JFActivist

Down Syndrome Births Rise Unexpectedly

From NPR (12/1/09):

Heidi Moore holds her son, Jacob, 8, at their home in Alpharetta, Georgia in 2008. Jacob has Down Syndrome but takes music therapy class, reads at an age-appropriate level and plays piano. (Jenni Girtman/AP)

Down Syndrome Births Rise Unexpectedly
By Joseph Shapiro

You might be surprised to learn there's been an increase in the number of children born with Down syndrome in recent years. The conventional wisdom holds that with more prenatal screening, the rate at which children would be born with Down syndrome would have fallen.

But as researchers write in the latest issue of the medical journal Pediatrics, there was an increase in Down syndrome births between 1979 and 2003. "It went up by 31 percent--from 9 per 10,000 births to 12 per 10,000 births," says Dr. Adolfo Correa, an epidemiologist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and co-author of the study...

>>> For the Whole Article

>>> For the Scientific Report published in Pediatrics

Comment Below: What is your reaction to this article?  After years of depressing statistics, is it a welcome ray of hope?  or is it too good to be true?  Do you think it reveals a shift in the mindset of American mothers or the triumph of our ever-improving medical care? How would you explain this new data? 

Stevie Wonder Becomes UN Messenger of Peace

From the UN Information Center (12/2/09):

Stevie Wonder Becomes a UN Messenger of Peace

By Mark Leon Goldberg

Singer/songwriter legend Stevie Wonder is joining the United Nations as one of its 10 Messengers of Peace to lend his talents to this work. It is the latest move in a long career of writing, producing and performing songs to highlight challenges many children and adults face - from disabilities, to HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, hunger, homelessness and domestic abuse.

"Our newest Messenger of Peace is someone who is admired by millions of people and has given back to millions of people," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said ahead of Mr. Wonder's official designation at a news conference on Thursday.

Without the broader participation of people with disabilities in development initiatives, prospects are dim for reaching the Millennium Development Goals. If they can overcome the challenges that keep disproportionate numbers of people with disabilities - and their families - in poverty, the odds improve significantly, UN officials say.

"Persons with disabilities encounter many disadvantages," Secretary-General Ban added in a statement marking International Day of Persons With Disabilities. "They are often among the poorest and most excluded members of society. Yet they routinely show tremendous resilience, and achieve great heights in all spheres of human endeavor.

"Experience shows that when persons with disabilities are empowered to participate and lead the process of development, the entire community opens up," Secretary-General Ban added. "Their involvement creates opportunities for everyone - with or without a disability."

An estimated 650 million people have disabilities, or 10 percent of the world's population. In developing countries, they number 20 percent of people living in poverty.

To help integrate people with disabilities into their communities - and particularly into international development work -143 UN Member States, including the United States, have signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities...

The Convention aims to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy human rights on an equal basis with others. It embraces the community-based rehabilitation approach now used in 90 countries to involve all people in development, equalize the opportunities available to people with disabilities, and address poverty at its roots. A UN Expert Group on Mainstreaming Disability issues offers more information about the "development for all" approach, and its importance to achieving the MDGs.
Among other UN initiatives:

• UN Enable, the main portal for information about issues that affect people with disabilities, offers one-stop information about all UN agencies' related work.

• A Special Rapporteur on Disability works to ensure the high-level focus that surrounded negotiations of the Convention, which culminated in May 2008, continues. Shuaib Chalklen, of South Africa, will work to advance the status of persons with disabilities and monitor the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted by the General Assembly in 1993.

• The World Program of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by the General Assembly in 1982, emphasizes a human-rights approach and sets forth a global strategy to enhance disability prevention, rehabilitation and the equalization of opportunities to fully participate in social life and national development.

• The UN Voluntary Fund on Disability helps fund capacity-building initiatives for non-governmental organizations working to implement the Convention.

From Paternalism to Self-Advocacy: New Report on Community Colleges and Students with Disabilities

From DBTAC-New England ADA Center (11/20/09):

New England ADA Center Unveils New Findings on Community Colleges and Students with Disabilities

President Obama's strategy to increase degree attainment will require increased graduation by community college students, many of whom have disabilities, according to a new study by the DBTAC-New England ADA Center and Northeastern University economists Neeta P. Fogg and Paul E. Harrington published in the Fall 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Higher Education.

Fogg and Harrington's article From Paternalism to Self-Advocacy notes: "In high school, students with disabilities are in a protected environment compliant with IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) legislation, where their disabilities are diagnosed, IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) are designed and services specific to their disabilities are provided. In college, the responsibility for disclosing disabilities and seeking services falls squarely on the student."

"Community colleges are in the business of serving large numbers of students with a variety of disabilities, but their knowledge of these students--who they are or even how many of them are enrolled--is often quite limited," write the Northeastern University economists.

