National Council on Disability
Quarterly Meeting

Embassy Suites Hotel
Alexandria, VA
March 5-6, 2003

STAFF
Ethel D. Briggs, Executive Director
Jeff T. Rosen, General Counsel and Director of Policy
Mark S. Quigley, Director of Communications
Martin Gould, Ed.D., Senior Research Specialist
Gerrie Hawkins, Ph.D., Program Specialist
Julie Carroll, Attorney Advisor
Joan Durocher, Attorney Advisor
Allan Holland, Financial Manager
Brenda Bratton, Executive Assistant
Stacey S. Brown, Staff Assistant
Pamela O'Leary, Staff Interpreter

NCD CONTRACTORS
Joelle Balfe
Claudia Gordon
Theda Zawaiza, Ph.D.

VISITORS
Kathy Brill, Parent
Harrisburg, PA

George Hoge, Office of Appeals
Social Security Administration

CALL TO ORDER
Chairperson Lex Frieden called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. and welcomed members, staff, and visitors. He asked members and staff to introduce themselves.

Motion 1
Pat Pound moved to accept the agenda. Passed.

Motion 2
Carol Novak moved to accept the December quarterly minutes. Passed.

CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT
Mr. Frieden reported that he was the Morning Newsmaker at the National Press Club this morning and that members of the media attended,ing includeding representatives of C-SPAN (which will broadcast the program later today), BELO (KHOU-TV), and the Houston Chronicle. Mr. Frieden said that other newspapers and a large contingent from the disability press were present at the event.

Mr. Frieden said he also had the pleasure of speaking at the opening of the Justin Dart Building at the University of Houston, whereand he submitted remarks on behalf of NCD. Ms. Pound was there, representing the Governor of Texas.

Mr. Frieden said that he spoke at a series of meetings in Honolulu. He indicated that some of the audience members expressed their appreciation for Dr. Young Woo Kang's remarks the week before.

Mr. Frieden said he had attended meetings of the Executive Committee and other NCD committees.

Awards Criteria
Mr. Frieden said that the Executive Committee had discussed the criteria for an awards program for NCD. The guidelines for such a program are included in the meeting notebooks.

Motion 3
Ms. Pound moved to accept the guidelines for an NCD awards program. Passed.

Personnel and Administration
Mr. Frieden said that upon becoming chairperson he reviewed the background material provided by the staff and participated in an orientation.

He said that the Corrective Action Plan began as a result of an audit of the financial policies of NCD. The plan was put into place by the previous board to ensure that NCD's financial policies are appropriate and up-to-date.

Mr. Frieden said that the Executive Committee has discussed what needs to be done to ensure that appropriate personnel and other administrative policies and procedures are in place, and that these policies and procedures are functional and available to members and staff.

He said that he has appointed, with the approval of the Executive Committee, a Personnel and Administration Committee. The members are Milton Aponte (chair), Linda Wetters, and Joel Kahn. This committee will be responsible for advising the Executive Committee on performance reviews conducted and on the development of the general the polices and procedures manual.

Mr. Frieden said that he has asked Mr. Aponte to sit in on the Executive Committee in an ad hoc capacity, to keep the Executive Committee updated on the activities of the Personnel and Administration Committee. If it is determined that the latter committee should be a standing committee and its chair included on the Executive Committee, a recommendation to that effect will be bought to this body to amend the bylaws.

Overview of Strategic Planning Session
Mr. Frieden noted that members have an additional notebook, which they should have received at check-in. The notebook includes materials on past NCD activities, the current work plan, and future plans that are provided for in the FY 2004 budget proposal.

Mr. Frieden said that NCD members and staff will depart tomorrow at noon for the first session of the planning retreat at the White House. He said that invitations for the White House meeting were sent to a number of cabinet and subcabinet officials and to special assistants to the President. He said that the session will begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. and end at 6:00 p.m., with no formal breaks.

