Action Alert! Pressure the New Administration for Jobs for People with Disabilities

Yesterday a group of national consumer controlled disability organizations sent a letter to key players in the Obama administration to pressure them into living up to their promises to our community.  It is time to turn on the HEAT!

We want JOBS for people with disabilities in the new administration!

We want a domestic policy adviser IN THE WHITE HOUSE who is knowledgeable about and experienced in disability issues!

We want our voices heard and our opinions valued as appointments and decisions are made that will affect our lives!

Contact the members of the transition team and let them know that you expect the disability community's input to be respected in the new administration. 

We won't get a chance like this for a long time.  Don't let it pass us by!

Contact:
Lisa Brown at Lisa.brown@ptt.gov
or
Kareem Dale at Kareem.dale@ptt.gov

Feel free to use all or portions of the letter posted below or write your own.

December 23, 2008

Melody C. Barnes
Designee – Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy
Lisa Brown
Designee – Staff Secretary
Presidential Transition Team
451 6th St., NW
Washington, DC  20001
Sent via email: kareem.dale@ppt.gov

Dear Ms. Barnes and Ms. Brown:

We are writing on behalf of the more than 50 million Americans with disabilities to urge you to carry out the commitment President-elect Obama made to the disability community during the campaign.  Specifically, the undersigned grassroots consumer controlled organizations are writing to urge you to include a qualified person with a disability, who is an expert in disability policy, to serve on the Domestic Policy Council (DPC).  As a collective of organizations, we represent the full spectrum of disabilities.

We are concerned that there has been little outreach to disability-run organizations in the selection process for President-elect Obama’s Cabinet and political appointees and we are concerned that the appointments to date do not reflect a concerted effort to include qualified individuals with disabilities to serve in senior positions in the new Administration. Familiarity and experience with disability issues and the disability community is critical to implementing the inclusive vision for America that President-elect Obama campaigned on.  In short, we strongly urge you to act promptly to identify a qualified candidate from our community to join the domestic policy team in the White House.   As you are aware, there are a number of highly qualified individuals from the disability community with broad experience in a range of domestic policy issues who could contribute to policy development in the White House.  It is absolutely critical to us that such an appointee is skilled and knowledgeable in the ways that policy decisions across the spectrum impact and affect the disability community.

Additionally, we are concerned that there has been little outreach to the disability community to seek our opinions on potential candidates throughout the new Administration.  There are many individuals with disabilities that have the expertise and background not only to fill positions related to disability but other areas of government as well - from environment and energy to defense and foreign policy. 

We stand ready to support the policy changes President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden outlined in their Plan to Empower Americans with Disabilities. The participation of qualified people with disabilities in shaping policy is critical to the success of the programs and services that enhance our lives. We will continue to provide input and advice from our community leaders with disabilities. We look forward to implementing these initiatives that will enable people with disabilities to participate in and contribute to society.

Many other organizations in our loose coalition share our sentiments expressed in this letter but, due to the Holidays, have not signed on.  We are sure you will be hearing from them on this matter as well.

Thank you for your leadership. We look forward to working together to achieve these goals.  Please do not hesitate to contact Deb Cotter of the NCIL Policy staff by phone: (202) 207-0334 or email: Deb@ncil.org if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

Access Living
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Organizations (MCMHC/SO)
National Council on Independent Living (NCIL)
National Spinal Cord Injury Association (NSCIA)
Northeast Independent Living Program (NILP)
Special Olympics
Shepherd Center

CC:
Valerie Jarrett
Pete Rouse
Tina Chen
Jim Massina
Patrick Gaspard
Michael Strautmanis

       

Comments

[Karen L. MacElroy]

We have a wonderful opportunity for equal access reform.

The national disabled community should be using this window of opportunity to be heard about equal access reform. We can share the media spot light (under the microscope) on the designate Secretary of Education to alter the media on what concerns we have about Arne Duncan representing disabled students and what equal access reform we expect him to implement as the new Secretary of Education. Especially since President Elect Barack Obama has promised a ‘comprehensive agenda to empower individuals with disabilities to fits in with equalizing opportunities for all Americans, to reclaim America's global leadership on this issue by becoming a signatory to -- and having the Senate ratify -- the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”. His promise includes a four-part plan designed to provide lifelong supports and resources to Americans with disabilities. The first part is the most important faucet to achieve equality, because of significant failure in four-year Universities is as follows:

“First, provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed.

Second, end discrimination and promote equal opportunity.

Third, increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities.

And fourth, support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.”