To read the full text of the article click on the name of the article above or the link below.

http://www.nebhe.org/info/pdf/nejhe/articles/fall09/Fogg_Harrington.pdf (PDF)

http://adaptiveenvironments.org/neada/site/research_activities (Word)

Disability Rate Increasing for baby boomers

From the Baltimore Sun (11/13/09):

Today's baby boomers face more disabilities

by Kelly Brewington

As the nation's baby boomers age, their health needs grow in volume and complexity. The extent of those needs and their possible impact on the nation's health care system are constantly being assessed by researchers. The latest: aging baby boomers are more likely to have disabilities, according to a new study by UCLA researchers.  

The study, to be published in the American Journal of Public Health, examined data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 1988-1994 and 1999 to 2004.

Researchers looked at three age groups 60-69, 70-79 and 80 and older, analyzing such mobility issues as walking from room to room, getting out of bed and doing chores around the house. They found increases in disabilities for all groups, except for those 80 and up.

Disabilities among people in their 60s increased between 40 and 70 percent in all the areas studied, regardless of socioeconomic status, health and weight. Racial minorities and overweight people had even higher increases...

>>> For the Full Article

Test Scores Rise for Students With Disabilities

From Education Week (11/17/09):

Test Scores Rise for Students With Disabilities
By Dakarai I. Aarons
 
Test scores on state assessments for students with disabilities have increased in recent years, according to a new study released today.

The Washington-based Center on Education Policy examined state mathematics and reading test results from the 2005-06 school year to the 2007-08 school year. Those state tests are used to determine whether schools and school districts are making adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. 

The study found that students with disabilities showed progress at all levels of proficiency in 4th grade, where the median percentage scoring at the basic level or above was 71 percent. Most states showed more gains than declines among students with disabilities over the three-year period.

>>> For the Full Article

 
>>> For the Full Report

Join Us: Disability Employment Policy Forum with Assistant Secretary Martinez

Save the Date!

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities

ODEP Update: New Directions for the Office of Disability Employment Policy at the Department of Labor

Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Location: Cornell University Government Affairs Office

Hall of States, Room 383-385

444 North Capitol Street, Northwest

Washington, DC 20001

Webinar: This forum will also be available via online webinar and phone.
Please register online for both in-person and webinar attendance at:

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

Speakers:

Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary, The Office of Disability Employment Policy

Kelly Buckland, Executive Director, The National Council on Independent Living

Paul Tobin, President and CEO, United Spinal Association

Lori Golden, AccessAbilities Leader and Inclusiveness Consultant, Ernst and Young

Topic Overview:

Assistant Secretary Kathleen Martinez will share her vision for the future of disability employment policy and provide an update on some of the Department of Labor's priorities and initiatives in this area under the leadership of Secretary Solis. Following Assistant Secretary Martinez, we will have a panel of reactors including Kelly Buckland, the Executive Director of the National Council on Independent Living; Paul Tobin, the President and CEO of the United Spinal Association; and Lori Golden, AccessAbilities Leader and Inclusiveness Consultant of Ernst & Young. The reactor panel will be followed by plenty of time for Q & A with the audience in the room and online.

Contact:

Erika Eckstrom, Administrative Support Cornell University, Employment and Disability Institute

email: ee224@cornell.edu telephone: (607) 254-8311

We request that you RSVP to ensure adequate seating, security clearance and to request any necessary accommodations.

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)).

 

Voters with Disabilities Still Confront Access Problems

From McKnight's Long-Term Care News & Assisted Living (10/29/09):

GAO: Elderly, Disabled Voters Still Confront Access Problems

The Department of Justice should do more to ensure that elderly and disabled individuals have voting access, a recently released report found.

The Government Accountability Office, at the request of a number of U.S. senators, conducted a nationwide survey on Election Day last year to determine whether states had met the goals for voter access laid out in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002. Released Tuesday, the report shows that strides have been made over the last few years, but in some areas of the country, barriers still remain for elderly and disabled individuals. For example, 46% of polling places surveyed in the report had voting systems technically considered “accessible,” but that could still pose problems for people in wheelchairs. Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the report.

The new report is the latest in a series examining the Department of Justice's efforts to ensure elderly and disabled voter accessibility. The next report, scheduled for release in November, will examine voting practices in long-term care facilities.

>>> For the GAO Summary and Report

More Post-Secondary Students than Ever have Disabilities

From the GAO (10/28/09):

Higher Education and Disability: Education Needs a Coordinated Approach to Improve Its Assistance to Schools in Supporting Students

Research suggests that more students with disabilities are pursuing higher education than in years past, and recent legislative changes, such as those in the Higher Education Opportunity Act and Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008, have the potential to increase the number and diversity of this population. GAO was asked to examine (1) what is known about the population of postsecondary students with disabilities; (2) how postsecondary schools are supporting students with disabilities; (3) what challenges, if any, schools face in supporting these students; and (4) how the Department of Education is assisting schools in supporting these students. To conduct this work, GAO analyzed federal survey and some state data; conducted site visits; interviewed agency officials, disability experts, school officials, and students; and reviewed laws, regulations, and literature.

