Faith Coalition Announces Support for Community Choice Act
Religious and Religiously-Affiliated Groups Make Announcement as First Official Action

WASHINGTON, DC — June 22, 2009 - – The Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition (IDAC) announced its support for the Community Choice Act (S. 683/H.R. 1670) Monday, the 10th anniversary of the landmark Olmstead Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C., which stated that the unnecessary institutionalization of individuals with disabilities constituted discrimination and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Passage of the Community Choice Act, which promotes independence with dignity and allows individuals who receive long-term services through Medicaid to have a choice in where, how and from whom they receive personal assistance, is the long-awaited next step forward in the fight for the civil rights of people with disabilities.

"Core values of the religious community - justice, liberty and human dignity - are violated when people are forced into institutional settings. The Community Choice Act supports the rights of people with disabilities and older adults to receive long term services and supports in their homes and communities,” said Ginny Thornburgh, Director of the Interfaith Initiative at the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and longtime leader in the disability community. AAPD serves as the host organization for IDAC, and Thornburgh acts as the Convener of IDAC.

The announcement is IDAC's first official action as a coalition. The mission of IDAC, which was formed in 2008, is to mobilize the religious community to speak out and take action on disability policy issues with Congress, the President and Administration, and society at large.  The IDAC Steering Committee has representatives from the Christian, Jewish and Islamic communities.

The coalition has also written a sign-on letter to members of Congress urging them to support the legislation.  According to the letter, the coalition feels bias toward institutional placements is in conflict with the shared values of the coalition’s faiths, and by allowing older adults and people with disabilities to receive care in their homes and communities, this legislation ensures that they can remain active participants in their families, neighborhoods, and religious communities.

The organizations which have signed onto IDAC's letter include: American Jewish Committee; B'nai B'rith International; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Friends Committee on National Legislation; General Board of Church & Society of the United Methodist Church; Hindu American Federation; Islamic Society of North America; Jewish Council for Public Affairs; Jewish Reconstructionist Federation; Leadership Conference of Women Religious; Lutheran Services in America; Muslim Public Affairs Council; National Advocacy Center Sisters of the Good Shepherd; National Catholic Partnership on Disability; National Council of Jewish Women; NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Washington Office; Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund ; Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, United States Province; United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries; Union for Reform Judaism; United Jewish Communities.

For more information on the Olmstead decision and the Community Choice Act, visit AAPD’s Web site at http://www.aapd.com/Advocacy/TakeAction.html.

.

# # #

The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the country's largest cross-disability membership organization, organizes the disability community to be a powerful voice for change - economically, politically, and socially. AAPD was founded in 1995 to help unite the diverse community of people with disabilities, including their family, friends and supporters, and to be a national voice for change in implementing the goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To learn more, visit the AAPD website: www.aapd.com.