National Council on Disability Quarterly Meeting
Ritz Carlton, Pentagon City
Arlington, Virginia
July 25-26, 2004

Members
Lex Frieden, Chairperson
Pat Pound, First Vice Chairperson
Glenn Anderson, Ph.D., Second Vice Chairperson
Milton Aponte, J.D.
Barbara Gillcrist
Graham Hill
Joel I. Kahn, Ph.D.
Young Woo Kang, Ph.D.
Kathleen Martinez
Carol Novak
Anne Rader
Marco Rodriguez
David Wenzel
Linda Wetters

Absent
Robert R. Davila, Ph.D.

Staff
Ethel D. Briggs, Executive Director
Jeff Rosen, Director of Policy/General Counsel
Mark S. Quigley, Director of Communications
Martin S. Gould, Ed.D., Senior Research Specialist
Gerrie D. Hawkins, Ph.D., Program Analyst
Allan Holland, Chief Financial Officer
Joan Durocher, Attorney Advisor
Brenda Bratton, Executive Assistant
Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant

Guests
George Oberle, P.E.D., Former NCD Member
Robert Burgdorf, NCD Contractor
Kym King, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, Houston, TX
John Wodatch, Civil Right Division, Department of Justice
John Hager, Assistant Secretary Designee, Office of Special Education
and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
Lori Keeno, Presidential Personnel, The White House
Clara Boggs, Presidential Personnel, The White House
Janet Wenzel, Scranton, PA
Greg Schome, Health Administration, Scranton, PA
Mark Seifert, Coordinator of Government Affairs, Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission
Kathy Brill, Parent, Harrisburg, PA

Sunday, July 25, 2004

Call to Ordert
Chairperson Frieden called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. He thanked everyone for making the ADA celebration at the Kennedy Center on July 24 a success. He especially thanked Council Member Barbara Gillcrist for being Chairperson of the ADA 2004 Committee.

Acceptance of the Agency
Motion 1
Ms. Pound moved to accept the agenda as presented. Passed.

Introductions/Public Comments
Ms. Brill expressed her thanks for the invitation to attend the Council’s ADA celebration at the Kennedy Center.

Ms. Pound asked if she and the other Council members could receive a copy of Senator Lowell Weicker’s remarks and if those remarks could be posted on the Web site.

Approval of the Minutes
Motion 2
Ms. Pound moved to accept the minutes of the April 2004 quarterly meeting. Passed.

Chairperson's Report
Mr. Frieden said that most of the meeting would be devoted to updating Council members on the activities of the Council’s teams and committees. He commended Council members on their commitment and productivity.

He said that staff is working very hard and suggested creating a pace that will not overwhelm them.

Mr. Frieden said that while he was in Dublin he was interviewed by the Irish Network, which put on a 40-minute show titled Outside the Box. He said that although Ireland is one of the most progressive members of the European Union, it is 10 years behind the United States in implementing the types of principles incorporated into ADA.

Mr. Frieden also visited Norway, where he met a delegation from the China Disabled Persons Federation, a quasi-governmental/nongovernmental organization. The delegation inquired about establishing a formal association with the Council in which they could discuss its structure. China has a very open and constructive framework from which to work in terms of promoting opportunity for people with disabilities. Mr. Frieden said Mr. Rosen has spoken with Chinese representatives and will continue moving forward with that.

Mr. Frieden met with some members of Congress to share information on Council projects. In response to one of those meetings, the Council received congressional recognition—a proclamation on the 20th anniversary of NCD as an independent federal agency—from Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Executive Director's Report
Ms. Briggs said the Council’s intranet has been developed and encouraged Council members to use it to review documents.

Ms. Briggs recently participated in a teleconference for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the relocation of the Office of Minority Health. She also attended the Small Agency Council meeting, at which the Chief of People Movers of General Services Administration (GSA) spoke.

The congressional liaison position at the Council is still open. No one was selected from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) register.

Eight former members of the last two Councils, as well as six former staff members, attended the ADA anniversary event at the Kennedy Center.