On Friday, March 7, staff will brief members on the work of NCD, which is outlined in the notebook. By Friday afternoon, Mr. Frieden said, members should have gathered a substantial amount of information about where NCD is, where it should go, and where the representatives of the Bush Administration feel it needs to go. On Saturday morning, members will reach consensuses on 10 priorities to address during the remainder of FY 2003, and in FY 2004 and FY 2005.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Ms. Pound said that the Executive Committee met January 9, February 3, and February 28. She said that staff reporteds were given by staff on the financial policies and procedures manual, and Mr. Frieden requested an audit of current policies by an outside source. Ms. Pound said that the financial manual that will be covered during the Finance Committee report was reviewed by the Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee discussed having a paper prepared on the Hanson case that the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear. However, the case was withdrawn.

Ms. Pound said that the next NCD meeting is scheduled for June 23-24 in New York City, with an international theme. Some NCD activities will be scheduled at the United Nations. The following meeting is scheduled the third week in August in Houston, Texas, with an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) theme.

Ms. Pound said that the Executive Committee approved the juvenile justice report and the agenda for the planning retreat.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
Ethel Briggs reported the following:

• The 504 report was released February 14. A press availability was held at the NCD office with NCD member Graham Hill. While no press attended, the report received a great deal of media coverage.
• The staff has reviewed the first draft of the progress report; the final draft is due by the end of March.
• The juvenile justice study has been approved and forwarded to EEI Communications for editing and formatting.
• The CRIPA and Olmstead studies are under way and will be completed soon.

Ms. Briggs said that she had been informed by the staff of Congressman Ralph Regula (R-OH), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, that NCD will not provide testimony on its FY 2004 budget request. She said that Congress will hold hearings for the larger agencies only.

Ms. Briggs said that the congressional budget request is due on March 12. She plans to meet with a staff member in Congressman Regula's office, and other staff members of the House and Senate appropriation subcommittees. Ms. Briggs said that she would supply NCD members with a list of Senate and House subcommittee members. She asked that NCD members contact the senators and representatives from their states to request their support for NCD's budget request.

Legislative Update
Jeff Rosen reported the following:

The 108th Congress is poised to address many issues that are critical to people with disabilities. Several laws are up for reauthorization, as noted in NCD members' meeting notebooks.

In recent months, various economic stimulus plans have been proposed that, if enacted, could have a significant impact on federal and state programs serving people with disabilities and their families. Historically, only one-third of the federal budget goes to fund all domestic discretionary programs, including programs for people with disabilities (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], vocational rehabilitation, assistive technology, child care and family support, research and prevention, housing vouchers, transportation services, etc.). One-third of the budget funds entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare), and one-third goes to defense spending.

Cuts in defense spending are unlikely because of the war on terrorism, the war with Iraq, and national security needs. Therefore, policymakers must significantly increase the federal deficit, cut domestic discretionary programs, or both.

The core of President George W. Bush's stimulus plan is a 10-year, $695 billion tax cut proposal that includes eliminating the tax on dividends, speeding up tax rate cuts, and making the 2001 tax cuts permanent. The Administration estimates that through the year 2013, federal revenue would shrink by approximately $1.8 trillion. State budgets will also be affected by declining federal revenues, as most states with an income tax use the federal definition of adjusted gross income.

Medicaid is at thetaking a front- and- center place inof budget and fiscal discussions in Congress. In the states, Medicaid budgets are among those hardest hit, according to a 50-state survey of Medicaid costs in FY 2003 released by the Kaiser Commission. Medicaid restrictions include reducing benefits; restricting or eliminating dental coverage; restricting occupational or physical therapy; decreasing spending on long-term services, including those provided in the community; increasing beneficiary copayments for a variety of services; and freezing or reducing increases in provider rates.

In January, three governors-Jeb Bush (R-FL), John Rowland (R-CT), and Bill Owens (R-CO)-wrote to President Bush and Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services, urging the Administration and Congress to review and fundamentally rewrite the nation's Medicaid law. The President's proposals for Medicaid offer states some fiscal relief if they agree to convert much of their Medicaid program into two block grants or allocations. The federal role in ensuring quality of services is critical to the Medicaid program. Federal monitoring, oversight, and enforcement must be maintained, strengthened, and, where appropriate, modernized. The enactment of any economic stimulus legislation will likely be delayed until Congress adopts the FY 2004 budget resolution.

