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MEETING THE UNIQUE NEEDS OF MINORITIES WITH
DISABILITIES:
A REPORT TO THE
PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS
April 26, 1993
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street NW
Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20004-1107
(202) 272-2004 Voice
(202) 272-2074 TT
(202) 272-2022 Fax
Summary of:
Proceedings of a Conference Co-Sponsored by the National
Council on Disability and Jackson State University
May 6-7, 1992
and
A Public Hearing Held by the National Council on Disability
on How Minorities with Disabilities Are Faring Under the ADA
October 21, 1992
The views contained in the report do not necessarily
represent those of the Administration, as this document has not
been subjected to the A-19 Executive Branch review process.
Letter of Transmittal
April 26, 1993
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The National Council on Disability is pleased submit
to you this special report entitled Meeting the Unique Needs
of Minorities With Disabilities: A Report to the President and the
Congress. We are particularly proud of this report, because
it addresses a set of issues that has been largely overlooked by
U.S. policymakers.
The National Council has targeted the significant,
unmet needs of minorities with disabilities as a policy priority.
Minorities constitute a disproportionate share of the disability
community and have a unique set of needs in addition to those experienced
by other people with disabilities. Many minority persons with disabilities
face discrimination on the basis of both minority status and disability.
This report reflects the results of a recent National Council conference
on minorities with disabilities co-sponsored with Jackson State
University in Mississippi, and a public hearing identifying the
needs of minorities with respect to the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (ADA), P.L. 101-336, held in San Francisco, California.
With the completion of this report, the National
Council remains fully committed to ensuring that the unique needs
of minorities with disabilities and their families are addressed.
It is only then that we can rest assured that all of our
citizens with disabilities have access to the American dream. We
look forward to working with you in achieving that essential goal.
Sincerely,
John A. Gannon
Acting Chairperson
February 1993-Present
Sandra Swift Parrino
Chairperson
October 1983-February 1993
(This same letter of transmittal was sent to the President
Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The National Council on Disability wishes to thank
the members of the Minorities with Disabilities Working Group and
others who contributed to its minorities with disabilities initiative,
including the many individuals who participated in its conference
and testified at its hearing. The administration of Jackson State
University was particularly helpful in developing and implementing
the conference, including Dr. James E. Lyons, Sr., President; Dr.
Herman Smith, Interim President; Dr. Frank Giles; and Dr. Celestine
R. Jefferson. We would also like to acknowledge Alyce Jenkins, Dr.
Evelyn Davis, Dr. Sylvia Walker, Dr. Vannoy Thompson, Wolanda Thompson,
Edward Brewington, Elysse L. Brewington, Edward Shields, Dr. Theda
R.W. Zawaiza, Dr. Ruben C. Warren, David Cabrera, David Belgrave,
William Murrain, Carl Boyd, F. Burns Vick, Jr., Hope Yasui, and
Dr. Frederick D. Bedell. The Council truly appreciates the support
of the U.S. Department of Justice through the participation of John
R. Dunne, former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, and
John L. Wodatch, Chief of the Public Access Section.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
MISSION OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY
NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY, MEMBERS
AND STAFF
PROJECT STAFF
CONFERENCE PAPERS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- INTRODUCTION: MINORITIES WITH DISABILITIES
- EDUCATION
- VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
- EMPLOYMENT
- EMPOWERMENT
- MENTAL HEALTH
- PHYSICAL HEALTH
- PREVENTION OF DISABILITIES
- SUBSTANCE ABUSE
- RESEARCH NEEDS
REFERENCES
APPENDICES
- Conference Program
- List of Conference Participants
- ADA Watch Hearing Agenda
- Biographies of National Council Members
and Staff
MISSION
OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY
The National Council on Disability is an independent federal agency
composed of 15 members appointed by the President of the United
States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It was established in 1978
as an advisory board within the Department of Education. The Rehabilitation
Act Amendments of 1984 transformed the Council into an independent
agency. The mission of the National Council on Disability is to
provide leadership in the identification of emerging issues affecting
people with disabilities and in the development and recommendation
of disability policy to the President and the Congress. The statutory
mandate of the National Council includes the following:
- Reviewing and evaluating on an ongoing basis the
effectiveness of all policies, programs, and activities concerning
individuals with disabilities conducted or assisted by federal
departments or agencies;
- Assessing the extent to which federal policies,
programs, and activities provide incentives for community-based
services, promote full integration of individuals with disabilities,
and contribute to the independence and dignity of individuals
with disabilities;
- Providing to the Congress, on an ongoing basis,
advice, recommendations, and any additional information that the
National Council or the Congress considers appropriate;
- Providing ongoing advice to the President, the
Congress, the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration
(RSA), the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education
and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), and the Director of the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) on
programs authorized in the Rehabilitation Act;
- Establishing general policies for reviewing the
operation of NIDRR;
- Submitting an annual report with appropriate recommendations
to the President and the Congress regarding the status of research
affecting persons with disabilities and the activities of RSA
and NIDRR;
- Providing advice to the RSA Commissioner on policies;
- Making recommendations on ways to improve research;
the collection, dissemination, and implementation of research
findings; and the administration of services affecting persons
with disabilities;
- Reviewing and approving standards for independent
living programs;
- Reviewing and approving standards for Project
With Industry programs;
- Providing guidance to the President's Committee
on Employment of People with Disabilities; and
- Issuing an annual report to the President and
the Congress on the progress that has been made in implementing
the recommendations contained in the National Council's January
30, 1986, report, Toward Independence.
While many government agencies address issues and
programs affecting people with disabilities, the National Council
is the only federal agency charged with addressing, analyzing, and
making recommendations on issues of public policy that affect people
with disabilities regardless of age, disability type, perceived
employment potential, economic need, specific functional ability,
status as a veteran, or other individual circumstance. The National
Council recognizes its unique opportunity to facilitate independent
living, community integration, and employment opportunities for
people with disabilities by ensuring an informed and coordinated
approach to addressing their concerns and eliminating barriers to
their active participation in community and family life.
NATIONAL
COUNCIL ON DISABILITY, MEMBERS AND STAFF Members
John A. Gannon, Acting Chairperson, Cleveland, Ohio,
and Washington, D.C.
A. Kent Waldrep, Jr., Vice Chairperson, Plano, Texas
Linda Wickett Allison, Dallas, Texas
Ellis B. Bodron, Vicksburg, Mississippi
Larry Brown, Jr., Potomac, Maryland
Mary Ann Mobley Collins, Beverly Hills, California
Anthony H. Flack, Norwalk, Connecticut
Robert S. Muller, Grandville, Michigan
George H. Oberle, PED, Stillwater, Oklahoma
Sandra Swift Parrino, Former Chairperson, Briarcliff Manor, New
York
Mary Matthews Raether, McLean, Virginia
Shirley W. Ryan, Chicago, Illinois
Anne Crellin Seggerman, Fairfield, Connecticut
Michael B. Unhjem, Fargo, North Dakota
Helen Wilshire Walsh, Greenwich, Connecticut
Staff
Andrew I. Batavia, J.D., M.S., Executive Director
Edward P. Burke, Chief, Government Liaison
Billie Jean Hill, Program Specialist
Mark S. Quigley, Public Affairs Specialist
Brenda Bratton, Executive Secretary
Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant
Janice Mack, Administrative Officer
Lorraine Williams, Office Automation Clerk
PROJECT
STAFF National Council on Disability
Initiative on Minorities with Disabilities
Larry Brown, Jr., Chairperson
Mary Ann Mobley Collins
Anthony H. Flack
John A. Gannon
George H. Oberle, PED
Sandra Swift Parrino
Mary Mathews Raether
A. Kent Waldrep, Jr.
Report Editors
Tennyson J. Wright, Ph.D., CRC
Paul Leung, Ph.D.
Conference Coordinators
Frederick D. Bedell, Ed.D.
Celestine R. Jefferson, Ed.D.
Project Officers
Andrew I. Batavia, J.D., M.S.
Kate Seelman, Ph.D.
Report Production Managers
Andrew I. Batavia, J.D., M.S.
Edward P. Burke
Mark S. Quigley
Billie Jean Hill
Judy Cleary/EEI
This report summarizes the papers commissioned by
the National Council for the conference and the testimony provided
at the ADA Watch hearing on minorities with disabilities. The views
expressed and the recommendations presented are those of the authors
and witnesses and do not necessarily represent those of the Council.
CONFERENCE
PAPERS 1. Introduction: Minorities with
Disabilities
Paul Leung, Ph.D.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Tennyson J. Wright, Ph.D., CRC
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida
2. Educational Needs of Minorities with Disabilities
Frederick D. Bedell, Ed.D.
President, Del-K Educational Consultancy Services
Albany, New York
3. The Vocational Rehabilitation of Minorities
Frank L. Giles, Ph.D., CRC
Department of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services
Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
4. Employment of Minorities with Disabilities
Alyce Earl Jenkins, M.Ed., CRC
Associate Professor, College of Education and Human Services
Wright State University
Dayton, Ohio
5. Empowerment of Minorities with Disabilities
Eva P. Britt, Staff Attorney
Information, Protection, and Advocacy Center
for Handicapped Individuals, Inc. (IPACHI)
Washington, DC
6. Mental Health and Minorities: Emerging Issues
Timothy Summers, M.D.
Jackson, Mississippi
7. Prevention of Primary and Secondary Disabilities
Julie Clay
Rural Institute on Disabilities
University of Montana
Missoula, Montana
8. Minorities, Physical Health and Disability
Anita Leal, Ph.D.
Director, Employee Support Program
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California
9. Substance Abuse and Disabilities Among Minorities
James G. Brown, Ph.D.
Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Tallahassee, Florida
10. Research Needs Related to Minorities with Disabilities
Paul Leung, Ph.D.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
People with disabilities have always been excluded
from the bounty of our nation's resources. Minorities with disabilities,
in particular, have been the most disenfranchised of the disenfranchised.
It is time that we bring them into the fold as full, first-class
participants in our society.
Hon. Rev. Jesse L. Jackson
National Rainbow Coalition
The National Council on Disability, recognizing our
society's general neglect of the needs of minority persons with
disabilities, and the many social disadvantages that such individuals
encounter, developed a key initiative on addressing the needs of
minorities with disabilities. Meeting the unique needs of minorities
with disabilities has been a priority for the National Council for
several years. This report represents one of the many efforts that
the Council has made to seek full inclusion for minorities in disability
policy decisionmaking and development.
Disability policy and disability politics are like
other areas of domestic policy and politics in our nation--they
are dominated by the culture, values, and biases of the majority
middle class. Unless we make determined and targeted efforts to
ensure the inclusion of minorities in the policymaking process,
we will not develop policies and programs that address their unique
needs. Too often, little consideration is given to the needs of
African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans,
and other minorities with disabilities. The United States consists
of a diverse population and we must make a conscious effort to meet
the needs of all our people.
Persons with disabilities who are also members of
minorities face double discrimination and a double disadvantage
in our society. They are more likely to be poor and undereducated
and to have fewer opportunities than other members of the population.
It is not certain why this is the case, but we can surmise that
it results from the cumulative effect of poor socioeconomic status
and poor health that place minorities at greater risk of disability
and at greater risk of not receiving needed services if they have
a disability.
The National Council's minorities with disabilities
initiative has thus far included two major events--a national conference
and a public hearing on the broad array of issues concerning minority
persons with disabilities.
