JFActivist

AR: Institutionalization Debate Flares

From the Wall Street Journal (1.24.11):

Feud Over Best Setting for the Disabled
Justice Department Suit Against Arkansas Stirs Debate Over Housing People in Big Institutions Versus Small Group Homes.

By ANNA WILDE MATHEWS

The Justice Department in a lawsuit against Arkansas is reigniting an emotional fight over the role of residential institutions for people with disabilities.

The suit focuses on one of Arkansas's facilities for people with severe disabilities, the Conway Human Development Center. The state-run institution houses around 510 people off all ages, including children, who typically have intellectual disabilities as well as conditions such as cerebral palsy and physical handicaps.

The suit claims residents aren't being given enough of a chance to move to less-restrictive community settings—such as group homes or family dwellings with professional assistance—and alleges dangerous practices. Conway residents are generally placed in the center by their families, with the exception of a few who are wards of the state, such as children in foster care.

The Justice Department has found itself squaring off not only against the state government, but also against well-organized and vocal groups representing families of residents of state-run institutions. They have prodded state officials to defend the facilities and intervened in the case with a brief defending Conway.

>>> For the Full Article

Abuse Rates High for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children, Research Finds

From Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC) (1.18.11):

Researchers Find High Abuse Rates Among Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children

A new study at Rochester Institute of Technology indicates that the incidence of maltreatment, including neglect and physical and sexual abuse, is more than 25 percent higher among deaf and hard-of-hearing children than among hearing youths. The research also shows a direct correlation between childhood maltreatment and higher rates of negative cognition, depression and post-traumatic stress in adulthood. The study, which was presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, is one of the first to compare childhood maltreatment between deaf and hearing children.

"By providing clear data on the high rate of childhood maltreatment in the deaf community, we hope to shine a light on the issue and provide mental-health professionals with the necessary data to better treat both children and adults suffering from mental and behavioral disorders," notes Lindsay Schenkel, assistant professor of psychology at RIT and director of the research team. The group, which also included undergraduate psychology student Danielle Burnash and Gail Rothman-Marshall, associate professor of liberal studies at RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf, conducted a survey of 425 college students, 317 hearing and 108 deaf, asking them to describe any maltreatment they had experienced prior to the age of 16.

Seventy-seven percent of deaf and hard-of-hearing respondents indicated experiencing some form of child maltreatment, compared with 49 percent among hearing respondents. In addition, respondents with more severe hearing loss indicated an increased rate and severity of maltreatment.

"Interestingly, having a deaf parent or a family member who signs, or being part of the deaf community, did not reduce the risk of childhood maltreatment," Burnash notes.

The team also found that deaf and hard-of-hearing respondents who had suffered maltreatment had higher rates of negative cognitions about themselves, others and the future compared with hearing individuals who had suffered maltreatment. The rate of depression and post-traumatic stress was also higher among all deaf and hard-of-hearing respondents regardless of maltreatment.  Schenkel, Rothman-Marshall and Burnash plan to continue to examine the issue of child maltreatment in deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals and the impact this has on mental-health functioning with the goal of developing standardized assessments and more effective treatments for this population.

"For example, our research shows that individuals who are active members of the deaf community report fewer depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms," Schenkel adds.

The research was funded by RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the U.S. Department of Education's McNair Scholars program. For further information, contact William Dube, Tel 585-475-2816 or Email wjduns@rit.edu

This item was distributed by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), more at http://www.nvrc.org and was selected from Ascribe, The Public Interest Newswire, 1/18/11.

 >>> For the Original Article

Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program Public Comments Requested by FCC

From AAPD (1.18.10):

21st Century Communications: New 18-Month Deaf-Blind Equipment Program Proposed by FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently issued proposed rules to implement an 18-month pilot program, the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program (NDBEDP), one of the requirements of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010. The new legislation directed the FCC to allocate $10 million annually from the interstate Telecommunication Relay Services Fund for the NDBEDP. Comments by disability organizations such as the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, American Association of People with Disabilities, American Council of the Blind, Communication Service for the Deaf, and Helen Keller National Center, and organizations such as Inclusive Technologies and Missouri Assistive Technology program, were incorporated into the proposed regulations.