On February 3, the Bush Administration unveiled its FY 2004 budget proposal. With entitlement program spending such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Food Stamps growing rapidly and homeland security and defense spending slated for substantial increases, discretionary human services spending growth has been significantly limited. The Administration's budget request proposes to block grant the entire Section 8 voucher program, a major source of funding for housing for people with disabilities. This move would shift program authority to the states.

Social Security issues are of particular importance to many people with disabilities. The Social Security Program Protection Act, which missed enactment when the 107th Congress ran out of time, was reintroduced in the House on February 12 as HR 743. Hearings on the bill were held on February 27. The Senate is expected to soon follow soon with a similar bill. Important provisions from the bill include critical improvements in the Ticket to Work program. If Congress and the Administration decide to tackle the difficult issues surrounding long-term solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds, an effort must be made to ensure that the concerns of people with disabilities are taken into account.

Public Relations Update
Mark Quigley began his report by thanking Robert Davila and Glenn Anderson for their help in producing audio news releases. Dr. Davila's news release was in Spanish. Both releases were aired on major radio stations across the country.

• Mr. Frieden submitted a welcome letter to the 108th Congress, describing NCD's function and role.
• Copies of NCD's news releases are sent to U.S. Newswire. The releases are distributed to many news organizations throughout the country and posted on many Web sites.
• Mr. Frieden's press event at the National Press Club this morning was a success. It was covered by C-SPAN, BELO, Houston televison, and the Houston Chronicle. The National Press Club Web site will post the audio clip later today.
• Walls Communications will return to continue the media training, which will include a critique of the training videos produced at the December meeting.

FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT
David Wenzel acknowledged the great work of the Finance Committee members and staff. He gave special thanks to Kate Wolters for the information she shared from the former NCD board, which has helped the committee move forward.

Mr. Wenzel said that President Bush has signed NCD's appropriation for FY 2003.

Financial Policies and Procedures Manual
Mr. Wenzel said that the financial policies and procedures manual has been completed. The Finance Committee has reviewed the manual. It has been approved by the Executive Committee, which is recommending it for full NCD approval.

NCD financial manager Allan Holland said that outside reviewers and auditors had indicated over the years that NCD needed to have written financial policies and procedures. He said that this document was completed with the help of a consultant from the Department of Treasury through an interagency agreement. Changes can be made to the document if necessary in the future.

Motion 4
Mr. Kahn moved to adopt the NCD financial policies and procedures manual as interim procedures until the next NCD meeting. At the next meeting, a vote will be taken on whether to adopt them as permanent procedures and guidelines. Passed.

Mr. Holland said that the Treasury Department consultant will help NCD complete the items in the current agreement. The Finance Committee is developing a financial strategic plan, which should be completed by the end of March or the beginning of April. The Treasury consultant will also help NCD analyze the services and costs involved in staying with the General Services Administration (GSA) or moving to another service provider.

Mr. Wenzel said that the Finance Committee will meet again this Friday to set priorities for the next several years, using a long-range perspective in keeping with the goal of the planning retreat. The committee will focus on priorities for the remainder of FY 2003 funds and identify priorities for FY 2004 and FY 2005 funding.

TEAM REPORTS
Universal Design
Mr. Kahn reported that the Universal Design Team received six responses to its request for proposals (RFP). The study will determine what factors, including cost, influence the production of universal design products. The respondents are Inclusive Technology, CIA Corporation, Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation, Access Ingenuity, International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet, and Berry, Dunn, McNeill & Parker.

Four external reviewers have been selected, and each proposal will be reviewed by at least two of the reviewers, who have committed to getting their reviews back to us within a week. The contract should be awarded sometime in April and will be completed within one year.

Mr. Kahn said that the six proposals are very solid, and that the reviewers will have to use a process of elimination to select the best one. He noted that Jeff Rosen and Joan Durocher have done a great job throughout this process.