National Conference on Minorities with Disabilities
On May 6-7, 1992, at Jackson State University, the
National Council on Disability convened a national conference entitled
"Addressing the Unique Needs of Minorities with Disabilities: Setting
an Agenda for the Future." The conference considered a wide range
of disability issues, including education, rehabilitation, employment,
empowerment, mental health, physical health, prevention, substance
abuse, and research, as they relate to the concerns of minorities.
(See Appendix A for the Conference Program.)
The conference was attended by 186 persons, most
from minority backgrounds. (See Appendix B for a List of Conference
Participants.) A variety of papers was commissioned by the National
Council from experts on minority and disability issues, including
persons with disabilities, service providers, and researchers. The
papers addressed each of the nine subject areas of the conference.
After the papers were presented at the conference by their authors,
other experts presented their reactions to them.
The conference papers and reactions are discussed
in sections 2 through 10 of this report. A summary of the general
findings and recommendations of conference participants is presented
in this Executive Summary. Specific recommendations concerning the
various subject areas of the conference are presented in the relevant
sections of this report.
Conference Findings and Recommendations
The proceedings of the conference--both in the commissioned
papers and in the reactions of the experts who responded to them--contain
sets of policy recommendations to improve the lives of minority
persons with disabilities. Throughout the presentations, and implicit
in the recommendations, are findings on the needs of minorities
with disabilities. While specific consensus was not sought at the
conference, there was considerable overlap among the various findings
and recommendations made by participants.
This report provides a synthesis of the many findings
and recommendations presented throughout the conference. The recommendations
are based upon a general assumption among conference participants
that disability policy and government programs should target those
in our society who often have the least and need the most. The consistency
of the findings and recommendations demonstrates not only their
credibility, but the urgency for action.
Findings
The findings of the conference are as follows:
- Issues involving minority persons with disabilities
are complex and require the coordinated attention of many government
programs as well as the competencies of professionals from many
different disciplines.
- As a group, minority persons with disabilities
are more at risk, have fewer personal and family resources, have
less knowledge and understanding of externally available resources,
and fare less well socioeconomically than do minorities without
disabilities.
- There has been limited research on issues related
to minority persons with disabilities, and consequently there
are insufficient data on these populations to offer substantial
guidance for policy or service development.
- Staff for service delivery systems, including the
state/federal vocational rehabilitation program, are not sufficiently
trained to work with multicultural populations.
- There have been insufficient outreach efforts to
ensure the participation of minority persons with disabilities
in the mainstream of their communities.
- There have been insufficient efforts to address
issues concerning prevention of disability that often affect minority
persons, including the effects of racism, violence, substance
abuse, and poor general health.
- There is a need to develop and implement a data
set sufficiently descriptive to assess incidence and prevalence
of disabilities and the impact of interventions among all minority
populations regardless of population size.
- Education continues to be a key factor for minority
persons with disabilities in achieving success; therefore, it
must be designed to be more positive, focusing on the abilities
of children with disabilities rather than on their limitations.
- Minority children with disabilities require adequate
academic accommodations and support through the attention of sensitive
educational personnel and mentors.
- The ADA holds great promise for minority persons
with disabilities, but the promise will be realized only if specific
efforts are made for outreach, education, and removal of barriers
in minority communities.
- There is a need to develop grassroots networks
and to establish a funded pool of resources to help minority persons
with disabilities become part of the mainstream of their communities.
Recommendations for Policymakers
The following are general recommendations that were
developed during the conference. Additional specific recommendations
relating to the various topics addressed by the conference can be
found at the end of each section of this report.
- Federal, state, and local agencies should coordinate
government policies and programs to meet the needs of minority
persons with disabilities, using the competencies of professionals
from many different relevant disciplines.
- Policies should be established by all federal,
state, and local agencies that administer existing government
programs to ensure the inclusion of minorities with disabilities
in their programs.
- Congress should authorize targeted research on
minorities with disabilities, and federal disability research
agencies such as the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research (NIDRR) and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation
Research (NCMRR) should plan and fund such research.
- Federal disability research agencies such as NIDRR
and NCMRR should develop policies that include minorities with
disabilities in all disability and rehabilitation-related research.
- Service delivery systems, including the state/federal
vocational rehabilitation program, should train staff sufficiently
to work with multicultural populations.
- All federal, state, and local disability programs
should develop outreach efforts to ensure the full participation
of minority persons with disabilities.
- The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
should develop a specific initiative to address issues concerning
the prevention of disability for minority persons, including the
effects of racism, violence, substance abuse, and poor general
health.
- Federal disability research agencies such as NIDRR
and NCMRR should develop a data set sufficient to assess the incidence
and prevalence of disabilities and the impact of intervention
among all minority populations, regardless of the size of the
population.
- The Department of Education should develop policies
and programs to improve the outcomes of education systems for
minority persons with disabilities.
- The Department of Labor should develop policies
and programs to ensure that minority persons with disabilities
will be able to participate as full members in the workforce of
the future.
- All federal, state, and local agencies responsible
for implementing the ADA, including the Department of Justice,
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Department of
Transportation, the Federal Communications Commission, the Access
Board, and NIDRR, should target greater resources to minority
populations with disabilities and the communities in which they
live.
- Federal, state, and local government should foster
the development of grassroots networks connected to more formal
regional and national networks for the dissemination of new information
and technology and should establish a funded pool of resources
to help minority persons with disabilities.
Recommendations for the National Council
The following recommendations specifically target
actions for the National Council on Disability, the primary sponsor
of the conference, to consider:
- Establish a National Council policy that all programs
of the Council will include the perspectives of minority populations.
- Develop and implement a national task force on
minority populations with disabilities to assist in the review
of ongoing and prospective Council programs and activities.
- Collaborate with all federal agencies that address
disability issues to ensure that policies and activities affecting
minority populations with disabilities meet their needs.
- Maintain liaison with national minority organizations
(e.g., National Urban League, NAACP) for advice, as well as outreach
toward minority populations with disabilities.
- Initiate national and regional meetings to increase
awareness of disability issues, particularly issues concerning
the ADA, by minority organizations and their constituencies.
- Continue to hold forums addressing disability issues
that affect minority populations in settings that are fully accessible
to minority persons with disabilities.
- Establish relationships with other federal agencies
that affect minority populations with disabilities, such as the
Bureau of the Census and the National Institutes of Health, to
ensure adequate and appropriate data to assess the need for, and
impact of, service delivery programs.
- Monitor progress within the federal government
to ensure the participation of minority persons with disabilities
in all aspects of federal policy and programming.
- Increase outreach to minority populations with
disabilities using different languages and alternative approaches
to ensure effective communication.
ADA Watch Hearing on Minorities with Disabilities
On October 21, 1992, in San Francisco, California,
the National Council held a public hearing on how minorities with
disabilities are faring under the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (ADA). (See Appendix C for hearing agenda.) This hearing
was part of two National Council initiatives: the Minorities with
Disabilities initiative, discussed above, and the ADA Watch initiative,
which monitors implementation of the ADA. A summary of the testimony
and recommendations presented at the hearing is provided in this
Executive Summary.
The testimony and recommendations from the hearing
supported one of the major findings of the National Council from
the first year of ADA Watch: "Minorities with disabilities, overrepresented
in the disability community, are significantly underreached by current
ADA information and technical assistance efforts." This finding,
in conjunction with the testimony presented, further supports the
Council's major ADA Watch recommendation concerning minorities with
disabilities:
New materials and dissemination strategies should
be developed that are targeted to, and sensitive to the needs
of, African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific
Islanders, Native Americans, and other minority populations.
Hearing Testimony and Recommendations
The individuals who testified at the ADA Watch hearing
on minority issues discussed their experiences with discrimination
on the basis of disability and minority status, as well as their
difficulty in gaining access to the resources needed to become self-sufficient.
They also presented a variety of recommendations to remedy the problems
confronted by minorities with disabilities. As with the conference,
there was substantial consistency among the recommendations of the
witnesses.
Hearing Testimony
An overarching finding of the ADA Watch hearing on
persons from minority backgrounds with disabilities was that such
individuals have greater difficulty obtaining employment and gaining
access to public accommodations and transportation than do other
Americans with disabilities. Witnesses testified that persons from
minority backgrounds with disabilities tend to have the following
characteristics:
- Are more disabled (i.e., have more functional
limitations) than other members of the disability community as
a result of such factors as socioeconomic status, educational
level, and occupation;
- Face the double challenge of having to contend
with discrimination on the basis of both disability and minority
status;
- Have the added obstacle of being subjected to
greater negative attitudes by the majority in society than other
minority groups;
- Have language and communication differences that
complicate their ability to obtain meaningful information and
technical assistance on the ADA;
- Have differences in cultural values, low self-concepts,
and distrust of "government" and "systems," which affects the
way they respond to policies and programs;
- Are isolated from the mainstream of American life,
reducing potential benefits under the ADA;
- Do not have appropriate training and career development
opportunities appropriate from the standpoint of cross-cultural
and cross-disability familiarity; and
- Are unable to take full advantage of the ADA and
other disability policies because of a lack of (a) effective educational
and training models, (b) adequate role models, (c) appropriate
vehicles of communication, and (d) economic opportunity.
Recommendations
The following are recommendations of witnesses from
the ADA Watch hearing on minorities with disabilities:
- Require that all ADA implementation activities
be sensitive to the linguistic differences, communication styles,
and cultural attributes of the various minority groups and persons
with disabilities in those groups.
- Ensure that federal funding is set aside for public
and community-based agencies to develop and implement multicultural
approaches to providing information, technical assistance, and
services related to the ADA.
- Develop services and publications that focus on
minority and disability groups--and that use their preferred language
and/or method of communication--for information dissemination,
outreach activities, and technical assistance on the ADA.
- Appropriate funds for public agencies and private
community-based entities to develop and implement training and
to provide opportunities for economic independence for minorities
with disabilities.
- Establish a high priority on public policies that
focus on self-esteem development, advocacy, and personal empowerment
of minorities with disabilities.
- Apply appropriate economic and human resources
to enforce the ADA through vigorous compliance investigation,
mediation, and legal redress for minorities with disabilities.
- Designate and fund at a reasonable level a federal
entity to collect, analyze, and disseminate data periodically
on the various minority groups with disabilities.
- Explore the extent to which the spirit and letter
of the ADA can be extended to Native Americans who live on reservations.
- Develop and fund leadership training activities
for minorities with disabilities to further to foster their increased
self-advocacy and empowerment.
- Analyze the extent to which minorities, including
ethnic minorities with disabilities for whom English is a second
language, are inappropriately placed in special education, and
develop strategies to eliminate inappropriate placements.
- Provide incentive funding for colleges and universities
to train disability and other (legal, health, etc.) professionals
and providers to be sensitive to the needs of people of different
races, ethnicities, cultures, and disabilities.
- Explore ways to eliminate existing disincentives
for minorities with disabilities to use publicly-funded programs
and services and to increase responsiveness to professional interventions.
1.
INTRODUCTION: MINORITIES WITH DISABILITIES
Minority persons with disabilities are among
the most untapped of our nation's resources. Most have not been
given an opportunity to contribute productively to the well-being
of our society. It is essential to the success of our country
in the 21st Century to utilize the resources of minority persons
with disabilities.
Larry Brown, Jr.
Council Member
National Council on Disability
Minorities and Disability
Minority populations in the United States can be
defined or described in many different ways, depending upon whether
the emphasis is on race, ethnicity, or culture. For the purposes
of this report, the focus will be primarily on African Americans,
Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, and Native
Americans. During the last decade, there has been tremendous growth
in these minority populations in the United States.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (1990) data indicate that
there are 30 million African Americans (an increase of 13.2% since
1980); 22.4 million Hispanic Americans (an increase of 53%); 7.3
million Asian Americans (an increase of 107.8%); and 2.0 million
Native Americans (an increase of 37.9%). In comparison, the European
American (i.e., White) population grew 6.0% since 1980. The projections
into the year 2000 are as dramatic; for example, current minority
populations in California are projected to become the majority by
the turn of the century.