The FCC proposes eligibility for deaf-blind individuals at 400% of the federal poverty guidelines and proposes that the program rely heavily on current state equipment distribution programs and to other alternative local distribution entities  if an existing program is not available, and that would have to be certified by the FCC. They also propose other rules for the program and seek clarification, for instance, on eligibility, scope of equipment, accountability, outreach, research & development and other topics. During the trial of the program, the FCC intends to gather extensive data for development of permanent rules to be proposed in a future rulemaking.

Proposed rules for the program are at https://prodnet.www.neca.org/publicationsdocs/wwpdf/fcc113.pdf  with Comments due on February 14th.

Statement of FCC Commissioner Julius Genachowski on the proposed new rules for the deaf-blind equipment distribution program at http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2011/db0114/FCC-11-3A2.pdf

 

Justice for Students with Disabilities, DOJ Settles with Private Education Corporation

From the Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (1.14.11)

Large Network of Private Schools Pays $215,000 to Settle Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination Against Children with Disabilities

The Justice Department today announced the settlement of a lawsuit filed to enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. (NLC), a private, for-profit entity that operates a nationwide network of more than 180 preschools, elementary schools and secondary schools.   These entities operate in the District of Columbia and in 15 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington) under a variety of names, including Chesterbrook Academy, Merryhill School and Evergreen Academy, among others.  

In its lawsuit, filed in April 2009 in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Justice Department alleged that NLC violated Title III of the ADA by excluding from its programs children with disabilities, including some children with autism spectrum disorder, Down Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and global developmental delays.   NLC denies the allegations.

“It is illegal under the ADA to discriminate against children with disabilities.   Just like public schools, private schools must make reasonable modifications of policies to permit children with disabilities to participate fully in the programs they offer,” said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez.   “This agreement ensures that children will not be denied quality preschool and other educational opportunities based upon their disabilities.”

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Zane David Memeger, noted, “no child should be discriminated against on the basis of disability.   All children should have an equal opportunity to attend any school for which they qualify, and schools must make reasonable modifications to policies, practices or procedures in accordance with the law.”   

Key provisions of the Settlement Agreement include the following:

• Disability Non-Discrimination Policy: NLC has adopted and will implement a formal policy to ensure that it will operate its programs, facilities, and services in a non-discriminatory manner to comply with Title III of the ADA.
• Publicity:   NLC will publicize the Disability Non-Discrimination Policy to its principals, teachers, and other staff at all facilities in the NLC network.    The policy will be posted on NLC’s website and member schools’ websites.   Paper copies of the policy will be available to any person upon request.
• Monetary Relief: Upon receipt of appropriate releases, NLC has agreed to pay $215,000.00 collectively to the children referred to in the United States’ First Amended Complaint. 
  Commitment to Avoid Unnecessary Inquiries: In accordance with the requirements of the ADA, NLC will not make unnecessary inquiries into the existence of a disability or impose or apply eligibility criteria that screen out or tend to screen out students with disabilities from the full and equal enjoyment of NLC’s goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations. 
• Reasonable Modification Requests: NLC will, among other things, engage in a process to consider requests from a student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) for reasonable modifications of NLC’s programs and services when such modifications are necessary to afford NLC’s programs and services to students with disabilities, unless NLC can demonstrate that making such modifications would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations at issue. 
• Appointment of an ADA Compliance Officer: NLC will designate a person who is knowledgeable about the ADA and its implementing regulations, and who will communicate with parents/guardians on decisions regarding requests for reasonable modifications.   In addition, (s)he will review (for compliance with the Disability Non-Discrimination Policy) all decisions not to enroll a student with a disability, or to disenroll a student with a disability. 
• Training: At specified periods during the term of the settlement agreement, NLC will train its regional executives, principals and assistant principals on the content of the Disability Non-Discrimination Policy and the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement.   NLC will also require all of its teachers and assistant teachers to read the policy and report requests for reasonable modifications to appropriate NLC personnel.
• Reporting and Tracking:   NLC will track and report to the United States, at one year and at 18 months from the effective date of the settlement agreement, information including the number of applicants with disabilities and their ultimate enrollment status, as well as the number of requests received on behalf of applicants and current students for reasonable modifications (and whether the modifications were provided). 