Students with disabilities represented nearly 11 percent of all postsecondary students in 2008, according to a federal survey. Moreover, this population appears to have grown, based on selected federal and state data...School officials told GAO they need more guidance and information about serving students with disabilities.

GAO Recommendation:
To improve access to quality higher education for students with disabilities, the Secretary of Education should develop and implement a coordinated approach to optimize agency resources and knowledge in providing technical assistance to institutions of higher education in supporting students with disabilities. For example, Education could develop a plan for routinely and systematically sharing information related to supporting postsecondary students with disabilities.

>>> For the Full Report

The Secret World of Deaf Prisoners

From Mother Jones (10/2/09)

The Secret World of Deaf Prisoners
— By James Ridgeway

...The deaf face a nightmare when they fall into the criminal justice system. They live in a world apart to begin with; but in prison they are thrown into a dreaded new environment where they literally can’t understand the language of either their jailers or the other prisoners. When people who have never heard a spoken word try to speak, the sounds come out jumbled and weird—leading ill-informed jailers to think they are obstreperous or crazy. As a consequence, some deaf prisoners can end up in solitary.

I discovered numerous examples of abuses and violations of the rights of deaf prisoners as part of an ongoing investigative reporting project. But the most troubling discovery I made was how little has been done about the problem in the criminal justice system—and how little is known about it outside prison walls...

...The abuses begin as soon as a deaf prisoner enters the criminal justice system and faces accusers in court. Often the hard of hearing and deaf can’t hear the charges against them, don’t know what the trial is all about, don’t know why the guards are screaming at them, can’t hear bells or commands from others. If they are close enough to the judge and look hard at him, they can read his lips. But, as McCay Vernon points out, only 50 percent of spoken sounds can be translated into sign language.

On occasion, deaf persons will be given a court interpreter who knows sign language. But this can be a doubly frustrating experience: sign language can’t convey the legalistic, often arcane lingo used by defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges. Most deaf people don’t read lips. The idea they can hear normally, or at least hear enough to act as if they can hear normally, is a myth of the hearing world...

...Such anecdotes illustrate that deaf prisoners are faced daily with violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates equal treatment for deaf and other disabled persons. There is even a provision under the Act to pay attorneys additional sums to bring cases to correct inequities suffered by deaf inmates—a provision which, like other parts of the act, is honored mostly in the breach...

>>> For the Full Article

GA and WI: Census Training, "It's Time... Make Yourself Count!"

From the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (10/13/09):

YOU’RE INVITED to the Wisconsin “It’s Time…Make Yourself Count!”

2010 Census Training and Conference  

Georgia:

Saturday October 17, 2009
9:30am - 4:30pm
Jim Cherry Learning Resource Center Auditorium (JCLRC), 1st floor
Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston Campus
555 North Indian Creek Drive | Clarkston, GA 30021
 
CLICK HERE TO RSVP for GA!

For more information please contact:

Whitney Gusby: Gusby@civilrights.org

 

Wisconsin:

Saturday October 17, 2009

9:00am-4:00pm
Ambassador Inn at Marquette
2301 W Wisconsin Ave
(across the street from the Ambassador Hotel)
Milwaukee, WI 53233

CLICK HERE TO RSVP for WI!

For more information please contact:

Robyn Kurland at Kurland@civilrights.org

 
 
Every 10 years the U.S. Constitution calls for a census count of all persons living in the United States.  Based on census numbers, nearly $400 billion of federal resources are allocated annually to states, communities, and community-based organizations.

Our community has a lot to gain or lose in the 2010 Census. We need to make sure everyone is counted! Learn about special initiatives happening in Milwaukee and all of Wisconsin and how you can get involved in our national effort. Come hear the key messages and outreach strategies organizations across the country are using to encourage census participation among the hardest to count communities.
 
Agenda Highlights:
*Overview of National and State Campaign
*Challenges to Ensuring an Accurate Count of Hard-to-Count Communities
*Breakout Sessions
•         Media and Communications
•         Integrating Census Outreach into Existing Programs
•         Census Strategies for Our Communities
 ** Breakfast and lunch will be provided. **
 

TO REGISTER PLEASE COMPLETE THESE REGISTRATION FORMS:

Georgia:

http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFdCRUVzcjh5TE1McGpwajhRcUFqRXc6MA..

Wisconsin:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFI1SWc1cHU4SFI4RFFPaTV5akpsZEE6MA..
 

Sponsored by: the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, Campaign Against Violence, Hmong American Friendship Association, Voces de la Frontera, and the “We Count! Wisconsin” Campaign