaves home? And what will happen to him when I'm gone?

These are questions most parents worry about. But they weigh especially heavily on the parents of children with autism, Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities.

"Parents say this all the time: 'When I'm no longer here, I want to know they're still going to have a place to live and somebody is going to make sure they're OK,'" said Jim Whittaker, executive director of The Arc Jacksonville. "That's the biggest fear the majority of families have."

It's a fear that will become even more common in coming years, as the growing number of children with disabilities become adults with disabilities.

When The Arc recently began moving forward with plans for a 32-acre community near Beach and Hodges boulevards - planning to break ground in 2013 and have the independent and semi-independent living ready in five to 10 years - Steve and Joy Gutos were among those who viewed it as a godsend.

Their 25-year-old son, Ryan, lives at home now and has a part-time job as an office assistant at the Duval County Public Defender's Office. But he would like to eventually live in his own place. And his parents would like to know the place is a good fit for him, not only now, but in the future.

They've spent years researching options near and far, not feeling quite comfortable with group homes or supported living in the general community. Something like the Hodges Community seemed like the perfect mix of independence and structure.

"We're not saying the other alternatives are wrong, but we believe this is what is best for our son," said Steve Gutos, a board member at The Arc. "It's certainly a choice that needs to be there for everyone."
Not everyone agrees.

The federal government has proposed a rule change to Medicaid - specifically the Home and Community-Based Services Waiver - that would mean such funds could still be used to live in group homes and supported living in an apartment or condo, but not for something like the Hodges Community.

"It's not going to kill it," Whittaker said. "But it is going to make it much more difficult for people who don't have means to live there."

The reason some want the rule: They believe a planned community like this is a step backward toward the days of institutions. And they say the rule, which would only permit funding for care that allows patients to "engage freely in the community," would ensure the inclusion of disabled adults into society.

Supporters of The Arc's plans say the community would be anything but institutional - and would be a better fit for some than a small group home or supported community living.

"The Arc Jacksonville and these families aren't saying to other families we want to take away your choice," Whittaker said. "We just want this other choice."

So during a public comment period that ended on a Tuesday, supporters of the Hodges Community have been writing letters to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

One of those letters was written, with the help of his mother, by Ryan Gutos.

He and his parents have visited some very nice group homes. But he told his parents he didn't want to live there, that they seemed too restrictive. And the idea of trying to live mostly on his own, in the general community, didn't appeal to him (and concerned his parents). A community designed for adults with disabilities excited him (and gave his parents peace of mind).

In his letter, he explained that he has lived at home with his parents and younger sister, but eventually would like to live in a neighborhood with his friends. He wants to drive a golf cart around the community, hang out, go to church, listen to country music and keep working at the Public Defender's Office.

"If this rule is passed, I won't be able to live there," he said. "Please allow my funding to stay with me no matter where I choose to live."

In her letter to CMS, Joy Gutos explained there isn't a "name or label" for her son's disability, other than that he is developmentally delayed. She explained many of the things he can do. Dress himself, get ready for work, ride his bike around the neighborhood, win over people with his endearing demeanor. But she also said, "Ryan will never make wise decisions. He always will be vulnerable."

She described how he can count money if he tries really hard, but can't tell how much he should get back from a transaction. He won't give himself medicine. He doesn't turn off the shower unless told to. And just when they think he could live in the general community, there is some incident that reminds them he needs more security and supervision.

"If he has these two things, he will surprise us, as he has many times in the past, not with his disability, but with his ability," she wrote. "The Arc Jacksonville has plans to build exactly what we're looking for."
She pointed out that the rule will continue to allow this funding to be used for hundreds of retirement communities in the state. But if enacted, it won't be available for the small handful of communities developed or planned for disabled adults.

Could Ryan continue to live at home? Absolutely, she said. But is it the best thing for him? Not at all. He doesn't want to live at home forever. And, of course, the reality is that he can't.

"There are no other family members who can take Ryan in when we are gone," his mother wrote. "This is his future. Please do not impose this rule on us."