State Sen. Mike McGuire, chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, will convene a hearing Tuesday, Feb. 23, in Sacramento, with Sen. Holly Mitchell, Health and Human Services Budget Subcommittee chair, on the budget crisis impacting California’s developmentally disabled community, including residents and families. A key point of discussion is sure to be the impending closure of three of California’s developmental centers. Read more.

The earlier a child with autism can be identified and get treatment the better, child development specialists say. So there’s been a push to have pediatricians give all toddlers screening tests for autism during well child visits.
But the influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said Tuesday that there’s not yet enough evidence to show that screening all children delivers measurable benefits, a decision sure to frustrate or anger many in the autism community. Read more.

Four new books for kids and teens are being lauded for focusing on disabilities with a set of awards handed out alongside the famed Caldecott and Newbery Medals.

The books will receive the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Awards, which are designed to recognize authors or illustrators for portraying storylines featuring characters with special needs. Read more.

Wandering is a significant issue for children with developmental disabilities, with a new study estimating that more than 1 in 4 kids with autism, intellectual disability or developmental delay eloped in the last year alone. (Thinkstock) Read more.

How much do you know about intellectual disabilities? Special Olympics champion and ambassador Matthew Williams is proof that athletic competition and the camaraderie it fosters can transform lives, both on and off the field. Together with his fellow athletes, he invites you to join him at the next meet — and challenges you to walk away with your heart unchanged. Click here.

“What happens when the school bus stops coming,” is one of the heartfelt questions parents Gary Moore and Dan Selec, and many other parents, ask themselves as their children with disabilities near adulthood. For years unemployment of persons with disabilities has been a dismal 70%, but last year, the Department of Labor data showed that in one year, unemployment of this population rose to 80% making a grim future ever grimmer. Read More

The purpose of the mailer is to invite public participation in helping shape Solano’s transportation priorities. The 4 highest priorities we have heard so far are:
• Pothole Repair
• Road Safety
• Mobility for Seniors and People with Disabilities
• Government Accountability

STA is hosting 2 telephone town hall meetings next Monday and Tuesday when elected officials will be on the line to talk with callers:
• South County Telephone Town Hall: Monday, February 8 at 6 pm (Benicia and Vallejo)
• North County Telephone Town Hall: Tuesday February 9 at 6 pm (Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville) Click here for survey.