From the Sacramento Bee:

Disability advocates rallied at the state Capitol on Veteran’s Day against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plan to cut care-worker wages and access to services.

The Republican governor has proposed cutting the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program (IHSS) by  $118 million for the remainder of the fiscal year, part of an effort to address a looming $11.2 billion budget shortfall.

In a Veterans Day rally, advocates emphasized that veterans are among the state’s estimated 408,000 elderly and disabled residents who depend on IHSS benefits. They characterized IHSS as a cost-saver because they said it helps residents avoid more costly nursing facilities. The rally crowd of 100 people included IHSS recipients, labor leaders and home-care workers.

From the New York Times:

A growing number of veterans’ families are asking to be compensated for taking care of their injured loved ones. They say they are seeking not only financial support but respect for the work they do.

The Veterns Affairs Department opposed a recent bill that would allow families of soldiers with traumatic brain injuries to be paid for caretaking after training and certification. The VA said the bill would create an unacceptable liability for the department. An advocate for veterans said families suspected a different reason for the department’s opposition: the government knows families would do the work anyway.

Tracy Keil of Colorado quit her accounting job to take care of her husband Matt after trying to use government-provided caregivers to help him. The financial repercussions of that decision have been serious. (New York Times photo, above.)

From U.S. News and World Reports, CNN and the Washington Post:

Two groups representing some 60,000 veterans have filed suit against the Department of Veterans Affairs, charging that delays in decisions on disability claims are causing hardships to returning veterans.

The claimants allege that it takes an average of more than 6 months to get a decision — 70 percent longer than it took just four years ago — and an average of four years to resolve an appeal. By contrast, private healthcare groups usually process claims in less than three months, including appeals.

The suit asks that the VA adhere to a time limit of 90 days to decide initial claims and 180 days to resolve appeals.

In the New York Times, an extended feature about injured Iraq veteran James Fair and Homes for Our Troops, a Massachusetts-based organization that has built him a house with high-tech accommodations for his disabilities. Fair is blind, has brain injuries, and has lost both arms below the elbows, the result of an explosion. An excerpt:

[The house] is a test case of the ways design can improve the lives of severely wounded veterans and their families, and of the limits of its power to turn around a situation like Mr. Fair’s.

… Paul Gemme, the projects manager who oversees the construction of most Homes for Our Troops houses, said the work is rewarding but also challenging, in part because the veterans he builds for are often frustrated, and have higher expectations for their new homes than a charity can meet.

“A lot of human emotions come into this,” he said. The veterans “are in a situation they never thought they would be in. We have had to employ a lot of Psych 101.”

From the Associated Press, USA Today:

The government is more than quadrupling the monthly payments to some veterans who sustained mild traumatic brain injuries, acknowledging for the first time that veterans with these wounds could struggle to make a living. The change goes into effect in 30 days.

New government assessments have concluded that some troops with even mild brain trauma could end up with chronic headaches, memory loss or anxiety that could hurt their chances of getting or keeping a job.

A RAND Corp. study earlier this year estimated that more than 300,000 troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan sustained traumatic brain injuries.

Guest commentary:

What Kind of Advocacy

Do Americans with Disabilities Really Need?

By Paul K. Longmore

Ever since Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech, the “needs” of children with disabilities have gotten a lot of press. Palin pledged to be a “friend and advocate” for those children. News stories have reported the excitement of parents and other people in the disability rights constituency that disability issues are finally getting some attention. Some of them have decided to support the election of Palin and John McCain. But do the Republican candidates offer the kind of advocacy Americans with disabilities really need? I don’t believe they do, and I want to explain why I am voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden instead.

(more…)

From MSNBC:

The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) is proposing a major initiative to expand federal funding for sports rehabilitation programs for veterans with disabilities, and is hoping to add athletes to the U.S. Paralympic team in the process.

But some critics worry that siphoning funds away from the Department of Veteran’s Affairs for sports programming could deplete already scarce resources for core rehabilitation programs needed by veterans.

At heart, this is a turf war, sparked by the USOC’s pursuit of government funding. But it has triggered a broader debate about how to best allocate limited resources to treat and reintegrate returning veterans facing an array of obstacles, ranging from depression to paralysis.

Swimmer and veteran Melissa Stockwell (above), who is competing on the U.S team in three Paralympic events this week, started swimming after losing part of her leg in a roadside bomb blast in Baghdad.

With video. Star Tribune/MSNBC photo.

See also:

Paralympics: Fighting for USA — Again — Minneapolis Star Tribune