CS/HM 1349

1	House Memorial
2	A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3	Congress to support the opportunity to provide increased
4	access to community-based services for individuals with
5	developmental disabilities.
6
7	WHEREAS, federal and state financial assistance is provided
8	for services under the Medicaid program for individuals with
9	developmental disabilities, and
10	WHEREAS, community-based services are a valuable cost-
11	effective alternative to institutional care because such
12	services benefit both the individual receiving the services and
13	the federal and state programs that fund the services, and
14	WHEREAS, studies suggest that individuals with
15	developmental disabilities who receive services in their homes
16	or other community settings experience improved outcomes,
17	quality of care, and quality of life in contrast to individuals
18	with developmental disabilities who receive care in
19	institutional settings, and
20	WHEREAS, publicly funded programs that cover community-
21	based services for individuals with developmental disabilities
22	are limited, and
23	WHEREAS, federal and state programs provide limited support
24	for community-based services that serve as an alternative to
25	institutional care for individuals with developmental
26	disabilities, and
27	WHEREAS, the years after a student with a developmental
28	disability leaves the educational system are critical for
29	learning and transition, and
30	WHEREAS, the need to allow the opportunity to provide
31	increased access to community-based services at the discretion
32	of the developmentally disabled individual's family is
33	recognized, and
34	WHEREAS, access to community-based services, regardless of
35	a family's income, insurance coverage, or Medicaid eligibility,
36	is recognized as essential in improving the quality of life for
37	individuals with developmental disabilities, NOW, THEREFORE,
38
39	Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
40
41	That the Congress of the United States is urged to:
42	(1)  Support the "Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of
43	2009" or the "ABLE Act of 2009," as reflected in H.R. 1205 and
44	S. 493; and
45	(2)  Support ABLE accounts for individuals with
46	developmental disabilities to assist them in paying certain
47	expenses, including expenses for education, housing,
48	transportation, employment support, medical care, and certain
49	life necessities.
50	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
51	dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
52	President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
53	United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
54	the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.