Sarah Palin: Remember Her?

In the midst of the historic inauguration of President Obama, there's been little news from the Great White North about Gov. Sarah Palin. But yesterday she gave her state of the state address (full text here) and made several notable comments about special needs issues. I said after the election that I was curious to see what action she'd take on these issues, so it's only fair to report occasionally on what she's up to.

First, she was gracious in her comments about our new president:
"Just two days ago we witnessed a shining moment in the history of our country. Millions of Americans are praying for the success of our new president, and I am one of them. His work is cut out for him, but if President Obama governs with the skill, grace, and greatness of which he is capable, Alaska’s going to be just fine. We congratulate President Obama."

Addressing education, she said:
"...we’ll encourage opportunities for students with special needs. One of the great privileges given to me last year was the chance to be a witness for the truth that every child has value; to say to special needs children that they are beautiful and loved. And needed. We learn more from them than they from us. Across America, a great change is coming in public policy affecting these children, and Alaska can lead the way."

On health care:
"I look forward to working with you on adjustments to kid’s health insurance. We’ll fund more early screening -– for example, for autism -– because early detection makes all the difference."

With a revenue shortfall that could top $1 billion, she announced a hiring freeze, a 7 percent cut in the overall budget, and a spending freeze on all non-essential items. With these challenges, I hope she can deliver on her promises to Alaska's children and families.

Palin Does Good -- Really

During the campaign I occasionally (or frequently) criticized Gov. Palin for her past record on many of her key issues. I suspect she will not be a prominent figure in this blog now that she's back in Alaska, but when she (or Sen. McCain) take action related to special needs, I'll weigh in and invite your comments.

And today's one of those times. To her credit, Palin this week unveiled a plan to invest an additional $5 million to support children's health -- including areas like autism screening, Head Start, obesity prevention, a test program of half-day preschool, and expanded insurance under Denali KidCare (which covers low-income children and pregnant women). The proposed increase to Denali KidCare would cover an additional 1,300 children and about 225 pregnant women. Interestingly, last year Palin opposed an increase in the program despite the fact that the state had a large surplus because of high oil prices.

Today, as the price of oil drops, many Alaska officials worry there may be no additional money for programs like these -- and in fact, some services may need to be cut. Her proposed increases would take effect in the next fiscal year -- at which time a balanced budget would depend on oil prices being $20 higher than the current $40 or so.

If you miss seeing Palin on your TV every day, here's a video of her announcement.

How Do You Define "Fight"?

It's time for a fact check. Yesterday Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin spoke at a rally in Reading, Pa. It was a typical stump speech in most ways, but Gov. Palin made a claim that I haven't heard before -- and that I haven't seen backed up by any source, including her staff and supporters in Alaska.

She said, "As governor I’ve fought for these two years more funding for education for those with special needs for more opportunities." As I reported earlier, it is true that the budget for what Alaska calls "special needs" has increased since Gov. Palin took office. The general education budget was increased because of surpluses generated by oil profits, and the state automatically earmarks a certain percentage of the general education budget for "special needs." So by default, that budget grew as well.

BUT: Alaska's "special needs" budget includes expenses for everything from the "talented and gifted" program to a boot camp for high school dropouts. (The boot camp gets two-thirds of the funding.) And nothing I've seen -- nothing -- supports her claim that she has in any way "fought" or "pushed" or "advocated" or even "politely asked" for more funding or programs for children with special needs. If you can point to a source that supports her claim, please send it to me.

See also "What Alaskans are Saying."

Alaskan Mom Says Gov. Palin Is No Friend to Special-Needs Families

I just found this comment to a post I had seen earlier, from Katy. I hope she won't mind me cross-posting it, since she wants to share this information with families who care about disabilities:

“As an Alaskan mother of a 17-year-old young man who experiences autism and hydrocephalus, and the former Director of the Alaska Parent Training and Information Center (OSEP - AK PTI), I am pleading with America to really examine Sarah’s record in Alaska. The only 'special school' that received significant increases to its budget this year is the Alaska Youth Challenge Academy, which is a military youth academy for youth with behavioral challenges.

