MAY 2003 • VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 AAPD news IN THIS ISSUE AAPD Thanks its 2003 Gala Sponsors: $75,000 Lead Sponsor SAP $50,000 Platinum Sponsor Independence Technology, a Johnson & Johnson company $25,000 Gold Sponsors American Airlines AOL Inc. Pfizer $10,000 Silver Sponsors AT&T Bristol-Myers Squibb Company The Honorable Robert J. Dole in memory of Paul G. Hearne Hewlett-Packard National Association of Broadcasters Gala sponsors continued on page 24 More on the Gala on pages 11 & 12 Save the Date! National Disability Mentoring Day is October 15 Medicaid in Crisis House Leadership Targets Key Disability Programs The House Budget Resolution, passed last month, requires various Congressional committees to pass legislation making $265 billion in cuts over the next 10 years to entitlement or "mandatory" programs. Approximately 62 percent of these cuts, or $162 billion are slated to come from programs for low-income families and individuals. The hardest hit program is Medicaid with cuts of $92.1 billion over the next 10 years. According to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), the dollar cut in the year when cuts, would be deepest is $25.2 billion. This comes at a time when many states have already been forced to enact cuts in Medicaid. Other programs slated for major cuts in the House budget version include Supplemental Security Income, Food Stamps, Child Support Enforcement, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, to name a few (for a state by state listing of Medicaid cuts see page 4). These cuts would remain in effect at least through 2013, unless another Congress elected to overturn some or all of them. The House Budget Resolution also reflected a $726 billion-tax cut (the total amount the Administration asked for). The Budget passed by the Senate contains no provisions for low-income program cuts and decreases the President's tax cut package by 50 percent. As AAPD News went to press, members of the House and Senate were drafting a Budget Resolution Conference Report that is to be considered by both chambers. Many members of the Senate (including the leadership of both parties) are opposed to any cuts in Medicaid. A passionate letter from Senators Charles E. Grassley (R-IA) and Max Baucus (D-MT) (signed by 79 Senators – see page 4 for list of Senators opposed to Medicaid cuts) to the budget leadership of both houses states, "States are facing the most severe budget crisis since World War II and nearly every state has proposed or enacted cuts to its Medicaid program. Any reduction in federal Medicaid funding would place millions of vulnerable Americans now receiving Medicaid in jeopardy of losing their health coverage. Federal funding reductions would force states to implement even deeper cuts by restricting eligibility, eliminating or reducing critical health benefits, and severely cutting or freezing provider reimbursement rates. As a result, Medicaid funding cuts would add millions more to the ranks of the uninsured." According to the same CBPP report, a Congressional committee could choose to make a smaller cut (or none at all) in a given program, but then it would have to make deeper cuts in another program or programs under its jurisdiction to achieve the amount of savings it is required to produce. The House budget resolution does not provide details or directives about exactly how Congress should achieve these substantial cuts in each of these low-income entitlement programs. Instead, it directs each of a number of Congressional committees to pass legislation that achieves a specific level of cuts in entitlement programs under that committee's jurisdiction. The CBPP report also provides an analysis of how reductions could be made in the year of deepest cuts to entitlement programs. (This analysis assumes all entitlement programs within a given budget function would be cut by approximately the same on a relative scale because House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle stated that the entitlement reductions in the House Budget Resolution are generally assumed to be proportional.) For example, according to CBPP, in the year in which the required cuts would be the deepest reduction in Medicaid, if achieved entirely by reducing the number of children covered, would lead to the elimination of health coverage for 13.6 million children. Alternatively, if the cut were achieved by reducing the number of low-income elderly individuals and people with disabilities who receive long-term care through Medicaid, it would lead to the elimination of care for about one-fourth of such individuals. A $25 billion cut (deepest cut in one year) in federal Medicaid spending would likely result in total cuts in the program of $43 billion when the associated loss of state funding is considered. The Medicaid program is a "matched" program in which the federal government and states share the cost of providing health care