John R. Vaughn, Chairperson
December 2007

The Bulletin, which is free of charge and at NCD’s award-winning Web site (www.ncd.gov), brings you the latest issues and news affecting people with disabilities. To subscribe to the NCD listserv, go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov, click on Online mailing list archives, select NCD-NEWS-L, click on Join or leave the list, then complete the short subscription form. Please send your editorial comments to Bulletin editor Mark S. Quigley (mquigley@ncd.gov).

Welcome from Chairperson John R. Vaughn

Happy New Year to each of you as we enter 2008 and NCD, in November, completes 30 years of excellence as an independent federal agency promoting policies, programs, practices, and procedures that ensure full inclusion into all aspects of society for people with disabilities.

During this milestone year, NCD will continue the outreach we began in 2007, to hold our public meetings throughout the country to receive your valuable input and learn of those issues, programs, and best practices that help shape the work of the 15 presidentially appointed NCD members and our staff in Washington, D.C.

During 2007, we received public comments, heard presentations from stakeholders, held receptions, and met with hundreds of members of the disability community in San Diego, Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston and the neighboring regions. In the coming year we will afford similar opportunities in:

New Orleans, Louisiana — January 28–30

Arlington, Virginia — April 21–23

Seattle, Washington — July 14–16

Kansas City, Missouri — October 6–8

Check our Web site often at www.ncd.gov for meeting details, as we want to meet you while we are in your community or hear from you in person or via toll-free telephone numbers during our public comment periods during each meeting.

Even if you can't participate in our meetings, you can always send me your comments, suggestions, best practices, or emerging trends in the disability arena via e-mail at jvaughn@ncd.gov or ncd@ncd.gov.

Again, a healthy and prosperous New Year to all!

NCD to Release Progress Reports

On January 15, NCD will release its annual National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, which reviews federal policy activities, noting progress where it has occurred, and makes further recommendations where necessary. The recommendations apply to the Executive Branch, to the Legislative Branch, and in some instances to both.

NCD will also release The No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act: A Progress Report at a news conference during NCD’s quarterly meeting in New Orleans. The news conference will be held at 11:00 a.m. on January 28 at the New Orleans Marriott Convention Center, 859 Convention Center Boulevard, New Orleans, LA.

NCD commissioned this study to assist policy leaders and stakeholders in assessing the impact on schools of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), including student outcomes produced. This report provides a detailed analysis of such key questions as (1) How has student achievement status changed since the laws were (re)authorized? (2) What impact have the laws had on assessment systems, accountability systems, and systems of personnel development? and (3) Which barriers are impeding the achievement of students with disabilities, and how can those barriers be overcome?

Copies of both reports will be available for downloading on their respective release dates at www.ncd.gov.

Crime Victims Update

On November 30, during NCD’s Boston quarterly meeting, NCD unanimously approved a motion in support of the Crime Victims with Disabilities Act of 2007 (CVWD). On December 5, NCD chairperson John R. Vaughn carried out that motion by writing to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in support of the CVWD.

NCD is gratified that Senate Bill 2237, the Crime Control and Prevention Act, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary on October 25, includes Title IX, Subtitle A, the CVWD. NCD is committed to the same goals espoused in the CVWD.

On May 21, 2007, NCD issued a joint statement with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities and the National Center for Victims of Crime — Breaking the Silence on Crime Victims with Disabilities in the United States (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2007/05-21-07_jointstatement_crime.htm).

Upon releasing this joint statement, NCD announced that the ultimate goal of this partnership was to foster greater public awareness about crime victims with disabilities and to forge a national commitment to better serve this particularly vulnerable population. 

NCD, along with its partners, calls for expanded research to establish the prevalence and impact of crime against persons with disabilities. The statement also calls for greater public education to raise awareness about the circumstances and needs of persons with disabilities who have been victimized by crime; public policy changes that integrate crime victims with disabilities and their needs into the current framework of federal, state, and local services; increased access to programs and services that will help crime victims with disabilities rebuild their lives; and a national leadership forum that will serve as a unifying and proactive voice for crime victims with disabilities. 