In her conference paper on the physical health of
minorities with disabilities, Dr. Anita Leal describes the four
minority groups as follows:
African Americans
- Largest minority population in the United States--12%
of the general population.
- In 1987, only 64%, compared to 77% of European
Americans, had graduated from high school.
- In 1986, 31.1%, compared to 11% of European Americans,
lived below the poverty level.
- Worst health status among minority groups.
Hispanic Americans (Latino Americans)
- Second largest minority group in the United States--8%
of the general population.
- Heterogeneous group comprised of people of Mexican,
Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Central and South American origin.
- Share a common language--Spanish--either as a
first or second language.
- Considered an ethnic group and are classified
as "White" 90% of the time in racial categories.
- Forty-nine percent of Hispanic Americans over
age 25 have not completed high school.
- Proportion of children under 18 years living in
poverty is significantly greater than non-Hispanics (47.7% vs.
38.3%).
- Based on limited data, their health status is
closer to that of European Americans than that of other minority
groups.
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders
- Fastest growing population in the United States--2%
of the general population.
- Major subgroups are Filipinos, Chinese, Japanese,
Vietnamese, Asian Indians, and Koreans.
- Data are scant on health risks and morbidity patterns.
- Only a few epidemiologic surveys have been done
in the West and most studies have been conducted in Hawaii.
- Median family income is higher than that of other
minority groups and European Americans; however, Vietnamese have
a very low average family income.
Native Americans and Native Alaskans
- Smallest minority group in the United States--1%
of the general population.
- Poverty rates are similar to those of African
Americans and Hispanic Americans.
- Second worst health status among minority groups,
after African Americans.
Minorities with Disabilities
As a result of factors such as poverty, unemployment,
and poor health status, persons of minority backgrounds are at high
risk of disability. Based largely on population projections and
substantial anecdotal evidence, it is clear that the number of persons
from these minority populations who have disabilities is increasing.
Moreover, based on similar projections, the proportion of minority
populations with disabling conditions will probably increase at
even faster rates than that of the general population.
However, due to a disturbing lack of hard data on
minority populations with disabilities, it is not certain precisely
how many members of minority groups have disabilities or how fast
this population is growing. Most of the data available on minority
populations with disabilities relate to African Americans. Some
data are available on Hispanic Americans and Native Americans, and
almost none are available on Asian Americans.
Bowe (1992), using 1988 U.S. Bureau of the Census
Current Population Survey Data, reported approximately 2,512,000
African American working-age adults with disabilities. The only
major prevalence study on minorities with disabilities found that
African Americans and Hispanic Americans with disabilities have
lower incomes and lower educational levels than their European American
counterparts (Asbury, Walker, Maholmes, Rackley, and White, 1991).
Neglect of Minorities with Disabilities
These data, or lack thereof, suggest the need for
much more research on minority populations with disabilities. The
needs of such individuals have been ignored largely for two reasons:
First, minority populations have been generally
preoccupied with their own particular needs related to survival
and elimination of discrimination and racism; disability issues
affecting minorities have not been a priority.
Second, the disability community has been preoccupied
with general disability issues, such as access to health insurance,
personal assistance services and assistive technology; issues
specifically affecting minorities with disabilities have not been
emphasized.
Overall, public policies and programs of service
delivery for Americans with disabilities have been designed for
the general population and have not adequately benefited people
with disabilities from minority populations. Even the passage of
the ADA may not, by itself, have a substantial impact on minorities
unless both the minority and majority communities become much more
aware of, and sensitive to, the needs of minorities with disabilities.
The need to address the concerns of minorities with
disabilities arises from several perspectives.
First, as noted earlier, the number of minority
persons with disabilities is increasing and will continue to increase.
Second, minorities constitute a disproportionate
share of the population of persons with disabilities.
Third, the future workforce needs of America will
be met not only by its diverse racial and ethnic populations,
but by persons within those populations who have disabilities.
Finally, minority persons with disabilities have
the right to equal opportunity in our society and the right to
benefit fully from disability policies.
National Council/Jackson State University Conference
On May 6-7, 1992, in Jackson, Mississippi, the National
Council on Disability and Jackson State University held a national
conference on meeting the needs of minorities with disabilities.
Experts on minority and disability issues, including researchers,
service providers, and government officials, developed and presented
papers. The conference was a key component of the National Council's
initiative to ensure that the needs of minority persons with disabilities
are met.
Over the past several decades, there has been a growing
awareness that minorities with disabilities in the U.S have even
fewer opportunities than other people with disabilities. To address
their problems, two conferences were planned and implemented collaboratively
by professional, state and federal agencies prior to 1990. These
events were held at predominantly African American colleges and
universities.
The National Association of Non-White Rehabilitation
Workers convened the first conference at Tuskegee University in
Alabama in 1973 and the second conference at Jackson State University
in Mississippi in 1980. Among the issues addressed at each event
were the status of minorities with disabilities, state and federal
support for addressing the needs of minorities with disabilities,
and the availability of qualified professionals to serve minorities
with disabilities.
Since these conferences, few collective efforts have
focused on the "state of affairs" of minorities with disabilities.
In the fall of 1991, the National Council on Disability approached
the Administration of Jackson State University about hosting a national
invitational conference on meeting the needs of persons with disabilities.
The purposes of this conference were to:
- Assemble educators, researchers, service providers,
administrators, students and other interested persons to examine
the state of affairs of minorities with disabilities in the U.S.
- Identify recommendations for improving the quality
of life of minorities with disabilities.
- Develop a document to be disseminated to educators,
human service agency administrators, elected officials and other
interested persons to inform them of the problems encountered
by minorities with disabilities population.
- To develop an agenda for the future to identify
and address the unique needs of minorities with disabilities.
ADA Watch Hearing on Minorities
On October 21, 1992, in San Francisco, California,
the National Council held a public hearing on how minorities with
disabilities are faring under the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (ADA). This hearing was part of the National Council's ADA
Watch initiative, as well as its Minorities with Disabilities initiative.
Fifteen panelists were featured presenters at the
hearing. The ethnically diverse panel included five African Americans,
five Hispanic Americans, three Asian Americans, one Native Hawaiian,
and one Native American. Nine of these individuals have at least
one severe disability, two have a child or parent with a disability,
and the others are professionals who focus primarily on the needs
of ethnic minorities with disabilities.
In addition to the panelists, 16 witnesses presented
testimony during two "open microphone" sessions. Ten have at least
one disability. Approximately 55 other persons, many with disabilities,
attended the hearing. The testimony and recommendations of the panelists
and witnesses are summarized in the Executive Summary to this report,
as well as in the specific sections of the report on the nine subject
areas.
Based largely on the testimony at the hearing, the
National Council on Disability (1993a) found that "[m]inorities
with disabilities, overrepresented in the disability community,
are significantly underreached by current ADA information and technical
assistance efforts." The general recommendation of the National
Council (1993a) concerning minorities with disabilities, based on
the first year of ADA Watch, was the following:
New materials and dissemination strategies should
be developed that are targeted to, and sensitive to the needs
of, African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific
Islanders, Native Americans, and other minority populations.
Overview of Report
The National Council/Jackson State University Conference
and the conference proceedings that this report summarizes are part
of a legacy of national, regional, and local conferences that began
in the 1960s and continue to bring issues confronting minorities
with disabilities to the forefront of our society. Focusing on the
issues that particularly affect minority populations with disabilities,
the conference planners selected nine subject areas: education,
vocational rehabilitation, employment, empowerment, mental health,
prevention, physical health, substance abuse, and research.
Each subject area by itself is important. However,
each area can also be seen under the broad umbrella of the ADA and
other disability laws protecting all people with disabilities, including
minorities with disabilities. The National Council commissioned
papers on each of the conference subject areas as they relate to
minorities with disabilities, and asked other experts to react to
the papers after they were presented. Several of the papers presented
at the conference discuss how the ADA affects minorities with disabilities.
The papers are summarized in sections 2 to 10 of this report.
Statistical data vary widely within the papers. Much
of this variability results from the different sources used, as
well as from differences in definition. Certainly, such discrepancies
in data point to the need for consistent definitions of disabilities
among persons from minority populations, as well as uniform approaches
to data collection and measurement. Some of the papers use data
that are anecdotal and experiential. The paucity of "hard data"
reflects limitations in current knowledge and suggests an extensive
research agenda on minorities with disabilities.
The information contained in this report has been
abstracted by the editors from the original papers commissioned
by the National Council. The complete papers, which are contained
in the unpublished conference proceedings, are a rich source of
data and information. They substantiate, from very different perspectives,
some of the day-to-day concerns of persons with disabilities who
are also members of minority ethnic/racial populations. In addition,
they contain some practical solutions that can be utilized to improve
the lives of persons with disabilities and enable the empowerment
process to occur.
A complete copy of the conference proceedings is
available from the National Council on Disability for those who
are interested in in-depth knowledge of the topics summarized in
this report. Readers are encouraged to use this information and
to incorporate the recommendations into policies and practices to
enhance the quality of the lives of minority persons with disabilities.
We hope that readers will be challenged by the information and will
become an active part of the process to empower minority persons
with disabilities to be full participants in American society.
2.
EDUCATION
Our education system is overloaded, confused,
and bogged down. We need to refocus our educational priorities
and concentrate on the restructuring of our educational system.
We need to go back and take a page out of the successful methodologies
used in the one-room school house. We do not need to segregate
students. We need to find ways to mainstream.
Frederick D. Bedell, Ed.D.
The National Commission on Excellence in Education
Report, A Nation At Risk (1983), brought two important concepts
to the forefront in education: 1) the interdependence of an achieving
nation and achieving students and 2) the idea of being "at risk,"
a term now used to describe children whose achievement is undermined
by health, social, educational, and/or economic factors.
A report to the President and the Congress of the
National Council on Disability (1989), The Education of Students
with Disabilities: Where Do We Stand? found that students with
disabilities generally are at risk, and minority students with disabilities
are particularly at risk, of inadequate preparation for employment
and for full participation as citizens in our society. It is clear
that for our nation to achieve, all of its students must
achieve, including all of its students with disabilities.
Primary Issues
The present education system is overloaded and confused.
Poverty, racism, cultural differences, the dissolution of families,
and the weakening of home influences are among the contributing
social factors that challenge the schools. When these variables
are combined with low self-esteem, peer pressure, lack of self-discipline,
and inadequate role models, students do not arrive at school ready
to learn. To exacerbate the situation, those who are prepared to
learn are often subjected to inappropriate curricula, inadequate
support services, and, in some instances, a hostile school environment.
As dysfunctional as conditions are for students generally,
they are worse for students with disabilities and still worse for
students with disabilities from minority backgrounds. The problems
they confront are discussed in a recent report of the National Council
on Disability (1993b) entitled Serving the Nation's Students
with Disabilities: Progress and Prospects. In addition to the
issues facing students with disabilities generally, there are many
issues concerning the education of minority students with disabilities
at all levels of the Nation's education system.
Learning must occur for students with disabilities
in integrated, mainstreamed settings if they are to be able to compete
on an equal basis. Too often, children who are considered at risk
find themselves failing in schools that have the least resources,
deteriorating physical plants, and dispirited and uninspired teachers.