Public Relations Update
Ms. Briggs noted that the public affairs report is included in tab four of the Council members’ notebook. She said Mr. Quigley lists the media contacts from the last Council meeting to this present board meeting and that this information, as well as the monthly clippings, is posted on the Council’s Web site.

Policy Update
Mr. Rosen said the policy staff had developed a memorandum that implemented the Council’s priorities as established at the April Council meeting. The Council discussed and approved the contents of the memorandum in a June teleconference and gave its approval to move forward with its priorities.

The top priorities, which were included in the budget request for FY 2006, were as follows:

employment
education/educational interest
disability demographics

Mr. Rosen noted that Mr. Aponte will present on the civil rights roundtable during the ADA Team report and that Ms. Pound will give an update on the information and technology services paper during the July 26 meeting.

He also said that the Council will consider several reports in coming weeks, the first of which is Righting the ADA. The team has finalized the Consumer-Directed report, which will be presented at the August 11 Executive Committee meeting. Staff and the Universal Design Team will be reviewing its report in the coming week, and he hopes the report will be ready for consideration at the September Executive Committee meeting.

Mr. Rosen said that NCD’s joint project with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has two parts in the mediation document package: the mediation providers and the consumers of mediation. The Council developed materials and later gave the project to EEOC for finalization. EEOC sent it to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for review, and now they would like to sign onto the document.

Council members should expect the final drafts of the homeland security and progress reports in August. Mr. Rosen is pleased that Dr. Kang has agreed to serve as the chair of the Homeland Security report.

The Council is reviewing and editing the cultural diversity tool kit and adding new information from federal agencies. The tool kit should be completed in two weeks.

Mr. Rosen noted that the Council will be releasing the Livable Communities report in September. He said that the Council approved follow-up to its Livable Communities report as part of the special meeting in June. In addition, the Council will have the opportunity to consider what further steps to take in regard to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) report.

Mr. Rosen said the Council is now wrapping up the Air Carriers Access Act (ACAA) contract from the Department of Transportation (DOT), which for the second year gave the Council $50,000 to work on the ACAA.

Executive Committee Report
Ms. Pound reported that the Executive Committee met in May, June, and July. The committee adopted the team recommendations for the contractors for the Employment Team’s report on Social Security and the ADA Team’s impact study of ADA. She said the committee reviewed the status of the audit report during this time. The committee also worked on plans for this Council meeting and the July 24 ADA event.

Mr. Frieden said the Executive Committee has taken a fairly aggressive view toward not acting on any issues and representations on which the Council does not absolutely need to act. The Executive Committee tries to defer issues and schedule them for presentation to the full Council.

The next Executive Committee meeting has been rescheduled for August 11, and all Council members are invited.

Team Reports
ADA
Mr. Aponte submitted the ADA report on behalf of Dr. Davila. Nineteen policy briefs have been published on the Supreme Court’s decisions on different cases involving ADA. The Council’s position has been clear through these policy briefs. Mr. Aponte acknowledged the outstanding work of Mr. Burgdorf and his staff in drafting these briefs. He said input has been received from several federal agencies, several organizations, and the disability community. Also, Julie Carroll and Mr. Rosen have met with different organizations and entities throughout this process to develop the final content and ideas. Mr. Aponte said Mr. Burgdorf is an expert in this area and any questions should be addressed to him.

Mr. Aponte noted other professional experts who are part of the roundtable discussions: Robert Silverstein, Claudia Center, Andrew Imparato, Arlene Mayerson, Edward Correia, Harriet McBride-Johnson, Jennifer Mathis, Elaine Gardner, Peter Blanck, Gina Fiss, Steve Gold, Janell Byrd-Chichester, and Mr. Burgdorf and his staff.

Mr. Burgdorf gave a synopsis of the ADA study to Council members and staff. He said he and the Council will always be seen as the originators of ADA and that, in many ways, the disability community looks to the Council as the parent of the law.

