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Disability Coalition Applauds Health Care Legislation that expands coverage for People with Disabilities

Press Release from the Justice For All Action Network (11/9/09):

Disability Coalition Applauds Health Care Legislation

that expands coverage for People with Disabilities

Health Care Reform one of 12 items on Coalition Agenda

(Washington D.C.) -- The Justice for All Action Network (JFAAN), a coalition of disability-led organizations and allies, applauds health care legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.   Passed Saturday in a House vote, the legislation increases the number of people with disabilities covered by health care and increases service options for people with disabilities. 

Key points of the legislation supported by JFAAN include:  expanding coverage to millions of people currently uninsured; a provision that makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage based upon pre-existing conditions; and the inclusion of the CLASS ACT and the Community First Choice Option (CFC). 

"People with disabilities have much at stake as health care reform gets one step closer to passage," said Andrew Imparato, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities.  "A good barometer of the new system that emerges from health reform will be the extent to which it works well for people when they need it the most--whether people with disabilities and chronic health conditions can obtain acute care and long-term services and supports without incurring financial hardship or being forced into a nursing home or other institution."

Under the current system of health care, people with disabilities have no legal protection if they are denied coverage based upon their disability.  “With this bill, people with disabilities who have been denied because of pre-existing conditions will have a legal right to coverage,” said Gary Arnold of Little People of America. 

Additionally, the long-term care system currently denies the right of people with disabilities to receive services in the most integrated setting, a right recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 1999 Olmstead Supreme Court Ruling.  Thousands of people in the United States are forced into nursing homes because supports, like personal assistant services, can only be accessed in institutions.   The Justice for All Action Network has advocated to include the CLASS Act and the CFC, which expand optional home and community services, in new healthcare legislation.  “The House vote is a good first step as we approach the 20^th Anniversary of the ADA.  We challenge Congress to finalize a bill that recognizes the civil right of people with disabilities to access to services in their homes,” said Bruce Darling of ADAPT, a grassroots disability rights group. 

Healthcare Reform is a key component of 12-point JFAAN Joint Campaign Agenda the coalition has developed that addresses major policy issues of people with intellectual, physical and psychiatric disabilities. Throughout the healthcare debate,  JFAAN members have, through outreach, direct action, and negotiation,  advocated for health care legislation that includes more long term care choices for people with disabilities.

Created in an effort to build a strong and unified cross-disability movement, the Justice for All Action Network is organized into a steering committee of 13 national consumer-led disability organizations and more than 20 organizational and individual members.  The group was formed in the wake of the 2008 Presidential Election.

About the Justice for All Action Network

 

Mission: The Justice for All Action Network is a national cross-disability coalition, led by disability groups run by persons with disabilities with support from allies, committed to building a strong and unified cross-disability movement so that individuals with disabilities have the power to shape national policies, politics, media, and culture.

Working as a coalition, JFAAN is committed to accomplishing each item on the coalition’s agenda by July 2010, the 20^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Steering Committee Members:  ADAPT, American Association of People with Disabilities, American Council of the Blind, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Hearing Loss Association of America, Little People of America, National Association for the Deaf, National Coalition of Mental Health Consumer Survivor Organizations, National Council on Independent Living, National Federation of the Blind, Not Dead Yet, Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, United Spinal Association.

For more information, contact:

Andy Imparato, American Association of People with Disabilities, 202 521-4301, AImparato@aapd.com;

Kelly Buckland, National Council on Independent Living, 202-207-0334, kelly@ncil.org.

CA: Victory! Court Protects Teacher-Advocate-Whistleblower from Retaliation

Thank you Larry Komar for contributing this information:

A new decision, Susan Barker vs. Riverside County Office of Education, (9th Cir., 10/23/09), reversed a federal district court's decision to dismiss the teacher's retaliation suit on the grounds that she lacked standing under Section 504 and the ADA.   The 9th Circuit held that a teacher that complains to her administrators and files a complaint with the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights for violations of the students' rights is protected from harassment and retaliation under both Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  

After Barker complained to supervisors that the special education services provided to students with disabilities at her school  violated the special education laws, and subsequently filed a complaint on behalf of her students with OCR for violations of Section 504, she was allegedly subjected to various acts of intimidation including failure to respond to her emails and calls, excluding her from important meetings, changing her to work sites further from her home, reducing her workload and refusing to allow her to fill in for other staff.   Based on the treatment she was receiving, Barker resigned, but alleged that she was "constructively discharged."   Notably, on June 16, 2006, the Office for Civil Rights "determined that the preponderance of the evidence showed that....(the school system) retaliated against Barker in violation of Section 504 and Title II...."   Holding that Barker had standing to sue under Section 504, the court wrote, "empathetic people who teach and interact frequently with the disabled are the most likely to recognize their treatment and to advocate on their behalf."   The court also found that her actions were protected under the anti-retaliation provisions of Title II of the ADA.   The case was remanded to the district court to allow her to go forward in attempting to prove the underlying allegations in her complaint.
 