Many students are misplaced, written off, or "fall between the cracks."
Practices in the Education System
Several specific variables have a negative effect
on student achievement, particularly among minority students. Among
these are the following:
- The disproportionate placement of minorities in
special education programs;
- The placement of minority students in special
education programs for longer periods of time than nonminority
students;
- Environmental factors such as malnutrition, poverty,
and parental addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs; and
- The general orientation of the schools toward
students with behavioral problems, which does not adequately take
into consideration the causes of the problem.
Placement of Minority Students
The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of
1975, Public Law 94-142 (renamed the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act [IDEA]), did little to acknowledge the unique needs
of minority children with disabilities. Figueroa (1989) noted that
IDEA did not adequately acknowledge the needs of Hispanic American
children or those whose native language was not English, and concluded
that miseducation of bilingual children may be the norm.
After the passage of the Education for All Handicapped
Children Act, 10 million children were identified as "educably mentally
retarded." Of that number, 43% were African American. In a paper
presented to the National Alliance of Black School Educators, Ruth
Love (1989) found that 85% of students in special education programs
in Chicago are African American. In school systems in which "ability
grouping" is practiced, a disproportionate number of minority children
are placed in special education classes.
Misplacement of children into segregated programs
often has placed them at a disadvantage. The National Council on
Disability (1989) reported several findings from the results of
the national study discussed above. Among them are:
- Parents and students reported that schools have
low expectations of students with disabilities and establish inappropriate
learning objectives and goals;
- Services often are not available to meet the needs
of disadvantaged, minority, and rural families who have children
with disabilities;
- Special education is a relatively separate system
of service delivery; and
- Current thinking regarding effective schools and
teaching practices can facilitate the integration of students
with special needs into general classrooms.
Recommendations
- To educate students with disabilities, especially
those from minority backgrounds, we must look for a new model
that involves a collaborative approach and includes all levels
from preschool to higher education.
- The education system must affect students with
disabilities in a positive, not a negative, manner. There must
be a focus in preschool programs on preparing students with disabilities
from minority backgrounds to be ready to learn.
- Schools must be restructured to eliminate negative
effects on students. Cooperative learning is a good example of
students' learning through sharing of knowledge rather than competition.
Diverse student populations are integrated so that students learn
to work together.
- Schools must be able to serve students based upon
their needs for individualized services. In other words, each
student is unique and schools must be able to develop and modify
programs to fit each student's needs. True individual service
planning would go a long way toward meeting the needs of all students
in the educational system.
- Finally, students with disabilities from minority
populations must have the opportunity to achieve their potential
regardless of the level of education. Attention must be given
to funding and ways to enhance access to all education, including
higher education.
3.
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
In general, minorities with disabilities are
less likely to be accepted or found eligible for state/federal
vocational rehabilitation services when compared to Whites with
disabilities. If accepted for vocational rehabilitation services,
minorities are less likely to be rehabilitated and are provided
fewer opportunities for academic training as compared to Whites.
Frank L. Giles, Ph.D., CRC
A major service delivery program for adults with
disabilities has been the state/federal vocational rehabilitation
program. However, it has been noted that participation by ethnic/racial
minority persons within vocational rehabilitation has not been at
the levels warranted by their need, taking into consideration their
proportion of the population (Atkins and Wright, 1980; Danek and
Lawrence, 1982). The Rehabilitation Services Administration (1989)
indicates that, of the total of 213,842 persons rehabilitated in
1989, 80.00% were European American, 17.50% were African American,
and the remaining 2.5% were from all other minorities.
Public Vocational Rehabilitation and Minorities
Danek and Lawrence (1982) found that more time was
required for African Americans than for European Americans to be
accepted for vocational rehabilitation services. Herbert and Martinez
(1992), analyzing Pennsylvania data, concluded that 33% of European
Americans were found ineligible, compared with 40% of minority persons.
These statistics support earlier findings by Rivera (1974), who
found that Hispanic Americans are more likely than European Americans
to be found ineligible for vocational rehabilitation.
For the approximately 500 Native American tribes
recognized by the U.S. government, there are approximately 13 tribal-operated
vocational rehabilitation programs, but there are relatively little
data on rehabilitative outcomes of Native Americans (Martin, Frank,
Minkler, and Johnson, 1988). There are almost no data related to
the use of vocational rehabilitation programs by Asian Americans.
Barriers to Vocational Rehabilitation
Current participation in the public vocational rehabilitation
program by minorities with disabilities is below expected levels.
There is a need for the vocational rehabilitation system to be more
responsive to the unique needs of minority populations.
Atkins (1988) advocated using an "asset-oriented"
strategy, in which the focus is on the individual's strengths and
abilities. Belgrave and Walker (1991) highlighted the importance
of factors such as transportation in rehabilitation. Rivera and
Cespedes (1983) advocated for the use of community structures such
as churches and other community organizations as part of the vocational
rehabilitation process.
Leung and Sakata (1988) suggested the need to incorporate
languages other than English and to use family support systems.
Finally, Martin et al. (1988) identified the need for culturally
appropriate interventions in the vocational rehabilitation process.
Training Minorities in Rehabilitation Counseling
A related vocational rehabilitation issue involves
the training of persons from minority backgrounds as service providers
and specifically as rehabilitation counselors in the vocational
rehabilitation system.
Only four universities with rehabilitation education
programs listed in the National Council on Rehabilitation Education
Directory (1992) are considered to be historically African American
institutions. Two programs were identified as having significant
Hispanic American students while one university noted significant
enrollment of Asian Americans. Total minority enrollment in master's
level training has been approximately 15 to 16% during the last
decade.
Better representation of minority persons in rehabilitation
counseling programs will be needed to meet the demands of changing
demographics, in which the total numbers of persons of minority
background will increase while those currently in the majority will
decrease.
Summary
In general, minorities with disabilities are less
likely to be accepted or found eligible for state and federal vocational
rehabilitation services compared with the overall disability community.
If accepted for vocational rehabilitation services, minorities with
disabilities are less likely to be rehabilitated and are provided
fewer opportunities for academic training compared with other persons
with disabilities.
Rehabilitation Services Administration data regarding
individuals rehabilitated between FY 1984 and FY 1989 indicate that
the numbers of Native Americans/Alaskans and Asian Americans/Pacific
Islanders rehabilitated have remained fairly constant during the
period. The numbers of Hispanic Americans rehabilitated increased
slightly and the numbers of African Americans rehabilitated under
programs sponsored by the Rehabilitation Services Administration
decreased.
Rehabilitation counseling preservice academic training
programs can have a critical impact on the success or failure of
minorities with disabilities. Counselors must have an educational
background that enables them to work successfully with clients who
are of different races or cultures.
Recommendations on Vocational Rehabilitation
- Federal policies should enable the provision
of vocational rehabilitation services that are culturally appropriate.
- Research is needed to determine effective models,
services, and resources related to the vocational rehabilitation
of persons with disabilities from minority racial/ethnic backgrounds.
- Training for vocational rehabilitation personnel
must include multicultural emphases and clinical training experiences
involving persons with disabilities from minority populations.
- Preservice education programs must include specific
courses related to multicultural experiences and service delivery.
- Incentives should be provided for recruitment and
education of underrepresented racial/ethnic populations in vocational
rehabilitation. The Rehabilitation Services Administration should
continue to fund colleges and universities with substantial enrollments
of minorities.
- There is a need for increased numbers of tribally
operated vocational rehabilitation programs to meet the growing
needs of Native Americans and Native Alaskans.
4.
EMPLOYMENT
We must establish an [employment] agenda
for minorities with disabilities which will be multifaceted. Indeed,
this interrelatedness of disability, poverty and undereducation
dictate implementation of a multidisciplinary, intergovernmental,
and interagency approach to the problem.
Alyce Earl Jenkins, M.Ed., CRC
Expansion of employment opportunity is absolutely
essential to promoting the economic self-sufficiency of persons
with disabilities. However, for persons with disabilities from minority
ethnic and racial backgrounds, "employment opportunities, particularly
at the higher levels, are sharply limited" (Wright, 1960). The lack
of employment opportunities for such individuals results in part
from dual sources of discrimination based on minority status and
disability; minority women with disabilities may be subject to "triple
jeopardy" (Wright, 1988).
High unemployment figures for racial and ethnic minority
members with disabilities are particularly significant, in that
minority populations themselves have higher incidence and prevalence
rates of disabilities than the general population. One study notes
that "most ethnic minority persons with a disability are at a high
risk given that a larger percentage of this population fall at or
below the poverty level" (Asbury, Walker, Maholmes, Rackley, and
White, 1991).
According to ADA Watch hearing witnesses, notwithstanding
a decade of experience with the Rehabilitation Act, government entities
at all levels have failed to take adequate steps to establish appropriate
cultural diversity and disability awareness training designed to
further recruit, employ, and retain minorities with disabilities
within the public sector. The witnesses indicated that the private
sector must also be given greater incentives to employ minorities
with disabilities.
The problems encountered by minority persons with
disabilities in securing and maintaining employment can be the result
of exclusionary practices by employers, labor unions, and the vocational
rehabilitation service delivery system.
Employers
According to a Louis Harris (1987) poll commissioned
by the National Council on Disability, over two-thirds of persons
with disabilities are unemployed. Similarly, Bowe (1990) indicated
that only 32% of working age (16-64) adults with disabilities work
or are actively seeking work. The levels of employment for African
Americans with disabilities in the workforce were even lower, at
22% employed; for Hispanic Americans with disabilities, the level
was 23% employed. Braddock and McPartland (1987) suggested that
there are built-in barriers such as segregated networks, information
biases, and negative stereotypes held by employers, all of which
result in low employment levels.
Labor Unions
Jenkins stated that, while labor unions have been
known for their advocacy of workers' rights, persons with disabilities,
including those of minority ethnic/racial backgrounds, have not
benefited greatly from their efforts. Labor unions might be reluctant
to advocate for ethnic/racial minority persons with disabilities
in their negotiations with management.
This neglect may be based upon fears that employment
of persons with disabilities may weaken wage structures and that
restructuring jobs may lead to contract changes (Whitehead, 1990).
Unions often are reluctant to "bend the rules" concerning seniority
clauses (Bradford, 1990). Consequently, according to these researchers,
unions have not been a progressive force in increasing the numbers
of minority persons with disabilities in the workforce.
Education and Employment
Education has always been considered a key to employment
success for minorities and persons with disabilities. Yet, education
for students with disabilities remains problematic. Brolin and Gysberg
(1989), in their study of education and persons with disabilities,
concluded that "[s]tudents with disabilities are not attaining greater
vocational and independent living success than they did in previous
years" (p. 155).
Persons with disabilities, including minorities with
disabilities, have been shortchanged in both regular and special
education programs. Failure to provide quality, relevant education
to minority persons with disabilities results in their continued
exclusion from the workforce. This topic is discussed further in
section 2 on education.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
The public vocational rehabilitation program is specifically
charged with providing services to all persons with disabilities
without regard to their race or ethnicity. However, it was noted
more than a decade ago (Atkins and Wright, 1980) that ". . . a large
percentage of Black applicants were not accepted for service; of
applicants accepted for service, a larger percentage of Black cases
were closed without being rehabilitated; and Blacks whose cases
were closed as successfully rehabilitated were more likely than
Whites to be in the lower income levels" (p. 42).
Differential participation in the vocational rehabilitation
process serves to exclude minority persons with disabilities from
employment opportunities. Although the research that has been conducted
in this area has not included all minority groups, it appears that
the proportion of minorities with disabilities who gain access to
and succeed in the vocational rehabilitation system is much lower
than their proportion of the general population, thereby contributing
to their low employment figures.