Mr. Burgdorf presented the following information:

This report will represent a very strenuous, disciplined attempt to respond to the Supreme Court decisions that have addressed ADA.

After several iterations, a draft report was presented at the Houston Council meeting, where Mr. Burgdorf received good direction from the members. As suggested, the recommendations now appear earlier in the report, and an executive summary has been added.

He said there aren’t any specific changes that were inconsistent with what was presented at the Houston Council meeting. The presentation and the arrangement are considerably different. He said he thinks it is an improvement over the draft presented in Houston.

He and NCD staff have met with some of the disability experts, including the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities, which conducts lobbying in Washington, D.C., on behalf of disability organizations. The Consortium indicated that the Council would be doing everyone a great service in printing the report, as it will set the bar.

The concluding section of the report includes a statement from On the Threshold of Independence, which presented the Council’s original ADA recommendation.

In conclusion, he stated that the report is not a new ADA draft and is not trying to fix all the problems with the old ADA, but rather points out where the Supreme Court made mistaken judgments that have gone against what we all understood ADA was going to do when it was enacted.

Mr. Aponte said that part of the Council’s purpose in this report was to address what Congress asked the Council to do and to fulfill the congressional mandate to “gather information about the implementation, effectiveness, and impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act” and “provide Congress with advice, recommendations, legislative proposals, and other proposals that the Council or Congress deems appropriate.” He said the Council will not get involved with the politics or the strategy on the Hill about passage.

Mr. Burgdorf said this version of ADA restores the punitive damages that we all thought were available before in narrow circumstances. The draft provision parallels the broader civil rights community, which affects not only civil rights laws but also plaintiffs in other areas. There are bills currently in Congress[[what does the following mean?]] to fix this more broadly.

Mr. Rosen said the Council is conducting an ADA Impact Study, which will provide more information on our nation’s experiences under ADA.

Mr. Burgdorf said he included the Fairness Act in the text of the proposal in the prior draft. Mr. Rosen said that was not appropriate because the focus should be on ADA. He said the Council has important information on the Fairness Act, which is a private right of action under the ACAA.

Motion 3
Mr. Aponte moved that the ADA report be approved. Passed.

Mr. Aponte said the Council received six proposals for the ADA Impact Study. The Executive Committee adopted the ADA Team’s recommendation that Lockheed Martin Services, Inc., perform the study. Staff has entered into negotiations for a cooperative agreement with Lockheed Martin.

Mr. Aponte said that a reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act is still in conference. On June 18 the Council submitted correspondence to the House and Senate conferees supporting the House Bill provisions to sign and improve access to transportation for people with disabilities, including some New Freedom transportation initiatives; the improved coordination of federal, state, and local transportation services; and the inclusion of specific references to people with disabilities in all transportation planning and [[what are these?]]assigned provisions.

Mr. Hill said that at this point the House Bill would amend current law to include access for people with disabilities everywhere it does not appear. He assumed that the person who wrote the House Bill knew where to change it to make a real shift for individuals with disabilities, particularly in the planning areas, where transportation planners would have to go back to the project design to make it accessible. The House has reauthorized an extension that will expire September 24, 2004.

Mr. Aponte said the Council’s contractors (DREDF) and the consulting associates are working on a paper on access to transportation and mobility for people with disabilities. The paper should be completed in September 2004.

Health Reform
Ms. Novak reported that the Health Care Team has critical and substantive research in various stages. The final draft of the consumer-directed health reform project, conducted by Boston University, has been submitted. The Health Care Team has approved it.

Ms. Novak said the Council’s long-term services project is on schedule.

She noted that the livable communities project—a prototype of holistic research—should be credited to Dr. Gould’s hard work. She suggested that the Council’s research should look at the interaction of all the components that are essential for people with disabilities to live meaningful, productive, and healthy lives in their communities. Mr. Rosen said that the Council looks at common denominators experienced by people with disabilities; there is no mention of a specific disability.

Ms. Novak said the Visiting Nurses Service of New York has contributed a lot of resources because of its commitment and passion for the issue. It will submit a draft to the team September 24, which will tie together housing, transportation, employment, and social engagement. The Service would like to continue participating after its research report is published and has contacted the New York Planning Association to enlist its help in educating planners around the country.

She noted that the Michael Morris group, with its understanding of legislative and administrative intricacies, will collaborate with the Visiting Nurses Service, whose grassroots research describes how services reach their recipients through legislation, different administrative committees, and interaction with state agencies.

Universal Design
Dr. Kahn reported that the team has decided to divide the 440-page draft into three publications: (1) a print format that will include an executive summary and a brief overview of the findings; (2) a full report online that includes the appendixes and methodologies; and (3) a report that will target industry and include an executive summary, market findings, and the description of universal design products. He said Georgia Tech has done an excellent job and thanked the committee as well as chairperson for suggesting involving the committee.

He suggested that the Secretary of Health and Human Services play a pivotal role in the release of the report in October or have a joint release with the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor. The final draft from Georgia Tech will be completed shortly. The committee intends to submit it for approval by the Executive Committee at the August 11 teleconference. There is nothing controversial in the report that would delay its release.

Employment
Ms. Wetters reported that the team has been very busy over the past quarter. The Council received some excellent proposals for the social security/employment project and awarded the contract to Virginia Commonwealth University. The component that made the difference in this proposal, she said, was one of the specific products[[what is it?]] they are delivering. The principal players in the study are John Cregal, Beth Bader, Dr. Susan Daniels, and Brian McDonald.

She said the team wants to look at successes and failures in implementing the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) disability programs as well as any obstacles preventing people on social security from returning to work. The team wants to examine successful return-to-work projects to determine which practices and policy changes would allow for better replication.

She reported that the team is having teleconferences on the third Wednesday of each month to discuss this project and invited Council members to participate in any of the teleconferences or be placed on the regular schedule[[for notification or attendance?]]

Ms. Wetters said the second study[[describe the second study?]] on employment will be timely[[what does this mean?]]. The team has discussed making employment the main focus of the FY 2006 initiative. To date, there have been five information interviews in which significant people in the community, from the consumer, employer, agency and government perspectives, responded to a set of questions developed to draw out their priorities for research and employment issues, obstacles, and improving employment access for people with disabilities.

The meeting recessed for lunch at noon.

Progress Report
Dr. Anderson said the following agencies have submitted reports: the Departments of Education and Labor, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Social Security Administration. The team is still waiting for reports from the Departments of State and Health and Human Services.

He said the Progress Report will be about 12 chapters and similar to the past progress reports, except for the inclusion of homeland security. Normally, the end of each chapter has a list of recommendations. The team has requested a revision in the format to emphasize the recommendations.

The team expects two more draft comments this week from international and homeland security. The team will review them and have the entire report in final draft form by the end of August. The report will be submitted to the Executive Committee for review and approved in September and released in the fall. The final report will be placed on the Council’s Web site.

He noted a continuous issue that ran across several chapters [[say what it is?]]that did not fit well in the report structure. Therefore, the team recommended that issue be removed and become a separate paper. It may be incorporated as one of the new priorities that were mentioned during the strategic planning session. He said the Department of Disability is one of the priorities that was discussed and will be included in the Progress Report. He thanked Ms. Gillcrist and Dr. Kahn for their support and input, as well as staff who are part of the team.

International Watch
Ms. Martinez reported that the Council released its International Policy report a year ago and it continues to follow up in a number of ways, such as meetings with Senators McConnell and Lahey’s offices to discuss the report and its recommendations.

The committee also met with representatives from the land mine survivors, Bonis Hezcovia’s office, and a delegation from Croatia to discuss the Council’s foreign policy work.

Ms. Martinez and Mr. Frieden plan to meet with the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) to discuss how the Council can be of assistance to the MCC as it implements its disability criteria.

The committee continues to work with Senator Harkin’s staff on recommendations to follow up on the report. The State Department is putting together an advisory committee on foreign assistance and international development, and the Council has been asked to submit names of potential members.

Ms. Martinez noted that the committee submitted a letter to Secretary Colin Powell to continue to encourage him to include people with disabilities on the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Third Ad Hoc Committee meeting.

She congratulated Kerry Lida, the Council’s summer intern, for drafting a wonderful convention update that included responses to queries. Per Mr. Rosen’s suggestion, instead of asking specific questions that were developed by Council and staff regarding the convention and the ad hoc committee meeting, the committee asked four disability experts to respond to those queries; the queries and responses are on the Web site. One of the respondents was [[delete “from”?]]from a Special Rapporteur on disability from the United Nations.

Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee (CDAC)
Mr. Aponte thanked Ms. Martinez and Dr. Anderson for their participation in the meetings with CDAC. He appreciates Council members taking the time to participate in teleconferences with other committees.

He reported that the committee has two new members: Dr. Glen Fujiura, University of Illinois, and former Council member Lilly Rangel-Diaz, from Miami, Florida. He asked for Council members’ recommendations on potential candidates for the five remaining vacancies. He commented that Ms. Lida has been a very dynamic addition to the committee.

Mr. Aponte mentioned that a CDAC member suggested that the committee meet with other civil rights organizations to see if they will incorporate disability issues into their agendas. This will help the committee reach out to other culturally diverse groups and will market the type of broader work and issues that the committee wants to address. He noted that there is a long list of organizations and said the chairperson suggested inviting 10 major civil rights organizations for a roundtable discussion at the November quarterly meeting.

He said this is nothing new for the Council. The Council conducted a Think Tank Conference in 2000, sponsored in part by the National Urban League. In July 2000, the Council presented the first Justin Dart Award for Leadership to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Also, former Council member Hughey Walker attended several meetings with the White House Initiative for Asian-American and Pacific Islanders and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The Council needs to reach other culturally diverse groups that have received the benefits of its research. He hopes the November roundtable discussion that will be the first of a series of meetings.

Mr. Frieden introduced John Hager, husband of former Council member Maggie Hager, who is soon to be confirmed Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). OSERS includes the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitative Research (NIDRR), the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and Office on Special Education (OSE).

Mr. Hager said he is working with Andy Peppin and Troy Justesen [[explain who they are?]]doing what he can prior to his confirmation. He will be attending a joint conference with the Department of Commerce on Technology and the Application to Adaptive Technology for People with Disabilities.

Youth
Mr. Rodriguez reported that he attended a successful Youth Advisory Committee face-to-face meeting July 23 [Correct? Said “past Friday.”] in Arlington, Virginia. Sixty-one participants attended the meeting. The committee discussed the following topics: transition, being a youth or young child with disabilities, and going to high school and college. Mr. Frieden attended and addressed the group.

Mr. Rodriguez reported that eight representatives from the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services and the Social Security Administration attended the meeting and participated in the discussion. The information gathered from the meeting will help the committee develop its plan and will help with the paper it is writing currently.

He said the youth will be the next generation of advocates for the independence of people with disabilities.

Planning Session Review
Mr. Frieden said at the last Council meeting that we had the opportunity to review our progress and to give some input regarding future activities. The information is included in Council members’ notebooks.

Ms. Briggs said Mr. Frieden has submitted to Council members 13 areas that received the highest number of votes from the April meeting:

employment initiatives
department of disability, coordination, research, and cross agency
education-related initiatives
tax policy
business advisory council
cultural diversity advisory committee
youth advisory committee
demographic data
international watch
ADA Impact Study (beyond current study)
opportunities for leadership roles
terrorism
information services technology

Mr. Rosen said OMB has instructed every federal agency not to ask Congress for an increase above their passback. Nevertheless, the Council has a unique status as an advisory council; therefore, we can give Congress information on how we are serving our mandate.

The Council expressed a need for support from Congress for its ADA Impact Study. Congress was interested in funding it after the Council was able to show that it was the appropriate agency, in light of its mandate and expertise, to conduct that work. Congress gave the Council an additional $181,000.

Mr. Rosen said that for FY 2005, the Council is slated to go back to its FY 2003 funding, which is a decrease of $200,000. The Council’s FY 2006 funding also is based on FY 2003. There is ongoing communication with the House Appropriations Committee, which has drafted a bill. The Council will discuss how it can address these issues with the Appropriations Committee, particularly when it does not have a hearing before the committee.

Mr. Frieden said he had met with a member of the House who has been assigned for next year to the Appropriations Committee, and this staff person[[was it a House member or a staff person?]] asked specific questions about the Council’s work and gave some examples of how Appropriation Committee members from time to time provide a funding base to conduct certain important studies and projects.

Mr. Frieden said this member was quite interested in the work of Ms. Novak and her committee on de-institutionalization. The member was very concerned over the number of young people with disabilities in nursing homes and the number of older people who prefer to stay in their own homes rather than move to assisted living options.

Ms. Briggs stated that the Government Accounting Office (GAO) is getting ready to do a study on federal support programs for people with disabilities.

Recess
The meeting recessed at 3:37 p.m.

 MONDAY, JULY 26, 2004

The meeting reconvened at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Frieden welcomed the staff and asked Council members to introduce themselves.

PRESENTATION—John Wodatch, Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division
Mr. Wodatch said ADA is the same as it was in the beginning and that it was designed to open up all aspects of American life to people with disabilities. He said people with disabilities had to live by old ways of thinking for a long time. Buildings and attitudes made it difficult for them to get an education and jobs. Barriers in the environment prevented them from getting where they needed to go to build a better life.

He said much has been accomplished in the past 14 years. Attitudes are changing, barriers are coming down, the message of ADA is being heard, and the freedom to contribute to society as well as to enjoy the incredible opportunities society offers is being opened up to people with disabilities.

Despite these accomplishments, there is a long road ahead. People with disabilities are far more likely to be high school dropouts, poor, or unemployed and less likely to own a home, use a computer/Internet, or do something as important.

He noted that the Bush Administration formed the New Freedom Initiative to tackle these remaining challenges. The New Freedom Initiative shows the President and the administration how important it is to take steps to improve the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities.

DOJ has taken the President’s command seriously and is committed to the full integration of people with disabilities into the mainstream of American life. DOJ will not rest until people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to contribute to and benefit from this country’s free market economy.

In May, DOJ achieved a major victory in the Supreme Court case Tennessee v. Lane, which upheld the rights of individuals to bring ADA suits against states in cases implementing the fundamental right of access to the courts. Because of this case, private individuals may now bring lawsuits, including monetary damages, directly against state courts under Title II. The Court ruled that Title II of ADA was a proportional response to a pattern of unconstitutional behavior identified by Congress.

He noted, however, that the Court did not decide Title II was constitutional across the board; it limited its specific decisions to court systems.

He said the Court has looked at the entire history that Congress had before them, from 1988 to 1990 [[only 2 years: is the correct?]], when considering ADA. Issues such as voting, commitment procedures, institutional abuse and neglect, zoning, prisons, public education and the administration of justices were included and reviewed.

DOJ has been very busy since the Lane decision. In June and July, DOJ filed briefs in seven cases with five different circuit courts of appeals. The cases are in the states of Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, Missouri, and Texas and in the territory of Puerto Rico. In these cases, DOJ is arguing that the Supreme Court in Lane examines the historical record of unconstitutional discrimination by state governments against people with disabilities in the whole range of public services. Since the Court determined that the record was sufficient to justify the constitutionality of ADA, DOJ is arguing that ADA applies to other areas as well. These cases range from the institutionalization of persons with disabilities who would be better served in community settings to provision of accommodations for inmates with disabilities to the denial of equal opportunity in secondary schools and the provision of appropriate accommodations in a civil suit to defendants who are hard of hearing.

Mr. Wodatch said that a year from now, DOJ will conduct a discussion of how these cases are going.