to low-income individuals. This means that when federal Medicaid costs are cut by $1, state funding falls by an average of 73 cents. Low-income individuals and health care providers, therefore, must absorb $1.73 in cuts for each $1 in federal Medicaid savings. According to the report, $25 billion is equal to fully one-half of the projected federal cost of providing long-term care services to low-income elderly and people with disabilities receiving Medicaid. Thus, if states were to absorb all of these cuts by reducing the number of individuals receiving long-term care services, nearly one in four low-income seniors and individuals with disabilities receiving such services through Medicaid would have to be denied nursing home care. Even if the federal Medicaid cuts were somehow structured such that states either could not or did not reduce the Medicaid expenditures financed with state funds despite the large reductions in federal expenditures — an unlikely scenario, the cuts still would be very large. If states did not reduce their spending in step with the federal cuts, they still would need to cut off almost 8 million children from Medicaid in order to achieve a $25 billion cut in federal Medicaid spending by reducing children's coverage. Similarly, if states chose to achieve this cut solely by reducing the number of elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities receiving long-term care services, they would have to eliminate coverage for 13 percent of the individuals now receiving these services, even if the state did not reduce state spending. The cuts in the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program in the deepest cut year, if achieved by reducing the number of SSI recipients, would lead to the elimination of SSI benefits for 467,000 low-income elderly individuals and people with disabilities. If the cut were achieved by reducing the maximum SSI benefit, SSI recipients with no other income would see their benefit — and their total income fall from an already low 74 percent of the poverty line to 70 percent. The House Budget Resolution also makes $244 billion in cuts in domestic "discretionary," or annually appropriated programs, below the 2003 levels, adjusted for inflation. The Senate budget contains $159 billion in domestic discretionary cuts. A number of programs that assist low-income families are discretionary and likely would be affected by these cuts as well. This report, however, focuses entirely on the cuts to entitlement programs. AAPD urges its members to contact their House and Senate representatives and tell them how critical Medicaid is to people with disabilities. * These figures were calculated based on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) projections of the average federal cost of long-term care services for elderly and individuals with disabilities participating in the Medicaid program and the CBO's projections of the number of such individuals who will be enrolled in Medicaid during 2010. Unfinished Business Dear AAPD Members, On March 27, the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University released the results of a national survey of U.S. employers regarding their practices toward employees and job applicants with disabilities. The report, entitled "Misconceptions About Hiring Workers with Disabilities Linger Among Nation's Employers — Demonstrating Need for Policies to Promote Understanding, Opportunity," can be obtained by contacting the center at www.heldrich.rutgers.edu. Here are some of the report's more significant findings: • Only one-fourth of employers say their firm employs at least one worker with a physical disability or mental illness; • Less than half (40 percent) of employers provide training to their employees regarding working with or providing accommodations to people with disabilities; • Employers are resistant to hiring workers with disabilities because of their discomfort in having these workers, their concerns about costs, or their belief that such workers do not have the skills to perform particular jobs; • Notwithstanding that the vast majority of employers who have hired a worker with disabilities report that the cost of accommodating those workers is often less than or about the same as they expected (with 61 percent indicating that the average cost of accommodation was only $500 or less), there continues to be a large portion of employers (40 percent) overall who maintain that it can be difficult or costly to provide accommodations to workers with disabilities; • When probed as to why employers do not hire workers with disabilities, nearly one- third (32 percent ) of employers said that the nature of their company's work is such that people with disabilities cannot effectively perform it; • About ten percent of employers admitted that their own discomfort or unfamiliarity regarding people with disabilities is the greatest barrier to employment for this population; • Only