The number of persons from minority populations employed
in the vocational rehabilitation system may also be a factor limiting
the participation of minority clients. Humphreys (1980) suggested
that if we are going to attract minority clients to that system
and if we are going to get them the services they so desperately
need, we need a much higher proportion of rehabilitation professionals,
counselors, supervisors, and administrators who are African American,
Hispanic American, Asian American, and Native American.
However, Jenkins (1989) concluded that little is
known about the number of minority persons employed as part of the
vocational rehabilitation service system. This topic is discussed
further in section 3 on vocational rehabilitation.
Recommendations on Employment
- An agenda for the employment of minority persons
with disabilities must be multifaceted. There must be a collaborative
effort of employment programs, public education, private enterprise,
and health and human services programs to enable minorities with
disabilities to access employment.
- An advisory body should be established with the
support of the Department of Labor to address concerns related
to apprenticeships, supported employment, and job restructuring
to enhance access of minority persons with disabilities to labor
unions.
- A national network of employers and minority persons
with disabilities should be established to enable the sharing
of job leads, to reduce feelings of isolation, and to provide
a forum for proactively discussing employment issues.
- Strategies should be developed to ensure the inclusion
of minority children with disabilities in appropriate education
at all levels from preschool to higher education, as already required
under the IDEA legislation.
- The Rehabilitation Services Administration should
use its existing networks to develop a national outreach program
targeting minority populations in order to increase their employment
levels.
5.
EMPOWERMENT
We, in the U.S., are faced with a dilemma
of staggering seriousness. Our minority citizens with disabilities
are born identified as a minority within a minority. They suffer
and are ignored. They are disenfranchised, discriminated against,
and are dying physically and spiritually; they are hungry, unclothed,
unemployed, unsheltered, and completely unaware of the quality
of life which is their constitutional right and guarantee.
Eva P. Britt, J.D.
Empowerment is often described as giving an individual
the official power or authority to determine his or her destiny.
The conference paper by Eva Britt states that minority persons with
disabilities face a double dilemma as a minority within a minority.
They have little or no power to advocate for themselves and have
not been empowered by the majority society to determine their own
destiny.
Minorities with Disabilities
Britt notes the following major problems faced by
minority persons with disabilities:
- African Americans and other minorities with disabilities
have been and continue to be isolated from the mainstream of health
and human service delivery systems;
- African Americans and other minorities with disabilities
are overrepresented in every statistical indicator of lower socioeconomic
status and poor health;
- There are few bilingual persons available to serve
those for whom English is a second language;
- There are a lack of accurate data on the racial/ethnic
backgrounds of persons with developmental disabilities;
- Agencies do not institute outreach programs to
encourage participation of African Americans and other minority
persons with developmental disabilities;
- An insufficient number of African American and
other minority professionals are trained to work with minority
persons with developmental disabilities; and
- Health and human services agencies generally are
not well versed in or familiar with the provisions of the Civil
Rights Act-Title VI, The Rehabilitation Act, or the ADA.
Recommendations on Empowerment
Britt stated that serious problems demand creative
solutions. Among the solutions she recommended were the following:
- African Americans and other minorities with disabilities
who are knowledgeable of the issues that affect them must be included
in implementing solutions.
- Organizations such as state protection advocacy
systems, state mental health administrators, state developmental
disabilities councils, and others must become information and
empowerment centers and "think tanks" for the minorities with
disabilities.
6.
MENTAL HEALTH
Members of minority groups perceive themselves
as different from the majority group and they are perceived as
being different by Whites. These perceived differences, the historical
context of the groups' interactions, and their place in economic
history have resulted in a complexity of feelings, attitudes and
perceptions. These differences have often resulted in differential
treatment which permeates the U.S. and its institutions including
the mental health system.
Timothy Summers, M.D.
Mental health is a general term that refers to the
ability of an individual to negotiate the daily challenges and social
interactions of life without cognitive, emotional, or behavioral
dysfunction. In addition to socioeconomic variables, mental health
is affected by biological and genetic factors, as well as acute
or chronic physical conditions.
Demographic information on mental health in minority
populations is very limited; diagnosis and prevalence studies are
insufficient. Extant epidemiologic studies suggest that minority
populations, especially African Americans and Hispanic Americans,
have not had resources to cope with mental health problems. For
example, an East Baltimore study found that 53% of minorities had
unmet mental health needs, in contrast to 44% of non-minorities
(DHHS, 1991).
At the same time, African Americans and Hispanic
Americans appear to be overrepresented with respect to prevalence
of alcohol abuse/dependency and the use of other drugs such as crack
cocaine and heroin (as discussed in section 9), and they are more
likely than European Americans to be diagnosed as having paranoid
schizophrenia. European Americans are more likely to be initially
diagnosed as having affective disorders such as depression. Interestingly,
subsequent rediagnosis by trained personnel often eliminate these
diagnostic differences (DHHS, 1991).
Alcoholism and suicide among Native Americans is
significantly higher than in the majority population, with estimates
that "alcohol abuse and its consequences are nearly twice as pervasive
among Native Americans as among any other population in the U.S."
(DHHS, 1991). Again, there are very limited data available on the
mental health of Asian Americans, or on whether they or other minorities
have adequate access to the mental health system.
In today's multicultural society, mental health workers
must consider factors such as beliefs, attitudes, language, and
communication difficulties. Mental health workers must be able to
correctly interpret behavior and comprehend psychiatric symptoms
within the cultural context of the client.
Recommendations on Mental Health
- In addition to providing traditional interventions
such as psychotherapies and medication management, service providers
should establish programs for the development of caring communities.
- Efforts should be made to stimulate the community's
positive response to individuals with mental health needs and
to create local initiatives to provide solutions.
- Ethnic diversity should be seen as a positive,
healthy, and expected characteristic of communities, one to be
understood with respect and tolerance.
- Significant attitudinal changes and new priorities
should be established to find new ways to benefit from old technologies.
The lingering notion that persons from minority racial/ethnic
backgrounds are inherently inferior to others in our society must
be rejected. This attitude has significant negative impact on
potential treatment outcomes. Mental health approaches must recognize
this problem and create positive alternatives to addressing the
needs of persons from minority racial/ethnic backgrounds.
- Government programs must be restructured to be
more responsive to the needs of minorities with disabilities.
Current funding structures may need to be rethought so that new
initiatives will have resources. The emerging problems of mental
disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and HIV/AIDS prevalence in
minority communities have a direct impact on the larger society.
Only through cooperative, collaborative mechanisms will solutions
develop.
7.
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Disability is not yet fully a part of
the debate on the need for better health care for minorities,
in particular minorities with disabilities. Instead, epidemiology
studies . . . [focus] on pathology and ignore disabilities, to
the chagrin of the disability studies' field.
Anita Leal, Ph.D.
The conference paper by Anita Leal entitled "Minorities,
Physical Health and Disability" offers a rich discourse on the physical
health status of minorities in the United States. The purpose of
her paper was to "draw attention to and increase awareness of the
unique needs of minorities with disabilities." She presented the
following:
- A review of the state of physical health of minorities
in the United States;
- An exploration of available information about
minorities with disabilities, current models of the disablement
process, and its application to minorities;
- An examination of the experience of minorities
with disabilities in the state/federal vocational rehabilitation
system; and
- Conclusions and recommendations for improving
the physical health of minorities.
Minorities with Disabilities
According to Dr. Leal, our society has known for
years about the poor physical health of minorities generally and
their vulnerability to disability. Despite this awareness, health
care providers and agencies know virtually nothing about the following:
- The physical health status of minorities with
disabilities;
- The experience of minorities with disabilities
in health care delivery systems;
- The experience of minorities in the disablement
process; and
- The experience of minorities in the vocational
rehabilitation process.
Approximately 35 million Americans have conditions
that interfere with major life activities. Dr. Leal cited studies
that identify the meaning and concept of disability. Most important,
she noted that the traditional meaning has expanded from a medical
condition (e.g., physical or mental) to include environmental and
contextual factors. She also indicated that little is known about
the disablement process experienced by minorities.
The 1980 Bureau of the Census Report (Bowe, 1983)
included the following data concerning disability rates among working
age adult minorities:
- 8.5% of working adults reported a disability limiting
the amount or type of work they could do.
- Just over 14% of African Americans reported a
work disability.
- 8.4% of Hispanic adults reported a work disability.
Other data cited from the National Health Interview
Survey (Ries and Brown, 1991) for the years 1983-85 indicate that
a work limitation was reported by as many as 6.1% of European Americans,
10.3% of African Americans, 3.3% of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders,
and 10.4% of Native Americans.
Physical Health Status of Minorities
Among the highlights cited by Dr. Leal from the Secretary's
Report of the Task Force on Black and Minority Health (DHHS,
1985) and Health Status of Minorities and Low-Income Groups
(DHHS, 1991) were the following:
- The life expectancy of African Americans is 69
years of age as compared to 75 years of age for European Americans.
- The physical conditions for which risks of death
are highest for African Americans under age 45 are tuberculosis,
hypertension, and anemia.
- Death rates for heart disease are higher among
African American men and women under age 70 than among European
Americans.
- There is an 11% excess incidence of cancer among
African Americans compared with nonminority Americans.
- High cancer rates for Hispanic Americans included
cancer of the stomach, prostate, esophagus, pancreas, and cervix.
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for
Asians.
- The death rate of Native Americans under age 45
is strikingly high (43%) because of unintentional injuries, cirrhosis,
homicide, suicide, pneumonia, and diabetes.
- The risk for AIDS among African American and Hispanic
American men was almost three times that of European American
men in 1989.
- Fifty-one percent of all female cases of AIDS
were among African American women.
- Nineteen percent of all female cases of AIDS were
among Hispanic American women.
- African Americans have been found to receive fewer
health care preventive services than European Americans.
Britt, in her conference paper on empowerment, also
presented rather alarming data on the health status of African American
children in the United States. She noted the following:
- African American children are much more likely
to suffer from poor health than are the majority of their peers;
- An African American child has a 30% greater probability
of dying by his or her 14th birthday than does a European American
child;
- An African American child living in deteriorating
housing has a 25% chance of having excessively high levels of
lead in his or her teeth and blood;
- Over 40% of all African American children, compared
with 29% of European Americans, do not see a physician each year;
- Seventeen percent of all African American children
have no regular place of care, despite their strong possibility
of poor health;
- Thirteen percent of all African American children
are born with low birthweights; and
- African American adolescent mothers are most likely
not to receive prenatal care or to delay it until the last three
months of pregnancy.
Recommendations on Physical Health
Dr. Leal concluded that, "[D]isability as a health
issue gets minimal attention from the epidemiological community...and
the disability community itself neglects minorities in its policy
planning." She also noted that, "[T]here is also mounting evidence
that medical services as well as disability/rehabilitation services
have been underutilized by minorities." She concluded that health
care providers and researchers have not linked disability and rehabilitation
conceptually or empirically with physical health status and that
this particular area must be the focus of research and policy planning.
Among Dr. Leal's recommendations were the following:
- There is a need for improved collection of information
on the incidence and prevalence of disability among minorities;
- Existing untapped databases must be accessed and
used as a basis for further research;
- Additional funds are needed to conduct research
on the physical health status of people of minority group origin;
- The aggressive recruitment and inclusion of minority
researchers and educators in the field of health, disability,
and vocational rehabilitation is strongly encouraged; and
- Communication must be improved between the minority
communities and government agencies that are charged with the
provision of health related services, including the Rehabilitation
Services Administration.