He said Mr. Acosta [[Identify Mr. Acosta?]] is trying to make a case for the business community to view people with disabilities not as legal liabilities but as customers. There has been a series of meetings nationwide to address these issues with businesses. He thanked Mr. Frieden for hosting the Houston meeting.

Mr. Wodatch said DOJ tries to bring together big and small businesses and leaders from the disability community. The sessions are conducted in informal settings to break down barriers to discussing issues of importance to people with disabilities.

He said there is a three-way collaboration on accessible Web site design. The Business Technology Consulting Firm, a large technology corporation, and the Disabilities Technical Assistance Corporation designed a competition for Houston that will encourage Houston businesses to create accessible Web sites.

Many small businesses are not aware of the tax credit available to them for making changes to their physical plant or for providing interpreters or materials in Braille. DOJ has created a Web site (www.ada.gov) that supports these activities around ADA. The DOJ Web site is well developed; it received 24 million hits last year and 36 million hits so far this year. It supports a telephone information line that receives about 120,000 calls per year

Mr. Wodatch noted that accessible technology is an issue of concern to DOJ. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which applies to the Federal Government, requires DOJ to procure only accessible information technology and to make sure that its Web sites are accessible. The Access Board and GSA have a larger role, and DOJ is working with them to ensure that all federal agencies are accessible. DOJ is required to do a study every two years on Section 508.

Voting is another issue affected by accessible technology. Two major federal statues relate to the issue of accessible voting: ADA and the American Voter Act. In January 2006, a machine that allows everyone to vote privately and independently will be required in every precinct of the United States. Such technology will enable people with visual impairments and other disabilities to vote unassisted. DOJ has published an ADA checklist that jurisdictions can use to ensure that their polling places are accessible.

During the 2003 calendar year, DOJ won tangible results for people with disabilities in more than 350 cases, including formal settlements, informal resolutions, and complaints. DOJ has enacted a mediation program that is very successful. When the mediation program cannot bring about voluntary compliance, DOJ usually files suit.

DOJ’s mediation program has received many complaints of discrimination. People think that DOJ has the resources to handle every compliant received. One of the most difficult parts of his job is reading complaints of people who have a problem and having no resources to deal with them.

He said since the President signed an Executive Order requiring the Federal Government to take measures to implement the Olmstead decision, DOJ has initiated 20 investigations in Olmstead matters, involving 23 facilities: eight psychiatric hospitals, five facilities for persons with developmental disabilities, nine nursing homes, and a residential school for children with autism.
He concluded that under ADA and the New Freedom Initiative, wonderful first steps have been taken toward making America an accessible place and including people with disabilities in our daily lives.

Finance Committee Report
Mr. Wenzel asked Council members to look at tab seven in their notebooks for the report. The report includes the Council’s latest budget figures and shows its obligations for the current year. There are two months remaining in FY 2004. The Council is 80 percent through its fiscal year, having obligated 60 percent of its budget. Mr. Wenzel said the Council is on target, and he does not foresee any issues with this year’s budget.

The FY 2005 budget has not been passed, and the Council will probably be funded through a continuing resolution.

Mr. Hill said that under a continuing resolution, an agency’s budget typically is based on the most recent fiscal year. Funds are allocated only to keep an agency going.

Mr. Holland reported that a draft the status of the Council’s audit was sent to Council members. He said there have been some difficulties obtaining information for the auditor from the GSA financial center. Most of the information has been obtained, however, and the Council’s final audit report will be completed within a week. The Council will be receiving an unqualified opinion with no major issues.

GSA has been going through some changes in its accounting system that have given rise to various issues. Those changes have changed many clients’ figures. The changes have made it necessary for the auditors to go back over the Council’s entire financial statement. The auditors will be returning in August to continue their two-year contract with the Council.

Mr. Wenzel said copies of the FY 2006 budget justification were submitted to Council members, showing for that year.

Mr. Holland said the Council received a slight increase for FY 2004, and the request for FY 2005 was to meet its needs and was in line with guidance from OMB. For FY 2006, the initial guidance has been that all agencies will receive a 2.5 percent reduction in their budgets. The Council requested $2.87 million for FY 2005, and under OMB’s initial guidance from OMB, it might expect a cut for FY 2006.

He added that 24 percent of the Council’s budget is in programming areas, which does not include salaries for Council members and staff.

Motion 4
Mr. Wenzel moved for the acceptance of the FY 2006 budget request to OMB. Passed.

Unfinished Business
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA)
Ms. Gillcrist reported that only two individuals voted to continue to work or fund the completion of the CRIPA report. The majority voted to discuss the report during the July Council meeting.

Ms. Pound said she felt the information in the report could be incorporated into other things the Council was doing. She suggested looking at differently, considering whether it will still satisfy the needs of its target population as the Olmstead report did.

Ms. Gillcrist said that institutionalized individuals have no voice, have no civil rights, and are cut off from the world. The Council should to support and focus on these individuals.

Mr. Rosen said the original contractor, Tony Records, has agreed to relinquish the remainder of his contract so that the Council can complete the project with another contractor. Dr. Gerrie Hawkins has been acquiring data and other information from DOJ since February 2004. The Council will be able to use these updated data in its report.

Dr. Kahn said he is concerned about staff time and the problems that have arisen around the CRIPA report. He suggested having a Council member chair each project and give regular reports at Council meetings.

Mr. Frieden said the CRIPA report is an anomaly. It began a few years ago under the previous Council. It had a team at one point, but there was no transition from the last Council to the present one. The Council tried but failed to tie the project to an ad hoc committee or something similar. He continued that the Council has decided to ensure that papers and projects are associated with a team and fall under the purview of that team. He said projects should not be floating without Council members assigned to them, either as a committee or a team.

Mr. Rosen said he had in mind two attorneys with expertise in this area who had assisted the Council with the Fair Housing report. The costs, however, would be around $20,000.

Mr. Holland said the lost funds of $9,000 can be used for a replacement contract to work on the same issues. If the Council decides not to replace that contract, however, the $9,000 cannot be used for another project.

Motion 5
Mr. Martinez moved to support the suggested contractors and to add the $11,000 to complete the CRIPA Report. Passed.

New Business
Information Technology and Services Paper
Ms. Pound reported that at the May quarterly meeting, during the discussion of priorities, she had mentioned issues that involved technology and its use—not access to information technology, but identifying the policies that arise out of how people with disabilities are using technology. She suggested the Council support a paper that would gather information on innovative uses of technology and detail policy issues that might arise from them. The Council could use that information to show the direction of technology and some of the policy issues that it might want to consider in the future.

She said she and Ms. Novak have worked on this issue. A contractor, Steve Jacobs, was selected. He did the market portion as a subcontractor of the universal design project and has submitted an outline for the paper to Julie Carroll. They both [[Pound and Novak? Pound and Carroll?]]have reviewed the outline and were pleased with it. Ms. Pound ask that members send suggestions to her and Ms. Carroll.

Motion 6
Ms. Pound moved for the approval of the Council to move forward with the Information Technology and Services Paper. Passed.

Announcements
Mr. Frieden acknowledged and welcomed former Council member Dr. George Oberle. Dr. Oberle thanked everyone for a wonderful evening at the Kennedy Center. He encouraged future events of this nature.

Ms. Briggs stated that the November quarterly meeting is scheduled for November 29 and 30 at the Washington Renaissance Hotel.

Mr. Frieden conducted a brief discussion of the ADA event at the Kennedy Center.

Public Comments
Mr. Frieden thanked the members of the public, such as Ms. Brill, who have been attending the Council’s quarterly meetings held in the Washington metropolitan area. He also welcomed Mr. Seifert, who was visiting from Ohio, and asked if they would like to make any comments.

Motion 7
Mr. Aponte moved to adjourn the Council meeting. Passed.

Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 12:00 noon.