The National Council on Disability's Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee:
Record of Public Meeting, June 13, 2003 -Teleconference, Washington, DC

I. Welcome and Call to order: Dr. Gerrie Hawkins, the Designated Federal Official (DFO), called the meeting to order at 1:30 PM Eastern Standard Time.

In lieu of Mr. Hubert Mintz and Ms. LaDonna Fowler, CDAC Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, Dr. Hawkins welcomed all participants, including Paul Leung, Ph.D. (TX), Jean Lin (CA), Ms. Dinah Wiley and Ms. Peggy Schmidt of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Ms. Josefina Duran (AZ) and Ms. Cappie Morgan (MD), and Theda Zawaiza, Ph.D. (Independent Contractor).

II. CDAC Member Selection Procedure. A follow-up response to inquiries from members and the public was made as follows. At least three positions will need to be filled by the end of the current fiscal year. CDAC was soliciting new members. The CDAC member selection process was reviewed. The process involves (a) a resume with (b) a cover letter highlighting interests and experiences related to cultural diversity paid/unpaid work and/or issues and resolutions, and (c) submitting the documents to Dr. Hawkins at ghawkins@ncd.gov or fax: (202) 272-2022. As DFO, Dr. Hawkins will acknowledge receipt of the documents and keep the interested applicants updated regarding progress in member selection. It was also reported that the announcement would be made at the upcoming June 23, 2003 NCD Quarterly meeting in New York City and NCD Council members would be reminded to encourage applicants to respond. Since CDAC membership is staggered—meaning membership is set-up so that not more than half the membership is “new” at a given time—the public was also told to watch the website for announcements about future recruitment.

III. NCD Cultural Diversity Initiative Forum Planning. An update on the progress of the forum planning was provided. The forum goals were reviewed as follows:

1. To develop a roadmap for multi-agency coordination and collaboration; to share a common core of resources across agencies; to engage in continuing dialogue; to use consumers as information trees and branches into the community during outreach and training as a demonstration of greater consumer inclusion and direction.

2. To develop and disseminate a model toolkit based on federal agency lessons learned and promising practices for consideration in reaching people with disabilities from diverse cultures; to provide them information about government programs and services in culturally sensitive, competent, and accessible formats.

3. To determine in a collaborative way a select number of measurable outcomes that can serve as indicators of federal agency outreach efficacy and mechanisms for evaluating success over time.

A status update was given on plans regarding the structure of the forum day. Summarily, it was reported that speakers—including agency officials, NCD Council members representatives—Ms. Katherine Martinez, Dr. Young Woo Kang, Mr. Milton Aponte, Esq., and Mr. Marco Rodriguez—as well as Executive Director, Ethel D. Briggs, and people with disabilities and expertise in the field related to disability and diversity outreach had been confirmed for the morning general session. Facilitators were also selected for the AM and PM workgroup sessions. The facilitators would include people from diverse cultures and peoples with disabilities.

IV. Reports, Updates, Announcements and Information Sharing.

Communication Outreach. Based on an outcome of the April 18, 2003 public meeting, along with electronic and earlier telephone communication with Mr. Darrell Simmons (CDAC’s Outreach leader), the DFO reported that the CDAC fact sheet will be presented to the NCD Council in the June 23, 2003 NCD Quarterly meeting notebooks for members and for the public at the July 28, 2003 outreach forum to all participants.
State & Regional Events. Ms. Lin announced the State of California Independent Living Council is hosting an October conference on disability in Los Angeles. Ms. Lin is providing information about diversity outreach for the event. She hopes to infuse that information with issues important to people with disabilities from diverse cultures and to touch upon national to local perspectives about resolutions to unmet needs.
NCD Quarterly Meeting. Dr. Hawkins stated the NCD quarterly meeting will be held in New York City, June 23, 2003. A major theme will be U.S. involvement and leadership pertaining to international disability issues.
A reminder was made by the DFO that the next public meeting dates would be August 15, 2003. Along with usual notes provided to CDAC members, a public notice appeared in the Federal Register.
VII. Adjournment. The DFO thanked all participants for their work efforts, accomplishments, and time and declared the meeting adjourned at 2:30 PM, Eastern Daylight Time.