This decision is a welcome victory affirming the right of school employees to speak out when they believe that the rights of children with disabilities are being violated.   Hopefully, it will encourage other school staff that are aware of serious problems in relation to the treatment of children with disabilities to bring these complaints to their school administrators or to the OCR.

>>> For More Information on this Case

Disability Leaders Meet with Attorney General

Disability Leaders Meet with Attorney General
by Andrew Imparato, AAPD President and CEO

Last week, nine representatives from the disability community met with Attorney General Eric Holder at the U.S. Department of Justice to go over our priorities for the Department under his leadership.  The meeting was a follow-up to the brief meeting that the Attorney General, President Obama, and Secretary of Labor Solis had with disability community representatives at the White House on July 24.  At the meeting last week, the disability advocates divided our priorities into three broad categories:

1)    Leadership role of the Attorney General;
2)    Enforcement priorities; and
3)    Access to justice issues.

Under the first category, we brought up the importance of the Attorney General using his bully pulpit to frame disability issues as civil rights and human rights issues at their core.  Whether talking about the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, access to communications and information technology, or the ability to live outside an institution, the Attorney General has the ability to help the public understand how discrimination against people with disabilities is morally and legally linked to other forms of discrimination and should not be tolerated in this country or around the world.  Also under this agenda item, we mentioned the importance of greater consistency across the Department of Justice on disability rights issues, specifically referencing the issue of the Civil Division, Antitrust Division, or the Office of the Solicitor General sometimes taking positions in cases involving disabled people that are not consistent with the positions taken by the Civil Rights Division.  Finally, we touched on the importance of the Department of Justice leading by example in its approach to the recruitment and retention of workers with disabilities, noting the DOJ is currently the second worst cabinet agency in the percentage of workers with targeted disabilities according to the latest statistics from the EEOC.

Under the second category, we described the importance of a reinvigorated approach to enforcement of ADA and other civil rights laws protecting children and adults with disabilities, explicitly referencing the need for stronger enforcement of the right to community integration under the Olmstead v. L.C. Supreme Court decision and the need to shift departmental priorities from creating better institutions to creating community services for people with disabilities.  On this point, we asked for DOJ to assert the kind of strong leadership role that it did historically in the area of school desegregation.  We also discussed stronger enforcement of the right to equal access to information and communication technology under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the ADA, and other laws; the right to be free of abuse and neglect under multiple laws; and the right to vote privately and independently under the Help America Vote Act.

Under the third category, we emphasized the need for stronger leadership from the Department of Justice that will improve the interactions between law enforcement and the criminal and civil legal system and people with disabilities.  We described the ongoing challenges many people with disabilities have in their interactions with law enforcement and corrections personnel who have not been adequately trained in how to interact appropriately with people who are deaf or have a hearing loss, people with epilepsy, people with psychiatric disabilities, and other disability groups.  We noted the problems many law students and lawyers have in getting accommodations on the LSAT, in law school, on the bar exam, and in the legal profession.  We emphasized the problems that our community has experienced with federal judges who have misinterpreted the ADA and other disability laws, and the need to have disability records more carefully vetted as part of the judicial nomination selection process.  On this last point, we offered to work with the Administration to identify strong candidates for judicial nominations from the disability community.

We closed by thanking the Attorney General for his willingness to serve as a disability rights champion within the Administration, and suggesting the value of him appointing a senior level adviser on disability issues who would work out of his office and ensure greater consistency and coordination around disability law and policy issues across the Department.  During our discussion of this potential new position, we acknowledged the important work of the Disability Rights Section within the Department’s Civil Rights Division in understanding and addressing our issues, but pointed out that this one department could not be solely responsible for all issues related to the integration and civil rights of people with disabilities, which had to be incorporated into practice and policy across all the divisions of DOJ.  The Attorney General expressed a desire to have regular meetings to check-in on the Department’s progress, and thanked the advocates for our time and ideas.  Overall, the disability advocates in attendance were very impressed with the Attorney General and look forward to working with him and his colleagues at the Department to follow up on the issues raised in the meeting.

Attending the meeting for the Department of Justice, in addition to Attorney General Holder, was Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Loretta King; Sam Hirsch, Deputy Associate General Counsel; Monty Wilkinson, Counselor to the Attorney General, and Margaret Johnson, Special Assitant to the Attorney General.   Attending the meeting from the disability community were Tony Coelho; Curt Decker, National Disability Rights Network; Sandy Finucane, Epilepsy Foundation of America; Steve Gold, ADAPT; Marilyn Golden, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Andy Imparato, American Association of People with Disabilities; Jennifer Mathis, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; Dr. Marc Mauer, National Federation of the Blind; and Jeff Rosen for NAD and Snap!VRS.