Those interested in learning more about federal disability rights statutes can call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301, 800-514-0383 (TTY) or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov .

 >>> For the Original Release

Disability Discrimination Claims Skyrocketing Says EEOC

From Murcury News (1.11.11):

Job bias claims set new record on disability surge
By SAM HANANEL

Federal job bias complaints climbed to record levels last year, led by a surge in workers claiming discrimination based on disability.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says charges of disability discrimination rose by about 17 percent to 25,165 claims. Overall, the agency received nearly 100,000 claims during the 2010 fiscal year, a 7 percent increase and the highest number in its 45-year history...

...The unemployment rate for disabled workers is 14.3 percent, compared with 8.9 percent for persons with no disability, according to the most recent Labor Department figures. That disparity could be another reason for the high number of disability bias charges, said Robin Shaffert, senior director of corporate social responsibility for the American Association of People with Disabilities...

>>> For the Full Article

Disability Advisor at White House Speaks to Advocates

From AAPD (1.20.11):

 White House Disability Policy Advisor Kareem Dale Keynotes Disability Meeting

 By Jenifer Simpson, Senior Director of Government Affairs

Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy listed seven accomplishments of the disability community in 2010 at the January 19, 2011 Annual Meeting of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), of which AAPD is a longstanding member. The CCD Annual Meeting is the only event CCD holds as the work of the Consortium is generally conducted by Task Forces on specific topics.

Dale cited enactment of the 21st Century Communications & Video Accessibility Act as among seven accomplishments by the Administration in 2010. Speaking to an audience of over 150 representatives from CCD's 112 member organizations, Dale said this new law is "landmark legislation that changed the landscape for people with disabilities." He mentioned the key provisions of the new law, cited the four year effort by the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) – cofounded and steered by AAPD -- to advance the legislation, and thanked the FCC for moving quickly with proposed regulations. As a user of accessible technology himself, Kareem Dale was clearly delighted with passage of the legislation and its impetus for change.

Dale also mentioned additional accomplishments of the Administration in 2010 that were specific to the needs of people with disabilities:

• Issuance of the federal executive order to make the government a model employer in hiring of people with disabilities
• Celebrations of  the 20^th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Revised ADA regulations implementing Title II and Title III 
• Enactment of Rosa’s Law barring use of “R” word in federal law
• The Affordable Care Act.

Going forward, Kareem Dale mentioned several priorities of the Administration in 2011. These included:

• Ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities by the U.S. Senate
• Guidance to be issued by the Office of Personnel Management to the federal agencies on implementing the federal executive order to make the government a model employer of people with disabilities
• Reauthorization of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act
• Veto of H.R. 2, the current house proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Dale encouraged the audience to sign up for notices on the monthly phone call briefings for the disability community that the White House provides and which feature federal agency leaders and their initiatives.  To sign up for these, send your name and email address to sfeuerstein@who.eop.gov

For more on CCD, visit their website at http://www.c-c-d.org

Genetic Non-Discrimination Forum

From AAPD (1.24.11):

REGISTER NOW!

