Geraldo soliciting stories from waiting lists
November 11th, 2008
Geraldo Rivera, host of the Fox network’s “Geraldo at Large,” says he will present a one-hour news special in January documenting the lives of the hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities who languish on waiting lists for government services, unable to receive the help to which they are entitled.
Speaking at the Arc’s national convention, Rivera asked people to come forward immediately with video and stories to demonstrate the challenges they face.
It is currently estimated that between 300,000 and 400,000 Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities are eligible for services such as in-home personal assistance and job training, but are not getting help because their states have failed to fund those programs adequately. Voters in Colorado last week turned down Amendment 51, which would have eliminated the state’s waiting list by increasing the sales tax by a fraction of a percent.
As a young reporter, Rivera won a Peabody award in 1972 for a documentary that documented rampant abuse and neglect at the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. His reports led to government investigations of the institution, which was eventually shut down. (Footage here.)
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December 30th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Too much money in America is used to pay big agencies to help people with disabilities and nothing gets done.
Amen to that statement. I have asked for help, without receiving the help i asked for, for my handicapped daughter, from the Kansas City Regional Center. Only to later receive a printout from Medicaid showing Kansas City Regional Center charging for “phone time” well over the amount of money i was needing for my daughter!!! I was ended up being told there were no funds!!
December 28th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
The special was okay, but did not have enough information about the many people who have disabilities that are not intellectual disabilities.
Waiting lists exist in many states for many services for people who have disabilities. The vocational rehabilitation agencies that are run by states have waiting lists too.
People who have physical disabilities and are intelligent people are put onto these waiting lists before they can get training for employment. Many students graduate from high school with limited work experience or work skills and then sit on waiting lists for state vocational rehabilitation programs for months and sometimes years.
There are many people who are unemployed not because they do not want to work, but because they can not even get the right training to help them find a job.
Too much money in America is used to pay big agencies to help people with disabilities and nothing gets done. The Americorps programs give more opportunities to people with disabilities than the programs that were set up for them.
Geraldo’s work for people who have disabilities has been good — but it is not done yet!
November 12th, 2008 at 6:50 am
I applaud Geraldo Rivera’s efforts to gather first person accounts on the devastating effects wait lists can have on families in need. I am sure the episode will be difficult to watch, but hope it will be the call to action we need to rally legislators and voters to reduce or eliminate wait lists.