about half (49 percent) of employers reported that they have made recruiting and interviewing locations accessible for people with physical disabilities; • Only 11 percent of employers say they have developed recruiting methods and advertising for job positions that specifically target people with disabilities; • Only 12 percent have changed the format of job applications to make them more accessible, or have changed the tests or evaluations used in hiring or promotion; and • Only 7 percent of employers say they have changed the company's web site to make it more accessible to people with disabilities. Conducted almost 13 years since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), these results are nothing short of appalling. Keep in mind that the results are based on the self-reporting of employers. As labor economists debate why we haven't seen significant increases in employment rates among working-age people with disabilities since 1990, these same economists should look closely at the portrait of the American workplace in 2003 that the Rutgers study paints. Far from being embraced by the employer community, workers with disabilities still face many of the physical and attitudinal barriers that they faced before the enactment of ADA. Fears, myths, and stereotypes about people with disabilities continue to limit employment opportunities and career growth. Perhaps most significantly, a lack of familiarity with any workers with disabilities has chilled the willingness of employers to affirmatively reach out to this population. How should we as AAPD members respond? Here are three suggestions: • Use National Disability Mentoring Day, internship, and volunteer opportunities to increase the familiarity of employers with the skills and capabilities of disabled students and workers; • Push the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the U.S. Department of Justice to more effectively enforce the employment non-discrimination and affirmative action requirements in the ADA and Title V of the Rehabilitation Act; and • Encourage the team at Rutgers and others in the research community to revisit employer attitudes and practices on a regular basis so that we can track progress in the aggregate, but also so that we can track progress with particular employers over time. Andrew J. Imparato AAPD President and CEO ImparatoA@aol.com Medicaid Works Cutting Medicaid Funding Dishonors the Nation's Commitment to Its Residents Letters from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, a Washington-based coalition of more than 100 national disability organizations, including AAPD, to members of Congress summarize best the dramatic negative impact Medicaid cuts and the Bush Administration's Medicaid policy would have on people with disabilities by telling what Medicaid does best. • Medicaid is the primary public source of funding for long-term services and supports for people with disabilities of all ages. It is the largest funder of state and local spending on mental health, mental retardation, and developmental disabilities services in the country. • For people with epilepsy, mental illness, HIV, and a variety of other conditions, Medicaid is often the only source of access to essential prescription drug coverage. • For people with a variety of physical disabilities, such as spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, or amputations, Medicaid usually is the only way they can get access to durable medical equipment like wheelchairs or prosthetic devices, as well as assistive technology. • For many people with cognitive and other types of disabilities, Medicaid is generally the only source of funds for them to live and work in the community with friends and families and avoid more costly and segregated nursing homes or institutions. Is Your Senator Listed Here? March 25, a letter was sent from Senators Charles E. Grassley and Max Baucus to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Budget Committees expressing strong opposition to the inclusion of any Medicaid cuts in the final budget resolution. The letter says, "We call on the FY 2004 Budget Resolution conferees to reject the inclusion of any Medicaid cuts as part of the final budget resolution." Seventy-nine Senators signed the letter, including the Senate leadership from both parties. Senators on Letter Against Medicaid Cuts Akaka, Daniel K. (D-HI) Alexander, Lamar (R-TN) Allen, George (R-VA) Baucus, Max (D-MT) Bayh, Evan (D-IN) Bennett, Robert F. (R-UT) Biden, Jr., Joseph R. (D-DE) Bingaman, Jeff (D-NM) Bond, Christopher S. (R-MO) Boxer, Barbara (D-CA) Breaux, John B. (D-LA) Brownback, Sam (R-KS) Bunning, Jim (R-KY) Byrd, Robert C. (D-WV) Campbell, Ben Nighthorse (R-CO) Cantwell, Maria (D-WA) Carper, Thomas R. (D-DE) Chafee, Lincoln D. (R-RI) Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) Clinton, Hillary Rodham (D-NY) Cochran, Thad (R-MS) Coleman, Norm (R-MN) Collins, Susan