"There have been no significant increases to early intervention services (children have to wait for months to get therapy, clearly violating IDEA), programs for children experiencing FASD have been cut, and parents in rural Alaska wait months to see therapists in the schools. Intensive needs funding has increased thanks to the brave parents who have pushed by filing complaints, NOT thanks to Sarah. To date, she has NOT been a friend or advocate for families raising exceptional children in Alaska. In fact, today Alaska is years behind in methodology and access to services compared to most states.

"It wasn’t this way when my son was a baby in the early ’90s. He didn’t have to wait for early intervention services, and I am convinced that is one the main reasons why he will be attending college in two years and studying abroad in Sweden in four."

Read the orginal post and comments: "Sarah Palin: Special Needs/Autism Advocate or Savvy Speaker?"

Disability Faculty: Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Two distinguished professors at the University of Kansas Beach Center on Disability (and parents of a 41-year-old son who has intellectual disability, autism, and bipolar disorder), explain "Why the disability community should fear Sarah Palin." An excerpt:

"When a young governor line-item-vetoes six appropriations for community disability services or for accessibility modifications to public accommodations, that governor gives us reason to be skeptical about promises and prospective performance. When the appropriations totaled $749,000 in a state that has a huge budget surplus, and when the governor apparently knew at the time that her nephew has autism, that governor gives us special reason to doubt her commitment to people with special needs."

This is one of the best comparisons I've seen of Obama's "community organizing" and Gov. Palin's record -- and their impact on people with disabilities.

Finding Palin in a Game of Smoke and Mirrors

In the International Herald Tribune, Albert Hunt of Bloomberg News comments on how difficult it is to get clear answers from Gov. Palin, when her record is in direct contrast to what she suggests are her positions. An example:

"Her decision to have a Down syndrome child this year and pledge to be an advocate for families with special needs kids was inspiring for any family with such children. Why then did she veto a bill passed by the Alaska Legislature increasing funding for the Special Olympics?"

And I'll ask again -- what does she think are the challenges that these families face, and how does she plan to be an advocate and friend?

A "Yawning Gulf" Between Palin's Words and Actions

BREAKING NEWS: Not all women support Gov. Palin's candidacy. If you don't believe it, hop on over to Women Against Sarah Palin, where I found this post:

"In all the fuss about Sarah Palin’s moose hunting, religious views, and beauty pageant career, something has been lost: whether her words match up with her record. [She said families of special-needs children will have a "friend and advocate in the White House."] "Really? Because the parents of children with disabilities in Alaska don't have much of a friend or advocate right now. Even in years of great surplus, she actually cut state funding for special education services and Medicaid—the program that children and adults with disabilities rely on for health care.

"You can search in vain in any of her speeches, or budgets, for any evidence of her newfound 'advocacy' for the things that people with disabilities in Alaska and our country really need: equality. Rather than fight for the educational services which the law says children with disabilities are entitled to, she has cut them. Nor has she fought for, or even shown an interest in, promoting the integration of people with disabilities from institutions and into our communities. Governor Palin shouldn't be judged on how she looks, how many children she brings on stage, or whether she kills her own food. Americans want to know if her words match her actions, whether she is the real deal. And on disability rights, there's a yawning gulf between her talk and her actions. That is something that should give us cause for alarm."

Posted by Fraser N., Salt Lake City, Utah

From Warm to Icy: Alaska Women's Views on Palin

NPR features an interview with a consultant who used to support Gov. Palin, before she took the national stage and started misrepresenting her record. An excerpt:

"Palin told Americans she will be an advocate for children with special needs. 'In fact,' Libenson says, 'just this summer she cut funding for Alaska's Special Olympics.' Libenson cites the governor's line-item veto trimming the Special Olympics budget by $275,000. Palin also slashed funding for statewide independent living centers and transition housing for homeless young adults, Libenson says."

Libenson also points out that in a state with one of the nation's highest substance abuse rates, the governor denied funding -- about $325,000 -- for a substance abuse education and prevention program aimed at young people. And she reduced the state's support for a Fairbanks community food bank, a dropout-prevention program, and an rehabilitation facility.