Just In: AAPD Joins Facebook Causes

From the JFA Moderator:

AAPD recently joined Facebook Causes as a way to get the word out about the disability rights movement and to make it easier for YOU, our dedicated activists, to contribute your support.

Take Action TODAY: Join or Donate to AAPD's Cause on Facebook and share these links with your friends.

>>> To Join the Movement

>>> To Support our Work

White House Nominates Disability Advocate

From the White House (August 6, 2009):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals for key administration posts:

•  David C. Gompert, Principal Deputy National Intelligence Director, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• William E. Kennard, Representative of the United States of America to the European Union, with the rank of Ambassador, Department of State
• Alan D. Solomont, Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, Department of State
• Robert J. Grey, Board Member, Legal Services Corporation
• John G. Levi, Board Member, Legal Services Corporation
• Martha L. Minow, Board Member, Legal Services Corporation
• Julie A. Reiskin, Board Member, Legal Services Corporation
• Gloria Valencia-Weber, Board Member, Legal Services Corporation

President Obama also announced that he will designate Ruth Y. Goldway, currently serving as a Commissioner on the Postal Regulatory Commission, as Chair of the Postal Regulatory Commission...

Julie A. Reiskin, Nominee for Board Member, Legal Services Corporation

Julie Reiskin is the Executive Director of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC), the only statewide organization of and for people with disabilities that has a focus on systemic change. CCDC has taken a leadership role within Colorado on publicly funded long-term health care.  Ms. Reiskin has  proposed and helped to implement many solutions to create a sustainable and client friendly Medicaid program, acted as a respected  advocate for individuals and has trained many others in health advocacy and health policy.  Prior to becoming the Executive Director for CCDC in 1996, Ms. Reiskin served as the organizations’ policy analyst.  Ms. Reiskin moved to Colorado from Connecticut in 1994.  In Connecticut, she was a partner in a consulting firm, specializing in diversity issues throughout Southern New England.  She also had a private psychotherapy practice.  Previous work includes, but is not limited to, several positions working with "hard to serve" youth and positive youth development, AIDS/HIV Education, and grassroots community organizing.  Ms. Reiskin has taught extensively in the areas of disability rights, disability culture and disability policy, along with other areas related to diversity in human services. Ms. Reiskin got her Masters in Social Work from the University of Connecticut, with a major in community organizing in 1989.  She obtained a B.S. in Women’s Studies from the University of Connecticut in 1985...

>>> For the Full Release

Comment Below: ...From the JFA Moderator: Congratulations Julie! We are confident you will do a superb job in representing our community on the Legal Services Corporation Board and in guiding LSC  to seek equal access to justice for members of the disability community, to whom justice is so often denied.

Sotomayor Confirmed

From the LA Times (Aug. 7, 2009):

Sotomayor will bring unique perspective to the Supreme Court
The newly confirmed justice's experiences with a disability, economic struggles and as a prosecutor and trial judge are among several things that may set her apart from her new colleagues.
By David G. Savage and James Oliphant

Reporting from Washington -- The historic confirmation Thursday of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation's newest justice will bring new perspectives to the Supreme Court, and not just because she will be its first Latino.

After three days of debate, the Senate voted 68 to 31 in her favor, with nine Republicans crossing party lines to support her.

During the debate and confirmation hearings, her experience as a Latina seemed to overshadow discussions about her qualifications. But her background will probably affect her thinking and influence her decisions in ways that were hardly mentioned in the Senate fight.

After she is sworn into office Saturday, she will be the only justice whose first language is not English. She has had diabetes since childhood -- a medical condition classified as a disability under federal law. She was raised in a Bronx housing project where drugs were more common than Ivy League college success. And the 111th justice is a divorced woman with no children...

Her diabetes and daily insulin shots it requires were not much discussed during the hearings, but that experience is bound to influence her views, some lawyers say.

"She may be a strong voice for access to healthcare," said Sylvia Lazos, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "She will be a real player in the debates over what is a disability."

Advocates for those with disabilities have suffered some big defeats in the court in the last decade, and they have high hopes for Sotomayor. "We're very excited. We don't feel we have had a champion on the current court," said Andrew Imparato, president of the American Assn. of People with Disabilities...

>>> For the Full Article

AAPD President Commends President and Senate on Sotomayor Confirmation

From AAPD (8/6/09):

Statement by AAPD President and CEO Andrew Imparato on Sotomayor Confirmation

 

WASHINGTON, DC – August 6, 2009 – Following the 68-31 Senate vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Andrew Imparato, President and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, gave the following statement:

“Today the United States Senate voted to confirm a true champion for equal justice under law. Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor will follow in the tradition of Justices Thurgood Marshall and William Brennan and bring some balance to a court that has gone out of its way to undermine disability rights and civil rights more broadly,” said Andrew Imparato, President and CEO of AAPD. “AAPD commends President Obama and all of the Senators who supported Justice Sotomayor’s confirmation.”