M. (R-ME) Corzine, Jon S. (D-NJ) Daschle, Tom (D-SD) Dayton, Mark (D-MN) Dewine, Mike (R-OH) Dodd, Christopher J. (D-CT) Domenici, Pete V. (R-NM) Dorgan, Byron L. (D-ND) Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL) Edwards, John (D-NC) Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI) Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA) Fitzgerald, Peter G. (R-IL) Frist, Bill (R-TN) Graham, Bob (D-FL) Graham, Lindsey O. (R-SC) Grassley, Charles E. (R-IA) Hagel, Chuck (R-NE) Harkin, Tom (D-IA) Hatch, Orrin G. (R-UT) Hutchison, Kay Bailey (R-TX) Inhofe, James M. (R-OK) Inouye, Daniel K. (D-HI) Jeffords, James M. (I-VT) Johnson, Tim (D-SD) Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA) Kerry, John F. (D-MA) Kohl, Herb (D-WI) Landrieu, Mary L. (D-LA) Lautenberg, Frank (D-NJ) Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT) Levin, Carl (D-MI) Lieberman, Joseph I. (D-CT) Lincoln, Blanche L. (D-AR) Lugar, Richard G. (R-IN) Mccain, John (R-AZ) Mikulski, Barbara A. (D-MD) Murkowski, Lisa (R-AK) Murray, Patty (D-WA) Nelson, Bill (D-FL) Nelson, E. Benjamin (D-NE) Pryor, Mark (D-AR) Reed, Jack (D-RI) Reid, Harry (D-NV) Roberts, Pat (R-KS) Rockefeller Iv, John D. (D-WV) Sarbanes, Paul S. (D-MD) Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY) Smith, Gordon (R-OR) Snowe, Olympia J. (R-ME) Specter, Arlen (R-PA) Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) Talent, James M. (R-MO) Thomas, Craig (R-WY) Voinovich, George V. (R-OH) Warner, John W. (R-VA) Wyden, Ron (D-OR) Total Cuts In medicaid Under the House Budget Plan – 2004-2013 For more state by state cuts, visit www.cbpp.org Medicaid & SCHIP Alabama $1,360,800,000 Alaska $306,200,000 Arizona $1,850,900,000 Arkansas $1,046,900,000 California $9,738,000,000 Colorado $814,700,000 Connecticut $1,129,400,000 Delaware $209,700,000 Dist. Columbia $496,900,000 Florida $4,059,300,000 Georgia $2,378,200,000 Hawaii $285,000,000 Idaho $367,200,000 Illinois $2,849,700,000 Indiana $1,793,600,000 Iowa $863,600,000 Kansas $654,600,000 Kentucky $1,641,400,000 Louisiana $2,085,400,000 Maine $630,900,000 Maryland $1,289,400,000 Massachusetts $2,677,100,000 Michigan $2,745,800,000 Minnesota $1,565,700,000 Mississippi $1,455,600,000 Missouri $2,037,300,000 Montana $272,700,000 Nebraska $507,700,000 Nevada $330,500,000 New Hampshire $343,200,000 New Jersey $2,534,600,000 New Mexico $856,100,000 New York $12,705,100,000 North Carolina $2,882,600,000 North Dakota $197,400,000 Ohio $3,793,600,000 Oklahoma $1,139,800,000 Oregon $1,103,800,000 Pennsylvania $4,406,900,000 Rhode Island $503,400,000 South Carolina $1,512,700,000 South Dakota $219,600,000 Tennessee $2,350,100,000 Texas $5,691,000,000 Utah $459,300,000 Vermont $277,400,000 Virginia $1,222,300,000 Washington $1,684,900,000 West Virginia $779,600,000 Wisconsin $1,635,700,000 Wyoming $114,700,000 United States $94,000,000,000 The distribution of the cuts is based on the state-by-state distribution of program spending or funding in a recent year. The Medicaid/SCHIP figures are based on projections for 2003 spending. Chart Courtesy of the Center for Budget Policy and Priority Individual Development Accounts: A Golden Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities By Dede Leydorf, Training and Public Education Manager, World Institute on Disability Oppressive poverty persists among people with disabilities in the United States. According to the 1995 Current Population Survey, 39.7 percent of working-age persons with disabilities live in poverty. Sadly, as disability advocates, this statistic may not surprise us. What is surprising is the scarcity of effective new programs addressing economic inequity. Be that as it may, there is one new rising star in the mainstream antipoverty movement; it is called the Individual Development Account (IDA) savings program. What Is an Individual Development Account? It may sound too good to be true. A savings program helping people to buy a home, start a business or, go back to school. With each deposit an additional amount is added that is from one to three times the original deposit. Throw in financial literacy training, support from a community-based organization, and peer support, and you have an IDA program. Participants only need to meet the general requirement of being within 200 percent of poverty and have some source of earned income. The entire program is free of charge. It is available and nationwide. There is no catch. And, IDAs are proven effective. Not only do IDAs help people become self-sufficient; they also build optimism. According to the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, as many as 93 percent of current IDA participants reported they feel more confident about their futures and 85 percent said they felt more in control of their lives. With self- empowerment as its cornerstone, it is easy to see the marriage between IDAs and the independent living philosophy. The program is a natural fit with the disability community. Are people with disabilities participating in IDA programs? No organization or governmental body has formally counted the number of people with disabilities participating in IDAs. However, a recently-released study from the Institute for Women's Policy Research found that nearly half of single mothers receiving TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) have a disability or a disabled child. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities also reports significant participation by persons with disabilities in TANF. Since many IDA programs serve the TANF population, it is reasonable to assume that a large number of people disabilities participate in IDAs. Can I participate if I receive (SSI)? Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients can participate in IDA programs without losing their benefits due to asset limits. IDA savings — including the match and any interest earned — are not counted as "assets" for benefit consideration as long as the program is funded under the federal law Assets for Independence Act (AFIA). It is simple. If you receive SSI, simply ask the IDA program administrators if they receive funding from AFIA. If they do, you can participate. Find the IDA Program Nearest You IDA programs are fairly new. Across the nation there are only roughly 20,000 accounts in about 400 programs. The Corporation for Enterprise Development lists IDA providers and others who work in the asset development field at idanetwork.org; you can find the resource list by clicking on the "state" pages. Contact the IDA program nearest you and ask if they are currently recruiting participants and what their specific requirements for participation are. If you are unable to find an IDA program near you or one that is currently recruiting, hope is not lost. A new federal bill called the Savings for Working Families Act (SFWA) may pass in 2003 enabling banks to directly open an additional 300,000 accounts nationwide beginning in 2004. Check out these available resources • World Institute on Disability (WID) - www.wid.org/pages/eped/IDA.htm WID provides training, technical assistance and produces publications on IDAs and disability-related issues. For more information, contact Dede Leydorf at dede@wid.org, (510) 251-4340 (V) or (510) 208-9493 (TTY). • Corporation for Enterprise Development - www.cfed.org For more information on IDAs • Center for Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis - www.gwbweb.wustl.edu/csd/ For research on IDAs and the asset development movement in general • IDA Network - www.idanetwork.com To locate IDA providers in the United States • "How Do IDAs Affect Benefit Eligibility" article – www.cbpp.org/9-27-01wel.pdf For an excellent article on the effects of IDAs on all public benefits 2003 AAPD Leadership Gala Great Success The second annual AAPD Leadership Gala, an evening of awards and celebration, was hailed as a great success by all who attended. Held on March 4 in Washington, DC, the Gala kicked off with a reception, at which The Honorable Robert J. Dole was the featured speaker. Dole shared insights into the life and advocacy of his close friend, AAPD Co-founder Paul G. Hearne, in whose name the awards program was established. Orchestrating the evening's awards ceremony were the Masters of Ceremonies, The Honorable Tony Coelho and AAPD Board Chair John Kemp. Representing the Administration was Dr. Margaret J. Giannini, F.A.A.P., Director of the Office on Disability, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, who read a letter from President George W. Bush, which reiterated the President's commitment to this country's disability community through his New Freedom Initiative and congratulated AAPDs and the evening's award recipients. Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, helped to present The Henry B. Betts Award to Dick and Ginny Thornburgh, long-term advocates for disability rights. Paul G. Hearne Award presenters at the Gala included Rep. Donna Christian-Christensen (D-USVI), Rep. James C. Greenwood (R-PA), and Rep. James Langevin (D-RI), who spoke personally about their advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities and also presented highlights of the lives of this year's five award recipients. Names and bios of the Hearne Award winners can be found in the last issue of AAPD News and online at www.aapd-dc.org. Six-time Grammy Award winner, Jose Feliciano, who sang some of his most famous selections, provided entertainment for the evening. "SAP was pleased and honored to serve as Lead Sponsor of the 2003 AAPD Leadership Gala. SAP is fully committed to making accessibility an integral part of its standard product development culture through innovations such as Braille screen readers, voice recognition systems, and natural language navigators. This commitment reflects our belief that everybody should have the opportunity to achieve his or her fullest potential." William R. McDermott President and CEO – SAP America, Inc. Election to the AAPD Board of Directors The Nominating Committee of AAPD presents the following nominees for its Board of Directors. Every member of AAPD is invited and encouraged to cast a ballot in this important election. Your ballot is enclosed in this newsletter. The AAPD Board of Directors is YOUR board, and it is your right as a member of AAPD to vote in this election. There are six board positions open. Please vote for up to six of the eight candidates and return your pre-addressed ballot to AAPD so that it will be received no later than May 23, 2003. Thank you. Marilyn Hamilton Marilyn Hamilton, an AAPD Board member since 1998, has been a driving force for positive change in society for 24 years after an accident left her paralyzed in 1978. Unhappy with existing technology, Hamilton, in 1979 with two hang-gliding friends, began manufacturing Quickie wheelchairs from a California garage. In addition to earning pioneer status revolutionizing the wheelchair industry, she has won numerous honors as a recognized business leader, longtime disability advocate, and Paralympic sports champion. Today, Hamilton works with Sunrise Medical (who purchased Quickie) as Vice President of Global Planning and Strategic Services. Hamilton leads an Ambassador Outreach Program, founded WOW, an organization helping children through socialization and education, fights State & Federal funding cuts for technology and services, drives the development of innovative mobility technology, and speaks at hundreds of rehab centers, hospitals, providers, and the public across the globe changing attitudes and creating awareness. Hamilton donates her time to several non-profit organizations. As a founding trustee of The California Endowment (TCE), she influenced a disability agenda that resulted in TCE funding several millions to disability organizations. As a board member, she has raised $107,000 for AAPD in addition to giving generously herself. Marilyn's story is featured in 3 books: Companies with a Conscience, No Pity and Women Business Leaders. Television specials include: 60 Minutes, CBS This Morning, CBS Eye on America & The Best of Us and PBS People in Motion. Gregg Howard Gregg Howard is Vice President, Reimbursement and Disability Association Relations and a board member with Independence Technology, a Johnson & Johnson company, whose mission is to develop products and services for people with disabilities. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 1975, and for the next sixteen years resided in several U.S. cities holding various positions of increasing responsibility in Sales, Sales Management, and Trade Marketing. In 1991 he joined Rhone Poulenc Rorer as Vice President Sales. In 1995 he joined Revlon as Vice President Sales, before returning to Johnson & Johnson in 1996. In his current position Howard spends considerable time in Washington D.C. working on all the complex reimbursement issues related to the INDEPENDENCE™ iBOT™ Mobility System. He has spent a great deal of time on Capitol Hill and has testified before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Veteran's Affairs. He is also responsible for developing relationships with disability leaders and major disability associations throughout the country. Howard is the father of a young adult with multiple disabilities, and has networked extensively in the area of disability on behalf of his son. He believes much of who he is today and how he thinks is a result of what Gregory Jr. has taught him. He is a former winner of the Paralyzed Veteran's of America Corporate Patriot Award and also was a member of a work group with the CDC initiative "Healthy People 2010". Howard is a member of the AAPD Leadership Gala steering committee, The Arc, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, the Epilepsy Foundation of America, and the National Council on Independent Living. Howard resides in New Jersey with his wife Wendy and son Gregory Jr. Lynn Rivers Lynn Rivers served four terms as a Democratic congresswoman from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Rivers used her position in Congress to educate the public about her personal experience with bi-polar disorder. She has always believed that by speaking out she can "change the face of mental illness." Rivers first spoke publicly about her more than 20-year experience with manic- depressive illness in the final days of the 1994 campaign, when a caller possibly planted by her opponent asked her on a radio show if she'd ever "had a problem" with depression. "I answered: 'Absolutely! Millions and millions of people do.'" She was awarded legislator of the year by the National Mental Health Association, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, and the Senior Alliance Area Agency on Aging. In addition she was given the Disability Awareness Award from the Education Accessibility Services, and