[Ct-nfb] TOMORROW: WICH 1310 AM (Norwich, CT) Radio Interview about Rights of Parents with Disabilities

Tue Nov 20 23:24:25 UTC 2012

From: Anne Sommers [ASommers at ncd.gov]
Subject: [TOMORROW]: WICH 1310 AM (Norwich, CT) Radio Interview about Rights of Parents with Disabilities

Dear Connecticut Advocates:

WEDNESDAY morning, from 7:50 – 8:00 AM, Norwich, CT-based radio station WICH / 1310 AM will be hosting a live interview on the topic of the rights of parents with disabilities and their children during “The Mark Wayne Show.” Although we realize not all of are within signal’s range, we hope some of you may be able to tune in at home, on your way to work, or at your desk or spread the word to advocates you know who may be within the station’s range. The station may also allow time for listeners to call in with questions, although that detail is not yet confirmed.

The interview is in reference to a recently released, groundbreaking report of the National Council on Disability (NCD), an independent federal agency based in Washington, DC, called “Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children.”<http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2012/Sep272012/> It covers such topics as removal rates, custody disputes, adoption, and access to assistive reproductive technology.

Why should you tune in?

·         6% of Connecticut parents with children under the age of 18 have a disability. Nearly 1 in 10 kids (6.1 million children) in the U.S. have parents with disabilities.

·         Two-thirds of state child welfare laws allow courts to determine a parent is unfit solely on the basis of a parent’s disability – although Connecticut does not!

·         Parents with disabilities are the only distinct community of Americans who commonly struggle to retain custody of their children. Removal rates run as high as 80 percent among parents with a psychiatric or intellectual disability!

The radio interview will feature parent Kara Ayers, speaking on her own experiences as a parent with a disability, and Robyn Powell, NCD Attorney-Advisor and the report’s principle author.

Help us shine a spotlight on the hidden discrimination faced by parents struggling to keep their children, adopt children, or even access reproductive assistance.

Please tune in and call-in if you can.

To download a copy of the “Rocking the Cradle” report, visit: http://www.ncd.gov/publications/2012/Sep272012/

[cid:image001.jpg at 01CDC316.B38754E0]Kara Ayers
Mason, Ohio Kara and her husband, Adam, are wheelchair users and the parents of Hannah, their two year-old daughter.  Although they have not yet had trouble with child welfare, they worry about it constantly.  They use adaptive parenting equipment.

[https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/398339_784025754120_1136197712_n.jpg]
Robyn Powell is the principle author of "Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children" and NCD's Attorney Advisor. Previously, Robyn was the Disability Rights Program Manager at the Equal Rights Center, where she was responsible for developing and coordinating disability-focused education and outreach, research, investigations and testing.  Before that, she served as Assistant Director for Policy and Advocacy for the Disability Policy Consortium, in Boston, MA, where she was responsible for a wide variety of programmatic, administrative, advocacy and outreach activities for the state-wide disability rights organization. Robyn also previously served as Staff Attorney for Greater Boston Legal Services and was a legal intern for both NCD and the Disability Law Center, the Massachusetts Protection & Advocacy agency.  Robyn holds a B.S. Degree in Social Work from Bridgewater State University and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in Boston.

In Solidarity,

Anne

Anne C. Sommers
Director of Legislative Affairs & Outreach
National Council on Disability (NCD)
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
202-272-0106 Voice
202-272-2074 TTY
202-272-2022 Fax
http://www.ncd.gov<http://www.ncd.gov/>

Get regular updates via NCD’s Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/NCDgov
Follow NCD on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/NatCounDis

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this electronic correspondence is intended solely for the individual or entity named above and access by anyone else is unauthorized.  If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the contents of this information is prohibited without express permission. If you have received this electronic transmission in error, please reply immediately to the sender that you have received the message in error, and delete it. Thank you. The information contained herein does not reflect any official position or statement of the Members or staff of the National Council on Disability (NCD).

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