8/13/2015 Looking Back Looking Forward: Celebrating Federal Disability Policy Michael Gamel-McCormick, Ph.D. Mid-Atlantic ADA Conference BWI Marriott, Linthicum, MD September 17, 2015 A Year of Anniversaries and Celebrations • 75 th anniversary of Social Security • 50 th Anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare • 40 th Anniversary of IDEA • 25 th Anniversary of the ADA Page 2 Great Accomplishments Over the Past 50 Years • Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1973 • Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 • Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 • Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 • Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 • Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 Page 3 1
8/13/2015 Continued Challenges One Example • Airline access • Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 Page 4 Continued Challenges • Continued lack of accessibility • Transportation challenges • Financial support for services • Pay rates for PCAs and DSPs • Re-segregation efforts • Continued Medicaid Bias Page 5 Continued Challenges • Lack of presence of people with disabilities in policy making at all levels of government • Nihil novi nisi commune consensu Page 6 2
8/13/2015 Emilea Hillman • 26 year-old, owner of “Em’s Coffee Co.” in Independence, Iowa • Employees six workers, including two with disabilities • Supports two additional businesses by sharing space • Her shop is a community gathering spot Page 7 Emilea Hillman • Prior to opening the coffee shop – Completed high school at age 19 – Worked in a subminimum wage program sorting clothes – After two years, Em began showing signs of “challenging” behaviors Page 8 Emilea Hillman • In 2012 Em testified before the Senate HELP Committee • In her testimony Em said: “I am a well known member of the Independence Chamber of Commerce and a respected business owner…I assure you, everyone can work.” • On July 22, 2014, Em joined Senator Harkin in DC to watch President Obama sign the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Page 9 3
8/13/2015 Ricardo and Donna Thornton • Both have intellectual disabilities • Both lived in institutions for all of their childhoods and their early adult years • Both work to expand community options for people with all disabilities Page 10 Ricardo and Donna Thornton • Both have worked for over three decades • They are parents and grandparents • They live in their own home with drop-in support • “Let’s not look back at the institution as an answer. Let’s look forward to the future .” – Ricardo Thornton, June 24, 2014 at a Senate hearing on the Supreme Court Olmstead Decision Page 11 Foundations of Federal Disability Policy • Declaration of Independence – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” • Constitution – “…form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility , provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity .” • Gettysburg Address – “…a new nation, conceived in Liberty , and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal .” Page 12 4
8/13/2015 Foundations of Federal Disability Policy Four Modern Day Influences • The WPA • The Economic Bill of Rights • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Page 13 Foundations of Federal Disability Policy President Roosevelt’s Economic Bill of Rights • The right to a useful job • The right to earn enough to provide adequate food, clothing, and recreation • The right to a good education • The right of every family to a decent home • The right to adequate medical care • The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment Page 14 The Federal Disability Policy World Recent Legislative Accomplishments • ABLE Act • Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 • Disability Appropriations for 2015 Page 15 5
8/13/2015 The Federal Disability Policy World Issues for the 114 th Congress • Long-term services and supports • Home and community- based services settings • ESEA • HEA • Medicaid and Social Security Appropriations Page 16 Fiscal Challenge Average Daily Cost of Care in 16+ State-operated Institutions (FY 2011) US $603 DC $0 DE HI $0 ND VT $0 MT SD NH $0 RI ME $0 ME RI $0 NH VT SD $423 HI MT $577 DC ND $615 US DE $988 $0 $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 Page 17 U.N. Treaty on Disability Page 18 6
8/13/2015 Directions from a Former Boss • Listen to those you serve. • Work to give a voice to those without power. • Never patronize; never ignore; never preach. • Work to create help that enables. • If you have benefitted from help, make sure the ladder remains there for others to climb. Page 19 Harkin Farewell to the Senate • “ It has been said that the Senate is broken. No , it’s not broken. Oh, a few dents here and there. Some scrapes. Banged up a little. But, there is still no other place in America where one person can do big things – for good or for ill – for our people and our nation. ” • Nine of 25 bills passed and signed into law from the Senate HELP Committee during the 113 th Congress directly addressed disability issues. Page 20 Harkin Farewell to the Senate • A charge to us all: 1. Raise the minimum wage and protect workers’ rights 2. Quickly shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy 3. Greatly enhance the employment of people with disabilities 4. Pass the U.N. treaty on disabilities Page 21 7
8/13/2015 Harkin’s Guiding Principle • “Government must not be just an observant bystander, it must be a force for good, for lifting people up, for giving hope to the hopeless .” Page 22 Nihil novi Thoughts • “Being in an institution felt • “…I always swung on my like I was doing time for a swing and asked God to help crime I didn’t commit. We me…so I asked him…‘God , I hoped one day we’d get out want to say something to you…how can we get out of of the system and be like everybody…Where do we go the institution?’” from here?…We’d like to see – Donna Thornton more people living more • We need to end the independent lives in the detrimental and costly community. Transitioning “institutional bias” and from school to work is getting mandate the freedom of better, but we still need a little Seniors and people with more work .” disabilities to choose to – Ricardo Thornton receive community based services. – Norma Robertson-Dabrowski Page 23 Goals Still to Achieve • Full participation • Independent living • Equal opportunity • Economic self- sufficiency Page 24 8
8/13/2015 Justin Dart’s Final Message to the Disability Community • “I call for solidarity among all who love justice, all who love life, to create a revolution that will empower every single human being to govern his or her life, to govern the society and to be fully productive of life quality for self and for all .” Page 25 • “It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people .” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Page 26 9
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