the Home Health Leadership Award from the Michigan Home Health Association. A mother of two by the time she was 21, Rivers attended the University of Michigan and Wayne State University law school while raising her family. She became involved in politics as a "Mom who got mad at the system," taking on the Ann Arbor school board and ending up as its president. Having served one term in the Michigan House of Representatives and four terms in Congress, Rivers resides in Ann Arbor Michigan and is currently teaching at Washtenaw Community College. Debra Robinson Debra Robinson currently serves as Treasurer of Speaking for Ourselves (SFO), a statewide, cross-disability organization advocating with and for people with disabilities in Pennsylvania. She has previously served as president of SFO, and was the first African- American female to hold that position. Robinson was appointed by President Clinton to serve as a member of the National Council on Disability, a federal agency charged with advising the President and the Congress on public policy issues affecting people with disabilities, in 1995. Robinson remained on the Council until 2002. Robinson also helped to found and served as Treasurer for Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, a national cross-disability advocacy organization. Robinson organizes SFO's annual Freedom March to the Pennsylvania State Capitol and has testified before the Pennsylvania state legislature on the need for de-institutionalization and community-based supports. Robinson is a personal advocate for many people, helping them to negotiate the service delivery system. She serves on numerous public policy and cross-disability task forces. In addition to her roles at SFO, Robinson works for Temple University's Institute on Disabilities as a research assistant on assistive technology. Cheryl Sensenbrenner Cheryl Sensenbrenner says, "AAPD is where I belong." She was co-chair of the 2002 and 2003 AAPD Leadership Galas and played a significant role in their success. She explains how much she has enjoyed her involvement with these events and her interaction with the award recipients. She feels strongly that her many experiencess with AAPD have made her want to become even more involved. Sensenbrenner sustained a spinal cord injury at L-1 in 1972 and has since functioned from bed, a wheelchair, with Canadian crutches and a cane. She is the mother of two adult sons and wife of F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., now Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who worked on the ADA years ago. Sensenbrenner is also the proud sister of Tara, who has Down's syndrome. She believes that she has been able to remain an active person because of the support of her family, but she understands that many people are not as fortunate as she and do have not that kind of support. She believes she can help fill this void by working closely with AAPD and can help people live not just normal lives, but exceptional ones. Sensenbrenner says, because of her personal experiences with disability and her volunteer experiences with AAPD, she would be honored to serve on the Board and help advance AAPD's mission and goals. Karen Peltz Strauss Karen Peltz Strauss has been an advocate on disability-related legal and policy issues for more than two decades. She currently serves as the Powrie V. Doctor Chair of Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University, where she is writing a book documenting the telecommunications access movement. She also provides consulting services to consumer groups, service organizations, research institutes, and companies on telecommunications access issues. From 1999 to 2001, she served as Deputy Bureau Chief of the FCC's Consumer Information Bureau, where she oversaw the creation of the Commission's first Disabilities Rights Office and the first federal advisory committee on consumer and disability affairs. While at the FCC, she worked on the release of several rules to expand telecommunications and television accessibility, including rules on captioning, video description, and relay services. As the former Supervising Attorney at Gallaudet's National Center for Law and Deafness and then as Legal Counsel for the National Association of the Deaf, Peltz Strauss co- authored and helped achieve passage of federal legislation requiring telecommunications access, television captioning, relay services, closed captioning decoder chips in televisions, and hearing aid compatible telephones. She has given expert testimony before Congress on disability bills, made presentations across the country on the need for disability access, authored numerous articles and book chapters to increase the public's knowledge about telecommunications access, and served on various advisory committees concerning telecommunications access. In addition, from 1997-1998, she served a Presidential appointment to the Gore Commission, where she