Tagged: Disabilities

    Service dogs help people with disabilities to lead more independent and productive lives. Most people are familiar with the work of search and rescue dogs and guide dogs. Service dogs are called upon to perform a multitude of tasks.

Dogs at a very young age can be taught to turn on/off light switches, open/close doors, retrieve dropped objects and assist in dressing and undressing. There are many intangible benefits gained in placing a service dog with the right person.

The Empire Service Dog Program is the only NYS organization north of New York City that breeds, trains and places Service Dogs with persons with disabilities. Their annual benefit is this Sunday from 5 to 8pm at the Italian American Community Center in Albany, NY.

One of the areas of disagreement in the state budget centers on funding for services for New York’s developmentally disabled people.  

The Viscardi Center today announced the recipients of a new international award designed to identify and honor people living with disabilities for their work and influence on the global disability community of more than one billion people.

A congressional committee has been looking into why the federal government overpaid New York State by more than $10 billion for the care of developmentally disabled people in state developmental centers. Congress began its probe after reports in the Poughkeepsie Journal. Mary Beth Pfeiffer, projects writer with the journal, says even though the overpayments were first detected in 2007, they still continued. She spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields.