National Disability Policy: A Progress Report
November 1999-November 2000
June 14, 2001
National Council on Disability
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1050
Washington, DC 20004-1107
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202-272-2074 TTY
202-272-2022 Fax
This report is also available in alternative formats
and on NCD's award-winning Web site (www.ncd.gov).
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
June 14, 2001
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
On behalf of the National Council on Disability (NCD),
I am pleased to submit NCD's National Disability Policy: A Progress
Report, as required by Section 401 (b)(1) of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended. The report uses as benchmarks the recommendations
for change made by disability leaders from throughout the country
and captured in the 1996 NCD document Achieving Independence. These
recommendations--elaborated upon in the ensuing annual Progress
Reports--reflect a wide array of public policy areas designed to
advance inclusion, empowerment, and independence of people with
disabilities of all ages from diverse backgrounds consistent with
the vision of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
The attached report covers the period November 1999
through November 2000, the end of the 2nd Session of the 106th Congress.
It reviews federal policy activities by major issue areas, noting
progress where it has occurred and making further recommendations
where necessary. The recommendations apply to the executive and
legislative branches of the Federal Government.
NCD believes that Americans with disabilities have
witnessed incremental expansion of self-sufficiency and inclusion
this past year. However, far too much of our time is spent in defending
the bedrock civil and human rights protections of the past 30 years
against attempts to weaken laws such as ADA and the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act. The change in responsibility for
the development of policy and program implementation from the Federal
Government to state government offers opportunities for innovation.
At the same time it adds tension and complexities to policy for
people with disabilities who rely on such programs, rather than
ensuring their promise.
In your New Freedom Initiative, you laid out a blueprint
to increase investment in and access to assistive technologies and
a high-quality education, and to help integrate Americans with disabilities
into the workforce and into community life. This initiative comes
at a time when many disability advocates are expressing concern
about the future of disability policy. NCD will work with the your
administration and Congress to ensure that every individual with
a disability has access to the American dream.
With strong, representative, and experienced leadership
and open, ongoing input from the disability community, the challenge
to make the most of the opportunities facing us at the start of
your new Administration can be met. NCD has completed civil rights
policy evaluations over the past several years directly related
to the disability policy areas addressed in the New Freedom Initiative.
We have also submitted to you NCD's transition recommendations in
a document entitled Investing in Independence:
Transition Recommendations for President George W. Bush
related to your New Freedom Initiative. NCD invites you and your
Administration to draw on the research and studies conducted by
our agency for information on how and where executive agencies can
act to the maximum benefit of their consumers.
NCD stands ready to work with you and stakeholders
inside and outside the government to see that the public policy
agenda set out in the attached report, in Achieving Independence,
in a series of civil rights monitoring studies published as NCD
reports, and in the New Freedom Initiative is implemented.
Sincerely,
Marca Bristo
Chairperson
(The same letter of transmittal was sent to the President
Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate and the Speaker of the U.S. House
of Representatives.)
National Council on Disability
Members and Staff
Members
Marca Bristo, Chairperson
Hughey Walker, First Vice Chairperson
Kate Pew Wolters, Second Vice Chairperson
Yerker Andersson, Ph.D.
Dave N. Brown
Edward Correia
John D. Kemp
Audrey McCrimon
Gina McDonald
Bonnie O'Day, Ph.D.
Lilliam Rangel-Diaz
Debra Robinson
Gerald S. Segal
Ela Yazzie-King
Staff
Ethel D. Briggs, Executive Director
Jeffrey T. Rosen, General Counsel and Director of Policy
Mark S. Quigley, Director of Communications
Kathleen A. Blank, Attorney/Adviser
Gerrie Drake Hawkins, Ph.D., Program Specialist
Martin Gould, Ed.D., Research Specialist
Pamela O'Leary, Interpreter
Allan W. Holland, Accountant Officer
Brenda Bratton, Executive Secretary
Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant
Carla Nelson, Office Assistant
Edward J. Heaton, Fellow
Dedication
Dedicated to Rae Unzicker, whose service as a member
of the National Council on Disability from 1995 to her death on
March 22, 2001, helped to significantly advance the issues of people
with disabilities, particularly those with psychiatric disabilities.
We have been blessed and enlightened by Rae's fierce and unwavering
passion in supporting the rights of people with psychiatric disabilities
to exercise free choice in all aspects of their lives.
Foreword
A number of significant disability policy events occurred
outside the time period covered by this report but before the report
went to press. We would be remiss in not briefly mentioning those
events now. On January 20, 2001, the new administration issued a
memorandum to all federal agencies indicating the possibility of
delays in implementation of last-minute executive orders or eleventh
hour regulation making attempted by the Clinton administration.
Some of these orders and regulations affect people with disabilities.
On February 1, 2001, President George W. Bush released
his New Freedom Initiative, which lays out a blueprint to increase
investment in and access to assistive technologies and a high-quality
education and to help integrate Americans with disabilities into
the workforce and into community life. On February 21, in a 5 to
4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in University of Alabama
v. Garrett (No. 99-1240) that state workers cannot file employment
discrimination suits for money damages against state governments
under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
The majority opinion, written by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist,
said that the evidence of state discrimination against people with
disabilities assembled by Congress when it passed ADA was insufficient
to establish its authority to allow workers to sue their state employers
for damages. We will present much more in-depth information about
those events in NCD's next Progress Report.
Contents
Executive Summary
PART I
Introduction
Disability Statistics and Research
Civil Rights
Education
Health Care
Long-Term Services and Supports
Youth
Employment
Welfare Reform
Housing
Transportation
Technology and Telecommunications
International Issues
Conclusion
PART II
Major Activities Summary--FY 2000
Appendix
Mission of the National Council on Disability
Executive Summary
In 2000, America celebrated the 10th anniversary of
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 25th anniversary
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). From
the vantage point of these milestones, America has reason to be
proud. Americans used these two anniversaries to launch hundreds
of outstanding ADA birthday events. A two-day celebration in the
Washington, DC, area included events on Capitol Hill, the FDR Memorial,
Gallaudet University, and the Endependence Center of Northern Virginia.
The Washington events were part of a national "Spirit of ADA" Torch
Relay, covering 24 U.S. cities, that commemorated the two important
anniversaries. The torch, which began its journey June 11 in Houston,
entered the nation's capital on July 25 and departed for destinations
along the northeastern seaboard on July 27.
Yet looking at the gap between the experiences of
Americans with disabilities and the standards established by civil
rights laws makes it clear that much more remains to be accomplished.
As a result of its policy work in fiscal year 2000--including a
series of civil rights evaluations, leadership summits, and grassroots
community briefings--the National Council on Disability (NCD) has
confirmed that despite great strides toward equality, people with
disabilities still confront major barriers of discrimination and
suffer the consequences of weak federal enforcement. These result
in outcomes such as these:
- National rates for high school graduation with
a diploma for students who receive special education and related
services have stagnated at 27 percent for the past three years,
while rates are 75 percent for students who do not rely on special
education.
- Unemployment rates for working-age adults with
disabilities have hovered at the 70 percent level for at least
the past 12 years, while rates are in the low single digits for
working-age adults without disabilities.
- Home ownership rates for people with disabilities
are in the single digits, while rates for people without disabilities
are about 71 percent.
- Computer use and Internet access of people with
disabilities is half that of people without disabilities.
Because of the persistency of these barriers to equal
opportunity, NCD believes that the President and Congress must set
a standard of greater federal commitment to deliver on the promises
of disability and other civil and human rights laws. The candidates
in the recent presidential campaign recognized the importance of
including people with disabilities in the nation's agenda by directly
addressing their issues in an unprecedented way. In various campaign
speeches and in his New Freedom Initiative, then-Governor George
W. Bush articulated a number of specific proposals for greatly expanded
resources for technology assistance, high-quality education, innovative
transportation programs, and a promise of strong enforcement of
ADA, among other things. The vitality of ADA, IDEA, Sections 504
and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act, and other
critical civil rights laws depends in large measure on the long-term
vision and leadership of the Federal Government.
During the past year, America celebrated the anniversary
of two cornerstone and foundational disability civil rights statutes--IDEA
and ADA. In addition, Congress considered a number of disability-related
laws and enacted a few of them.
IDEA
In 1975, when Congress enacted the Education for All
Handicapped Children Act, P.L. 94-142 (now titled Part B of IDEA),
it found that the special education needs of more than eight million
students with disabilities were not being met. Some students were
entirely excluded from school; others were not receiving an appropriate
education; still others had unidentified disabilities or were misclassified.
Of those who did receive educational services, many were educated
far away from their local schools (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400(b)(1)-(6)).
Still, Congress recognized that educators had the ability to instruct
these students (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400(b)(7)).
In the more than two decades since its enactment,
IDEA implementation has produced important improvements in the quality
and effectiveness of the public education received by millions of
American children with disabilities. IDEA's basic premise is that
all children with disabilities have a federally protected civil
right to have available to them a free appropriate public education
that meets their schooling and related service needs in the least
restrictive environment, in regular classes, and in the school they
would attend if not disabled. Today almost six million children
and young people with disabilities ages 3 through 21 qualify for
educational interventions under Part B of IDEA. Some of these students
are being educated in their neighborhood schools in regular classrooms.
These children have a right to appropriate support services and
devices such as assistive listening systems, braille textbooks,
paraprofessional supports, curricular modifications, talking computers,
and speech synthesizers, made available to them as needed to facilitate
their learning side-by-side with their nondisabled peers.
In January 2000, NCD released its evaluation of nearly
two and a half decades of federal enforcement of IDEA. Entitled
Back to School on Civil Rights,
this report analyzed the data contained in the Department of Education's
state monitoring reports from 1975 to 1998 to determine what has
been happening over time. The study measured compliance in the areas
of free appropriate public education (FAPE), least restrictive environment
(LRE), individualized education plans (IEPs), transition services,
general supervision, procedural safeguards, and protection in evaluation
of students with disabilities.
Back to School on
Civil Rights reports that all states and the District of
Columbia were found to be out of compliance with IDEA requirements
to some degree. Federal efforts over several administrations to
enforce IDEA in states where noncompliance persists were found to
be inconsistent, often ineffective, and without any real teeth.
While the statutory framework of IDEA envisioned states as the primary
implementers of IDEA, the Federal Government has fallen short over
five administrations in its efforts to ensure that the protections
of the law for children with disabilities are enforced. This study
confirmed what students with disabilities and their parents have
repeatedly told NCD--that while they are enthusiastic supporters
of IDEA, noncompliance with the law has persisted in some states
over many years, placing enormous burdens on children and families.
As the nation celebrates 25 years of IDEA implementation,
it is important to note that Congress crafted a statute in 1975
that, if faithfully implemented and enforced, will consistently
produce quality outcomes for students with disabilities. It is also
important to note that parents of children with disabilities are
enthusiastic supporters of the law. They think it is a good law.
ADA
On July 26, 2000, the nation celebrated the 10th anniversary
of ADA. In the years since its enactment, great strides have been
made in accessing equal opportunity for Americans with disabilities
and their families. That is because ADA--along with other advances
in the law, health care, education, and technology--is enabling
many Americans with disabilities to be more active in the community.
This is good news, not only for people with disabilities but also
for our entire nation.
As intended, ADA has helped to remove many of the
physical and attitudinal barriers that have prevented Americans
with disabilities from reaching their full potential. It has also
focused the attention of public officials and private citizens on
the importance of making sure that communities do not overlook or
lose out on the talent of any person. So, as we mark the 10th anniversary
of ADA, we can truly celebrate how far we have come in ending discrimination
and tapping the skills and energy of Americans with disabilities.
Nevertheless, threats to the vitality and rigor of ADA cannot be
ignored.
During the year 2000, NCD released its report entitled
Promises to Keep: A Decade of Federal
Enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This
report concluded that the overall impact of ADA has been diminished
by a lack of sufficient leadership in developing a vision for ADA
enforcement across the various federal agencies. NCD's main conclusion
was that chronic underfunding and understaffing of responsible agencies,
undue caution, and the absence of a coherent strategy have undermined
federal enforcement of ADA in its first decade. NCD also concluded
that:
- Although Congress has recently increased funding
for some agencies' ADA enforcement activities, the long period
of inadequate funding by Congress has reduced the effectiveness
of ADA.
- The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not exercised
enough oversight in tracking Title I complaints, and other agencies
have not sufficiently cooperated with DOJ in preparing and referring
cases that would advance the interpretation of ADA.
NCD's recommendations include robust and assertive
leadership by the Federal Government spearheaded by DOJ in developing
a coherent national strategy for enforcement in implementing ADA,
and strengthening ADA discrimination complaint handling by the Departments
of Justice and Transportation, the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, and ADA Title II referral agencies.
On the judicial front, in October 2000, a long standing
controversy over the constitutional basis of ADA as applied to states
led the Supreme Court to hear the issues in University of Alabama
v. Garrett. In Garrett, Alabama argued that ADA does
not meet the criteria for Fourteenth Amendment protection on two
grounds: (1) Congress lacked enough evidence of states' failure
to extend equal protection of the law to people with disabilities
and (2) the requirements of ADA were not a proportionate response
to the problem the statute addresses. In late September 2000, the
Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari for PGA Tour, Inc.
v. Casey Martin. The PGA Tour is arguing that Title III does
not apply to people competing in a professional sports event and
that, even if it did, ADA does not require the competition to be
"fundamentally altered" by allowing different competitors to play
by different substantive rules. In deciding these cases, the Supreme
Court will fundamentally shape the federal judiciary's interpretation
of the breadth and reach of ADA in our lifetimes.
In Congress, several amendments to ADA were proposed.
The ADA Notification Act (H.R.3590) would have required people alleging
a Title III violation to provide 90 days notice prior to filing
a lawsuit and would impose penalties if the rule were not followed.
H.R. 3590 was referred to committee. A second bill introduced in
the House (H.R. 3170) would have amended ADA (among other civil
rights laws) to eliminate protections for individuals unlawfully
present in the United States by excluding them from the definition
of "employee" with regard to employment in the United States. It
also was referred to committee. A third bill, introduced in both
the House (H.R. 3836) and the Senate (S. 1922), would have facilitated
ADA compliance by modifying the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
provide a tax credit for modifications to intercity buses making
them accessible as required under ADA. Both the ADA notification
bill and the exclusion of undocumented workers bill would perpetuate
disability discrimination by minimizing or eliminating the consequences
of persistent noncompliance.
As Americans mark the 10th anniversary of ADA, we
can truly celebrate how far we have come in ending discrimination
and tapping the skills and energy of Americans with disabilities.
On the other hand, we still have a lot of vital work ahead of us
if the spirit and intent of ADA are to be realized.
Census 2000
Preliminary indications are that the undercount problem
for certain population groups has improved from the 1990 census
to last year's national count. It remains to be seen whether and
to what degree this improvement has occurred for African Americans,
Latinos, Native Americans, children under 18, and people with disabilities.
The Census Bureau is expected to release its preliminary analyses
of this issue during the first quarter of 2001.
Hate Crimes
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999, introduced
in both the House (H.R. 77) and the Senate (S. 622), would extend
the present hate crimes statutes to cover disability, gender, and
sexual orientation. The Act would have allowed federal officials
to prosecute hate crimes even when the victim is not engaged in
"federally protected activity." These bills were referred to subcommittee
in both the House and Senate.
Genetic Discrimination
Two separate measures were introduced in the House
and Senate to prohibit discrimination against individuals and their
family members on the basis of genetic information. The first measure
was the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance
Act of 1999 (H.R. 306 and S. 543); the second measure was the Genetic
Discrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act of 1999 (H.R.
2457 and S. 1322). No hearings were held on either measure.
Voting Accessibility
A bill to amend the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly
and Handicapped Act was introduced in the Senate in early 1999.
The amendments provided for ensuring that all polling methods used
for federal elections are accessible to disabled and elderly voters.
The bill was referred to Senate committee.
Protections in Managed Care
Legislation to protect the rights of all people with
disabilities and their families who need access to quality health
care was introduced but not enacted by the 106th Congress. The primary
area of controversy among proponents and opponents continues to
focus on how to define and who determines "medical necessity."
Long-Term Services and Supports
A series of promising events have occurred in this
area. First, in 1999, the Supreme Court affirmed the Americans with
Disabilities Act's integration mandate under Title II in Olmstead
v. L. C., 119 S.Ct. 2176 (1999) by declaring unnecessary segregation
and institutionalization of people with disabilities a form of discrimination.
Second, as a result of Olmstead, the Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) has offered grant and demonstration programs
as well as technical assistance to states to develop plans for implementing
Olmstead. Third, legislators introduced several bills, including
the Family Opportunity Act and the Older Americans Act Amendments
of 2000, to create more avenues for accessing community-based supports
necessary to meet the Olmstead mandate.
MiCASSA
In November 1999, the Medicaid Community Attendant
Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA)(S. 1935), was referred to committee,
where it remains. MiCASSA, which proposes to amend Title XIX of
the Social Security Act, would provide coverage for community attendant
services and supports under the Medicaid program. This bill would
allow the dollars to follow the person and would allow eligible
individuals, or their representatives, to choose where they would
receive services and supports. Any individual who is entitled to
nursing home or other institutional services would have the choice
of where and how these services are provided. The millions of Americans
currently residing in nursing homes and other institutions would
finally have a viable option.
Youth
From a national perspective, the post-school outcomes
for many of our youth and young adults with disabilities remain
poor, despite a number of advances realized by other people through
education, disability rights policy, the support of federal mandates,
and the funding of programs and initiatives intended to affect all
youth. Among the changes needed to address these serious issues
is a serious and protracted emphasis by government at all levels
on the positive skills and attributes of youth with disabilities,
and the promotion of business involvement in the educational lives
of students with disabilities.
Outreach to Diverse Cultural Groups
For a large segment of the population, particularly
those from diverse racial, cultural, and ethnic communities, exclusion
continues to hinder their participation in all aspects of American
society. Years of model programs, technical assistance, and other
federal initiatives have left unchanged the status of the most disenfranchised--people
with disabilities from diverse cultures. Overall concerns include
(1) unequal protection and benefits under the same federal laws
that have seen at least some level of implementation for the larger
disability community and (2) the persistence of dual discrimination
as a barrier to people with disabilities from diverse cultures.
The President signed an Executive Order in 1999 establishing
a 15-member Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
The commission studied ways to increase public sector, private sector,
and community involvement in improving the health and well-being
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; increase their participation
in federal programs where they may be underserved; and foster research
and data collection, including information on public health.
Employment
The Federal Government undertook a number of initiatives
this year. Some initiatives focused on removing disincentives to
work through the use of certain Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
and Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) benefits, through
the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA);
some, such as the administration's Digital Divide Initiative, involved
the use of new assistive technology or information technology programs.
It is too early to tell what, if any, impact these initiatives will
have on the unacceptably high rate of unemployment among people
with disabilities. Along with other key agencies, the Presidential
Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities worked to ensure
that in the FY 2001 budget, Congress approved a new Office of Disability
Employment Policy for the Department of Labor. Programs and staff
of the former President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities have been integrated into this new office.
Housing
During the past decade, the lack of affordable and
accessible housing has reached crisis proportions. According to
the Department of Housing and Urban Development's most recent Annual
Performance Report, estimates of home ownership indicate that only
2 percent of people with disabilities are homeowners and less than
5 percent of the 6.5 million people with disabilities living on
SSI and SSDI are homeowners. In addition, the availability, affordability,
and accessibility of the nation's housing/rental stock is in jeopardy.
Both the administration and Congress provided increases in the budget.
Transportation
Progress was noted in several areas of transportation
this year. In March 2000, Congress enacted the Wendell H. Ford Aviation
Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, containing important
changes to the Federal Aviation Act (FA Act) and the Air Carrier
Access Act (ACAA). These changes strengthened the mandates of nondiscrimination
against air travelers with disabilities in both laws. In late summer
2000, the Office of the Inspector General initiated an air travel
customer survey to determine how well the airline industry has fulfilled
its pledge to meet higher customer service standards.
The Department of Justice entered a settlement agreement
with Greyhound last year that obliges intercity or over-the-road
bus (OTRB) services to put more accessible buses (equipped with
operating lifts and other boarding devices) with properly trained
operators on the road. Despite progress in the Greyhound case, however,
persistent noncompliance perpetuates accessibility problems in many
communities.
Technology
The Federal Government and Congress have undertaken
a number of efforts to promote the development of new, accessible
technology. These efforts include conducting a government-wide review
of assistive technology activities; completing the work of the Web-based
Education Commission; issuing new standards and regulations for
electronic and information technology; securing commitments from
technology companies, research firms, and nonprofit organizations
to improve the accessibility and affordability of technology for
people with disabilities; and the release of a DOJ report, Information
Technology and People with Disabilities: The Current State of Federal
Accessibility, that required self-reports from federal agencies
detailing the extent to which agency electronic and information
technology is accessible to, and usable by, people with disabilities.
International
In February, the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) released its second annual report on the implementation
of the USAID disability policy first announced in 1998. The second
annual report looked at the policy recommendations from 1998 to
assess to what extent they had been implemented in 1999. The report
stated that overall efforts to promote USAID's disability policy
"have been disjointed and minimally effective despite some areas
of internal support."
The United Nations held a Special Session of the General
Assembly June 5-9, 2000, (known as Beijing+5) to follow up on the
Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995.
Member governments in attendance reaffirmed their commitments to
the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action adopted to reduce
the gap in equality between men and women that causes higher rates
of infant mortality and higher levels of malnutrition. The final
report of Beijing+5 recognized the need to address the concerns
of women with disabilities in all policymaking and programming,
including "special measures at all levels" to integrate women with
disabilities "into the mainstream of development." Overall, the
worldwide movement toward full inclusion and independence of people
with disabilities has sparked a renewed call for an international
convention on the human rights of people with disabilities. International
disability organizations explored the usefulness of such a convention
in promoting the goals of inclusion at the Rehabilitation International
XIX World Congress held in Rio de Janeiro August 25-29, 2000.
In summary, NCD believes that Americans with disabilities
have witnessed an incremental expansion of self-sufficiency and
inclusion this past year. However, far too much of their time is
spent defending the bedrock civil and human rights protections of
the past 30 years against attempts to weaken laws such as ADA and
IDEA. The shift in responsibility for the development of policy
and program implementation from federal to state government may
offer opportunities for innovation. At the same time, however, it
adds tension and complexities to policies for people with disabilities
who rely on such programs as Social Security benefits, vocational
rehabilitation, Medicaid, Medicare, special education, and workforce
development.
PART I Introduction
At the dawn of a new millennium, many Americans are
reevaluating how they live, learn, work, and play. It is a natural
time to question whether policies, programs, products, and practices
that empower and include Americans with disabilities characterize
the public and private systems that provide services.
During the second half of the past century, developments
in public policy led to unprecedented statutory affirmation of the
civil rights of people with disabilities, raising expectations of
access, inclusion, and participation in the mainstream of American
society. NCD believes that now is the time to transform systems
to make good on the promise.
Part I of this document, which updates the Progress
Report issued by NCD in 1999, will describe significant policy developments
in the past year and offer recommendations for the President and
the members of the 107th Congress of the United States of America.
Part II of the document will describe significant
accomplishments of NCD and represents, in effect, NCD's Annual Report
to the U.S. Congress.
Disability Statistics and Research
1. Census 2000
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a
complete accounting of every resident in the United States. Individuals
with disabilities will be affected if the 2000 Census is inaccurate.
Census data are used by educators, policymakers, and community leaders
and directly affect funding for many programs critical to individuals
with disabilities, including programs for health care, transportation,
employment training, and housing. Federal, state, and county governments
use Census information to guide the annual distribution of $180
billion in critical services. Census information is used by state
and county agencies to plan for eligible recipients under the Medicare,
Medicaid, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs; to distribute
funds and develop programs for people with disabilities and the
elderly under the Rehabilitation Act; to distribute funds for housing
for people with disabilities under the Housing and Urban Development
Act; to allocate funds to states and local areas for employment
and job training programs for veterans under the Job Training Partnership
Act, Disabled Veterans Outreach Programs; to ensure that comparable
public transportation services are available for all segments of
the population; to award federal grants under the Older Americans
Act based on the number of elderly people with physical and mental
disabilities; to allocate funds for mass transit systems to provide
facilities for disabled persons under the Federal Transit Act; for
a collection of job development services for disabled veterans,
including counseling, job training, and placement services under
the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program; to provide housing assistance
and supportive services for low-income persons with HIV/AIDS and
their families under the Housing Opportunities for Persons with
AIDS program; and for Special Education Preschool Grants that make
available special education for children ages 3 through 5.
Census questions about disability are designed to
provide information that helps to define disability as a limitation
in the ability to perform one or more major life activities. The
two disability items included in Census 2000 aim to obtain information
about health conditions that limit an individual in activities such
as working at a job, going outside the home alone, and taking care
of personal needs such as bathing, dressing or getting around inside
the home. The individual activities are themselves of interest,
and Census officials believe that the ability to identify persons
with a limitation in one or more activities helps determine a valid
overall measure of disability status. The two disability questions
contained in Census 2000 were newly designed to address acknowledged
shortcomings in the two disability questions contained in Census
1990.
NCD recommends that the U.S. Census Bureau immediately
identify whether or not the newly redesigned Census 2000 disability
questions corrected the shortcomings of the Census 1990 disability
questions, and make that determination public.
It is reported on the Census Bureau Web site that
Census 2000 data will be disseminated mainly using a new data retrieval
system called the American FactFinder (AFF). Census 2000 data products
are expected to be available beginning January 2001. The Census
Bureau reports that the AFF will be accessible to the widest possible
array of users through the Internet, including nearly 1,800 State
Data Centers and affiliates; 1,400 federal depository libraries,
and other libraries, universities, and private organizations. The
AFF will locate and retrieve the information needed at the location
of choice from some of the largest census databases. The American
FactFinder is available directly from the Census Bureau's Web site
(http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet).
NCD recommends that the U.S. Census Bureau verify
that the AFF is accessible to people with disabilities, and that
the Bureau not post any Census 2000 data products on its Web site
until such time as the AFF (or some alternative search tool) is
deemed accessible.
Materials that the Census Bureau disseminates to the
public on its census activities generally do not list any text telephone
(TTY, also referred to as TDD) numbers or contain any information
on the Relay Services. For example, the telephone numbers listed
in the Census Bureau's guide on the Census 2000 and the Census in
Schools Project are voice numbers only. It appears that the Census
Bureau makes information on its TTY numbers available in just a
few of its publications, as in its guide entitled People with Disabilities
Answer the Census. Such segregation of telecommunications information
may not only cause difficulty for people with disabilities in contacting
the Census Bureau, it could also detract from the public's perception
of the Census Bureau's commitment to the full participation of people
with disabilities in Census 2000.
NCD recommends that any telephone numbers that
the U.S. Census Bureau generally publicizes for information or assistance
in its print, electronic, television, and other media outlets should
always be accompanied by TTY or Relay information to ensure that
"We All Count." Furthermore, the Census Bureau should regularly
test its public TTY numbers to ensure that all calls from TTY users
are promptly answered. Finally, the Census Bureau should also ensure
that its Telephone Questionnaire Assistance program operators are
trained on telecommunications accessibility and that such information
is provided to the public as part of the Bureau's program activities.
2. Research Challenges
The United States has a variety of databases--national,
state and private--on people with disabilities. The collection of
data and research on people with disabilities has made incremental
progress, at best, over the past year. As mentioned above, Census
2000 data products that will become available may shed light on
the status of millions of Americans with disabilities. In addition,
the Clinton administration has shown marked research interest in
the areas of assistive technology and information technology. On
the other hand, some current and major methods used to track employment
changes over time (e.g., the Current Population Survey or CPS),
according to key government researchers, are not appropriate tools
to use to measure employment of people with disabilities over time.
For example, there are no questions in the CPS that identify the
group that is commonly thought of as the disability population.
To attribute any change (increase or decline) to a specific statute
or federal agency when there are no data from the survey that would
provide empirical evidence linking the decline to that specific
agency or statute is a common flaw. Therefore, because current CPS
questions do not provide a valid measure of the disability population
in the first place, researchers' conclusions about the employment
rate trend for the disabled population and its underlying causes
are not empirically supported. Nevertheless, federal funding is
still supporting the production of research reports regarding employment
of people with disabilities that rely exclusively on CPS data. This
misplaced reliance is occurring despite the fact that the Presidential
Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities was specifically
charged with the design and implementation of a statistically reliable
and accurate method to measure the employment rate of adults with
disabilities as soon as possible but no later than July 2002, the
date of termination of the task force. Data derived from this methodology
shall be published on as frequent a basis as possible.
NCD strongly recommends that the administration
support the work of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of
Adults with Disabilities and its collaborating agencies in the design
and implementation of a statistically reliable and accurate method
to measure the employment rate of adults with disabilities.
Our democracy and economy demand that public and private
leaders have unbiased, relevant, accurate, and timely information
on which to base critical decisions that have significant impact
on the lives of Americans. The U.S. federal statistical system comprises
some 70 agencies that collect, analyze, and disseminate information
for use by governments, businesses, researchers, and the public.
Statistics produced by the Federal Government on demographic, economic,
and social conditions and trends are essential to inform decisions
that are made by virtually every organization and household.
NCD strongly recommends that Congress conduct an
extensive review of the scope and quality of federal disability
statistical research activity under the aegis of the congressionally
mandated Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. The goal would
be to ensure that the principal statistical agencies continue to
extend their collaborative endeavors to improve the overall performance
and efficiency of the federal statistical system as it relates to,
and includes, 54 million Americans with disabilities. NCD also strongly
recommends that federal agencies review their current research-funded
grants and contracts to ensure that research reports regarding employment
of people with disabilities do not use unreliable databases (e.g.,
the CPS).
Civil Rights
1. ADA--10 Years Later
In July 2000, celebrations around the country marked
the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
These celebrations hailed the many gains for people with disabilities
over the past 10 years, while recalling the sober reality of the
many remaining barriers. While city streets in most places are more
accessible than ever before, public transportation in many places
remains inaccessible, unreliable, inconvenient, or untimely in varying
degrees. Millions of people using wheelchairs now have barrier-free
entry to more buildings. It should be noted that much more work
needs to be done, particularly for people with cognitive or mental
impairments, who continue to fight for accessible programs offered
to the public by both public and private entities. The victory celebration
was decidedly mixed, as this year also brought the most aggressive
court battles against ADA to date.
Recognizing the need to address these ongoing barriers,
the Clinton administration issued a flurry of executive orders and
regulations in commemoration of ADA's 10th anniversary. These measures
included increasing federal employment opportunities and extending
Social Security benefits for people with disabilities returning
to work as well as establishing effective procedures for addressing
disability-based discrimination in federal agencies. Another series
of initiatives directed the improvement of Medicaid coverage and
increased opportunities for youth with disabilities to successfully
transition to the world of work and independence. Still other initiatives
were aimed at creating home- and community-based service options
for people with disabilities who live in nursing homes.
In late June 2000, the National Council on Disability
issued a report entitled Promises to
Keep: A Decade of Federal Enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, which analyzed ADA enforcement efforts of the Department
of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Transportation, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, and the Federal Communications Commission.
In addition to recognizing the initiatives and positive action of
these agencies, NCD's report identified significant shortcomings
in enforcement. The lack of a coherent unified and unifying national
enforcement strategy was a major weakness. Enforcement efforts have
been shaped largely by an approach based on case-by-case complaint
handling rather than compliance monitoring and follow-up technical
assistance. Our research findings revealed that agencies, to varying
degrees, have been hesitant to exercise leadership in litigating
difficult or controversial cases or even in referring cases to DOJ
for litigation. The efficiency of complaint handling has varied
greatly across agencies. The process has been slow even in the best
performing agencies, with unreasonably long delays in the worst.
Despite several funding increases in the past decade, no federal
agency has an enforcement budget commensurate with the scope of
its ADA mandates. Another significant finding was that agencies
have provided few opportunities for appropriate input from people
with disabilities in setting overall priorities for policy development
and enforcement activities.
NCD recommended that the DOJ assert strong leadership
in bringing together the federal enforcement agencies to develop
a strategic vision and plan for ADA enforcement across the Federal
Government, including a well-coordinated litigation strategy. All
the agencies must look at how to focus their enforcement resources
to increase the consumer-responsiveness of key operations such as
complaint handling. All these actions should be undertaken with
appropriate input and collaboration with people with disabilities.
Despite weaknesses in its enforcement efforts, DOJ
has acted decisively to promote inclusion and accessibility for
Americans with disabilities. In July 2000, DOJ released a report
documenting the decade's many advances in access to public and private
facilities and programs through enforcement action and negotiated
settlements initiated by DOJ, as well as through voluntary compliance.
Throughout FY 2000, DOJ intervened to help strengthen the legal
foundation of ADA and to defend it from the onslaught of lawsuits
attacking the very basis of the law. Seeking to strengthen a weak
provision of ADA, DOJ continues the battle to establish insurance
as a public accommodation under Title III, filing amicus briefs
in two cases heard by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit. In the first, Pallozzi v. Allstate Life Insurance Co.
(198 F. 3rd 28, Dec. 1, 1999), the Second Circuit agreed with DOJ,
ruling that since ADA specifically relates to the insurance business
and no other federal law prevents it from covering underwriting,
ADA may cover the underwriter's decision not to issue a policy.
In a second case, Leonard v. Israel Discount Bank of New York
(199 F. 3rd 99, Dec. 8, 1999), however, the same Second Circuit
court ruled that an insurance practice is protected by ADA's insurance
exemption, whether or not it has an actuarial justification, when
it complies with state law, and is not a subterfuge to evade the
purposes of ADA. The court further ruled that a practice could not
be deemed a subterfuge unless it was adopted after ADA became law.
DOJ also intervened to challenge discriminatory state
practices in Nored v. Weakley County 9-1- 1 Emergency Communications
District. This lawsuit challenged a Tennessee state statute
that prohibits people with "any apparent mental disorder," even
the most minor, from occupying positions as public safety dispatchers.
DOJ will broaden the suit to challenge five state statutes that
prohibit people with apparent mental disorders from serving as public
safety dispatchers, police officers, corrections officers, youth
service officers, and sheriffs, and will seek relief for all persons
injured by these laws.
NCD commends DOJ on its efforts to establish constructive
policy positions in the context of litigation. The Department of
Justice should make use of regulations, subregulatory guidance,
and technical assistance documents to take a leadership role on
policy issues in Title II and Title III enforcement and to help
covered entities understand and comply with their responsibilities.
Between October 1999 and March 2000, DOJ intervened
in six cases defending the constitutionality of ADA in permitting
lawsuits directly against state governments alleged to have discriminated
against people with disabilities. A case heard by the Court of Appeals
in the Second U.S. Circuit was decided in favor of ADA constitutionality;
a case in the Seventh U.S. Circuit was decided in favor of the state.
The other four cases are pending. In October 2000, the widening
controversy led the Supreme Court to address the constitutional
issues in Garrett v. University of Alabama.
From its enactment, the constitutional basis of ADA
has been the Fourteenth Amendment. In Garrett, Alabama argued
that ADA does not meet the criteria for Fourteenth Amendment protection
on two grounds: (1) Congress lacked enough evidence of states' failure
to extend equal protection of the law to people with disabilities
and (2) the requirements of ADA were not a proportionate response
to the problem the statute addresses. Besides guaranteeing all citizens
equal protection of the law and due process of law, the Fourteenth
Amendment gives Congress the right to require states to pay money
damages for equal protection violations. Amicus briefs filed by
seven states argued that ADA's remedies for discrimination are disproportionate
and go beyond the equal protection rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth
Amendment. Congress, therefore, lacked the authority to subject
states to lawsuits under Title I and Title II of ADA. Fourteen states,
however, countered with an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court
to hold ADA's express abrogation of the states' Eleventh Amendment
immunity to be a proper exercise of Congress' power to enforce the
equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The amicus
brief filed by DOJ argued that ADA is constitutionally appropriate
legislation providing a proportionate remedy for the well-documented
history of pervasive discrimination by states against people with
disabilities. The Supreme Court will announce its decision in early
2001.
The Court's decision will have a crucial bearing on
the future of disability rights. If ADA were found to be unconstitutional
as applied to states, the enforceability of its requirements regarding
integration of state governmental programs, state architectural/program
accessibility, and state employment could be severely undermined.
Potentially even more devastating consequences could ensue with
similar Court decisions striking down other provisions of ADA, Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), and other essential civil rights protections.
The National Council on Disability gives its strongest
recommendation to the Federal Government and Congress to preserve
the goals embodied in ADA and ensure full enforcement of the law.
Continuing barriers to inclusion and integration at every level
attest to the ongoing need for federal protection of disability
civil rights.
In late September 2000, the Supreme Court granted
writ of certiorari for PGA Tour, Inc. v. Casey Martin. The
PGA Tour is arguing that Title III does not apply to people competing
in a professional sports event and that, even if it did, ADA does
not require the competition to be "fundamentally altered" by allowing
different competitors to play by different substantive rules. DOJ
filed an amicus brief when this case was heard at the appellate
level, arguing that the no-carts rule could be challenged under
Title III and that waiving the rule in this case would be a reasonable
modification required by ADA. The Supreme Court heard the argument
on January 17, 2001.
Regardless of the outcomes of Garrett and Martin,
ADA protections already have been substantially eroded by Supreme
Court decisions of 1999. In a series of cases, Sutton v. United
Airlines (19 S.Ct. 2139 (1999)), Murphy v. United Parcel
Service (119 S.Ct. 2133 (1999)), and Albertsons, Inc. v.
Kirkingburg (119 S.Ct. 2162 (1999)), the Court substantially
limited access to ADA protection from disability discrimination
by employees with disabilities who use corrective measures to mitigate
the effects of their disabilities. As a result of these decisions,
a person who uses a device or medication to correct or minimize
the impairment of a major life activity might no longer be protected
from discrimination on the basis of that impairment. In other words,
the court may find that the plaintiff is not a person with a disability
within the meaning of the statute when corrective measures sufficiently
offset the impact of his or her impairment. The implications of
these decisions are broad, as these individuals may no longer qualify
for protection under ADA even when an employer discriminates against
them precisely because of a real or perceived disability. As a result
of these cases, there has been a steady stream of federal court
decisions that have severely constricted the breadth and reach of
ADA.
In Congress, several amendments to ADA were proposed.
The ADA Notification Act (H.R.3590) would have required people alleging
a Title III violation to provide 90 days notice prior to filing
a lawsuit and would impose penalties if the rule were not followed.
H.R. 3590 was referred to committee. A second bill introduced in
the House (H.R. 3170) would have amended ADA (among other civil
rights laws) to eliminate protections for individuals unlawfully
present in the United States by excluding them from the definition
of "employee" with regard to employment in the United States. It
also was referred to committee. A third bill, introduced in both
the House (H.R. 3836) and the Senate (S. 1922), would have facilitated
ADA compliance by modifying the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
provide a tax credit for modifications to intercity buses, making
them accessible as required under ADA. The bill has been referred
to committee in both the House and Senate. None of the bills were
scheduled for hearings.
NCD strongly recommends that the ADA Notification
Act and the exclusion of undocumented workers from the scope of
ADA coverage be dropped from the legislative agenda and additional
resources be appropriated to strengthen ADA Title III technical
assistance for better compliance.
2. Hate Crimes
Early last year, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of
1999 was introduced in both the House (H.R. 77) and the Senate (S.
622). These bills proposed to extend the present hate crimes statutes
to cover disability, gender, and sexual orientation; create federal
criminal penalties for hate crimes; and increase appropriations
for preventing and responding to alleged violations involving certain
federally protected activities. The bills were referred to subcommittee
in both houses and no hearings were scheduled. While legislative
action has lagged during several congressional sessions, the DOJ,
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), began responding to the rising
occurrence of hate crimes in 1997 with the National Hate Crimes
Training initiative. Since then, curricula for officers, investigators,
detectives, supervisors, and other law enforcement officers have
been developed. BJA instructed 78 training teams in 1998 and supported
local training teams with personnel and funding. During 1999, more
than 4,000 law enforcement professionals received training. This
year, BJA produced a video covering the major features of the training
and sent a total of 14,000 copies to every state, county, and municipal
law enforcement agency nationwide.
NCD commends the Bureau of Justice Assistance for
its proactive work to combat hate crimes. NCD urges Congress to
address the rising occurrence of hate crimes by reintroducing the
initiatives of the 106th Congress in the new Congress. In addition,
NCD recommends that hearings be held early in the term.
3. Genetic Discrimination
In 1999, separate measures were introduced in the
House and Senate to prohibit discrimination against individuals
and their family members on the basis of genetic information or
a request for genetic information. The first of the two measures
(H.R. 306 and S. 543), known as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination
in Health Insurance Act of 1999, broadly prohibited genetic discrimination
by health insurers and provided for compensatory, consequential,
and punitive damages. The second measure, Genetic Nondiscrimination
in Health Insurance and Employment Act of 1999 (H.R. 2457 and S.
1322), provided more specifics on prohibited discriminatory conduct
by health insurers and prohibited employers, labor organizations,
and training programs from genetic discrimination. Employers may
request or obtain genetic information for very limited purposes.
The bill authorizes appropriate legal and equitable relief for violations.
Both measures were referred to subcommittees in both houses of Congress.
No hearings were held on either measure in either house.
The administration, however, did take action. President
Clinton issued Executive Order 13145 early in 2000 prohibiting every
federal agency from using genetic testing in any hiring or promotion
action. In instances in which a federal employer must obtain genetic
information about an employee, all federal and state privacy protections
will apply to ensure the confidentiality of such information.
NCD applauds the administration's strong stance
and urges that legislation requiring nondiscrimination by both health
insurers and employers be reintroduced and hearings scheduled as
soon as possible after the 107th Congress convenes.
4. Voting Accessibility/
S. 511, a bill to amend the Voting Accessibility for
the Elderly and Handicapped Act, was introduced in the Senate on
March 2, 1999. The amendments provided for ensuring that all polling
methods used for federal elections be accessible to disabled and
elderly voters, and that accessible voting procedures are in place
to allow eligible voters to register at home, by mail, or by other
means. The bill was referred to Senate committee, and no hearings
were scheduled. Despite a significant increase in electoral participation
by people with disabilities in the past decade, the November 2000
elections presented major barriers in many districts (inaccessible
polling places, lack of assistance in casting ballots, etc.).
NCD urges the reintroduction of legislation in
the 107th Congress that provides direction, incentives and flexibility
to states in making federal elections accessible to people with
disabilities.
5. Congressional Accountability Act
In 1995, Congress passed the Congressional Accountability
Act (CAA) (P.L. 104-1), which extended the rights and protections
of 11 employment and civil rights laws. Two of the eleven laws are
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973. The CAA also created the Office of Compliance, which
is responsible for reviewing on a biannual basis which provisions
of these 11 laws should apply to Congress. Unfortunately, the CAA
does not apply to all instrumentalities of Congress. Specifically,
it does not apply to the General Accounting Office, the Government
Printing Office, or the Library of Congress.
To date, the Office of Compliance has not made a recommendation
to extend this all-important civil rights coverage to all instrumentalities
of Congress. In its recent report, Review and Report on the Applicability
to the Legislative Branch of Federal Laws Relating to Terms and
Conditions of Employment and Access to Public Services and Public
Accommodations, the Office of Compliance stated, "Section 102(a)
of Congressional Accountability Act (CAA) lists the eleven laws
that shall apply, as prescribed by this Act, to the legislative
branch of the Federal Government." The last page of the report further
notes that "[W]hile the current Board Members are mindful of the
institutional benefits of providing Congress with a clear recommendation
as to coverage of the instrumentalities, the Board is of the view
that further study and consideration of the questions presented
is warranted in light of the complexity of the issues and the substantial
impact that a modification would have on the instrumentalities and
their employees." The report concludes by saying, "[T]he Board believes
that Congress, and the instrumentalities and their employees, would
derive greater benefit from a recommendation based upon further
study, consideration and experience on the part of the Board Members.
Therefore, the Board has determined not to make any recommendations
with respect to coverage of General Accounting Office, Government
Printing Office, and the Library of Congress. under the CAA laws
at this time."
NCD recommends that the Office of Compliance ensure
that full coverage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act is extended to all instrumentalities of Congress,
including the General Accounting Office, the Government Printing
Office, and the Library of Congress.
6. Outreach to Diverse Cultural Groups
A large segment of the population, particularly those
from diverse racial, cultural, and ethnic communities, continues
to be excluded from full participation in all aspects of American
society. Years of model programs, technical assistance, and other
federal initiatives have left unchanged the status of the most disenfranchised--people
with disabilities from diverse cultures. Overall concerns include
(1) unequal protection and benefits under the same federal laws
that have seen at least some level of implementation for the larger
disability community and (2) the persistence of dual discrimination
as a barrier to people with disabilities from diverse cultures.
America's diverse population requires us to make a conscious effort
to ensure that the needs of all people are addressed. NCD commends
the leadership shown by the Clinton administration in elevating
issues of cultural diversity to national focus.
6a. Think Tank 2000 on Diverse Cultures and Summary
Report
Congressional representatives, national civil and
human rights leaders, people with disabilities, and people from
diverse cultures participated in NCD's May 2000 Think Tank project
to refine a more inclusive public policy agenda pertaining to the
needs of people from diverse cultures. The participants reached
consensus on at least three areas for strategic action: (1) promote
leadership development and include emerging leaders in public policy
decisionmaking; (2) disseminate "user-friendly" and culturally sensitive
information on rights and responsibilities; and (3) work to build
and strengthen alliances with civil and human rights groups in the
broader community. NCD was asked to continue assisting with dialogue
around these issues. A summary paper from the May 2000 work, Carrying
on the Good Fight: Summary Paper from Think Tank 2000--Advancing
the Civil and Human Rights of People with Disabilities from Diverse
Cultures, can be accessed on the NCD Web site.
6b. President's Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders
The President signed an Executive Order in 1999 aimed
at increasing the participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
in federal programs; on May 4, 2000, he named 15 members to the
Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The
commission studied ways to increase public sector, private sector,
and community involvement in improving the health and well being
of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, increase their participation
in federal programs where they may be underserved, and foster research
and data collection, including information on public health. This
outreach effort elevated key issues to the White House level.
NCD commends this White House initiative and the
determination of the affected communities to continue the work that
was begun on behalf of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, including
people with disabilities.
6c. New Legislation: Amendment to the Oath for Naturalization
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) issued
field guidance and policy modifications for naturalization processing
and adjudication to INS field adjudicators on April 7, 2000. The
guidance was unclear on how to accommodate applicants with severe
disabilities with respect to the requirement that they understand
the oath of allegiance. On November 6, 2000, the bill that was passed
to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (S.2812) became Public
Law 106-448. The new law provides a waiver of the oath of renunciation
and allegiance for naturalization of aliens having certain disabilities.
NCD commends the 106th Congress for taking this
action. NCD recommends that
- The INS should ensure timely processing of naturalization
applications for applicants with disabilities.
- The Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights
Division of the Department of Justice, NCD, and the INS should
work together to monitor implementation of recent INS efforts
to address long-standing problems with its naturalization process
regarding access for people with disabilities, and to proactively
address issues that impact their citizenship applications.
6d. Underserved and Unserved Diverse Communities: American
Indian Disability Technical Assistance Center (AIDTAC)
In October 2000, the U.S. Department of Education
funded a competitive grant for the first national Native American
center, American Indian Disability Technical Assistance Center (AIDTAC).
Located in Montana, the center helps American Indians and Alaskan
Natives with disabilities to live integrated lives in their native
communities. AIDTAC is committed to helping tribes build their capacity
to develop and implement culturally appropriate laws and policies,
crosscutting infrastructure, and direct program services.
NCD commends the Department of Education for funding
this priority.
6e. Eliminating Language Barriers to Federal Programs
(Executive Order 13166)
After decades of court struggles, on August 11, 2000,
Executive Order 13166 was issued requiring that all federal programs
using federal funds ensure that language barriers do not prevent
participation in or benefit from these programs for non-English
speakers and people with limited English proficiency. The order
is intended to ensure that people from diverse cultures with disabilities
and their families can take full advantage of federal laws, programs,
and services by providing them with easy-to-understand, culturally
appropriate information about their rights under various federal
laws and how to exercise these rights.
NCD recommends that the administration support
the formation of an interagency team composed of representatives
from the Departments of Education, Labor, Health and Human Services,
Justice, and Housing and Urban Development, along with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, Small Business Administration,
and Federal Communications Commission, to develop and implement
a large-scale outreach and training program. NCD also recommends
that the interagency team recruit, train, and contract with a core
group composed of people with disabilities from diverse cultural
backgrounds and their family members to help (1) develop the written
materials and programs that will be used for the trainings; (2)
translate materials into many languages with sensitivity to cultural
appropriateness of terminology; and (3) conduct the trainings once
the appropriate materials are translated, field-tested on sample
groups, and produced for dissemination in communities.
NCD also recommends that Congress provide funding
support to the federal partners and sponsors of the trainings in
order to eliminate potential financial barriers to participation.
Education
1. NCD's Assessment Study of IDEA
In January 2000, NCD released a report that focused
attention on public concerns about 25 years of monitoring and enforcement
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Overall, NCD
found that federal efforts to enforce IDEA over several administrations
have been inconsistent and ineffective. Enforcement is too often
the burden of parents, who must invoke formal complaint procedures
and request due process hearings to obtain the services and supports
to which their children are entitled under law.
Back to School on
Civil Rights included findings based on the Department of
Education's (ED's) monitoring reports that 90 percent (n = 45)
of states were out of compliance with required general supervision
to ensure that local educational agencies carry out their responsibilities
under IDEA. In addition, 88 percent (n = 44) did not provide
appropriate transition services to help students move from high
school to post-school and adult living activities, and 80 percent
(n = 40) failed to provide a free appropriate public education
to students with disabilities. Despite long-standing noncompliance
with these and other IDEA provisions in some states, ED made limited
use of enforcement through its sanction authority. Although ED began
to carry out a revised monitoring system (continuous monitoring
improvement process), it failed to clearly include elements that
addressed public concerns about the lack of consistent criteria
for making noncompliance findings and for applying effective enforcement
strategies, including triggers for the use of sanctions. At the
writing of this Progress Report, NCD was working with the ED and
students with disabilities, their parents, and other stakeholders
to address a number of issues connected to improved IDEA monitoring
and enforcement.
NCD recommends that the U.S. Department of Education
Office of Special Education Programs (1) establish and use national
compliance standards and objective measures for assessing state
progress toward better performance outcomes for children with disabilities
and for states achieving full compliance with Part B; (2) establish
objective criteria that would trigger federal enforcement action,
including sanctions, when states fail to comply; (3) consult with
stakeholders to develop objective criteria for defining "substantial
noncompliance;" and (4) develop and implement a range of enforcement
sanctions linked to specific indicators and measures indicating
thresholds that could signal failure to comply with IDEA requirements.
NCD also recommends that Congress authorize and
fund the Department of Justice to independently investigate and
litigate IDEA cases, as well as administer a federal system for
handling pattern and practice complaints filed by individuals.
NCD recommends that as the new administration and
Congress look at appropriations, they include the additional IDEA
funding and the 10 percent set-aside provision for complaint processing,
as described in the Back to School report. Joint agreement among
the Department of Education, Department of Justice, General Accounting
Office, and Office of the Inspector General will enable regular
and independent audits and greatly enhance efforts to decrease the
burden of enforcement parents of children with disabilities have
endured in expensive due process and court procedures over the past
25 years.
2. Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act (ESEA)
The Educational Excellence for All Children Act proposed
in 1999 supported improving educational outcomes for students with
disabilities by (1) firmly committing to high standards in every
classroom; (2) improving teacher and principal quality to ensure
quality instruction for all children; (3) strengthening accountability
for results coupled with flexibility for achieving them; and (4)
ensuring safe, healthy, disciplined, and drug-free school environments
where all children feel connected, motivated, and challenged to
learn and where parents are welcomed and involved. The ESEA bill
proposed that states receiving grants under the Act adopt policies
and programs that incorporate these themes. The House of Representatives
passed its version of the bill in 2000, but no major Senate floor
action had occurred at the writing of this Progress Report.
NCD recommends that the new administration work
with Congress to develop a comprehensive reauthorization of ESEA
that meets the needs of all students, including students with disabilities.
NCD urges Congress to support initiatives that research has shown
to work: smaller classes, safe and modern schools, and qualified,
well-trained teachers. Federal money set aside in ESEA should be
used to support these types of programs and should not be sent back
to states in the form of block grants.
NCD also recommends that the various administering
offices and divisions within the Department of Education work together
to ensure that the new administration and Congress are well informed
about the impact of ESEA legislation on a substantial segment of
students with disabilities whose families are living at or below
the poverty level.
3. Department of Education Assessment Guidance
Overall accountability for educational results has
been at the core of reform efforts undertaken by the vast majority
of states and local education agencies in recent years. Among the
many challenges faced in these efforts are (1) how to effectively
measure and report student performance and (2) how to meet IDEA
1997 requirements to include students with disabilities. On August
24, 2000, the Office of Special Education Programs issued a guidance
document, Questions and Answers about Provisions in the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 Related to Students
with Disabilities and State and District-wide Assessment. The guidance
addresses issues such as (a) when a state (or local education agency)
needs to conduct an alternate assessment; (b) what an alternate
assessment is; and (c) whether individualized education program
(IEP) teams may exempt children with disabilities from participating
in the state or district-wide assessment program.
NCD commends the Department of Education for its
response to the previously unanswered questions of practitioners,
administrators, and policymakers responsible for improving educational
results for children and youth with disabilities.
NCD recommends that the Department of Education
provide leadership for the new administration and Congress on a
coordinated perspective on meeting the assessment and educational
accountability needs of all students, including students with disabilities.
4. Letter on Disability Harassment
On July 25, 2000, the Department of Education's Office
on Civil Rights and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services issued a document pertaining to disability harassment.
The document addresses (1) why disability harassment is such an
important issue; (2) what laws apply; (3) how to prevent occurrences
and how to respond; and (4) where technical assistance is available
to the public. The information provides examples of harassment that
could cause a hostile environment, resulting in adverse effects
on a student's ability to participate in and benefit from the educational
program. In addition, the document includes examples of harassment
prevention and elimination measures that may be effective.
NCD commends the Department for its proactive dissemination
of useful guidance to the public on this emerging issue.
Health Care
People with disabilities and chronic conditions have
historically faced major hurdles in obtaining and maintaining private
health insurance. NCD's 1993 report Perspectives on Access to
Health Insurance and Health-Related Services found that while
private health insurance is difficult to obtain and keep for many
in the disability community, particularly in the individual insurance
market, it is still the major source of coverage for people with
disabilities.
A patients' bill of rights, therefore, should cover
all 161 million individuals with private health insurance in order
to ensure that its protections apply to all people with disabilities.
Application of the patients' bill of rights to all privately insured
people will have the added benefit of establishing a uniform set
of protections on which all privately insured Americans can rely,
regardless of their employer or the laws in states in which they
reside. Privately insured people include the 48 million Americans
who receive group health coverage from their employers who self-insure
as well as the additional 113 million Americans whose group or individual
health coverage is subject to state law.
1. Protections in Managed Care
Legislation to protect the rights of all people with
disabilities and their families who need access to quality health
care was introduced, but not enacted, by the 106th Congress. The
primary area of controversy among proponents and opponents continues
to focus on how to define and who determines "medical necessity."
The October 2000 release of a Harvard Medical School-led
study (funded by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
reported that people enrolled in managed health care plans in locations
with relatively high percentages of residents on welfare or who
are African American or Hispanic received generally poorer quality
health care than other people. Previous studies have also shown
the link among poverty, disability, and patterns of inequality of
benefit for underserved populations in our country.
NCD calls upon Congress to formulate a comprehensive
Patients' Bill of Rights that will cover health care concerns of
people with disabilities, including provisions that appropriately
define "medical necessity" and address issues pertaining to quality
of care and who makes determinations about medical necessity.
2. America's Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project
America's Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project
(P.L. 106-515) was signed into law on November 13, 2000. Among other
things, the law authorizes the U.S. Attorney General to make grants
to state and local governments to establish demonstration judicial
diversion programs that involve (1) continuing judicial supervision,
including periodic review, over preliminarily qualified offenders
with mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental
illness and substance abuse disorders who are charged with misdemeanors
or nonviolent offenses and (2) the coordinated delivery of services.
The law provides that the coordinated delivery of services includes
(1) specialized training of law enforcement and judicial personnel
to identify and address the unique needs of a mentally ill or mentally
retarded offender; (2) voluntary outpatient or inpatient mental
health treatment in the least restrictive manner appropriate, as
determined by the court, that carries with it the possibility of
dismissal of charges or reduced sentencing upon successful completion
of treatment; (3) centralized case management, involving the consolidation
of all of a mentally ill or mentally retarded defendant's cases
(including violations of probation) and the coordination of all
mental health treatment plans and social services, including life
skills training; and (4) continuing supervision of treatment plan
compliance for a term not to exceed the maximum allowable sentence
or probation for the charged or relevant offense and continuity
of psychiatric care at the end of the supervised period.
NCD heard from a number of individuals with psychiatric
disabilities who belong to organizations that represent millions
of psychiatric survivors expressing a deep concern and fear that
once an offender with psychiatric disability enters a diversion
program, he or she would be judicially required to abide by the
mental health treatment program even if it later proves to be inappropriate.
Such an outcome would be inconsistent with the findings and recommendations
of NCD's report, From Privileges to
Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves,
which underscored the inappropriateness and harm of forced mental
health treatments.
Because of these concerns and other issues regarding
the "voluntary" participation of individuals with cognitive or psychiatric
disabilities in the mental health court system, NCD strongly recommends
that the U.S. Department of Justice and its attorney general consult
with people who are psychiatric survivors in the implementation
of the law, including the development of any regulations or guidelines.
3. The Pain Relief Promotion Act of 2000
The proposed bill (H.R. 2260, S. 1272) is intended
to permit the use of controlled substances to relieve pain or discomfort.
It also authorizes the secretary of Health and Human Services to
award $5,000,000 in grants to health profession schools, hospices,
and other sites to develop and implement palliative care education
and training; and authorizes the Agency for Healthcare Research
and Quality in the Department of Health and Human Services to collect
and disseminate protocols for palliative care. At the writing of
this report, while the bill passed the House in the 106th Congress,
the Senate action remained in its Judiciary Committee, with at least
two hearings held over a two-year period. Concurrence leading to
enactment of this legislation is needed to ensure protection of
people with disabilities who may be more vulnerable than other people
to the risks and dangers of assisted suicide under the guise of
unregulated pain management. NCD underscores that this legislation
promotes the right to human dignity and life for people with disabilities
and has articulated its position in this regard in Assisted Suicide:
A Disability Perspective.
NCD cautions the new administration and Congress to
recognize the potential dangers of crafting a federal law that promotes
pain management and does not protect the human rights of people
with disabilities. NCD also urges the new Administration and Congress
to recognize that it is often the discrimination, prejudice, and
barriers that many people with disabilities encounter, and the restrictions
and lack of options that this society has imposed, rather than their
disabilities or their physical pain, that cause their lives to be
unsatisfactory and painful.
Long-Term Services and Supports
"My Administration is committed to finding affordable
ways to enable people who need long-term services and support to
remain in the community if they choose and are able to do so. The
best way to continue progress toward this goal is for state governments,
the Federal Government, and the affected communities to work together
to develop cost-effective ways to provide these services. We must
ensure that the quality of these services is excellent and that
they are available to persons with disabilities of all ages."
President William J. Clinton, statement
on the Olmstead decision, June 1999
In 1999, the Supreme Court affirmed ADA's integration
mandate under Title II in Olmstead v. L. C., 119 S.Ct. 2176
(1999), by declaring unnecessary segregation and institutionalization
of people with disabilities a form of discrimination. The Court's
decision presented a challenge to government and private entities
across the country to create access to systems of cost-effective,
community-based services. The past year has seen a growing impetus
toward systems change at federal, state, and community levels to
make possible a transition from institution-based to community-based
care for people with disabilities.
The Clinton administration urged states to implement
the Olmstead decision. The Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) has offered grant and demonstration programs, as
well as technical assistance to states to develop plans for implementing
Olmstead. The Social Security Administration developed initiatives
to ensure that people with disabilities who are returning to their
communities and seeking employment will retain essential supports.
Congress introduced several bills, including the Family
Opportunity Act and the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000,
to create more avenues for accessing community-based supports necessary
to meet the Olmstead mandate.
Finally, in areas where there has been little movement
toward developing an Olmstead plan, both complaints and lawsuits
have been filed to compel state action.
1. Olmstead v. L. C.--One Year Later
Following the Eleventh Circuit Court's Olmstead
decision upholding the integration mandate of ADA, HHS instructed
state Medicaid directors in July 1998 to ensure that their Medicaid
programs complied with the mandate. In January 2000, following the
Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, HHS Secretary Donna Shalala issued
a letter to the governors of all 50 states, asking them to work
with their state Medicaid directors and other agency staff to develop
"fiscally responsible policies_to increase access to community-based
services." Her letter was accompanied by one letter from the Health
Care Financing Administration (HCFA) urging the States to (1) develop
comprehensive, effective plans to strengthen community service systems
and (2) actively involve people with disabilities in the design,
development, and implementation of the plan. Initially, HCFA provided
technical assistance materials for conducting the planning process.
As ongoing support, HCFA sent follow-up letters in the spring and
in July with updates on policy clarifications and reforms.
The response of the states has been mixed, according
to a report of June 25, 2000, entitled Olmstead Progress Report:
Disability Advocates Assess State Implementation After One Year
prepared by the National Association of Protection and Advocacy
Systems. This report presents findings from survey data collected
on 42 states and Puerto Rico. Among the findings reported were these:
- Not one state has developed a plan that follows
all the principles for plan development recommended by HCFA.
- Most states have taken at least preliminary steps
to develop Olmstead plans: 7 states have executive orders
or legislative resolutions requiring plans, 14 states have developed
a draft or completed a plan, 12 states have a task force to review
current systems of support for people with disabilities, and 9
states have declared they already comply and do not need a separate
plan.
- Many disability advocates believe that their states
are holding back on fully implementing Olmstead until pending
court decisions are made in key cases and elections are over.
- Few states have increased funding for community
supports and services.
- States have provided consumers (people with disabilities)
with only limited opportunities for meaningful input into the
planning process.
- State efforts have given limited attention to the
needs of individuals with mental health and physical disabilities,
often focusing on individuals with developmental disabilities.
- Several states signed amicus briefs in the Garrett
v. State of Alabama case, asking the Supreme Court to overturn
the constitutionality of ADA Title II.
Some states have taken notable action toward implementing
Olmstead through their official commitments to include people
with disabilities in all phases of planning and implementation,
to eliminate unnecessary institutionalization, and to promote consumer
choice and self-determination.
NCD recommends that the administration take immediate
action to promote the monitoring and implementation of the Olmstead
decision among the states and use the bully pulpit of the White
House to communicate the expectations of the Olmstead decision whenever
possible.
2. Administration Efforts to Support State Medicaid
Programs
In October 2000, HHS announced the proposal of new
rules of special significance to people with disabilities who do
not want to live in an institution. Current rules allow people in
institutions to qualify for Medicaid coverage at much higher income
levels than if they lived in their communities. The restriction
on Medicaid supports has been a barrier for those who wish to live
on their own incomes in their communities but who need assistance.
The new rule would enable people to live in their own homes with
enough income to meet basic living expenses, while obtaining the
support services needed to manage with their chronic illness or
disability. Under the proposed regulation, the Federal Government
would spend an estimated $960 million over the next five years.
Within the same time frame, states would be required to spend a
matching amount.
3. Related Medicaid Legislation
Introduced in the Senate in November 1999, S. 1935,
the Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA),
was referred to committee, where it remains. MiCASSA, which proposes
to amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act, would provide coverage
for community attendant services and supports under the Medicaid
program. It would also authorize appropriations for grants to help
eligible states that have a Consumer Task Force develop long-term
service systems to offer alternatives to eligible individuals about
where they receive certain types of Medicaid long-term services
and supports. In November 2000, Senate sponsors proposed that the
Senate Appropriations Committee hold hearings on the bill.
As in its previous Progress Reports, NCD reiterates
its strong recommendation that Congress and the administration enact
MiCASSA by the end of the 106th Congress to meet the needs and desires
of older Americans and citizens with disabilities to live in their
own homes to the fullest extent possible.
On the House side, H.R. 5601 (revised to H.R. 5612),
the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Child Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, was introduced
on November 1, reviving an earlier version of the bill vetoed by
President Clinton on October 17, 2000. H.R. 5612 contains the improvements
requested by the President. Its provisions include improvements
to Titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act to enhance
benefits and beneficiary protections in Medicare, Medicaid, and
SCHIP. The bill proposes to restore full home health care services
for FY 2001 and to streamline approval of waivers under Title XIX.
The Family Opportunity Act (H.R. 4825), which became part of the
previous bill (H.R. 5612), would amend Title XVIII to allow families
whose incomes are within 200 to 300 percent of the federal poverty
level to purchase Medicaid to cover the medical needs of their disabled
children. A Senate bill parallel to H.R. 4825 has been introduced
and referred to the Senate Committee on Finance (S. 2274).
NCD recommends that the new administration and
Congress pass MiCASSA during the 107th legislative session.
The Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000, signed
into law in November 2000, authorizes a National Family Caregiver
Program providing $125 million in federal assistance to help families
care for family members through a multifaceted system of support
services. The program will extend support services to families caring
for their older members at home, as well as older people caring
for their adult children with mental retardation and developmental
disabilities.
Youth
From a national perspective, the post-school outcomes
for many of our youth and young adults with disabilities remain
dismal, despite a number of advances realized by youth and young
adults with disabilities through education, disability rights policy,
the support of federal mandates, and the funding of programs and
initiatives intended to impact all youth. During FY 2000, a number
of national initiatives were undertaken to begin remedying this
situation. These efforts laid a foundation that requires further
building in the form of effective systems at federal, state, and
local levels.
1. Transition and Post-School Outcomes for Youth with
Disabilities: Closing the Gaps to Postsecondary Education and Employment
The Social Security Administration (SSA) and NCD released
a joint report on November 1, 2000, that calls attention to persistent
issues and problems documented in national post- school studies.
While postsecondary education participation showed slight improvement,
more youth with disabilities found themselves unable to gain employment
and wound up permanently on Social Security benefit rolls. The report
also found that rates of graduation by earning regular high school
diplomas are 27 percent for youth who received special education
and 75 percent for those who received only general education. Youth
with disabilities who had vocational or other on-the-job training
opportunities were less likely to stop work and return to Social
Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) dependency than were older
disability insurance beneficiaries. Young people from diverse cultural
groups faced additional barriers such as lack of attention to limited
English proficiency, culturally inappropriate strategies or information,
and insensitive service providers.
The report also identifies what has worked and what
should work in light of promising new federal legislation, unmet
needs, and unserved populations, and presents recommendations for
national, state, and local community action. One of the best strategies
for improving the quality of school programs and post-school outcomes
is, unfortunately, the least often used. Carrying out IDEA transition
services requirements and, where appropriate, the Rehabilitation
Act provisions for all who are determined to be eligible for services
and supports enables students with disabilities to move effectively
from school to post-school independence and achievement.
NCD strongly recommends that the new administration
and Congress support the need for an overarching focus on open communication
and deliberate collaboration across all federal agencies, entities,
and systems that need to be involved in preparing our nation's young
people with disabilities for full participation in society. These
efforts need to begin with dialogue among the affected parties and
should include youth with disabilities, adults with disabilities,
and people from the grassroots communities. Systemic collaboration
must also include the broader workforce development systems such
as Job Corps, apprenticeship training programs, and general equivalency
degree (GED) programs.
NCD also urges that there be more effective monitoring
and enforcement and public accountability for transition and post-school
outcomes. All agencies responsible for administering federal laws
and initiatives designed for all youth must be held accountable
for reporting how and to what extent they are increasing outreach
and providing appropriate supports or accommodations that will give
young people with disabilities an equal opportunity to benefit.
2. Youth Leadership Network for Youth with Disabilities
The national Youth Leadership Network (YLN) is a five-year
project involving the Department of Education, the Social Security
Administration, the Department of Labor the Department of Health
and Human Services, and the National Council on Disability. The
project is research-oriented and designed to include annual leadership
training for youth ages 16 through 24 with disabilities. YLN conferences
provide leadership training through discussions of ways young people
can help the federal agencies (1) determine and update the impact
of barriers to successful adult life, (2) identify what works and
promising practices, and (3) highlight actions that should be implemented
at the national, state, and local levels that reflect the perspective
of youth with disabilities.
NCD commends the involved agencies for their foresight
and continuing sponsorship of this conference initiative. NCD also
commends the outreach efforts of the Department of Education, Office
of Special Education Programs, which included input meetings with
policy and/or program staff at each sponsoring agency.
NCD encourages the new administration to support
recommendations for improvement that will result from the evaluation
component of this youth leadership project. NCD will also continue
to encourage states and other entities that have not done so to
emulate the success of the Leadership Conference among youth with
disabilities in their geographic areas.
3. Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young People
with Disabilities Subcommittee of Access to Employment and Lifelong
Learning Committee (Presidential Task Force on the Employment of
Adults with Disabilities)
On October 25, 2000, to provide for improved access
to employment and training for youth with disabilities, the President
amended Executive Order 13078 of March 13, 1998, by adding the following
subsection to section 2: "(h) To improve employment outcomes for
persons with disabilities by addressing, among other things, the
education, transition, employment, health and rehabilitation, and
independent living issues affecting young people with disabilities,
executive departments and agencies shall coordinate and cooperate
with the Task Force to: (1) strengthen interagency research, demonstration,
and training activities relating to young people with disabilities;
(2) create a public awareness campaign focused on access to equal
opportunity for young people with disabilities; (3) promote the
views of young people with disabilities through collaboration with
the Youth Councils authorized under the Workforce Investment Act
of 1998; (4) increase access to and utilization of health insurance
and health care for young people with disabilities through the formalization
of the Federal Healthy and Ready to Work Interagency Council; (5)
increase participation by young people with disabilities in postsecondary
education and training programs; and (6) create a nationally representative
Youth Advisory Council, to be funded and chaired by the Department
of Labor, to advise the Task Force in conducting these and other
appropriate activities."
NCD commends the President for recognizing the
preemployment and employment issues and needs of young people with
disabilities and for making these a priority focus for federal interagency
attention through Executive Orders and directives.
NCD encourages the new administration to support
completion of the remaining components of this Youth-to-Work Initiative
and to ensure that strategies and evaluation are given serious attention
and support across federal agencies. NCD also encourages the administration
to build upon these first steps, including (1) placing high priority
on administering agencies' public accountability for the education
and employment outcomes of youth with disabilities and (2) renewing
efforts to remove any remaining barriers to appropriate health care,
education, job training, housing, transportation, employment, and,
where needed, adaptations, accommodations, and supports for long-term
employment and career advancement.
Employment
1. Creation of a Disability Office in the Department
of Labor
The Clinton administration supported establishing
an Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) in the Department
of Labor (DOL) and improving access for adults with disabilities
to employment services offered through the one-stop system. The
President's FY 2001 budget included $20 million for ODEP. Under
the leadership of an assistant secretary, ODEP's mission will be
to dramatically increase the employment rate of people with disabilities
by implementing an aggressive strategy to eliminate barriers and
create meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
This office will subsume the President's Committee on Employment
of People with Disabilities in an effort to reduce duplication and
enhance coordination of federal employment programs for people with
disabilities. The office will work within DOL to increase the participation
of people with disabilities in all its training programs, with a
targeted emphasis during its initial years on those serving youth.
NCD commends the Clinton administration and the
U.S. Congress for implementing a previous NCD recommendation from
the report Achieving Independence by
creating and funding ODEP.
NCD recommends that ODEP immediately support the
development and timely implementation of a measurement system that
tracks and reports on the employment status of Americans with disabilities,
on at least an annual basis, over time. NCD also strongly recommends
that ODEP work to ensure that all Department of Labor units review
their current research-funded grants and contracts to ensure that
federal funding is not provided to support the production of research
reports regarding employment of people with disabilities that rely
exclusively on the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
and the Current Population Survey (CPS), as well as other federal
statistical efforts, that contain known statistical and other shortcomings.
2. Implementation of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives
Improvement Act
The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement
Act of 1999 (TWWIIA) was produced through the bipartisan efforts
of the administration, Congress, and the disability community. On
December 17, 1999, the President signed this historic bill into
law. This legislation will help provide better health care options
for people with disabilities who work.
TWWIIA will improve employment opportunities by creating
new options and incentives for states to offer a Medicaid buy-in
for workers with disabilities; extending Medicare coverage for an
additional 4 1/2 years for people on disability insurance who return
to work; creating a $250 million Medicaid buy-in demonstration to
help people whose disabilities have not yet progressed so far that
they cannot work; and enhancing employment-related services for
people with disabilities through the new Ticket to Work program.
TWWIIA also creates a Work Incentive Grant program to provide benefits
planning and assistance, facilitate access to information about
work incentives, and better integrate services to people with disabilities
who are working or returning to work.
Under TWWIIA, states receiving Medicaid Infrastructure
Grants from the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) will
use the funds to remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities
by creating health systems change through the Medicaid program.
The development or enhancement of certain core Medicaid components
in each state will enable people with disabilities not only to work
but to sustain adequate health coverage if they find they need to
relocate to another state for employment purposes. An adequate personal
assistance services and supports benefit and a Medicaid buy-in for
employed people with disabilities are, therefore, significant components
of the TWWIIA. This grant program provides money to the states to
develop these core elements. Twenty-five states were awarded Medicaid
Infrastructure Grants in 2000 during the first grant cycle. All
25 of these states plan to use a portion of their grant award to
study, implement, or improve a Medicaid Buy-in program. In addition,
19 of these states will use a portion of their grant award to study
or improve Medicaid services designed to support the competitive
employment of people with disabilities.
NCD recommends that the administration strongly
encourage and support the participation of all states in the grants
demonstration program. In addition, NCD recommends that the administration
track and report to Congress on the status of the implementation
of these Olmstead initiatives.
3. Expanding Hiring by the Office of Personnel Management
On June 4, 1999, the President signed an Executive
Order ensuring that individuals with psychiatric disabilities are
given the same hiring opportunities as people with significant physical
disabilities or mental retardation. On March 17, 2000, the Office
of Personnel Management (OPM) issued proposed regulations to create
a new government-wide excepted appointing authority for individuals
with psychiatric disabilities. This authority will broaden the category
of people who may noncompetitively acquire competitive civil service
status after two years of successful service, providing individuals
with psychiatric disabilities the same hiring opportunities already
offered to individuals with mental retardation and significant physical
disabilities.
4. Interagency Strategies to Improve Employment of
Adults with Disabilities
The Social Security Administration, the Department
of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department
of Education are all participating in interagency demonstration
projects to expand job opportunities for people with disabilities.
For instance, ED has awarded six systems-change grants to establish
models of improved cooperation and coordination between state vocational
rehabilitation programs, public employment/employment training programs,
and other related programs. The grants will help reduce barriers
to employment and increase the capacity of states' overall employment
system to serve individuals with disabilities. The focus of these
systems change projects is to increase the employment rate of individuals
with disabilities who are currently receiving support through public
programs.
In addition, SSA is working under cooperative agreements
with 12 states to develop innovative projects to help adults with
disabilities reenter the workforce. This activity, the State Partnership
Initiative, is designed to help states develop innovative and integrated
statewide programs of services and supports for their residents
with disabilities that will increase job opportunities and decrease
dependence on benefits, including Social Security Disability Insurance
(SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Moreover, the President's
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD) has
worked to coordinate a commitment by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,
the Society of Human Resource Managers, and dozens of private sector
companies to support several initiatives to advance the employment
of people with disabilities. Initiatives include forming local and
state employer-led groups to advocate for the employment of people
with disabilities, launching a nationwide campaign to advance the
employment of people with cognitive disabilities, and supporting
PCEPD's career exploration and employment programs for youth with
disabilities.
Welfare Reforms
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act (PRWORA) was enacted in 1996 and fully implemented at the state
level in the fall of 1997. This legislation replaced the Aid to
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with a new, capped
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant. PRWORA
shifted the emphasis of welfare reform activities from a "human
capital" to a "work first" philosophy that encourages TANF recipients
to move into employment as soon as possible. Indeed, PRWORA prohibits
states from using TANF grant funds to provide assistance to a family
that includes an adult who has received TANF assistance for five
years. PRWORA permits states to exempt up to 20 percent of their
average monthly TANF caseload from this lifetime limit for reasons
of hardship.
1. Parents with Disabilities and Parents Who Have
Children with Disabilities
At the time of PRWORA enactment, 12.2 million people
received AFDC. By August 1999, the number of TANF recipients had
declined to 7.3 million. Most of the people who remained on TANF
have been unable to secure jobs, let alone achieve economic self-sufficiency.
Often described as the "hardest to serve," these people (most are
female and in their mid-twenties) face multiple and complex barriers
to steady employment. A substantial percentage of these TANF parents
have low education and skill levels. Over half of theme face formidable
barriers because of learning disabilities, mental retardation, and
emotional or behavioral problems.
Despite the "work first" philosophy of the new law,
a National Governors Association (NGA) analysis of studies in nine
states shows that a substantial proportion (40% to 70%) of former
recipients who left the TANF program did so without a job. NGA concluded
that most TANF recipients entering the labor force have failed to
become economically self-sufficient or to secure employment or self-employment
with good career development potential. Among TANF recipients who
did find work, most entered the low-wage labor market and were concentrated
in the lowest-wage occupations, where most earned between $5.50
and $7 per hour. Recent studies have found that about half of these
former TANF recipients were unemployed or only marginally employed
one year after leaving the program. Research further shows that
most of these recipients experience a long period of unemployment
before becoming reemployed. For those TANF recipients who do sustain
employment, a key factor that appears to predict significant career
advancement is the development of basic skill levels and education
beyond high school. Congressional reauthorization of TANF is scheduled
for 2001. Practitioners and state policymakers are working hard
to understand what it will take in the context of a "work first"
philosophy and time-limited assistance for the "hardest-to-serve"
TANF recipients (particularly those with special learning needs)
to achieve sustained economic self-sufficiency.
Although some states and communities are collaboratively
working to help people with disabilities prepare for and sustain
employment, others have not done so. This situation results in unintended
barriers that cause adverse consequences such as decreased access
to community-based services for parents with disabilities, food
and nutrition supports for their children, health insurance, and
quality health care. Greater emphasis on systemic collaboration
among federal, state, and local entities is needed on a national
scale to remove barriers, make links, and combine resources. Welfare,
education, and workplace reforms need to be connected, especially
for people with disabilities who are or have been previously eligible
for public assistance programs.
NCD encourages the administration to work with states
to (1) help them establish a "livable wage" as the long-term outcome
goal of the welfare-to-work reform; (2) help them build an inclusive
education and workforce system that integrates work and learning;
and (3) help them explore and replicate community-based empowerment
models that support successful welfare-to-work approaches for people
with disabilities.
2. Federal Efforts: Access to Employment Committee
and Lifelong Learning Committee (Presidential Task Force on the
Employment of Adults with Disabilities)
NCD's 1999 Progress Report
encouraged the President and administering agencies for programs
such as welfare-to-work to recognize the disability-related needs
and supports that must be in place to realize long-term employment
goals. Inroads are attributed, in part, to single agency efforts
and cross-agency initiatives by subcommittees of the Access to Employment
and Lifelong Learning Committee of the Presidential Task Force on
the Employment of Adults with Disabilities. A guidebook to educate
welfare agencies about an array of disabilities was prepared by
the Access Committee and disseminated at the Department of Labor's
October 2000 Welfare-to-Work: Beyond 2000 conference. Other welfare-to-work
activities included (1) participation with the Office of Vocational
and Adult Education, the Department of Health and Human Services,
and the National Institute for Literacy to train four states on
learning disabilities and TANF programs; (2) discussion of protection
and advocacy ombudsmen for people with disabilities in the TANF
program; and (3) consideration of adopting the Workforce Investment
Act Section 188 nondiscrimination regulations for the TANF program.
NCD commends the coordinating agencies on taking
these concrete actions to address identified barriers to employment.
NCD recommends that the new administration and Congress obtain critical
information on the results of these initial action steps and recognize
that the strategies that are effective in moving people from welfare
to work may have important lessons for the growing effort to move
people from reliance on disability benefit programs to long-term
employment.
Housing
In Achieving Independence,
NCD made a number of recommendations regarding housing and the Federal
Government's role. The following policy activities undertaken by
the Federal Government in 2000 relate to many of NCD's recommendations
from that report.
1. Increasing Housing Options
In the Department of Housing and Urban Development's
(HUD's) recent Notices of Funding Availability, the agency included
bonus points for developers who build structures that include "visitability"
by people with disabilities. NCD supports this incentive.
2. Working for Fair Housing
In response to the increase in reported cases of serious
fair housing violations, HUD committed to doubling the number of
civil rights enforcement actions by the year 2000. NCD applauds
this commitment.
3. HUD Funding Available
Congress directed HUD to make available over $90 million
to fund new Section 8 vouchers targeted to people with disabilities.
Accordingly, on February 24, 2000, HUD announced the availability
of 9,000 Section 8 vouchers for people with disabilities. Public
Housing Authorities are eligible to apply for all the available
vouchers, and nonprofit disability organizations are eligible to
apply for 1,800 of the vouchers made available through the Mainstream
Program for People with Disabilities. NCD endorses this commitment
of resources.
4. HUD 2001 Budget
HUD's budget request for 2001 included a $9 million
increase for the Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with
Disabilities Program, for a total appropriation of $210 million.
In addition, for the first time, HUD's budget included a request
for $20 million to fund Section 8 vouchers targeted to people with
disabilities, in an effort to compensate for the huge loss of affordable
housing units for nonelderly people with disabilities as a result
of many public buildings being designated as "elderly only." NCD
endorses this commitment of resources.
5. Home Ownership and Rental Housing
An October 26, 2000, informational release from HUD
reports that "the percent of Americans who own their own homes hit
a record high 67.7 percent in the third quarter of 2000....There
are now 71.6 million homeowners in the United States....In addition
to the historical national home ownership rate, all-time high rates
were set for minorities (48.2 percent), Hispanics (46.7 percent),
central city residents (51.9 percent), households headed by females
(53.3 percent), households earning less than the median family income
for the quarter (52.2 percent), and married couples (61 percent)."
HUD reported that it would raise its sights and look to increase
home ownership rates "in order to increase minority ownership to
more than 50 percent."
During the past decade, housing problems confronting
people with disabilities and people with low incomes, particularly
the lack of affordable and accessible housing, has reached crisis
proportions. According to HUD's annual performance report for the
year 2000, estimates of home ownership indicate that only 2 percent
of all people with disabilities are homeowners and less than 5 percent
of the 6.5 million people with disabilities living on SSI/SSDI are
homeowners.
In 2000, with increasingly tight housing markets and
the rising cost of rents, it was virtually impossible for a low-income
person with a disability to afford modest housing without government
assistance. Nationwide, the income of a person with a disability
receiving SSI benefits is only 24.4 percent of the average one-person
income. At this income level, the person must spend approximately
69 percent of his or her income to rent a modest one-bedroom apartment.
Not only have available resources declined, but access by people
with disabilities to existing affordable housing has been reduced
as well. Unfortunately, many people with disabilities live on limited
or fixed incomes, and restrictive SSI and Medicaid regulations prohibit
them from accumulating enough savings to afford the downpayment,
closing costs, and long-term repair expenses associated with home
ownership. These restrictions, along with institutional barriers
and the stigma of disability, have kept many financial institutions
and government housing officials from viewing home ownership as
a viable option for people with disabilities.
HUD released its report to Congress, entitled Rental
Assistance--The Worsening Crisis, in March 2000. The report
contains statistics regarding nonelderly disabled families who are
experiencing housing problems such as overcrowding or a high rent
burden (using more than half of their incomes for rent). The report
found that the number of nonelderly adults with disabilities in
families with worst-case housing needs was between 1.1 million and
1.4 million.
NCD recommends that, through an Executive Order,
the administration create an interagency task force on home ownership
and rental housing for people with disabilities. The task force
should include HUD, DOL, HHS, DOJ, SSA, and other relevant agencies.
Congressional representation would also be solicited from key committees.
The overall charge of the task Force would be to identify, secure,
and target resources sufficient to realistically allow HUD to include
people with disabilities as an additional "minority group" that
would benefit from HUD's targeted home ownership rate of 50 percent.
The task force would also be responsible for identifying and removing
federal legislative, policy, and program barriers to home ownership
and affordable and accessible rental options for people with disabilities.
Transportation
1. Amendments to the Federal Aviation Act and the Air
Carrier Access Act
In March 2000, Congress enacted the Wendell H. Ford
Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21),
containing important changes to the Federal Aviation Act (FA Act)
and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). These changes strengthened
the mandates of nondiscrimination against air travelers with disabilities
in both laws. Foreign air carriers operating within the U.S. air
transportation system now must follow the same rules of nondiscrimination
as domestic U.S. carriers (14 C.F.R. Part 382). One amendment calls
on the Secretary of Transportation to work with appropriate international
organizations to establish higher (international) air transportation
standards for accommodating air travelers with disabilities.
NCD urges the secretary of Transportation to exercise
leadership in bringing together representatives of key international
aviation organizations to reach agreement on international standards
of accommodation.
The new amendments require the secretary to investigate
each complaint of an ACAA violation. The penalty for violations,
increased from $1,100 to $10,000 for each offense, may be levied
for each individual act of discrimination. In the 18 months after
NCD issued its report on ACAA enforcement in February 1999, the
Department of Transportation (DOT) issued eight cease-and- desist
orders against airlines for findings of ACAA discrimination and
levied $130,000 in civil penalties. While violations continue, this
represents a significant increase in enforcement activity over previous
years.
AIR-21 also obliges the secretary of Transportation
to publish disability-related complaint data in a manner comparable
to other consumer complaint data, regularly review all complaints
received by air carriers alleging discrimination on the basis of
disability, and report annually to Congress on the results of such
review. To support greater compliance, the secretary is required
to work with the Department of Justice, the Architectural and Transportation
Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), and NCD to develop a technical
assistance plan and make materials available to individuals and
entities with rights and responsibilities under the law.
NCD urges the secretary to work collaboratively
with the named organizations to develop a plan with measurable objectives
and timelines, and to engage in ongoing consultation with the disability
community regarding priority issues in compliance and enforcement.
In late summer 2000, the Office of the Inspector General
initiated an air travel customer survey to determine how well the
airline industry has fulfilled its pledge to meet higher customer
service standards. The airlines voluntarily agreed to meet these
standards in lieu of new regulations to address the steady decline
in quality of service. One part of the survey addressed air travelers
with disabilities and dealt primarily with ACAA compliance. Disability
organizations posted links to the DOT survey on their Web sites
and encouraged their members to provide feedback. The Inspector
General issued a report with the survey results, identifying adequate
and timely assistance as particular problems to which the airlines
must give special attention. The report noted that over half the
complaints DOT receives concern these issues. Among the report's
recommendations was that airlines should consider establishing advisory
councils, including people with disabilities, to help address the
needs of air travelers with disabilities and special needs.
NCD commends the Inspector General for this important
initiative to determine the impact of voluntary compliance policies
and urges the Office of Consumer Protection to take prompt follow-up
action on the findings.
2. Accessibility of Over-the-Road (Intercity) Buses
(OTRB)
The Department of Transportation, through the Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), has committed to OTRB
accessibility by authorizing $14.3 million to support the capital
and training costs of ADA compliance to companies providing substantially
or exclusively intercity, fixed-route over-the-road bus service.
Between FY 1999 and 2003, the Rural Transportation Accessibility
Initiative Program will make a total of $17.5 million available
only to OTRB companies that provide fixed route service. Between
FY 2000 and FY 2003, another $6.8 million will be available to OTRB
companies that provide local commuter service, charter, or tour
services.
3. Action by the Department of Justice
The Department of Justice entered a settlement agreement
with Greyhound last year that obliges the intercity or OTRB service
to put more accessible buses (equipped with operating lifts and
other boarding devices) with properly trained operators on the road.
- Between April 20, 2000 and October 1, 2000, Greyhound
agreed to have lift-equipped bus service available between all
its destinations, except under a very limited set of conditions
("excusable circumstances"), with 48 hours' advance notice. Boarding
assistance must be provided even when excusable circumstances
exist.
- As of October 2000, all newly purchased or leased
buses must be lift-equipped.
- By October 28, 2012, all OTRBs must be lift-equipped.
When Greyhound's entire fleet is lift-equipped, 48 hours' notice
will no longer be required.
Despite progress in the Greyhound case, persistent
noncompliance perpetuates accessibility problems in many communities.
DOJ filed an amicus brief in James v. Peter Pan Transit Management,
Inc., a case in which the plaintiff charged that inaccessible
service provided by Peter Pan Transit denied her equal access to
public transit in Raleigh, North Carolina. The DOJ brief asserted
that the public transit authority may be held liable under Title
II for discrimination by a private company providing bus service
to the public under a contract with the transit authority and urged
that the plaintiff's claim for damages not be dismissed. The U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled
to allow the lawsuit.
DOJ also intervened in a case brought by two wheelchair
users who claim that they were denied equal access to the public
transit system in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. The lawsuit, Richardson
and Steele v. City of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, has been
ongoing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
DOJ's brief supports plaintiffs' claims by alleging that the city
purchased inaccessible used buses without first making the required
good faith efforts to purchase accessible buses, failed to repair
inoperable wheelchair lifts or provide alternative transportation
while wheelchair lifts were inoperable, and did not adequately train
bus drivers in the operation of wheelchair lifts.
NCD commends the litigation efforts of the Department
of Justice, and urges it to initiate more intensive collaboration
with the Department of Transportation to identify cases of persistent
noncompliance with transportation accessibility for legal action.
Technology and Telecommunications
1. Information and Assistive Technology Initiatives
The Clinton administration's FY 2001 budget included
$100 million (a $13.5 million increase) for disability and technology
research at the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research (NIDRR). NIDRR will launch a technology initiative that
includes $5 million for an educational technology initiative to
provide technical assistance and training to elementary and secondary
schools; $3.4 million for an employment initiative to carry out
research, training, and technical assistance to enhance the ability
of individuals with disabilities to access and use information and
communication technology; and $5.1 million for a community independence
initiative to study how information and assistive technology can
be used to enhance community integration and participation by individuals
with disabilities. The administration's request also includes $15
million to support grants that establish or maintain alternative
loan financing programs. Most people with disabilities do not have
the private financial resources to purchase the assistive technology
they need. If approved, this increase would significantly enhance
the opportunities for individuals with disabilities to take advantage
of assistive technology.
In addition, from June to September 2000, the administration
focused intensely on the areas of assistive technology and information
technology. During this period, the Clinton administration was particularly
active in working to create digital opportunities for Americans
with disabilities: President Clinton issued one Executive Order
and four Executive Memoranda. On July 25, the President issued Executive
Order 13164, which requires federal agencies to establish procedures
to facilitate the provision of reasonable accommodations. On the
same day, he issued a Memorandum that detailed a strategy for the
development and transfer of assistive technology and universal design.
The next day, he issued a Memorandum that renewed the administration's
commitment to ensure that federal programs are free from disability-based
discrimination. Also on July 26, the President issued a Memorandum
emphasizing the federal commitment to employing people with significant
disabilities to fill federal agency jobs that can be performed at
alternative work sites, including the home. On September 21, the
President directed the secretary of Health and Human Services to
convene an interagency Task Force on Health Care Coverage of Assistive
Technologies that includes the Departments of Health and Human Services,
Justice, Education, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and other agencies,
as appropriate. The task force will study the role that Medicare
and Medicaid do and should play in the coverage of assistive technology
devices. The work of the task force is intended to provide a framework
for future Medicare and Medicaid coverage decisions that complement
the administration's overall efforts to promote employment opportunities
for people with disabilities. In his Memorandum, the President directed
the task force to conduct a study on the role of Medicare and Medicaid
in covering assistive technologies that encourage employment of
individuals with disabilities.
NCD strongly endorses and applauds the technology
initiatives set forth by the Clinton administration. NCD urges the
Bush administration to foster research on the economic and social
impacts of assistive technology on the lives of people with disabilities
of all ages.
2. Access Board and Section 508
In March 1999, the Access Board proposed standards
for federal electronic and information technology that were available
for public comment until May 30, 2000. The Board is developing these
standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendment
of 1998, which requires access to the Federal Government's electronic
and information technology. The law applies to all federal agencies
when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information
technology. Federal agencies must ensure that this technology is
accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities
to the extent that doing so does not pose an "undue burden." The
standards cover various means for disseminating information, including
computers, software, and electronic office equipment in the federal
sector. On July 13, 2000, President Clinton signed into law a military
appropriations bill that included an amendment to Section 508 of
the Rehabilitation Act. Under the new amendment, the effective date
of Section 508's enforcement provisions are delayed to allow more
time for compliance with the Board's final standards. As originally
written, the enforcement provisions of Section 508 would have taken
effect August 7, 2000. This date was based on final standards being
completed in February 2000, which would have allowed six months
before enforcement provisions took effect. The amended language
revises the effective date of the enforcement provisions to six
months from publication of the Board's final standards, consistent
with the law's intent. This action is responsive to industry concerns
about sufficient time for compliance with the new standards. The
final standards will be incorporated into the Federal Government's
procurement regulations. The Access Board is also undertaking a
project to develop technical assistance and training materials on
the new standards. Under Section 508 (and the Assistive Technology
Act of 1998), the Board is responsible for a technical assistance
program and training of federal and state employees on the 508 standards
and access to electronic and information technology. With the help
of an outside contractor, the Board is developing training modules
and technical assistance materials on the upcoming final standards
and Section 508. The Board plans to have these materials developed
so that they are available soon after the 508 standards are published.
NCD supports this critical work and encourages
the Access Board, the General Services Administration, and the administration
to publish the final Section 508 standards in a timely fashion.
3. General Services Administration (GSA)
GSA launched the Federal Information Technology Accessibility
Initiative to help federal agencies provide access to electronic
and information technology and to meet the requirements of Section
508. This program will coordinate the Federal Government's efforts
to comply with the law through outreach, training, and information
sharing. GSA issued a memo on May 22 to all federal chief information
officers requesting that each agency name an information technology
(IT) access coordinator and team to ensure compliance with Section
508. GSA will work with designated IT access coordinators to provide
assistance and support and is organizing seminars and workshops
targeted to the coordinators, IT professionals, procurement officers,
and webmasters. GSA highlighted access to agency Web sites as a
priority in this effort and set a target date of July 26, 2000 (the
10th anniversary of ADA), for agencies to make their principal Web
sites and Web pages accessible. None of the agencies' Web sites
met this deadline. Although the Section 508 standards proposed by
the Board are not yet finalized, GSA has indicated that the sections
covering Web access will serve as interim guidance in making existing
sites and pages accessible.
NCD recommends that GSA provide opportunity for
and rely on direct consumer feedback throughout its implementation
of Section 508, particularly as it relates to matters of accessibility.
NCD also recommends that GSA ensure that validated accessibility
tools be created, adopted, or adapted for Web site accessibility
purposes as well as for other technology purposes immediately after
the Access Board's publication of Section 508 standards. In addition,
NCD urges Congress to take whatever steps are necessary to amend
the Congressional Accountability Act so that the Government Printing
Office (which maintains 30 federal agency Web sites) does not remain
exempt from federal accessibility laws and regulations, including
Section 508, as they pertain to Web sites.
4. Web-Based Education Commission
The commission is a congressionally established panel
tasked to investigate the educational promise of the World Wide
Web. The commission focuses on the development and use of Web-based
content and learning strategies to improve achievement at the K-12
and postsecondary levels. Its mission is to recommend actions to
help ensure that all learners have full and equal access to the
capabilities of the World Wide Web, and to ensure that online content
and learning strategies are affordable and meet the highest standards
of educational quality. The commission recommends to the President
and Congress policies for helping education leaders at all levels
incorporate Web-based learning strategies to improve education and
achievement. The commission will conduct a thorough study of the
critical pedagogical and policy issues affecting the development
and use of Web-based content and learning strategies to improve
achievement at the K-12 and post-secondary levels. The Commission
will review the need for changes in applicable regulatory authority
and quality assurance processes, including standards and accreditation.
It will also review programs to support equality in both the availability
of training and access to the Web that are required to promote individualized
learning. During 2000, through a series of public hearings, the
commission conducted an investigation of the key issues that surround
the wide-scale use of the Internet for learning, including the necessity
for ensuring that all learners have full and equal access to the
capabilities of the Web. In December 2000, the commission issued
a report of its findings from two years worth of hearings and e-testimony.
NCD acknowledges the work of the commission, especially
its focus on the policy issue of "access and equity." NCD strongly
encourages Congress to use the commission's report for the next
few years as a roadmap to guide congressional activity in key areas
such as distance learning, technology development and transfer,
internet and Web-oriented research, and e-commerce, to name just
a few issues.
5. Department of Justice
On April 18, 2000, the attorney general of the United
States announced the release of a new Department of Justice report,
Information Technology and People with Disabilities: The Current
State of Federal Accessibility, detailing the extent to which
all federal agency electronic and information technology is accessible
to, and usable by, people with disabilities.
NCD commends DOJ and all participating federal agencies
for providing the nation, for the first time, with a picture of
the status of accessible electronic and information technology (EIT).
NCD encourages DOJ and all federal agencies to work together to
improve and enhance the depth and breadth of EIT accessibility for
all American citizens in the coming years.
6. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the
E-Rate
FCC's Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) and Universal
Service Administrative Company continued to provide affordable access
to telecommunications services for eligible schools and libraries
in the United States. The program is funded at up to $2.25 billion
annually. The level of discounts schools and libraries are eligible
to receive depends on economic need and location (rural or urban);
once approved, they apply their discounts to telecommunications
services, internet access and internal connections, then pay the
difference out of their own budgets. The Universal Service Fund
for Schools and Libraries, popularly known as the "e-rate," provides
all public and private schools and libraries with access to affordable
telecommunications and advanced technologies through the e-rate,
which is the discounted rate schools and libraries pay for telecommunications
services, Internet access, and internal connections. Discounts are
based on the number of students eligible for the National Free Lunch
Program. Schools and libraries in low-income urban communities and
rural areas qualify for the highest discounts.
Unfortunately, for the first three years of operation,
e-rate discounts valued at about $6 billion have been awarded to
schools and libraries without any explicit assurances that accessibility
to the telecommunications services and programs funded with e-rate
monies is provided for people with disabilities. NCD's recent meetings
with FCC staff have resulted in the inclusion of a generic accessibility
notice in hard-copy and electronic e-rate applications. Retroactive
application of accessibility standards to schools and libraries
funded the past three years is needed.
NCD recommends that the FCC revise its e-rate application
form and Web site to include the specific requirement and assurance
from schools and libraries that they will adhere to federal accessibility
mandates. In addition, FCC and DOJ should ensure that recipients
of federal funds under the e-rate program for the past three years
comply with federal accessibility mandates.
International Issues
1. Priorities in the International and Foreign Policy
Arena
In April 2000, NCD sponsored a two-day meeting of
members of its Foreign Policy Team and International Watch (IW),
a federal advisory committee convened to provide input and guidance
to NCD on international disability rights issues. Interested observers
also attended. The purpose of the meeting was to determine the top
priority issues for NCD and its network of international disability
policy experts over the next several years. The meeting began with
two roundtable discussions in which federal agency officials provided
brief overviews of their agencies' initiatives in the international
arena and commented on work that remains to implement a policy of
full inclusion. Following the roundtables, IW members identified
five priorities for action to advance disability inclusion in foreign/
international policy:
- Strengthen U.S. State Department policies and improve
practices related to inclusion of people with disabilities, particularly
in overseas operations and foreign assistance programs.
- Urge Congress to pass an amendment to the Foreign
Assistance Act similar to the Percy Amendment that legislated
the inclusion of women in foreign assistance projects aimed at
strengthening national economies. A parallel amendment for people
with disabilities would make resources available to create opportunities
for participation in local economies and the achievement of economic
self-sufficiency.
- Apply and enforce existing international laws,
conventions, and standards to promote the human rights of people
with disabilities worldwide.
- Hold an international congress on developing an
agenda for a convention on the human rights of people with disabilities.
- Urge U.S. government agencies and nongovernmental
organizations to develop working partnerships aimed at articulating,
advancing, and coordinating inclusion activities within and across
public agencies and private organizations.
Cognizant of the fact that NCD may not be the appropriate
leader for these initiatives, IW members requested that NCD promote
the issues and help identify other organizations that can lead or
partner in an effort to achieve these objectives.
To illustrate the collaborative efforts of U.S. agencies,
representatives from the Social Security Administration and the
Department of Education spoke about an international project co-sponsored
by the two agencies to improve the lives of women with disabilities
through leadership development and employment readiness. The international
trainings, geared to young and emerging women leaders in the disability
community, focused on advocacy and leadership skills.
2. Department of State
On March 16, 2000, the Department of State's Bureau
of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor sponsored a symposium on people
with disabilities who are living in institutions worldwide and the
routine human rights abuses they suffer. The executive director
of Mental Disability Rights International presented documentation
of long-standing patterns of human rights abuses in several countries.
He asked the associate administrator for the bureau to take steps
to ensure accurate and consistent documentation of violations against
people with disabilities in the Department of State's annual report
to Congress on human rights practices. The associate administrator
responded with a memo sent to all U.S. missions in early September
2000, calling on them to expand their reporting practices to include
human rights abuses in institutions for people with disabilities.
The associate administrator's office also funded the development
of a training video geared to U.S. human rights investigators for
distribution to U.S. missions worldwide.
The implementation of inclusive policies in the Department
of State has advanced slowly, with problem areas in implementing
Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. One example is the Department's
internal policy requiring an applicant with a disability to provide
a "letter of basic eligibility" from his or her state vocational
rehabilitation agency or the Department of Veterans Affairs. If
selected for a position, a person with a disability is required
to submit a "letter of certification" stating that he or she can
perform the duties of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
This policy is not in conformance with Section 501, which applies
the same nondiscrimination standards in Title I of the Americans
with Disabilities Act to federal employers.
NCD strongly recommends that the Department of
State closely examine all its personnel policies in light of the
legal standards of nondiscrimination in Title I of ADA. NCD urges
the Department to take immediate action to modify its policies as
necessary to eliminate all discriminatory barriers.
3. United States Agency for International Development
In February 2000, the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) released its second annual report on the implementation
of the USAID disability policy first announced in 1998. The report
looked at the policy recommendations from 1998 to assess to what
extent they had been implemented in 1999. The following are some
of the report's findings:
- There has been some increase (estimated at less
than 50%) in the number of disability plans in place at U.S. missions
overseas.
- Even fewer missions have established conversational
contact with a single local disability advocacy group.
- The increase in mission activities that include
people with disabilities has been slight.
- The inclusion of disability in agencywide training
had not occurred when the report was released in February, though
plans to develop a multipurpose diversity training module during
FY 2000 had been initiated.
The report stated that overall efforts to promote
USAID's disability policy "have been disjointed and minimally effective
despite some areas of internal support." Finally, the report recommended
- establishing a lead organization for shepherding
policy implementation;
- increasing program support for the lead agency
to carry out inclusion activities;
- exploring potential funding mechanisms to promote
the policy; and
- incorporating language to application guidelines
for bureau funds that encourages programs that benefit and include
people with disabilities.
NCD strongly encourages USAID to move forward with
the recommendations from the second annual report, particularly
as they relate to directing funds toward those programs that explicitly
include and benefit people with disabilities.
4. United Nations
The United Nations (UN) held a special session of
the General Assembly June 5-9, 2000, in New York City as a follow-up
to the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September
1995. The member governments in attendance reaffirmed their commitments
to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action adopted at the
Fourth World Conference to reduce the gap in equality between men
and women that results in higher infant mortality rates and higher
levels of malnutrition. The members also adopted additional actions
and initiatives for implementing both documents. Disability advocates
criticized the action platform for the inadequate attention given
to the added burden of disadvantage, discrimination, lack of power,
and denial of the right to make decisions over their own lives experienced
by women with disabilities as a result of their disabilities. Their
message, however, was incorporated into the Beijing+5 final report,
which states, "Girls and women of all ages with any form of disability
are generally among the more vulnerable and marginalized of society.
There is therefore need to take into account and to address their
concerns in all policy making and programming. Special measures
are needed at all levels to integrate them into the mainstream of
development."
The special rapporteur of the UN Commission for Social
Development presented his final report to the commission on monitoring
the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. He reports that even
among the most advanced countries, the rules have not been fully
implemented, but have been widely accepted as the main disability
policy guidelines for governments and nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) alike. While most countries have not started using the rules,
survey results show 85 percent of governments that provided information
believe the rules have led to a rethinking of policies.
The special rapporteur noted that in the area of development
cooperation, no serious effort was identified within the UN or in
intergovernmental institutions to integrate disability measures
into their mainstream activities for development cooperation. The
same situation was found at international financial institutions
such as the World Bank, regional development banks, and others.
The special rapporteur pointed to the great risk that this lack
of commitment will once again lead to disability measures being
left out or marginalized in UN development programs.
The disappointingly slow advance of disability rights
and quality of life for people with disabilities internationally
has contributed to a groundswell of support for an international
convention on the human rights of people with disabilities. Groups
around the globe are engaging in dialogue and strategizing to promote
a UN convention. At the March 2000 World NGO Summit on Disability
in Beijing, China, the main international disability NGOs concluded
that to date, neither the international and regional instruments,
nor the International Bill of Rights had a significant impact on
improving the lives of people with disabilities. The NGO Summit
Beijing Declaration called for an international convention with
binding force to protect and promote the rights of people with disabilities.
Such an instrument would reinforce the moral authority of the Standard
Rules. Another major dialogue on the convention took place in August
2000 at the Rehabilitation International XIX World Congress in Rio
de Janeiro.
NCD strongly urges the UN to continue the work
of the special rapporteur to influence the development of awareness,
positive response, and a sense of urgency in ending the discrimination
against and low visibility of people with disabilities.
Conclusion
This year, the Federal Government and states must
implement a number of new and effective strategies to ensure that
the overwhelming majority of the next generation of people with
disabilities participates in the prosperity of work. Public policy
and legislation must no longer force anyone into mere survival on
income maintenance programs.
This year we must work to restore civil rights as
a national priority for America. This restoration must occur in
deeds, not just in words.
This year we must provide a continuum of long-term
care services to ensure that nursing home or other institutional
care is not the "default" solution" Access and adequate support
to live where they choose is fundamental to people with disabilities
in exercising their civil, political, social, religious, and cultural
rights in society.
This year we must ensure that the new world economy--an
economy already defined by technology--is also defined as an economy
with the ability to unlock the potential of people with disabilities.
Worldwide accessible technology is imperative.
This document reflects the large and small steps that
have been taken during the past 12 months to ensure that people
with disabilities enjoy the full benefits of American citizenship
and prosperity. Within these pages are the incremental events, program
endeavors, legislative proposals, and policy actions that comprise
a somewhat random agenda for civil and human rights and access to
society for people with disabilities.
The new administration and Congress will need to create
a comprehensive and farsighted set of opportunities to reinvigorate
federal enforcement of disability, civil, and human rights laws
so that more Americans with disabilities and their families can
realize the dream of equal access to full participation in American
society. The new administration must commit the necessary leadership
and resources to enforce our civil and human rights laws to ensure
that protections in law are protections in fact. NCD has laid out
a roadmap for the new administration through its civil rights monitoring
project reports.
Let the new administration and Congress mark a realignment
of commitment from government, private sectors, and society to support
the enormous energy of the grassroots movement for civil and human
rights and access to society for individuals with disabilities.
PART II
Major Activities Summary--Fiscal Year 2000
The Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of
1995 (S. 790), among other things, eliminated many unnecessary annual
reports to the Federal Government, including NCD's annual report
on its activities and accomplishments. That information is now combined
with NCD's statutorily mandated National Disability Policy: A
Progress Report to provide a more accurate picture of NCD's
disability policy activities.
The National Council on Disability is a leader in
the development and analysis of disability civil rights policy that
affects 54 million Americans with disabilities and their families.
With a budget authorization of $2,390,880, NCD conducted a number
of activities in FY 2000. Those activities promoted policies, programs,
practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all
individuals with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity
of the disability, from all cultural backgrounds. They also helped
individuals with disabilities realize the promise of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) by empowering them to achieve economic
self-sufficiency, independent living, inclusion, and integration
into all aspects of society.
In FY 2000, NCD reviewed and evaluated new and emerging
policy issues that affect people with disabilities. NCD continued
to identify the overall needs and concerns of people with disabilities
by conducting hearings, forums, and conferences throughout the country
and by responding to literally thousands of telephone, e-mail, and
written inquiries on ADA and other disability civil rights issues.
NCD continued its Disability Civil Rights Monitoring
Project with the release of three independent analyses of federal
enforcement of disability civil rights laws.
This series grew out of NCD's 1996 national policy
summit, attended by more than 300 disability community leaders from
diverse backgrounds, who called on NCD to work with federal agencies
to develop strategies for greater enforcement of existing disability
civil rights laws. On March 18, 1999, NCD produced its first report,
Enforcing the Civil Rights of Air Travelers
with Disabilities. The second report, Back
to School on Civil Rights, on the enforcement of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, was issued on January 25, 2000.
The third report, Promises to Keep:
A Decade of Federal Enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, was released on June 27, 2000. The enforcement reports
to follow in this series will be on the Fair Housing Amendments
Act of 1988 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
In FY 2000, NCD also released several other reports,
including Implementation of the National
Voter Registration Act by State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies;
From Privileges to Rights: People with
Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves; National
Disability Policy: A Progress Report; and Federal
Barriers to Assistive Technology. NCD established a Youth
Advisory Committee; convened NCD Think Tank 2000: Coalitions for
Advancing the Civil and Human Rights of People with Disabilities
from Diverse Cultures; held a civil rights retreat; celebrated the
10th anniversary of ADA; and conducted community briefings across
the country.
Activities for FY 2000
NCD conducted multiple activities in FY 2000 that
significantly increased consumer input on public policy issues affecting
people with disabilities and provided information on NCD's daily
operations. A summary of those activities follows:
NCD Releases Report on Voter Registration
October 1, 1999, Washington, DC
NCD released its report Implementation
of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by State Vocational
Rehabilitation Agencies. This report, which is the first
to monitor NVRA, found that implementation of this law by states
is inconsistent and poorly coordinated.
NVRA was enacted 1993 to make it easier for all people
to register to vote. Section 7 of NVRA specifies that each state
will designate, as voter registration agencies, all offices in the
state that provide state-funded programs primarily engaged in providing
services to persons with disabilities. One of the largest agencies
serving people with disabilities in a state is the vocational rehabilitation
agency.
National Disability Employment Awareness
Month
October 19, 1999, Washington, DC
The White House Office of Public Liaison, NCD, and
the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
co-hosted a commemoration of National Disability Employment Awareness
Month by recognizing the musical and artistic talents of Americans
with disabilities.
Air Carrier Access
November 16-17, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD participated in a symposium for airline personnel
on meeting the needs of passengers with disabilities. An NCD representative
addressed compliance and enforcement of the Air Carrier Access Act
and discussed NCD's report Enforcing the
Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities: Recommendations
for the Department of Transportation and the President.
Presidential Task Force on Employment
of Adults with Disabilities
December 8, 1999, Chicago, IL
NCD participated in a town hall meeting of the Presidential
Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. The task force
is chaired by the Secretary of Labor. NCD is a member of the task
force.
Interregional Seminar and Symposium
December 13-17, 1999, Hong Kong, China
NCD was represented at the Interregional Seminar and
Symposium on International Norms and Standards Relating to Disability,
which was hosted by the Hong Kong Equal Opportunities Commission
and the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, in cooperation with
the United Nations. Fifty-four participants attended from 11 countries.
