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Disability Emphasis Program
The Disability Emphasis Program Manager encourages employment
of qualified persons with disabilities. These opportunities include a broad
range of grade levels and occupational series within
NRCS.
Documents on this page require
Acrobat Reader.
Disability Awareness Month
DEP
The program seeks to:
-
Promote
understanding and appreciation of individuals with disabilities.
- Create full participation in a work environment that
capitalizes on creativity and richness.
- Promote understanding of the requirements of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
- Provide reasonable accommodations and accessibilities.
- Encourage managers to provide career enhancement and
promotions for people with disabilities.
2006 Americans with Disabilities Fact Sheet
Iowans With
Disabilities
The following document requires Microsoft
PowerPoint.
PowerPoint Presentations
(To open the file, right click on the link, save target as..., name and save file
where desired, open the file where saved.)
NRCS
Reasonable Accommodations Process (PPT, 537 KB) - Reasonable accommodations
allows persons with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of
employment. This PowerPoint provides information regarding the roles and
responsibilities of NRCS and the employee in making and processing a reasonable
accommodation request.
AD1163
- Confirmation of Reasonable Accommodations Request Form (PDF)
AD2056
- Building Site Accessibility Checklist (PDF)
AD1164
- Reasonable Accommodations Reporting Form (PDF)
AD1165
- Denial of Reasonable Accommodations Request Form (PDF)
Authorization
for Release of Information Form (PDF)
Form
Letter Requesting Medical Documentation (PDF)
Form
Letter Requesting Medical Documentation from Employees (PDF)
NRCS
Reasonable Accommodations Procedure (PDF)
Latest
in Assistive Technology (PDF, 16 KB)
NRCS
Fact Sheet on Reasonable Accommodations (PDF, 73 KB)
Reasonable Accommodation
Procedures
Disability Mentoring Day
 NRCS
Soil Conservationist Sue Snyder Thomas explains the properties of field corn to
a high school student during the annual Disability Mentoring Day held in Polk
County Iowa. Two Des Moines 9th grade students with disabilities
recently shadowed Thomas for half a day as part of an annual mentoring program
designed to help disabled students learn about various career fields. The
students, interested in conservation, were teamed with Snyder Thomas who works
as the Area 2 Resource Conservationist. They learned about many field
conservation practices, names of plants and discussed a number of NRCS careers.
Disability Mentoring Day is part of a national program designed to bring
students and job seekers with disabilities into the workplace where they can
learn firsthand about career opportunities. On the web:
http://www.dmd-aapd.org/
Disability Statistics
More than 50 million Americans, about 18 percent of the U. S. population,
said in 2002 that they had a disability, and 12 percent had a severe disability,
according to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on May 12, 2006. Among
people with disabilities, more than half of those 21 to 64 years old had a job,
more than 4-in-10 of those ages 15 to 64 used a computer at home and a quarter
of those age 25 to 64 had a college degree.
"The demographic snapshots contained in the report help planners and
decision-makers assess the needs of this important segment of our population,"
said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon. The Americans with Disabilities:
2002 Report was compiled from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
Approximately 51.2 million people said they had a disability; for 32.5 million
of them, the disability was severe.
About 56 percent of people ages 21 to 64 who had a disability were employed at
some point in the one-year period prior to the interview. People with a severe
disability status reported the lowest employment rate (42 percent). This
compared with the employment rates of people with a non-severe disability (82
percent) and those with no reported disability (88 percent).
Similarly, 32 percent of people ages 25 to 64 with a non-severe disability and
22 percent with a severe disability were college graduates. The corresponding
rate for those without a disability was 43 percent.
Among other findings, people with a severe disability had an increased
likelihood of having Medicare or Medicaid coverage, living below the poverty
level, reporting their health status to be "fair or poor," receiving public
assistance and having a household income below $20,000. For instance, the
poverty rate for people 25 to 64 with no disability was 8 percent, compared with
11 percent for those with a no severe disability and 26 percent for people with
a severe disability.
A person is considered as having a disability if they have difficulty performing
a specific activity such as seeing, hearing, bathing or doing light housework,
or had a specified condition, such as Alzheimer's disease or autism, etc. People
are considered to have a severe disability if they are completely unable to
perform one or more of these tasks or activities, need personal assistance or
have a severe disabling condition.
Other highlights:
* Four million children ages 6 to 14, or 11 percent, had a disability. The
chances of having a disability rise with age: 72 percent of people age 80 and
older had disabilities.
* Approximately 11 million people ages 6 and older, or 4percent, needed personal
assistance with an everyday activity.
* Among the population age 15 and older, 2.7 million used a wheelchair and 9.1
million an ambulatory aid such as a cane, crutches or a walker.
