JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missourians who have received COVID-19 vaccinations can enter to win the Missouri Vaccine Incentive Program Lottery - 900 winners will receive $10,000 in cash, in an education savings account or a Missouri ABLE Account, between now and October.

Missouri ABLE provides people with disabilities an account to save and invest money without losing eligibility for public benefits, like Medicaid or Social Security.

State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick said that's important, because folks have been told they can't have assets of more than $2,000 and keep need-based benefits.

"And so, it's given to individuals that are living with a disability but they want to have a job and they want to have some assets," said Fitzpatrick, "and not be forced to waste their money in order to stay under that asset limit."

Fitzpatrick added people are eligible for Missouri ABLE if they developed a disability before age 26, and who have either lived with their disability for one year or expect it to last more than a year. The first lottery drawing was last week, but there are still four to go.

Sara Hart Weir, special advisor for COVID-19 disability services with the Missouri Health Department, said she's proud they were able to work with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council to make the Vaccine Incentive Program as inclusive as possible for folks with disabilities.

She pointed out that not all states did.

"We really wanted to make sure that Missourians with disabilities were included, and had equal access to be chosen as a potential winner," said Weir. "And so the Missouri ABLE program provided a great platform to be able to achieve that equity."

Since the vaccine lottery was announced on July 21, more than 350,000 doses have been administered in the Show-Me State.

To register for the second drawing, vaccinated residents can go online to 'covidvaccine.mo.gov/win' by Friday, August 25. That's also the day they'll announce the first 180 winners.

Disability groups in New Hampshire are calling for an end to the word "special" to describe people with disabilities.

They said terms like "special" or "special needs" imply people are somehow broken and undermine the long-term fight for disability rights.

Isadora Rodriguez-Legendre, executive director of the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities, said when people ask not to be called a certain word, it should be reason enough not to use it.

"It really is a label that kids and adults with disabilities found to be alienating," Rodriguez-Legendre explained. "Because it kept them apart and separate."

Rodriguez-Legendre pointed out a new public awareness campaign encourages people to visit the website stopspecial.org and read a more appropriate language guide. Nearly one of every eight New Hampshire residents has a disability.

Backers of the "Stop Special" campaign said language is evolving and such euphemisms as "special needs" or "special education" need correction. Rodriguez-Legendre emphasized students should simply be called "students," or even "students with disabilities." She understands it will not be an easy change, especially for those who work with laws and regulations but added the goal is to ensure equitable access to education and public spaces.

"Communities actually are better when people with disabilities are participating in them, because they bring awareness about how to make things more accessible for everybody," Rodriguez-Legendre contended.

The "Stop Special" campaign is backed by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, the Disability Rights Center of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities.


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The U.S. Office for Civil Rights has issued a ruling ensuring that an Iowa man with disabilities is able to live in his home and receive round-the-clock medical care.

Advocates for people with disabilities hope the move sets precedent for other people in Iowa and around the country.

When he was about five, Cedar Rapids resident Garret Frey suffered the same spinal cord injury that Superman star Christopher Reeve did in an equestrian accident.

Reeve lived for about a decade after his accident.

Frey is closing on 40 years, and sued the state, claiming it violated his rights by failing to provide the 24-hour home-based support and services he needs to live at home, where he said people with disabilities want to be.

"It is truly where most of us are happy, healthy," said Frey, "and it's most cost-effective."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to raise the provider reimbursement rate for in-home caregivers, allow for respite services, expand the health-care provider base - and help secure overnight, in-home nursing care for Frey.

HHS will monitor Iowa's progress for a year. Frey said he wants this ruling to set precedent for other people with disabilities in Iowa and across the country.

"It's one baby step in the right direction," said Frey, "because there are many other disability-related concerns and issues that are ongoing."

The ruling requires Iowa Health and Human Services to work with federal officials to ensure Frey's needs are met during that year, and report on their progress monthly.

Teens and young adults in Texas who have disabilities have an opportunity to get a paid internship this summer.

The Texas Workforce Commission offers its Summer Earn and Learn program for students between the ages of 14 and 22. The students are placed with large and small businesses to earn a paycheck and learn valuable work experience.

Joe Esparza, the commissioner representing employers, said all 28 workforce development boards across the state participate in recruiting students and employers

"The employers are obviously benefiting because they're investing in their communities, and they get somebody who's motivated to work," Esparza explained. "I think having that opportunity gives these students a chance to interact with customers, to learn IT systems, to just engage in something that they are very interested in."

He said more than 14,000 students have been placed in internships since the program started in 2017.

More than 1,300 employers across Texas participated in the program last year, giving students hands-on experience. Some of the businesses include the Amarillo Zoo, the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Odessa College. Esparza noted the internships last five to eight weeks and student participants attend work readiness training to prepare them for their work experiences.

"We at the state level always encourage employers to get involved and create programs," Esparza emphasized. "In most every business, there's usually an opportunity to bring somebody in as an internship and it's a great opportunity for them to learn new skills and become part of the workforce there."

Some of the students have been hired full-time by the companies at the end of their internships.


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