Reauthorization of Laws
Ms. Pound announced the members of the reauthorizations team: Linda Wetters, Robert Davila, and Graham Hill. Ms. Pound is chair of the team, Julie Carroll is the staff person, and Theda Zawaiza is the contractor.

Ms. Pound said that the team met on January 22 and February 13. They are covering work related to the reauthorization of five laws: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21), the Higher Education Act (HEA), and the Rehabilitation Act.

Ms. Pound said the team has asked the staff and contractor to develop short working papers that will provide a status review for each law: an overview of the law; a list of past NCD recommendations; issue areas for future NCD consideration (for example, new positions NCD might take); committees of jurisdiction; and where Congress is relative to the reauthorization of each law.

Ms. Pound said that two draft papers have been developed: one on vouchers under IDEA and the other on TANF as it relates to people with disabilities. She said that team members reviewed these papers at the last meeting. She said that the team would discuss the Rehabilitation Act at its meeting next week. She closed by inviting all NCD members to participate in the work of the team.

Health (Medicaid/Medicare Study)
Ms. Novak said that NCD has received six excellent proposals to conduct the health study. She commended Martin Gould for a well-written RFP, which included consumer directives, long-term care, and the Medicaid program.

Ms. Novak said that the team has two review panels with two reviewers each. One panel has completed its review of three proposals and has submitted quantitative scores. One of the two members of the other review panel was unable to complete the review, so Dr. Gould had to find another qualified person who could complete the review by Friday, March 7.

Ms. Novak said that the funding for this proposal is $125,000; she anticipates completion of the report by March 2004.

It is estimated that long-term health care costs will quadruple by 2020. This situation is critical for people of all ages with significant disabilities that require long-term health care services. Ms. Novak said that this committee has a great deal of commitment and looks forward to working with the entire NCD to ensure that these supports remain available for people of all ages who need them.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORTS
International Watch
Kathleen Martinez reported that International Watch is pursing two strategies for its foreign policy work: foreign assistance and the proposed convention on the rights of people with disabilities.

Ms. Martinez said that the NCD meeting in June will coincide with the meeting of the United Nations ad hoc committee to address the issue of a convention on the rights of people with disabilities. She said that Mr. Frieden has asked her to presentprepare a half-day orientation session on the topic during the June meeting.

She said that Joelle Balfe, contractor to the committee, completed the UN questionnaire on the convention. NCD submitted its response to the questionnaire to the Department of State and received an e-mail from staff at State thanking NCD for its input.

Ms. Martinez said that NCD held a strategy session on December 6 on including people with disabilities in development programs here and abroad. Information gathered will guide the development of a report addressing the need for new legislation, including amending the Foreign Assistance Act to include people with disabilities in U.S. overseas programming. The report will be a followup to NCD's 1996 report "Foreign Policy and Disability." The new report will explore legislative strategies and civil rights protections to ensure inclusion of people with disabilities. Ms. Martinez said that NCD staff members have met with congressional staffers in the offices of Representative James P. Langevin (D-RI) and Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) to discuss the report. She said that the committee has been participating on a work group convened last year by Senator Harkin's office to further disability issues internationally.

She said that staff members participated in an interagency meeting at the Department of State on January 29. On February 13, the committee co-hosted a meeting at the World Bank with the U.S. International Council on Disabilities to introduce Venus Ilagan, the newly elected president of Disabled Peoples International.

Ms. Martinez noted that Ms. Wolters and Ms. Balfe met with individuals at the Carter Center to discuss possible collaboration on international disability issues.

Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee (CDAC)
Mr. Aponte said that NCD is interested in bringing the input of the diverse cultures of our society to its work and having that input considered in the process of policymaking and recommendations for legislation. People with disabilities from diverse cultures are part of the mix of society, not only as clients of federal programs and services but also as participants in the process, politically, socially, and economically.

Mr. Aponte said that the CDAC held a public teleconference on February 10. He has contacted each member by telephone and looks forward to meeting them in person. He said that the committee selects its areas of focus from NCD's priority areas and that committee strategies are aligned with the agency's overall mandate. NCD's charter for CDAC was renewed in January 2003.