* About 7.9 million people age 15 and older had difficulty seeing the words and
letters in ordinary newspaper print, including 1.8 million who were unable to
see.
* There were 7.8 million people age 15 and older who had difficulty hearing a
normal conversation, including 1 million unable to hear.
* About 14.3 million people age 15 and older had limitations in cognitive
functioning or a mental or emotional illness that interfered with their daily
activities, such as Alzheimer's disease, depression or mental retardation. This
group comprised 6 percent of the population.
* Among adults ages 16 to 64, 11.8 million or 6 percent reported the presence of
a condition that makes it difficult to remain employed or find a job.
* Median earnings for people with no disability were $25,000, compared with
$22,000 for people with a non severe disability and $12,800 for those with a
severe disability.
* Of those ages 15 to 64, 36 percent with a severe disability used a computer
and 29 percent used the Internet at home.
These data were collected from June through September 2002 in the Survey of
Income and Program Participation. As in all surveys, these data are subject to
sampling variability and other sources of error.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, May 12, 2006
Disability Etiquette
Important Accessibility Reminders (it's the
right thing to do and it's the law)
We are required to include the
"non-discrimination statement" on all materials provided to the public. The new
statement, revised July 2005, is at the bottom of this email for your use.
1. Public
meeting announcements should include instructions for people who need
accommodations, wheelchair accessibilities, interpreters, special diets (if food
is provided) or alternate form materials such as Braille. Many buildings claim
to be accessible but only certain areas. (Making meetings accessible -
Easter Seals Website)
2. If
you know an interpreter is going to be needed at a meeting, provide printed
copies of power point presentations, etc. so that the interpreter and person
with hearing impairment can read ahead or take notes.
3. Disability
Etiquette (From
Easter Seals website)
People with disabilities are entitled to the same courtesies you would extend
to anyone, including personal privacy. If you find it inappropriate to ask
people about their sex lives, their complexions, or their incomes, extend the
same courtesy to people with disabilities.
If you don't make a habit of leaning or hanging on people, don't lean or hang on
someone's wheelchair. Wheelchairs are an extension of personal space.
When you offer to assist someone with vision impairment, allow the person to
take your arm. This will help you to guide, rather than propel or lead, the
person.
Treat adults as adults. Call a person by his or her first name only when you
extend this familiarity to everyone present. Don't patronize people who use
wheelchairs by patting them on the head. Reserve this sign of affection for
children.
In conversation...
When talking with someone who has a disability, speak directly to him or her
rather than through a companion who may be along.
Relax. Don't be embarrassed if you happen to use common expressions, such as
"See you later" or "I've got to run" that seem to relate to the person's
disability.
To get the attention of a person who has a hearing disability, tap the person on
the shoulder or wave your hand. Look directly at the person and speak clearly,
slowly and expressively to establish if the person can read your lips. Not
everyone with hearing impairments can lip-read. Those who do will rely on facial
expressions and other body language to help understand. Show consideration by
facing a light source and keeping your hands and food away from your mouth when
speaking. Keep mustaches well-trimmed. Shouting won't help, but written notes
will.
When talking with a person in a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, place
yourself at the wheelchair user's eye level to spare both of you a stiff neck.
When greeting a person with a severe loss of vision, always identify yourself
and others who may be with you. Say, for example, "On my right is Andy Clark."
When conversing in a group, remember to say the name of the person to whom you
are speaking to give vocal cue. Speak in a normal tone of voice, indicate when
you move from one place to another, and let it be known when the conversation is
at an end.
Give whole, unhurried attention when you're talking to a person who has
difficulty speaking. Keep your manner encouraging rather than correcting, and be
patient rather than speak for the person. When necessary, ask questions that
require short answers or a nod or shake of the head. Never pretend to understand
if you are having difficulty doing so. Repeat what you understand. The person's
reaction will guide you to understanding.
Common courtesies...
If you would like to help someone with a disability, ask if he or she needs it
before you act, and listen to any instructions the person may want to give.
When giving directions to a person in a wheelchair, consider distance, weather
conditions and physical obstacles such as stairs, curbs and steep hills.
When directing a person with a visual impairment, use specifics such as "left a
hundred feet" or "right two yards."
Be considerate of the extra time it might take a person with a disability to
get things done or said. Let the person set the pace in walking and talking.
When planning events involving persons with disabilities, consider their needs
ahead of time. If an insurmountable barrier exists, let them know about it prior
to the event.
Resources
This document requires
Acrobat Reader.
Form
SF
- 256 - "Self Identification of a Handicap" for Current Employees and
volunteers. (PDF)
Links
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