The article concludes with this:
"There is a tradition in Alaska, Libenson says, that when people see something wrong, they come right out and say it. 'When something happens, you step forward and do something,' she says, 'especially when someone is going around saying things that aren't true.' "

A Look at Autism Services in Alaska

Blogger Michael Petrelis reports on a lawsuit against Gov. Palin for inadequate services for people with disabilities. The suit is on behalf of Billy Olson, "a 16-year-old with severe autism, whose parents are suing the governor and the state because Alaska lack 24-hour residential programs for severe-needs autistic children and adolescents. Billy is currently living in an out-of-state residential facility, thousands of miles away from his family." Petrelis includes a link to the 46-page filing. (It's hard to read unless you select "full screen" in the top menu.)

One of the comments includes some other interesting links:

- A profile of Alaska's autism services, June 2008

- Early Intensive Intervention Services for Alaska Children with Autism: A Policy Analysis, a 16-page report by the Governor’s Council on Disabilities & Special Education, 2007

What Alaskans Are Saying

From the Anchorage Press, here's a pretty balanced look at Gov. Palin's record on disability programs. In his article "Sarah and the Kids," Brendan Joel Kelley reports that many people in the state were surprised to hear her promise to be a national advocate for people with disabilities.

State Senator Bill Wielechowski: “I can tell you she wasn’t a champion for disabled children as governor. I was surprised to hear her say that in her speech.”

Representative Les Gara: “The state has a very average -- very inadequate -- policy for families with disabilities. Average because lots of states have rotten policies towards families with disabilities....I think [Governor Palin] believes in the Republican ethic, which is that there’s very little role for government to go out and help people get access to opportunity."

Jim Beck, executive director of Access Alaska, a nonprofit that advocates for people with disabilities: "She’s never elucidated a health care plan or vision or any kind of connection to the disability community. We’re really suffering from not having a big plan. It’s not as though we’re stagnant, we just don’t have the big vision."

The Real Numbers: Special Needs Funding in Alaska

Thanks to Momocrats for obtaining clarification on the special needs budget question directly from Eric Fry, an information officer at the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development.

FY 2007 Special Schools Budget:
Alaska School for the Deaf - $956,400
Special Education Service Agency (SESA) - $2,072,300
Alaska Psychiatric Hospital - $146,000
Alaska Challenge Youth Academy - $5,091,600

FY 2008 Special Schools Budget:
Alaska School for the Deaf - $956,400
Special Education Service Agency (SESA) - $2,054,600*
Alaska Psychiatric Hospital - $146,000
Alaska Challenge Youth Academy - $5,709,000

*This budget item decreased because the number of K-12 students went down.

The bottom line? Gov. Palin kept funding for students with disabilities about the same, and about two-thirds of what her supporters are calling "special needs funding" actually went to boot camps for high school dropouts. Don't get me wrong. I support programs that benefit high school dropouts, but it sure looks like she was a better "friend and advocate" to dropouts than she was to students with disabilities.

Alaska's Special-Needs Funds Going to "Boot Camps"?

Blogger Tomclash examines Gov. Palin's record on funding for special needs education. While many people claim she increased funding, it turns out that two-thirds of "special needs" money goes to a boot camp for high school dropouts. It sounds like a good idea -- but it has nothing to do with special-needs education.

Digging deeper into the websites that are supposed to serve Alaskan parents who have kids with special needs, I was interested in reading these sections of the Alaska education site, but the links don't go anywhere:

Developing Your Child’s IEP
www.nichcy.org/pubs/parent/pa12txt.htm
Be a full participant in developing your child’s IEP! This Parent’s Guide tells you how. It looks in detail at the IEP and discusses how to work effectively with schools to help your child get an education tailored to his or her needs.

General Information On Disabilities
www.nichcy.org/pubs/genresc/gr3.htm
Read the definitions of the 13 categories of disabilities under which a child with a disability may qualify for special education services under the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

Questions Often Asked by Parents about Special Education Services
www.nichcy.org/pubs/ideapubs/lg1txt.htm
This publication explains in easy to read terms how students with disabilities access special education and related services.

Your Child’s Evaluation
www.nichcy.org/pubs/basicpar/bp1txt.htm
This publication describes the steps the school system will take to evaluate your child to determine if he or she has a disability and is eligible for special education.

As a service to those parents and kids, I emailed the webmaster to ask him/her to fix these links to make these valuable resources available to the people who need them.