International Watch
December 15, 1999, Washington, DC
March 15, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD conducted a meeting of its International Watch
advisory committee. The purpose of International Watch is to share
information on international disability issues and to advise NCD's
Foreign Policy Team on developing policy proposals that advocate
for a foreign policy that is consistent with the values and goals
of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
April 6-7, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD held an International Watch advisory committee
meeting at the Washington Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC. On the
first day of the meeting, representatives from 11 federal agencies
shared information about their agencies' international disability
policy implementation during three roundtable sessions. Each roundtable
was followed by a question and answer session from 21 members of
NCD's International Watch and Foreign Policy Team, as well as 14
official observers. Agency representatives brought to light significant
new information about some of their agencies' activities. All agreed
that a tremendous amount of work remains to be done to fully implement
disability inclusion policy in each agency's operations, both domestic
and overseas.
The second day focused on forging an action agenda
based on the input and discussion from the first day. Four work
groups were established to develop action plans relating to Department
of State initiatives, interagency coordination and other agency
actions, legislative priorities, and a United Nations convention.
NCD Releases Report on People Labeled
with Psychiatric Disabilities
January 20, 2000, Orlando, FL
NCD released its report From
Privileges to Rights: People with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak
for Themselves, at the National Association of Protection
and Advocacy Systems' Winter Conference 2000 in Orlando, Florida.
NCD board member Rae Unzicker presented the report on behalf of
NCD. The report is based on NCD's 1998 hearing in Albany, New York,
where NCD heard testimony from mental health professionals, lawyers,
advocates, and relatives of people with psychiatric disabilities
and from people with psychiatric disabilities themselves. They described
in graphic detail how people with psychiatric disabilities have
been beaten, shocked, isolated, incarcerated, raped, deprived of
food and bathroom privileges, and physically and psychologically
abused in institutions and in their communities. This testimony
resulted in a number of recommendations for change in the way people
with psychiatric disabilities are treated. The most important is
the elimination of coercion. From Privileges to Rights calls
on the President and Congress to address the many problems faced
by people with psychiatric disabilities and to ensure that these
people are fully and substantively involved in making policy changes
that will enable them to claim their full citizenship rights.
NCD Releases IDEA Report
January 25, 2000, Washington, DC
Parents, students, and disability advocates braved
a blizzard to participate in NCD's January 25 news conference highlighting
the release of its report Back
to School on Civil Rights. The report confirms what parents
and children with disabilities have repeatedly told NCD: that noncompliance
with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has
persisted in some states over many years, placing enormous burdens
on children and families. NCD also found that too many parents of
children with disabilities continue to spend endless resources to
overcome obstacles to their children's basic right to an appropriate
education, often at the expense of their personal lives, their careers,
and their families' financial security.
Back to School on
Civil Rights is the second in NCD's "Unequal Protection
Under Law" series of independent analyses of federal civil rights
enforcement for Americans with disabilities. The first in the series
was NCD's report of March 18, 1999, Enforcing
the Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities: Recommendations
for the Department of Transportation and the President.
President's Committee on Mental
Retardation
February 22-23, 2000, New York, NY
NCD participated in the President's Committee on Mental
Retardation Conference on Poverty and Disability: A Call to Action,
addressing Native American issues and childhood and child development
practices.
Community Outreach
February 28, 2000, Orlando, FL
NCD conducted a community briefing on critical issues
for people with disabilities on February 28 in Orlando, Florida.
During the briefing, NCD presented information on its "Unequal Protection
Under Law" series of independent analyses of federal civil rights
enforcement for Americans with disabilities., including Back
to School on Civil Rights; Lift
Every Voice: Modernizing Disability Policies and Programs to Serve
a Diverse Nation; and From
Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities
Speak for Themselves.
NCD Fellowship
March 1, 2000, Washington, DC
In 1999, NCD established the National Disability Fellowship
Program in Washington, DC, to identify and develop new leaders with
disabilities to enhance NCD's policy capacity. NCD announced the
second one-year appointment, which will begin on January 8, 2001.
The focus of the program is to provide experience, training, and
contacts to qualified individuals with disabilities.
NCD Co-sponsors White House Initiative
May 1, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD co-sponsored the White House Initiative on Asian
Americans and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month Celebration. On June
7, 1999, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13125, which seeks
to improve the quality of life for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
by increasing their participation in federal programs where they
may be underserved. To implement the Executive Order, the President
established an advisory commission and a federal interagency working
group. NCD is a proud member of the working group.
Psychiatric Survivors Meet with
the Vice President
May 2, 2000, Washington, DC
A national coalition representing people with psychiatric
disabilities met in the White House with Lisa Brown, general counsel
to Vice President Gore, and Trooper Sanders, senior policy advisor
to Mrs. Gore, to convey the civil rights aspect of "mental health"--the
necessity to eliminate the devastating discrimination suffered by
people with psychiatric disabilities and psychiatric survivors.
The group urged the vice president and Mrs. Gore to take a public
stand against involuntary confinement, abuse, coercion, forced treatment,
and discrimination of any kind. During the meeting, NCD presented
an overview of its report From Privileges
to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for
Themselves. Recommendations in this report emphasize the
basic principle that people with psychiatric disabilities are, first
and foremost, citizens who have the right to expect that they will
be treated according to the principles of law that apply to all
other citizens. All laws and policies that restrict the rights of
people with psychiatric disabilities simply because of their disabilities
are inharmonious with basic principles of law and justice, as well
as with such landmark civil rights laws as ADA.
NCD Releases Disability Progress
Report
May 15, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD released its report National
Disability Policy: A Progress Report, which found that despite
the enactment of laws and Federal Government regulations designed
to enable people to engage more fully in our nation's economy, far
too many people with disabilities continue to face daunting obstacles.
While the national unemployment rate is the lowest it has been for
over a quarter of a century, that rate remains above 70 percent
for people with disabilities. In addition, a majority of the nation's
six million students with disabilities are not receiving special
education and related services in regular education environments.
Think Tank 2000
May 18-20, 2000, Arlington, VA
NCD hosted a civil rights strategy session--NCD Think
Tank 2000: Coalitions for Advancing the Civil and Human Rights of
People with Disabilities from Diverse Cultures--designed to develop
a strategic plan to combat the myriad challenges faced by Americans
with disabilities from culturally diverse backgrounds.
Speakers included acting Assistant Attorney General
for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee; Chair of the Congressional Black
Caucus James E. Clyburn; Representative Major R. Owens; and Executive
Director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Wade Henderson.
Participants included leaders from diverse cultures, a broad coalition
of people representing grassroots disability rights and traditional
civil and human rights groups, and members of Congress and administration
officials.
Presidential Task Force on Employment
of Adults with Disabilities
May 24, 2000, Hartford, CT
NCD participated in a town hall meeting of the Presidential
Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. The purpose
was to address expanding employment opportunities for people with
psychiatric disabilities. NCD is a member of the task force, which
is chaired by the secretary of Labor.
Community Briefing
May 24, 2000, San Juan, PR
NCD conducted a community briefing to gather input
on findings and recommendations from reports in its Unequal Protection
Under Law series.
NCD Releases Report on Technology
May 31, 2000, Washington, DC
In its report Federal
Policy Barriers to Assistive Technology, NCD found that
federal policies constitute a barrier to individuals with disabilities
who wish to learn about, obtain, and use assistive technology (AT)
devices and services, such as telecommunications equipment and services
for the deaf and computer software for adults and students who are
blind. These barriers translate into poor quality of life for people
who cannot get the AT they need.
Zero Tolerance and School Discipline
June 15-16, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD participated in summit entitled Opportunities
Suspended: The Devastating Consequences of Zero Tolerance and School
Discipline Policies. An NCD representative discussed NCD's report
Back to School on Civil Rights.
The event was co-sponsored by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard
University, the Advancement Project, and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
NCD Releases ADA Report
June 27, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD released its new report Promises
to Keep: A Decade of Federal Enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities
Act at a standing-room-only news conference in Washington,
DC. NCD concluded that chronic underfunding and understaffing of
responsible agencies, undue caution, and the absence of a coherent
strategy have undermined federal enforcement of ADA in its first
decade. The primary speakers were Marca Bristo, chairperson, NCD;
Gina McDonald, member, NCD; Wade Henderson, executive director,
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; Andrew J. Imparato, president
and chief executive officer, American Association of People with
Disabilities; and Jennifer Jones, chairperson, Youth Leadership
Council.
In a tremendous show of support, several disability
stakeholders and national leaders also sat at the dais and helped
answer questions from the media. They included Yoshiko Dart, for
Justin Dart and Justice For All; Curt Decker, executive director,
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems; Paul Marchand,
co-chair, Education Task Force, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities;
Patty McGill Smith, executive director, National Parent Network
on Disabilities; and Courtland Townes III, chair, Legislative Committee,
National Council on Independent Living. Bob Kafka, national organizer
for ADAPT, and Pat Wright, director of governmental affairs, Disability
Rights Education and Defense Fund, were unable to participate because
of pressing family matters.
NCD Civil Rights Retreat
June 27-29, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD convened a Civil Rights Retreat to collaborate
on a national enforcement agenda for disability civil rights over
the next 10 years. The participants represented a broad array of
expertise in the areas of civil and human rights, disability advocacy,
and the status of people with disabilities from diverse cultural
backgrounds. This two-and-a-half-day retreat addressed issues of
inclusion, empowerment, and access to equal opportunity. The goal
of the retreat was to forge a disability civil rights agenda articulated
in a consensus document that could then be taken to grassroots communities
around the country for their feedback in late 2000.
ADA 10th Anniversary
July 25, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD celebrated the 10th anniversary of ADA at a special
luncheon honoring the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR)
for the pivotal role it played in the passage of ADA. During the
luncheon, LCCR was presented with NCD's newly established Justin
Dart Freedom Award. LCCR executive director Wade Henderson accepted
the award. Representative Major R. Owens (D-NY) was the keynote
speaker, while Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Representative James
Clyburn (D-SC), chair of the Congressional Black Caucus made special
congratulatory remarks.
Youth Advisory Committee
July 25, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD conducted a meeting of its newly established Youth
Advisory Committee to provide input into NCD activities consistent
with the values and goals of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
International Watch
August 15, 2000, Washington, DC
NCD conducted a meeting of its International Watch
advisory committee. The purpose of International Watch is to share
information on international disability issues and to advise NCD's
Foreign Policy Team as it develops policy proposals that advocate
for a foreign policy that is consistent with the values and goals
of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Community Briefings
After a a disability civil rights agenda was formulated into a consensus
document at the Civil Rights Retreat, NCD took the document to grassroots
communities around the country for their feedback.
August 14, 2000, New York, NY
August 16, 2000, Atlanta, GA
August 30, 2000, Houston, TX
September 6, 2000, Denver, CO
September 7, 2000, Anchorage, AK
September 8, 2000, Philadelphia, PA
September 13, 2000, Los Angeles, CA
September 15, 2000, Miami, FL
September 19, 2000, Boston, MA
September 21, 2000, Portland, OR
September 27, 2000, Rapid City, SD
September 28, 2000, Chicago, IL
September 29, 2000, Kansas City, MO
Congressional Testimony
In FY 2000, NCD provided formal testimony to Congress
on four occasions:
- February 17, 2000, testimony submitted for the
record of the U.S. House of Representatives:
NCD submitted written testimony to the House Committee on the
Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution, addressing the applicability
of the Americans with Disabilities Act to private Internet sites.
- March 25, 2000, testimony submitted for the record
of the U.S. Senate:
NCD submitted written testimony to the Senate Committee on Appropriations,
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and
Related Agencies regarding its FY 2001 budget request.
- March 30, 2000, before the U.S. House of Representatives:
NCD testified before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee
on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, regarding
its FY 2001 budget request.
- September 14, 2000, testimony submitted for the
record of the U.S. Senate:
NCD submitted e-testimony to the Web-based Education Commission,
addressing equal access to education for individuals with disabilities
of all ages, including matters that prevent students' access to
information technology that includes the Internet and World Wide
Web.
Information Dissemination
Information dissemination reached a record high for
NCD, as it responded to thousands of telephone calls, e-mail messages,
and letters from concerned people and organizations about disability
issues. In addition, NCD published its monthly newsletter, NCD Bulletin,
which reaches more than 12,000 people and organizations. All NCD
publications are available in alternative formats, such as braille,
large print, and audiocassette. This information is also available
at NCD's award-winning Web site (www.ncd.gov), which receives more
than one million hits per year.
Also, on August 11, 2000, the President signed Executive
Order 13166, which improves access to services for persons with
limited English proficiency. This Executive Order was a result of
a recommendation in Lift Every Voice. Information on NCD's Web site
is also available in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and
Korean. The NCD Web site also offers a translation function that
removes language barriers across the World Wide Web. It translates
to and from English, French, German, Italian, Portugese, and Russian.
NCD Quarterly Meetings
As required by Section 400(3)(c) of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended, NCD met on four occasions during FY 2000:
November 15-16, 1999; Baltimore, MD
February 28-March 1, 2000; Orlando, FL
May 22-24, 2000; San Juan, PR
August 7-9, 2000; Washington, DC
APPENDIX
Mission of the National Council on Disability
Overview and Purpose
The National Council on Disability (NCD) is an independent
federal agency with 15 members appointed by the President of the
United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The overall purpose
of NCD is to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures
that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities,
regardless of the nature or significance of the disability; and
to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency,
independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects
of society.
Specific Duties
The current statutory mandate of NCD includes the
following:
- Reviewing and evaluating, on a continuing basis,
policies, programs, practices, and procedures concerning individuals
with disabilities conducted or assisted by federal departments
and agencies, including programs established or assisted under
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, or under the Developmental
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act; as well as all
statutes and regulations pertaining to federal programs that assist
such individuals with disabilities, in order to assess the effectiveness
of such policies, programs, practices, procedures, statutes, and
regulations in meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities.
- Reviewing and evaluating, on a continuing basis,
new and emerging disability policy issues affecting individuals
with disabilities at the federal, state, and local levels and
in the private sector, including the need for and coordination
of adult services, access to personal assistance services, school
reform efforts and the impact of such efforts on individuals with
disabilities, access to health care, and policies that act as
disincentives for individuals to seek and retain employment.
- Making recommendations to the President, Congress,
the secretary of Education, the director of the National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and other officials
of federal agencies about ways to better promote equal opportunity,
economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and
integration into all aspects of society for Americans with disabilities.
- Providing Congress, on a continuing basis, with
advice, recommendations, legislative proposals, and any additional
information that NCD or Congress deems appropriate.
- Gathering information about the implementation,
effectiveness, and impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
- Advising the President, Congress, the commissioner
of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the assistant secretary
for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services within the Department
of Education, and the director of the National Institute on Disability
and Rehabilitation and Research on the development of the programs
to be carried out under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
- Providing advice to the commissioner of the Rehabilitation
Services Administration with respect to the policies and conduct
of the administration.
- Making recommendations to the director of the National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research on ways to
improve research, service, administration, and the collection,
dissemination, and implementation of research findings affecting
persons with disabilities.
- Providing advice regarding priorities for the activities
of the Interagency Disability Coordinating Council and reviewing
the recommendations of this council for legislative and administrative
changes to ensure that such recommendations are consistent with
NCD's purpose of promoting the full integration, independence,
and productivity of individuals with disabilities.
- Preparing and submitting to the president and Congress
an annual report titled National Disability Policy: A Progress
Report.
International
In 1995, NCD was designated by the Department of State
to be the U.S. government's official contact point for disability
issues. Specifically, NCD interacts with the special rapporteur
of the United Nations Commission for Social Development on disability
matters.
Consumers Served and Current Activities
While many government agencies deal with issues and
programs affecting people with disabilities, NCD 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, veteran status, or other
individual circumstance. NCD 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 the concerns of people with
disabilities and eliminating barriers to their active participation
in community and family life.
NCD plays a major role in developing disability policy
in America. In fact, it was NCD that originally proposed what eventually
became the Americans with Disabilities Act. NCD's present list of
key issues includes improving personal assistance services, promoting
health care reform, including students with disabilities in high-quality
programs in typical neighborhood schools, promoting equal employment
and community housing opportunities, monitoring the implementation
of ADA, improving assistive technology, and ensuring that those
persons with disabilities who are members of diverse cultures fully
participate in society.
Statutory History
NCD was initially established in 1978 as an advisory
board within the Department of Education (Public Law 95-602). The
Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1984 (Public Law 98-221) transformed
NCD into an independent agency.
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