Blog

JLOC HEARING!

September 22, 2023
8:30 AM – 12:30 PM (MDT)
State Capitol Room (WW55)
ZOOM:legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/
2023/joint/jloc/
The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee (JLOC) will hear Health and Welfare’s
response to the Direct Care Workforce report from the Office of Performance
Evaluations (OPE).

Click here to download the PDF.

Affordable Connectivity Program

Click here to download a PDF version of this information

The Affordable Connectivity Program is an FCC benefit program that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more.

The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a onetime discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price.

The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

Who Is Eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program?
A household is eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program if the household income is at or below 200% of the
Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:
Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s existing lowincome internet program;
Participates in one of these assistance programs:
Free and ReducedPrice School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program, including at U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Community Eligibility Provision schools.
SNAP
Medicaid
Federal Housing Assistance, including:
Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) Program (Section 8 Vouchers)
ProjectBased Rental Assistance (PBRA)/Section 202/ Section 811
Public Housing
Affordable Housing Programs for American Indians, Alaska Natives or Native
Hawaiians

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
WIC
Veterans Pension or Survivor Benefits
or Lifeline
Participates in one of these assistance programs and lives on Qualifying Tribal lands:
Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
Tribal TANF
Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
Tribal Head Start (income based)

Two Steps to Enroll

Apply Now
1.
Go to GetInternet.gov to submit an application or print out a mailin application.
2.
Contact your preferred participating provider to select a plan and have the discount applied to your bill.

Some providers may have an alternative application that they will ask you to complete.

Eligible households must both apply for the program and contact a participating provider to select a service plan.

How Does the ACP Protect Consumers?
FCC rules protect Affordable Connectivity Program recipients by:

Empowering consumers to choose the service plan that best meets their needs (including a plan
they may already be on);

Ensuring consumers have access to supported broadband services regardless of their credit
status;

Prohibiting providers from excluding consumers with past due balances or prior debt from
enrolling in the program;

Preventing consumers from being forced into more expensive or lower quality plans in order to
receive the ACP;

Ensuring that consumers are not liable for early termination fees;
Reducing the potential for bill shock or other financial harms;
Allowing ACP recipients to switch providers or broadband service offerings; and
Providing a dedicated FCC process for ACP complaints.

Which Internet Service Providers Are Participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program?

Various internet providers, including those offering landline and wireless internet service, are participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program. Find internet service providers offering the benefit in your state or territory.
Service providers:
find more information about how to participate.

MEET AND GREET ALL ABILITIES WELCOME

Event in partnership with Disability Rights of Idaho (DRI), Special Olympics Idaho, and Idaho Parents Unlimited (IPUL)

 

Click here to download a PDF version of this information.

JUNE 24TH 11 A.M. – 2 P.M. | BOISE CITY HALL WEST, 333 N. MARK STALL PLACE

Ask questions, share stories with officers and explore vehicles and safety gear.

The community is invited to join police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other Boise public safety professionals in a meet and greet event. Attendees can ask questions and share stories with BPD officers, as well as explore vehicles and safety gear.

Organizations wishing to take part in the event can contact crimeprevention@cityofboise.org

Access to Justice 2023 Campaign

Access to Justice Idaho raises funds to support Idaho Legal Aid Services (ILAS), the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program (IVLP), and DisAbility Rights Idaho (DRI) — the three principal providers of civil legal services for poor and vulnerable Idahoans. The need for free legal services is constant and increasing. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has left one in seven Idaho workers unemployed. Many who were seemingly secure, now face evictions, foreclosures, crippling medical bills without health insurance, and a myriad of unexpected legal problems. This year, more than ever, the low-income beneficiaries of Access to Justice need your help.

FAMILIES SETTLE CLAIMS AGAINST STATE OF IDAHO FOR PERVASIVE ABUSE

P R E S S R E L E A S E
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2023

FAMILIES SETTLE CLAIMS AGAINST STATE OF IDAHO FOR PERVASIVE ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES AT SOUTHWEST IDAHO TREATMENT CENTER

Settlement includes $1.2M payment, unlimited access to treatment center, corrective plans and reports Boise, Idaho – After a lengthy lawsuit, six families have settled their federal court claims against the state of Idaho for abuse, neglect and maltreatment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who resided at the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center. Approved by the federal court in Boise, the settlement includes a $1.2 million payment and the state’s promises not to retaliate against the families, comply with all federal and state laws, and provide corrective plans to the families. It also allows DisAbility Rights Idaho unlimited access to the treatment center, records and investigative reports, and attendance at quarterly meetings.

“This culminates a long legal road for families who suffered such unbelievable abuse, injury and death of their loved ones,” said Shamus O’Meara, counsel for the families with the law firm of O’Meara Wagner in Minneapolis. “We are proud to be part of an exceptional multi-state team advocating for this successful outcome for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.”

Co-counsel Char Quade, Managing Partner at CK Quade Law, in Boise, stated, “This settlement speaks to the intolerance of mistreating individuals with developmental disabilities, requiring vital dialog with the disabilities community to ensure the proper operation and management of the state’s treatment center so that no further abuse or neglect will occur to our vulnerable citizens. No family should ever have to worry their loved one will be neglected, abused, or die when seeking services for them in the state of Idaho.”

The lawsuit followed DisAbility Rights’ 2018 investigative report, No Safe Place to Call Home, A Report on the Cycle of Abuse, Neglect and Injury at the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center, finding it “consistently failed to offer the treatment, services and protections that it is by law obligated to provide those in its care” resulting in “woefully inadequate response to acts of abuse and neglect, created a cycle of abuse, neglect, and injury, affecting every person at the facility from the moment they are admitted until their discharge or, in some cases, death.” The Idaho legislature’s 2019 report also found the state “lacks a coherent vision for services to individuals with intellectual disabilities who are in crisis,” with management “winging it” without an effective approach to solving problems.

For more information, please contact

OMearaWagner, P.A
OMearaWagner, P.A.
7401 Metro Blvd. Suite 600
Minneapolis, MN 55439
spomeara@olwklaw

952.806.0438

Charlene K. Quade
C.K. Quade Law, PLLC
5519 N. Glenwood St. Suite 110

Garden City, ID 83714
char@charquadelaw.com
208.367.0723