Implementing the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act
- Attend In-Person or Online    -

Register Now: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/register/policyforum.cfm

Date:  Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM 
 
Location:  Cornell University Government Affairs Office
Hall of States, Room 383
444 North Capitol Street, Northwest
Washington, DC 20001

Introduction: Susanne Bruyère, Cornell University, Employment and Disability Institute
Facilitator: Robin L. Shaffert, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, AAPD

Speakers: 

• Chai Feldblum, Commissioner, EEOC
• Victoria A. Lipnic, Commissioner, EEOC
• Mike Aitken, Director of Government Affairs, SHRM
• Susannah Baruch, Policy Analyst and Consultant, Genetics and Public Policy Center, John Hopkins University

Contact:  Sara VanLooy, Cornell University Employment and Disability Institute
email: sav22@cornell.edu
telephone: (607) 254-6581

>>>Download Genetic Informtion Policy Forum Flier

We request that you register online to ensure adequate seating, security clearance and request any necessary accommodations. You can register at: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/register/policyforum.cfm. You can attend the Policy Forum in person or via webinar.

The content of this forum does not necessarily reflect the policies of the US Dept. of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government (EDGAR, 75.620 (b)). This project is funded by the US Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Grant Number: H133B040013.

Social Security Work Incentives Webinar

From AAPD (1.21.11):

Webinar for SSI & SSDI Beneficiaries on Work Incentives Jan 24

Do you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits? Thousands of SSI and SSDI beneficiaries have learned how to stay in control of their benefits while enriching their lives through employment. You can join them by participating in a 90-minute Work Incentive Seminar Event (WISE) Webinar to learn about available incentives, including those offered through the Ticket to Work program. You must sign up soon to participate! Register for the January 26 webinar by visiting http://goo.gl/eGddU or by calling 866-968-7842/TDD 866-833-2967.

Grant Opportunity for Fire Prevention and Safety

From AAPD (11.13.11):

Grant Opportunity: Fire Prevention and Safety for People who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf/Blind

With inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster planning and emergency preparedness becoming more important to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), all of us continue to work hard at meeting the needs of people with disabilities to find innovative ways to deliver important information and services. CEPIN, the Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network -- and which AAPD has partnered with -- delivers accessible emergency preparedness training to the emergency responder and consumer communities.

CEPIN has a new program, “Fire Prevention and Safety for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf/Blind” to help organizations apply to the FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety Grant program. CEPIN would like your organization to learn more about accessible smoke detector distribution programs with fire safety guidance directed specifically to the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf/blind communities and to learn more about participation in this grant program. For more information, please visit CEPIN website before February 4th, 2011, at http://www.cepintdi.org/firegrant2010

>>>For more on FEMA’s FPS Grant Program

>>>For more on AAPD’s activities in Emergency Preparedness

>>>To learn how to be ready for any emergency

Accessibility Funding Opportunity for Houses of Worship

From Retirement Research Foundation (1.13.11):

Accessibility Funding Opportunity for Houses of Worship

The Retirement Research Foundation is pleased to announce the 2011 Accessible Faith Grant Program to enable houses of worship to make accessibility improvements to their facilities.  The program is available to houses of worship in six metro Chicago counties:  Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, and McHenry.  Since the program began eight years ago, the Foundation has awarded 114 grants to religious congregations totaling almost $2.5 million to make their facilities more accessible.

Please help us share information about the Accessible Faith Grant Program with leaders of houses of worship, disability rights advocates, and others who may know religious congregations that could benefit from this opportunity.  Please announce the Accessibility Faith Grant Program through print or electronic newsletters, listservs, or other means available to you. You will find a full description of the program, application form, and tips for completing the application in the Accessible Faith Grant Program section of our website at http://www.rrf.org. 

We hope that you will help spread the word immediately to give congregations adequate time to submit an application.  We will accept applications from March 1 through June 1, 2011.  Thank you for helping us make others aware of the importance of accessibility improvements and the availability of funding for such efforts.

>>>Download 2011 AFG Flyer

If you have questions or comments, or you wish to be removed from the Foundation’s mailing list, please contact us at AFG2011@rrf.org.   Thank you.