8.
PREVENTION OF DISABILITIES
Strategies need to be developed in which
American Indians and other minorities are included in an immediate
national agenda for prevention. This will be the only way to ensure
that minority populations will have a voice in the development
of prevention programs that are relevant to them.
Julie Clay
Four excerpts from Culture Shock: Waking Up in
a Foreign Land by Tower were cited as illustrative of the need
for culturally appropriate primary and secondary prevention activities.
The struggles of these four young persons with differing levels
of spinal injury highlighted a series of recommendations. While
the focus was on Native Americans, the recommendations have value
for all racial/ethnic populations with disabilities.
Native Americans experience the highest percentage
(13.4%) of major activity limitations among ethnic groups: it has
been estimated that one-third of Native Americans over 18 years
of age have a functional limitation. The Indian Health Service recently
sponsored a conference, "Disabilities and Their Effects on American
Indians and Alaskan Native Communities." Participants in the conference
developed recommendations in four areas: an Indian Health Service
definition of disability; education, identification, and prevention;
service delivery; and information.
As discussed in the Introduction and section 7 on
physical health, disability occurs at a greater rate among most
racial and ethnic minorities. Approximately 14.1% of adults in the
African American population are considered "disabled," compared
with 8.4% of the European American population. The unemployment
rate for African Americans with disabilities is estimated to be
approximately 60% to 90%. Poverty is the primary underlying factor
that contributes to a high incidence of disability among African
Americans.
It is important that any model of primary and secondary
prevention recognize the importance of culture. For example, within
the American Indian population, spirituality is an integral part
of wellness. Spiritual beliefs, such as wellness as the harmony
of body, mind, and spirit, must be part of any preventive efforts.
Recommendations on Prevention
- Develop strategies specifically targeted at minority
populations to decrease the prevalence of disability caused by
injuries and chronic diseases. The goal is to reduce the incidence
of disabilities resulting from a variety of factors, including
environmental factors that cause or contribute to new disabilities.
- Ensure that primary and secondary prevention of
disability among minorities receives national attention and becomes
a policy priority through increased education. Request that the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) obtain and disseminate knowledge
of the variables that lead to disabilities in minority populations
and how to prevent them.
- Develop a community model of primary and secondary
prevention that includes culturally relevant strategies. This
will require that minority persons with disabilities most directly
affected must be a part of the effort to develop a strategy.
- Develop a survey instrument to measure incidence
and prevalence of various disabilities in minority populations.
This will allow the identification of risk factors, the magnitude
of risk, and the degree to which risk can be controlled. Eventually,
survey data will permit the development of effective preventive
interventions.
9.
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Alcohol and substance abuse is a problem
for many persons with physical and/or mental disabilities which
further complicates rehabilitation. Rehabilitation services must
be offered with an understanding and knowledge of racial/ethnic/cultural
groups, disability, and substance abuse if successful rehabilitation
is to occur.
James G. Brown, Ph.D.
Recent estimates by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse (1991) of the number of Americans who use or abuse alcohol
and/or other substances in the United States are alarming. They
include the following:
- 7.3 million Americans abuse alcohol.
- 66.1 million Americans have used marijuana.
- 37.5 million Americans have used crack cocaine.
- 0.66 million Americans have used heroin.
Alcohol and substance abuse are problems among many
persons who have physical and/or mental disabilities. Researchers
have estimated that the prevalence of alcohol and substance abuse
for persons with physical disabilities may be as high as 60% compared
with 8% to 10% in the general population (Western Center Drug-Free
Schools and Communities, 1990). Particularly high incidence has
also been reported in persons with traumatic brain injuries, mental
disorders, and among those with hearing and visual impairments (Bell
et al., 1987).
Approximately 5% of persons served by the state/federal
vocational programs of the Rehabilitation Services Administration
have a diagnosis of "multidisabled alcoholism." Significant incidence
of alcohol and substance abuse also exists among minorities with
disabilities, including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native
Americans, and Asian Americans.
African Americans
Alcohol and/or substance abuse among African Americans
is reported to be high (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1991);
data reflect the following:
- Approximately 8.2 million African Americans have
used marijuana
- Approximately 1 million African Americans have
used crack cocaine
- Approximately 101,000 African Americans have used
heroin
Barriers to the rehabilitation of African Americans
with disabilities associated with substance abuse include the following:
- Prejudicial attitudes
- Negative stereotypes of substance abusing persons
- Few, if any, supportive family members
- Lack of transportation
- A greater sense of hopelessness
- A history of failure and chronic emotional stress
Hispanic Americans
According to some researchers (Lawson and Lawson,
1989), Hispanic Americans represent one of the fastest growing and
youngest minority groups in the United States. Approximately 15
to 20 million Hispanic Americans (9% of the population) are legal
residents; an additional 6 million are estimated to live here as
undocumented aliens. Forty-four percent are under the age of 18.
Approximately 22% live below the poverty line, compared with 11%
of non-Hispanics. The unemployment rate for Hispanic Americans is
estimated to be as much as one-third higher than the national average.
Patterns of alcohol and/or substance abuse are alarmingly
high among Hispanic Americans (Lawson and Lawson, 1989). Estimates
are as follows:
- Hispanic Americans are three times more likely
to experience alcohol-related difficulties than persons in the
general non-Hispanic population.
- Alcohol is the most frequently abused drug, followed
by marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.
- Hispanic Americans have a higher than average
use of inhalants (e.g., model glue).
Other factors that may contribute to alcohol and
substance abuse among Hispanic Americans are the cultural concept
of machismo and the stresses of cultural shock, acculturation,
and high unemployment.
Native Americans
Alcohol and/or substance abuse among Native Americans
is alarmingly high (Brod, 1975). Estimates of abuse include the
following:
- Alcohol-related death rates ranged from 4.3 to
5.5 times the U.S. rate for all races, including diseases of the
heart, accidents, malignant neoplasms, and cerebrovascular disease.
- Females use drugs at the same rate as males.
- Youth are consistently reported to have the highest
prevalence rates for inhalants.
- Acculturation and deculturation contribute significantly
to feelings of discouragement and an array of other dysfunctional
behaviors and conditions.
Asian Americans
Asian Americans are considered to be one of the fastest
growing minority populations and the second smallest minority group
in the United States. The Asian American community is comprised
of 28 ethnic groups with diverse cultures and languages. Because
of limitations in data collection methods, there is a scarcity of
data on the extent of disability among Asian Americans. It is also
theorized that the lack of data may be a result of the fact that
Asian Americans tend not to acknowledge the existence of persons
with disabilities in their communities.
The following factors contribute to a high susceptibility
to disability (Kitano et al., 1985; Sue, 1987):
- Economic, social, and political inequities
- Inadequate health care
- Alienation and powerlessness
- Acculturation
Despite the lack of verifiable data, there appears
to be a low incidence of alcohol and other drug abuse in the Asian
American community. However, there are signs of a growing consumption
of alcohol and other drugs among Asian Americans, which may be the
result of acculturation (Kitano et al., 1985; Singer, 1974; Sue,
1987).
Despite the seeming lack of widespread alcohol and/or
substance abuse among Asian Americans, there appears to be a relatively
high percentage who are diagnosed as having psychosis. Some studies
indicate that Asian Americans are more severely disabled by psychiatric
disorders at the time they are brought to the attention of mental
health service providers (Sue, 1987).
There is an urgent need to develop methodologies
to enhance effective service delivery to Asian Americans with disabilities.
Recommendations on Substance Abuse
The following are among the recommendations concerning
minority populations identified as requiring immediate implementation:
- Legislate funding for prevention, treatment, and
interdiction of illegal drugs and alcohol and/or substance abuse;
- Include grassroots and community-based organizations
in federal grant initiatives to address the problems of alcohol
and substance abuse;
- Legislate a national health care program and insurance
for all Americans;
- Require pregnant women who are disabled by addiction
to participate in drug treatment programs;
- Require all local, state, and federal treatment
programs to provide culturally specific treatment providers who
speak the native language of the person with a disability;
- Support the National Congress of American Indians'
recommendation to require that the entire 1% Title I allocation
be spent for Section 130 vocational rehabilitation programs; and
- Establish research and training centers whose mission
is to generate research and training information on health and
cultural issues for minority persons with disabilities.
10.
RESEARCH NEEDS
Previous research has often related only
to the agenda of the researcher, and results of research frequently
have not been shared with those who participated. One aspect of
research must involve developing trust with, and a commitment
of, the community. The objectives must be shared, developed and
implemented with the people who will benefit from the research.
Paul Leung, Ph.D.
Research on minority groups with disabilities has
not been a priority in the national disability research agenda.
The research that has been conducted in this area has often been
problematic because of the way it has been conducted (e.g., flawed
methodologies) and because the results have not always directly
affected minority persons with disabilities and their communities.
Despite recognition of the importance of research on minorities
with disabilities, little has been accomplished.
For example, the draft of the research plan for the
National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (1991) recognized
that "influencing factors" affecting the rehabilitation process
include cultural, ethnic, and gender diversity. The plan specifically
stated that "most of the conditions leading to restricted mobility
disproportionately affect minority populations." However, it did
not specifically target research for minority populations with disabilities.
Current Knowledge
The identification of problems that minority persons
with disabilities encounter is most advanced with respect to data
on African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans.
Because of their relatively small numbers, there are few data on
Asian Americans. The data available for all groups are often not
particularly helpful in formulating policy, developing planning
strategies, or devising interventions.
Much of the research that has been conducted on minorities
with disabilities has concerned mental disabilities. There has been
relatively little research related to physical and sensory disabilities
among minority populations. One comprehensive review of the literature
on rehabilitation of minority persons, compiled by Wright and Emener
(1989) with an annotated bibliography, indicates that less than
25% of the 526 entries related to physical/ sensory disabilities.
One of the key findings of the ADA Watch hearing
was that there is a lack of demographic data about people of various
racial, ethnic, and cultural minorities with disabilities and their
families. Research on the demographics of disability among various
cultural/ethnic/racial minority groups will greatly facilitate the
ability of government and local agencies to develop policy and to
implement appropriate interventions. The following is a brief review
of work in a few key areas.
Access to Rehabilitation
Early work on the issue of access of minority persons
to vocational rehabilitation programs suggested an underrepresentation
of African Americans compared with others (Atkins and Wright, 1980).
Further studies by Asbury et al. (1991) and Walker et al. (1991)
suggested that there are complex issues concerning educational levels
and lower socioeconomic status that impede access to rehabilitation.
Graham (1992) suggested that research comparing African Americans
and European Americans should incorporate socioeconomic status to
"disentangle race and social class effects."
Assessment and Eligibility Issues
Within the rehabilitation process, there is a need
for research that examines data such as those compiled by the Rehabilitation
Services Administration on minority persons with disabilities. There
have been no systematic efforts to study these issues within the
state/federal vocational rehabilitation system. Research is needed
to identify important variables related to assessment and access
to rehabilitation for minority populations with disabilities.
Culturally Specific Rehabilitation
All of the presently funded Rehabilitation Research
and Training Centers related to minority populations with disabilities
have focused their attention on the development of culturally specific
rehabilitation models. These models may have application far beyond
the particular group for which they are developed and result in
programs that more effectively serve all rehabilitation participants,
as a result of the individually appropriate nature of culturally
specific models.
Recommendations on Research
- Minority communities and persons with disabilities
should be involved in the process of planning research, implementing
research, and interpreting findings of research.