The CVWD has three provisions that fall squarely within the goals announced by NCD in May of this year: (1) increasing the awareness, investigation, prosecution, and prevention of crimes against individuals with disabilities, including developmental disabilities, and improving services to those who are victimized, by facilitating collaboration among the criminal justice system and a range of agencies and other organizations that provide services to individuals with disabilities; (2) collecting valid, reliable national data relating to crimes against individuals with developmental and related disabilities; and (3) amending the Omnibus Crime Control Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include crime victims with disabilities collaboration program grants.

NCD urges a strong commitment to crime victims with disabilities, who have been virtually invisible in our nation. Greater understanding by the general public, elected officials, other policy makers, and those in the disability, judicial system, and victim services communities, is foundational to addressing the unmet needs of this underserved population.

NCD Makes Civil Rights Recommendations

On December 10, NCD made recommendations to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for potential civil rights projects to be conducted in 2010. Those recommendations include:

• Evaluate the long-term effects of, and effective alternatives to, the use of electric shock on people with behavior problems as a form of behavior modification (www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/school_of_shock.html);
• Identify effective interventions to reduce the high drop-out rates of high school students with disabilities;
• Evaluate the accessibility, or lack thereof, of Workforce Investment Act One Stop centers;
• Identify best and promising practices of faith-based initiatives serving people with disabilities; and
• Identify effective in-community treatment alternatives to involuntary institutionalization for people with mental illness.

Accessible Currency

On November 30, during its Boston quarterly meeting, the Council voted in favor of NCD taking a supportive position requiring equal access to American currency. The board also voted to send a letter to President Bush, asking that the Administration withdraw its appeal and move to ensure that American currency becomes accessible.

NCD Member Activities

Kathy Martinez, the executive director of the World Institute on Disability (WID) and NCD board member, reports that WID continues to promote the civil and human rights of people with disabilities throughout California, the United States, and abroad through training, advocacy, and policy development. WID estimates that at least 30,000 people benefited from their projects and outreach in 2007. As just one example of their unique impact, last month WID learned that Jamie Jameson, a career CIA professional who recently passed away, had been so impressed with his work on WID’s Russia business development project, that he requested that all donations in his honor be made to WID. Asked to provide some information about WID at the memorial service, Kathy Martinez remarked that she was touched by the many people from Washington’s social justice community who turned out to pay homage to this Russia expert who had contracted polio during his Cold War experience.

Advisory Committee Member Achievement

NCD’s Youth Advisory Committee policy workgroup leader, Ari Ne’eman (NJ), received recent accolades for his successful leadership of advocacy work that mobilized the broader disability community on an international scale. In his thank-you note to the 22 disability rights organizations and countless individuals whose combined efforts resulted in withdrawal of an ad campaign depicting people with disabilities in a negative way, Ari noted “this is a victory for inclusion, for respect and for the strength and unity of people with disabilities across the world” (www.autisticadvocacy.org).

Quarterly Meetings

NCD’s winter quarterly meeting will be held January 28 to January 30, 2008, at the New Orleans Marriott Convention Center, 859 Convention Center Boulevard, New Orleans, LA.

The primary focus of this meeting will be gathering information and hearing presentations from stakeholders and professionals, as well as receiving public comment on emergency preparedness, homeland security, and other issues of importance to people with disabilities. Under the Homeland Security Appropriations Bill (H.R. 5441) signed by President Bush on October 4, 2006, NCD was assigned key responsibilities for disability-related issues in homeland security.

This meeting is open to the public. People with disabilities are encouraged to attend and participate in the daily public comment segments of the meeting. A toll-free line will be available during the public comment sessions for those who cannot attend but would like to address NCD. The agenda will be posted at www.ncd.gov prior to the meeting.

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Mark S. Quigley
Director of Communications
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW Suite 850
Washington, DC 20004
202-272-2008
www.ncd.gov