AAPD, along with two dozen national disability organizations, endorsed Sotomayor’s candidacy for Supreme Court Associate Justice and believes she will apply the law in a manner that safeguards the civil rights of all Americans. For more information about the disability community’s analysis of Sotomayor’s record in the area of disability rights, visit www.aapd.com.

AAPD Urges Senate to Support Sotomayor

August 4, 2009

Dear Senator:

I write on behalf of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) to express our strong support for the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. After extensive review of Judge Sotomayor’s disability-related rulings from her career as a trial judge and appeals court judge, along with her public statements in speeches and in interviews, AAPD’s bipartisan Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the confirmation of Judge Sotomayor because of the Board members’ belief that she will apply the law in a manner that safeguards the civil rights of all Americans, including people with disabilities. 

Judge Sotomayor has an exemplary judicial record.  Her interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) demonstrates her firm commitment to protecting civil rights and safeguarding human liberty. Her opinions are thoughtful, fair, and respectfully interpret the law. As a judge on both the district and circuit courts, Sotomayor has carefully interpreted major disability rights laws like the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These laws were designed to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities, and her conscientious application of these laws in her decisions shows her respect for Congress’s intent to protect individuals with disabilities from discrimination.  

In significant ADA cases concerning the definition of “disability”--an area of the law where our community has had great difficulty with the Supreme Court and lower federal courts--Judge Sotomayor has thoughtfully and fairly evaluated testimony to determine whether the plaintiff was protected by the law.

Her jurisprudence in the disability area shows that she has a good understanding of the real-life implications of her decisions, and sees the important connections between disability rights laws and other civil rights laws.  Her personal experience as a woman with childhood-onset insulin-treated diabetes gives her additional insights that have informed her approach to disability issues.

In our 14 year history, AAPD has never weighed in to support or oppose a nominee to the Supreme Court of the United States.  We are breaking that neutrality with this nomination because we believe that Judge Sotomayor will help bring some balance to a Supreme Court that has repeatedly interpreted the ADA and the Constitution in a miserly manner that has seriously undermined Congressional efforts to recognize and protect our civil rights.  Unfortunately, at the moment, we do not believe we have one Justice on the current Supreme Court who has consistently interpreted the ADA and other key civil rights laws in a manner that respects and follows Congressional intent and reflects a fair and just reading of the U.S. Constitution.

Based on her record and her experience, Judge Sonia Sotomayor is extremely well qualified to replace Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court.  Should you have questions about Judge Sotomayor’s record in the area of disability rights or the analysis that supports AAPD’s position, please feel free to contact me.  I also encourage you to look at the materials analyzing her record at www.aapd.com. 

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Imparato
President and CEO

Action Alert: Final Vote on Sotomayor

From the JFA Moderator:

*** Action Alert: Rally for Sotomayor ***

The Senate is going to vote on the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor toward the end of this week.

For those in the DC area: There will be a rally

Wednesday, August 5 at 12 noon in the Upper Senate Park.

AAPD President and CEO, Andy Imparato, will be speaking about the disability community's strong support for Judge Sotomayor. Come! Bring your friends, family and co-workers.

For Everyone Across the Country:  Call, Fax, email your Senators to urge them to vote for the confirmation Judge Sonia Sotomayor.  Visit http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm to find out how to contact your Senators.

Whether at the rally or from your home, now is the time to tell the Senate that the disability community is tired of having a Supreme Court that fails to understand us and fails to protect us. Ask them to support us by supporting Judge Sotomayor.

>>> For More Including A List of Speakers

NC: "We Don't Need Deaf Jurors"

From the News and Observer (July 16, 2009):

"We can't have quadriplegics running track, nor do we need to have deaf persons serving on juries."
Rep. Ronnie Sutton, a Pembroke Democrat, on July 16, explaining why he opposed a bill providing for interpreters for deaf people who are picked as jurors.

Deaf jurors debated

A bill that would have provided a procedure for judges to deal with deaf jurors led to a debate in the House over whether those who cannot hear should sit on a jury.

The bill would gurantee an interpreter for hearing-impaired jurors.

But some House members questioned whether a such a juror could properly appreciate the nuance of testimony.

"This is one example of taking political correctness too far," said Rep. Ronnie Sutton, a Pembroke Democrat. "We can't have quadriplegics running track, nor do we need to have deaf persons serving on juries."

Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat, said hearing impaired jurors have already served in North Carolina trials. Several states have similar laws providing for interpreters in those cases, he said. The bill still allows lawyers or judges to reject a hearing impaired juror.

"A hearing impaired juror who has the capacity to particiapte fairly and impartially ought to be allowed," Glazier said...

>>> For the Full Posting