MiCASSA — My Home

Abstract

This article will introduce people with disabilities as change agents who affect policy enactments and implementation in this country. It will begin with a brief description of a bill (H.R. 2032/S.971), the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA). That will be followed by the grassroots history of the disability-rights movement since the 1960s and the independent living philosophy that was born in the movement and underlies the development of MiCASSA. The contributions to the MiCASSA bill by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision will be presented. Finally, MiCASSA's implications to both social work education and practice will be discussed.

Key Words:

• MiCASSA
• disability rights movement
• independent living
• ADA
• Olmstead