- The data base on minority persons with disabilities
should be improved, by using sampling techniques that allow analysis
of smaller populations in meaningful ways.
- Data collection efforts on issues relating to minority
persons with disabilities should be increased.
- Specific research initiatives should focus on particular
racial, ethnic, and cultural minority populations.
- The federal government should continue establishing
Research and Training Centers targeting minority populations.
- Federally funded research projects on persons with
disabilities, such as the Research and Training Centers, should
be required to include underrepresented groups in all their research
efforts.
- Training and education programs in disability and
rehabilitation research for persons of minority backgrounds should
be developed to enhance the total research capability.
- A large longitudinal study should be planned and
conducted to explore the effects of rehabilitation on minority
populations with disabilities over time.
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APPENDIX
D NATIONAL COUNCIL MEMBER AND STAFF
BIOGRAPHIES
National Council Members
John A. Gannon, Acting Chairperson
John Gannon of Cleveland, Ohio, and Washington, D.C.,
founded John A. Gannon and Associates. His firm has offices in Columbus
and Cleveland, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; and Washington, D.C. A fire
fighter for more than 30 years, Mr. Gannon was an active leader
of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 93.
Starting as a member of the local IAFF committee, he eventually
became president, a position he held for 10 years before being elected
to national office.
In September 1988, Mr. Gannon was elected IAFF president
emeritus. He had served as President of the 170,000-member organization
since 1980. Under his leadership, the IAFF expanded its role in
occupational safety and health. Concerned about the hazards of his
profession, he guided and directed a series of programs to promote
greater safety and health protection. One program sponsored research
on safer garments and equipment for fire fighters. Mr. Gannon also
fostered development of the IAFF Burn Foundation, which raises funds
for research on the care of people who have experienced severe burns.
In 1985, the Metropolitan General Hospital in Cleveland dedicated
the John Gannon Burn and Trauma Center in recognition of his support
for the hospital.
Mr. Gannon was elected vice president of the AFL-CIO,
with which the IAFF is affiliated. Within the AFL-CIO, he is vice
president of the Public Employee Department. On the Executive Council,
he is a member of several committees. He serves on the board of
the National Joint Council of Fire Service Organizations and in
1982 served as its chairman. He is a member of the board of the
Muscular Dystrophy Association. Mr. Gannon attended Miami University
in Ohio and Glasgow University in Scotland, and studied at Baldwin-Wallace
College and Cleveland State University.
A. Kent Waldrep, Jr., Vice Chairperson
Kent Waldrep has been involved with disability issues
on the local, state, and national levels since his spinal cord injury
in 1974 while playing football for Texas Christian University. Since
1981, Mr. Waldrep has served on the National Council. Beyond serving
as vice chairperson, he serves as chairman of the Research and Prevention
Committee. He was instrumental in formulating the National Council
initiative on preventing primary and secondary disabilities.
Mr. Waldrep, one of 15 original drafters of the Americans
with Disabilities Act, gave the legislation its name. He has lectured
nationwide on subjects ranging from national disability policy to
medical research targeted at curing paralysis. He founded the American
Paralysis Association and the Kent Waldrep National Paralysis Foundation.
He has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show,
the NBC Nightly News, and CNN, and has been featured in People,
Look, USA Today, and other magazines.
He was selected by the U.S. Jaycees as one of 1985's
ten Outstanding Young Men in America and received a special award
from the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and a sports/fitness award from
the President's Council on Physical Fitness. Kent Waldrep Days have
been celebrated in four Texas cities and Birmingham, Alabama. He
serves on many boards, including the Texas Rehabilitation Commission.
He is past chairman of the Texas Governor's Committee for Disabled
Persons and the Dallas Rehabilitation Institute. He also is chairman
of Turbo-Resins, Inc., a family-owned and -operated aviation repair
business. He lives in Plano, Texas, with his wife, Lynn, and two
sons, Trey and Charles Cavenaugh.
Linda Wickett Allison
Linda Allison of Dallas, Texas, is a long-time advocate
of people with disabilities. She is a board member of the National
Paralysis Foundation and a trustee for the International Spinal
Research Trust. Mrs. Allison, who grew up in Fort Worth, has three
children. Her daughter, Marcy, was paralyzed from the waist down
in a 1979 automobile accident. Marcy graduated from the University
of Texas School of Law in 1986 and practices law in Austin. Mrs.
Allison's late husband, James N. Allison, Jr., owned the Midland
Reporter Telegram and other newspapers in Texas and Colorado
and was a deputy chairperson of the Republican National Committee.
Ellis B. Bodron
Ellis Bodron of Vicksburg, Mississippi, has been
a practicing attorney since 1947. He served 36 years as a member
of the Mississippi legislature, one term in the House of Representatives,
and eight terms in the Mississippi Senate. He also chaired the Senate
Finance Committee from 1961 until 1983.
Mr. Bodron, who is blind, is associated with several
civic organizations, including the Vicksburg Lions Club, Vicksburg
Chamber of Commerce, and the University of Mississippi Alumni Association.
In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Board of Directors,
Deposit Guaranty National Bank.
Mr. Bodron has also been a member of the Agriculture
and Industrial Board, which preceded the Board of Economic Development,
and the Committee of Budget and Accounting and the Board of Trustees
of the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System. He graduated
with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University
of Mississippi. He is married with two children.
Larry Brown, Jr.
Since 1981, Larry Brown of Potomac, Maryland, has
been the Xerox business and community relations manager for the
Mid-Atlantic Region, Coastal Operations, Custom Systems Division.
In 1991, he became government and community relations manager with
Integrated Systems Operations.
Mr. Brown was a running back for the Washington Redskins
for eight years. During that time, he received many awards, including
Most Valuable Player in the National Football League for 1972. He
was inducted into the Washington, D.C., Touchdown Club Hall of Fame
in 1991.
After retiring from football in 1977, he worked at
E.F. Hutton as a personal financial management adviser. He has been
special assistant to the director, Office of Minority Business Enterprise,
Department of Commerce. He is involved with youth, people with disabilities,
and senior citizens. Mr. Brown has spoken at schools, colleges,
and universities on topics such as motivation, discipline, and camaraderie.
He works with many organizations, including the Friends of the National
Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, the Deafness
Research Foundation, and the Vincent Lombardi Foundation.
Mary Ann Mobley Collins
A former Miss America who lives in Beverly Hills,
California, Mary Ann Mobley Collins has a career in film, television,
and on Broadway. She has co-hosted National March of Dimes telethons
with her husband, Emmy-award-winning actor Gary Collins; she is
a member of the National Board of the March of Dimes Foundation
and is national chair of the Mother's March Against Birth Defects.
She is a member of SHARE, a Los Angeles-based women's organization
that has raised more than $6 million for the Exceptional Children's
Foundation for the Mentally Retarded. She serves on the National
Board of the Crohns and Colitis Foundation.
Mrs. Collins helped raise funds for the Willowood
Foundation in her native Mississippi, which provides homes for young
adults with mental and physical disabilities. She has received many
awards and honors, including the 1990 International Humanitarian
Award from the Institute for Human Understanding, Woman of Distinction
1990 from the National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis, and the
HELP Humanitarian Award of 1985 from HELP for Handicapped Children.
She has filmed documentaries in Cambodia, Ethiopia, Mozambique,
Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, and Bolivia on the plight of starving children
and people with disabilities.
Anthony H. Flack
Anthony Flack of Norwalk, Connecticut, is president
of Anthony H. Flack & Associates. He has been a member of the
board of Families and Children's Aid of Greater Norwalk and has
worked with the Child Guidance Center of Greater Bridgeport, the
Youth Shelter in Greenwich, Hall Neighborhood House in Bridgeport,
and the Urban League of Greater Bridgeport. Mr. Flack is a member
of the Allocations and Admissions Committee, United Way of Norwalk,
and received the Bell Award for outstanding service in the field
of mental health at the Bridgeport Chapter, Connecticut Association
of Mental Health.
Robert S. Muller
Robert Muller of Grandville, Michigan, began his
career with Steelcase, Inc., in 1966 and is now an administrator
in human resources. He is an adjunct professor in the Department
of Psychology at Aquinas College and in the Department of Education
at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. He serves on the Board of Trustees
for Hope Network and Foundation in Grand Rapids, which serves 1,700
adults with disabilities. In April 1981, he received an honorary
degree in educational psychology from the Free University in Amsterdam,
The Netherlands.
Mr. Muller holds a B.S. in business administration
from Aquinas College and in 1978 was voted Outstanding Alumnus of
the Year. He has lectured at colleges and universities nationally
and internationally. He is a board member for several national,
state, and local organizations.
In May 1987, Mr. Muller and his wife Carol hosted
a first-time event at the White House with the Vice President. The
Celebration of Disabled Americans at Work was cosponsored by several
major corporations. Mr. Muller now serves as president of the National
Roundtable on Corporate Development for Americans with Disabilities.
In 1985, he received the Liberty Bell Award from the Grand Rapids
Bar Association. In 1988, he was national co-chair of the Disabled
Americans for President Bush Campaign and in 1992 was an honorary
national member of the Bush/Quayle Disability Coalition Campaign.
In November 1992, Mr. Muller was appointed to the Governor's Commission
on Handicapped Concerns for Michigan.
George H. Oberle, PED
Dr. George Oberle of Stillwater, Oklahoma, has more
than 40 years' experience in the field of health, physical education,
and recreation. He began his career as a high school teacher and
coach and has been a professor and director of the School of Health,
Physical Education, and Leisure at Oklahoma State University since
1974. Dr. Oberle is a consultant to many organizations in the areas
of administration and adaptive physical education. In 1988, he worked
with the Kennedy Foundation to organize and direct a new program
of Unified Sports for the Special Olympics.
Dr. Oberle chaired the College and University Administrators
Council (1980-82); was president of the Association for Research,
Administration, Professional Councils and Societies (1984-87); and
served as a board member of the American Alliance of Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance (1985-89). His awards include the
1985 Centennial Award from the American Association of Health, Physical
Education, Recreation and Dance; and meritorious service awards
from Indiana and Oklahoma.
He was selected for Men of Achievement in
1975 and recognized in Who's Who of the Southwest in 1977.
Dr. Oberle received his doctorate from Indiana University in administration
and adapted physical education. He lectures extensively about wellness
promotion, adapted physical activity, and sports and recreation
for people with disabilities.
Sandra Swift Parrino
As a member and former chairperson of the National
Council, Sandra Swift Parrino has played an active role in key issues
affecting the lives of people with disabilities. Nominated by President
Reagan in 1982, appointed chairperson by the President in 1983,
and reappointed by President Bush, Sandra Swift Parrino has supported
the rights of people with disabilities before Congress, in the media,
and before groups nationwide. Under her leadership, the National
Council has been a driving force to create public policies that
affect the nation's people with disabilities.
During her tenure as chairperson, the National Council
worked for the creation and enactment of legislation for people
with disabilities; issued policy statements such as National
Policy for Persons With Disabilities; convened hearings nationwide
to solicit comments and recommendations from people with disabilities
about how to eliminate discrimination; issued a major report, Toward
Independence, that outlines key components of a comprehensive
civil rights law protecting people with disabilities; initiated
the first national survey of attitudes and experiences of Americans
with disabilities, in conjunction with Louis Harris and Associates,
Inc.; issued On the Threshold of Independence, a report outlining
specifics of the Americans with Disabilities Act; created and developed
the Americans with Disabilities Act; participated with President
Bush at the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act; conducted
the first National Conference on the Prevention of Primary and Secondary
Disabilities; issued reports on minorities with disabilities and
personal assistance services; and planned reports on health insurance,
financing assistive technology, and educating students with disabilities.