Mr. Aponte said that the CDAC has several work groups: the Reauthorization Work Group, with Deb Smith as lead; the Cultural Diversity Initiative, with Paul Leung as lead; and the Communication and Outreach Work Group, with Darrell Simmons and Ting Mintz as group leaders. Gerrie Hawkins is the staff person for the committee, and Theda Zawaiza is the contractor.

The Cultural Diversity Initiative has three phases: research, a forum, and the development of a toolkit. Preliminary research has been completed, and external reviewers are involved in the process. The forum will be held in July 2003. The draft toolkit will be circulated at the forum to solicit input from forum participants.

Mr. Aponte said that he looks forward to having a face-to-face meeting with the Cultural Diversity Advisory Committee. He said that he hopes funds will be available for advisory committees to have face-to-face meetings, as both CDAC and the Youth Advisory Committee have a lot to bring to NCD from underserved and underrepresented people with disabilities.

Youth Advisory Committee (YAC)
Marco Rodriguez said he is happy to represent the Youth Advisory Committee. This committee consists of youth with various disabilities from locations around the United States. All of them have graduated from high school, and many are working on graduate degrees. These young Americans are interested in raising youth advocacy issues regarding federal laws such as the ADA and are experiencing the systems themselves. The youth are affected by the issues that NCD discusses, such as education, reauthorization, transportation, and technology.

YAC members are high-energy individuals who will be the leaders and advocates of the future. Their main task is to communicate with NCD and give input from a youth perspective. Mr. Rodriguez has been getting to know the youth through teleconferences. He said they are very interested in learning how policies and procedures are implemented, how government works and how they can influence it, the impact of budgets, and how schools are educating young people.

Mr. Rodriguez noted that NCD chartered this committee in 2000. He said that Dr. Hawkins, staff person for the YAC, has been extremely helpful in briefing him on all aspects of the committee's history. He said that the YAC plans to send a letter to NCD, describing the issues it is interested in working on with NCD.

Mr. Rodriguez said that it would be a worthwhile investment for this board to help the YAC get together for a face-to-face meeting. He encourages NCD to include this group in the budget as a line item.

Dr. Hawkins added that the YAC has done a tremendous amount of work via telephone and e-mail communication. She commended the current YAC members for their eagerness and motivation. Examples of YAC's work to provide input directly from young people with disabilities can be accessed on the NCD Web site.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None at this time.

NEW BUSINESS
None at this time.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ms. Briggs noted that the NCD program specialist Gerrie Hawkins prefers to be called "Gerrie," not "Geraldine," in meeting minutes and other documents.

Ms. Pound stated that she prefers to be called "Pat," not "Patricia."

Ms. Novak stated that she is now married and would like to be addressed as "Carol Novak," not "Carol Hughes."

Ms. Briggs introduced Claudia Gordon. Ms. Gordon has joined the staff as a consultant to the policy team and is a recent recipient of the Paul G. Hearne Leadership Award.

Dr. Kang gave the members and staff the appropriate pronunciation of his last name.

RECESS
The meeting recessed at 4:30 p.m.

MEDIA TRAINING

Ms. Novak reconvened the meeting at 9:00 a.m. She asked Mr. Quigley to introduce Walls Communications. Mr. Quigley introduced Bob Ellison and his colleagues Margaret Kargbo and Antoinette Crosby.

Mr. Ellison gave an overview of the taped interviews that were conducted during the training session held at the December 2002 quarterly meeting. He reviewed each member's interview. He reminded NCD members that media interviews go smoothly if you know what your key messages are, stay on them, and don't let reporters take you away from them. When members are going to speak to reporters, he recommended that they know what they are going to say and deliver their messages concisely.

ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 10:30 a.m. so members could prepare for the planning retreat.

The members left the hotel at noon to go to the first session of the planning retreat, held in the Indian Treaty Room at the Old Executive Office Building from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The planning retreat continued at the Embassy Suites all day Friday and until noon on Saturday, March 8, 2003.