Elisabeth Doyle, an international law attorney states,

“There is no emphasis on vocational training here in the U.S. under the law and it’s very difficult to talk seriously about raising levels of people with disabilities in the workforce when we’re not also talking about vocational training and education”. 1

Sadly, it seems some school “faculty and staff members believe students who use accommodations are not being held to the same rigorous academic standards as their peers. Although that has never been the purpose of accommodations, the ‘perception’ of the reduction of academic standards exists, and ‘hurts’ students with disabilities”. 2 Emphasis Added.

President Elect Obama supported the passing of the new ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA), which will take affect January 1, 2009. Nevertheless, we should have great concerns with the regulatory agencies enforcing these new disability anti-discrimination laws, since they seem to have an overwhelming national backlog of pending discrimination and retaliation cases.

In a recent telephone conversation with Tom Webb, at the Higher Education Government Accountability Committee Office, he confirmed the serious problems with the U.S. Department of Education backlog of discrimination cases that extended well over a years before they are investigated, if at all. He also announced there is some major housecleaning underway at the U.S. Department of Education. 3 As a result, we should see some marked changes in the next few months.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Education, Department of Justice and other governmental agencies were all opposed to the new ADA Amendment Act that also amended the Rehabilitation Act. Therefore, in order to accomplish President Elect first step,

“Provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed”,

we must hold designate Arne Duncan Secretary of Education and all other in the regulatory agency law enforcement position accountable to enforce equal access reform. If not, it does not matter how many new laws are passed (i.e. new ADA Amendment Act, amended Rehabilitation Act, Higher Education Opportunity Act, etc.), if none of the regulatory agencies will properly enforce Civil Rights laws to protect the disabled students. Therefore, we need an independent watchdog regulatory agency in America to protect the disabled community and implement equal access reform.

Equal Access Reform http://www.equalaccessreform.com/

Footnotes:
1. Thompson’s ADA Compliance Guide newsletter, Disability Advocates Encourage Obama To Sign Disability Rights Treaty, December 2008/Vol. 19.No. 12

2. Cory, Ph.D., Rebecca C. (2009) Rationale for Using Universal Design January 2009 Section 504 Compliance Handbook newsletter, No. 362, p.4-5

3. Tom Webb , Higher Education Government Accountability Committee Office in charge of covering disability at 202-226-2068

[Jim Kruidenier]

With regard to the letter to Melody Barnes and Lisa Brown, I agree that we need a domestic policy advisor in the White House. But shouldn't we also be pushing to end the disability ghetto in the federal government by advocating for a deputy secretary under Tom Daschle to address Medicaid, Medicare, and long-term care issues, and a deputy secretary in the Department of Labor to address employment? The Department of Education is nice enough, I guess, but we need to break out.

[Jake]

As somebody who has been blind all his life and is now appproaching his mid-30's, I am shocked and appalled at the lack of positive representation in the community of people who are visually-impaired/blind in this country. The American Council of the Blind and the National Federation of the Blind have done virtually nothing but bicker and argue amongst each other ever since they broke off from one another in the summer of 1961. In some cases they have depended on each other for support in making people such as myself--who are in neither organization--feel left out and looked down upon when it comes to advocacy efforts. I think this letter is very good, but I think something desperately needs to be done to correct this longstanding problem in the community of people who are blind/visually-impaired. How this is to be accomplished I don't know, but it needs to happen. Having said that, I can't wait for the inauguration and let's hope Barack Obama, Joe Biden and the rest of the new administration live up to their promises.

[Karen L. MacElroy]

Happy New Year, especially since the ADA Amendment Act (ADAAA) that amends the Rehabilitation Act came into affect today.

We do have practical solutions to significantly boost the economy, increase tax revenues, and reduce the number of recipients on Social Security Disability, Welfare, MediCal and Medicare, which would stimulate the economy and reduce our nations deficit. However, “there is no emphasis on vocational training here in the U.S. under the law and it’s very difficult to talk seriously about raising levels of people with disabilities in the workforce when we’re not also talking about vocational training and education” Elisabeth Doyle Esq. declares. This is exactly why the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services are awarding four million dollars to improve policies and practices, and public benefits, which would increase equal access to qualified disabled students to “provide Americans with disabilities with the educational opportunities they need to succeed. Second, end discrimination and promote equal opportunity. Third, increase the employment rate of workers with disabilities. Fourth, support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities.” and why I have created Equal Access Reform http://www.equalaccessreform.com/ to help all disabled students nationally achieve equal access.
Lastly, Colleges and Universities need to recognize the important aspects of providing the needed “effective’ accommodations to the disabled students or even moving towards Universal Design, which provides additional opportunity of equality to not only disabled students, but also all minorities and non-disabled students, reducing the need for individual accommodations and services.