Before becoming National Council chairperson, Sandra
Parrino founded and directed the Office for the Disabled in Ossining
and in Briarcliff Manor, New York, where she created a regional
program for public and private organizations that focused on programs
for people with disabilities and compliance with Section 504. She
has more than 25 years' experience on boards, councils, commissions,
committees, and task forces at the federal, state, regional, and
local levels and as an expert witness, community leader, organizer,
and activist.
Mrs. Parrino has represented the U.S. government
on disability issues in many countries. She has been invited by
the Department of State to represent the United States at the Meetings
of Experts in Finland and China, and represented the United States
at the United Nations Center for Social Development in Vienna several
times. In 1990, 1991, and 1992 she was a delegate at the Third Committee
on Social Development of the United Nations. In 1991, she was invited
by the People's Republic of China to assist them in their efforts
to help people with disabilities. At the request of the government
of Czechoslovakia, she and the National Council were invited to
conduct the Eastern European Conference on Disabilities for participants
from Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary.
Mrs. Parrino graduated from Briarcliff College with
a B.A. in history and completed courses at Bennett College, GuildHall
School of Drama in London, and the Yale School of Languages. In
1992, Mrs. Parrino received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters
from St. John's University in New York. Her husband Richard is a
rheumatologist. They have three children, two of whom have disabilities.
Sandra Parrino was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and lives in
Briarcliff Manor, New York.
Mary Matthews Raether
Mary Matthews Raether of McLean, Virginia, is associated
with St. John's Child Development Center, a nonprofit organization
providing instruction, employment training, and independent and
group home living skills for people with severe mental disabilities,
especially autism. Mrs. Raether has been an officer and trustee
of St. John's since 1985, has chaired the public relations committee,
and participated on the executive, nominating, investment, and development
committees.
Mrs. Raether has been active in civic, educational,
and religious organizations in the Washington metropolitan area.
While community vice president of the Junior League of Washington,
she developed emergency grant procedures and fund-raising information
services for small and emerging nonprofit organizations. Mrs. Raether
has 10 years' experience as legislative assistant to Representatives
George Bush and Barber Conable. She specialized in tax, Social Security,
Medicare/Medicaid, and trade issues. She considers her efforts in
clarifying the tax status of lobbying by nonprofit organizations
an outstanding career accomplishment. She received a B.A. from the
University of Texas at Austin in 1962. She is married and has two
children.
Shirley W. Ryan
Shirley W. Ryan, of Kenilworth, Illinois, is president
and co-founder of the Pathways Center for Children, an outpatient,
individualized neurodevelopmental therapy center for children with
delayed gross or fine motor activity and/or motor-based eating problems.
In a related activity, Mrs. Ryan is president and co-founder of
Pathways Awareness Foundation, a public health care awareness organization
that focuses on issues that include child development problems and
procedures for early infant assessment of children with special
needs.
As part of her outreach commitment to the community,
Mrs. Ryan serves as a trustee for the Ronald McDonald's Children's
Charities and also is director of the United Cerebral Palsy Association
of Chicago. She also participates as an Executive Committee member
for the Chicago Community Trust, a public foundation that makes
awards in the areas of health, social services, education, civic
affairs, and arts and humanities.
Her other activities include service as vice chairman,
Board of Directors, Chicago Council on Foreign Relations; founder,
Northwestern University graduate school invitational course; founding
member, Northwestern University Women's Board; and director, Chicago
Foundation on Education.
Mrs. Ryan's mission continues to focus on helping
children with movement difficulties and their families. Thanks to
her vision and perseverance, hundreds of thousands of Americans
have learned what signs in a baby's physical development may signal
delayed development and the need for assistance. Mrs. Ryan is married
and has three children.
Anne Crellin Seggerman
Anne Crellin Seggerman of Fairfield, Connecticut,
is the founder of Fourth World Foundation, Inc., a company engaged
in the development of interfaith media.
A member of the Bridgeport Urban Gardens and Youth
at Risk/ Breakthrough Foundation, Mrs. Seggerman founded and serves
as the chairman of the board of the Fairfield County Chapter of
Huxley Institute for Biosocial Research. She previously was a member
of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation.
Mrs. Seggerman is listed in Who's Who of American
Women and has received numerous honors including an Honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters award from Sacred Heart University. She
is a member of the Association of Knights and Ladies of the Holy
Sepulchre, and the American Association of the Order of Malta. She
was previously appointed to serve on the Housing of Handicapped
Families Committee of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mrs. Seggerman is experienced in providing care,
treatment, and rehabilitation to people with schizophrenia and has
extensive experience with people with alcoholism and children with
learning disabilities. She is married and has six adult children.
Michael B. Unhjem
Michael Unhjem of Fargo, North Dakota, is president
of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota. He is the youngest person
ever elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives, a member
of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws,
and served in 1988 as president of the National Mental Health Association.
Mr. Unhjem has been involved in local and national
organizations, including the Advisory Mental Health Council of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the Governor's Commission
on Mental Health Services; the National Alliance for Research on
Schizophrenia and Depression; and the National Mental Health Leadership
Forum. Awards include the 1989 Special Presidential Commendation
from the American Psychiatric Association, the 1988 Distinguished
Leadership Award from the North Dakota Psychological Association,
and the National Excellence in Leadership Award from North Dakota.
He has been recognized by Who's Who in American
Politics, Who's Who in North Dakota, Who's Who in
the Midwest, Personalities of America, and Men of Achievement.
Mr. Unhjem graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in history and
political science from Jamestown College in North Dakota in 1975.
In 1978, he earned a J.D. with distinction from the University of
North Dakota School of Law in Grand Forks. He is married and has
two children.
Helen Wilshire Walsh
Helen Walsh of Greenwich, Connecticut, is a board
member of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, one of the largest
rehabilitation facilities in the world. She has been involved in
disability advocacy for many years and has been associated with
the Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at the New York Medical
Center, where she served as associate trustee. She has served as
vice president, president, and chairman of the Board of Rehabilitation
International, USA.
Ms. Walsh has been a member of the President's Committee
on Employment of People With Disabilities, and was appointed by
the president to serve as a Member of the National Advisory Council
of Vocational Rehabilitation. In 1976, Ms. Walsh received the Henry
J. Kessler Award for outstanding service in the rehabilitation field.
She has received the Rehabilitation International Award for Women
and the Anwar Sadat Award for outstanding work in the field of rehabilitation.
National Council Staff
Andrew I. Batavia
Andrew I. Batavia is executive director of the National
Council on Disability. He formerly served as research director for
disability and rehabilitation policy at Abt Associates. Prior to
joining Abt, he was associate director of the White House Domestic
Policy Council, where he was responsible for coordinating federal
policy on health care, disability, housing, education, and veterans
affairs. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and sociology
from the University of California, his master's degree in health
services research from Stanford Medical School, and his jurisdoctorate
degree from Harvard Law School.
After law school, Mr. Batavia served for two years
as an attorney for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
He left that position in 1986 when he was awarded the Mary E. Switzer
Distinguished Research Fellowship in Medical Rehabilitation Finance
from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
(NIDRR) of the U.S. Department of Education. He then served for
four years as associate director for health services research at
the National Rehabilitation Hospital Research Center in Washington,
D.C. In that capacity, he wrote two books and more than 20 other
publications on issues of disability and health care policy.
In 1987, Mr. Batavia was made a fellow of the Washington
Academy of Sciences. In 1988, he was awarded the Distinguished Disabled
American Award from the President's Committee on Employment of People
With Disabilities. In 1989, he received an international fellowship
from the International Disability Exchanges and Studies (IDEAS)
Program of NIDRR and conducted research on how the Dutch health
care system affects people with disabilities. In 1990, he was appointed
a White House Fellow by the President and served as special assistant
to Attorney General Richard Thornburgh at the U.S. Department of
Justice.
Mr. Batavia is the founding associate editor of the
Journal of Disability Policy Studies and a cofounding board
member of Independent Living Assistance, Inc. He is an adjunct assistant
professor at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and a
member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Bar of the District
of Columbia, the State Bar of California, and Georgetown's Kennedy
Institute of Ethics.
Edward P. Burke
Edward P. Burke currently serves as executive assistant
to the chairperson and chief of government liaison of the National
Council on Disability. Prior to assuming this position, Mr. Burke
served as special assistant to the commissioner at the U.S. Administration
on Developmental Disabilities, where he worked closely with the
commissioner and senior staff in the management of an annual budget
in excess of $105 million supporting a nationwide network of more
than 160 programs (Developmental Disabilities Councils, Protection
and Advocacy Systems, University Affiliated Programs, and Projects
of National Significance).
Mr. Burke has also served as the executive director
of the New Hampshire Developmental Disabilities Council and executive
director of Autism Services Association in Massachusetts. He has
extensive experience in direct work with people with severe disabilities
and their family members, particularly concerning issues such as
family support, individual support and advocacy, special education
in mainstream neighborhood schools, responsible deinstitutionalization
programming, and expert court opinion.
Mr. Burke holds several degrees and certifications
in the areas of special and regular education and was awarded one
of two Winston Churchill Fellowships granted to U.S. citizens in
1979. He has considerable experience in serving as a consultant
and trainer to major government and private sector agencies in this
country and abroad around the planning, implementation, and evaluation
of programs designed to increase the independence and community
integration of people with disabilities, and he has published and
edited numerous articles and papers on both the clinical and policy
aspects of serving people with disabilities.
Billie Jean Hill
Billie Jean Hill joined the staff of the National
Council on Disability as program specialist in March 1992. Previously,
Ms. Hill was director of communications and editor for the Blinded
Veterans Association and earlier served as founding director of
a statewide broadcast service for persons with reading disabilities
with Mississippi Educational Television in her home state. She was
appointed to work on a governor's commission in Mississippi to report
on the needs of children and youth in rural Mississippi who are
disabled. Ms. Hill studied journalism and education at Mississippi
University for Women and at the University of London in England.
She serves as chairperson of the Board of Publications for the American
Council of the Blind.
Mark S. Quigley
Mark Quigley joined the staff as a public affairs
specialist in May 1990. He previously served as a consultant to
the U.S. National Commission on Drug-Free Schools. He is a former
program coordinator at the U.S. Interagency Council on the Homeless
and former director of communications at the White House Conference
on Small Business. Mr. Quigley graduated magna cum laude
in 1979 from Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale, Virginia,
with an A.A. in general studies. He received a B.A. in government
and politics in 1983, and an M.P.A. in public administration in
1990 from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Brenda Bratton
Brenda Bratton, executive secretary for the National
Council, was formerly employed as a secretary at the National Transportation
Safety Board. Ms. Bratton graduated from Farmville Central High
School and the Washington School for Secretaries.
Stacey S. Brown
Stacey Brown is staff assistant to the chairperson
and has been employed by the National Council since 1986. Prior
experience includes employment as a receptionist and clerk with
the Board for International Broadcasting and with the Compliance
and Enforcement Unit of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board, where he was a student assistant. Mr. Brown is
a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C., where he earned
a B.A. in political science in 1987.
Janice Mack
Janice Mack, who serves as the administrative officer
for the National Council, was formerly employed with the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Ms. Mack graduated from
Calvin Coolidge High School.
Lorraine Williams
Lorraine Williams is office automation clerk for
the National Council. She graduated from Valdosta High School in
Valdosta, Georgia, and attends Strayer College, where she is majoring
in computer information systems science. |