pushed for and successfully achieved inclusion of disability issues in a report on the public interest obligations of digital television broadcasters. Peltz Strauss holds a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and an LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center. Michael Takemura Michael Takemura, Director of the Hewlett-Packard Accessibility Program Office, is responsible for developing the overall strategy for HP's accessibility efforts. This office guides corporate-wide accessibility in product design, engineering, product development, documentation, web services, support and programs for persons with disabilities. He has been in the technology industry for more than 15 years, representing Compaq Computer Corporation for more than ten years, with strategic roles in marketing and sales organizations. Takemura has been in a chair since the day after his 19th birthday, when he incurred a spinal cord injury as the result of a car accident. For the past two years, Takemura has been a member of the AAPD Leadership Gala Steering Committee. He is a frequent speaker representing HP and the industry on accessibility issues, and was recently selected to participate in the HalfthePlanet Foundation 21st Century Disability Think Tank (2002) and AAPD's 2003 Henry B. Betts Award Jury Panel. He also currently serves as a Director on the Advisory Board for California State University at Northridge – Center on Disabilities (CSUN-COD), and sits on the Board of Directors for the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA). He is on the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) Section 508 working groups, the Accessibility Forum Interoperability Working Group, and the FCC Consumer Disability Telecommunications Advisory Committee (C/DTAC). A resident of Houston, Texas, Takemura is an active member of his church, through which he makes annual mission trips to work with children. This summer, he'll travel to Costa Rica to assist with the building of a church and an orphanage. All ballots must be received no later than May 23, 2003! Tony Young Tony Young is the Assistant Vice President of Governmental Affairs and Workforce Develop-ment for NISH, addressing employment and employment support issues as they affect individuals with the most severe disabilities. He also serves as the Chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, a coalition of 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the employment, self-determination, independence, empowerment, integration, and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society. Prior to this position, Young was Senior Policy Analyst with United Cerebral Palsy, Inc., Director of Residential Services and Community Supports for the American Rehabilitation Association in Washington, DC; President of Open Access, a consulting firm focusing on the design, development, evaluation and analysis of policies, programs and services for persons with disabilities; Founder and Executive Director of the Independence Center of Northern Virginia, a Title VII Center for Independent Living; and, a budget analyst for the US Department of Agriculture. Over 32 years as a quadriplegic, Young has served in a variety of state and national bodies, including the Congressional Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities, the Presidents' Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Entrepreneurship and Small Business for People with Disabilities; the National Rehabilitation Hospital Research and Training Center on Medical Rehabilitation and Health Policy; the World Institute on Disability Research and Training Center on Personal Assistance Services, the National Institute on Consumer Directed Long Term Services at the National Council on the Aging, Inc.; and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Blue Ribbon Panel on Personal Assistance Services Policy, and as a Fellow with the World Institute on Disability. Young earned a B.S. in Business Administration With Distinction from George Mason University in 1980 and acquired a PwD* in 1970. *A PwD is an advanced degree in life featuring practical experience in systems gaming, scarce resource allocation, problem solving, barrier removal, information seeking, support scheduling, priority juggling, and conversational philosophy! AAPD MEMBERSHIP/RENEWAL APPLICATION New AAPD Membership Renewal AAPD Membership Membership No. I need an alternate format for membership materials: Braille Audio Cassette Large Print Computer Diskette Send to my E-mail Address Name Street City State Zip Phone E-mail Enclosed is my membership payment for: $20 (three years) $15 (two years) $8 (one year) I would also like to make a tax-deductible contribution to AAPD in the amount of: $10 $20 $50 Other $ Total Payment $ Check enclosed VISA MasterCard Discover American Express Credit Card Number Expiration Date Name on Credit Card Signature AAPD Membership Services • P.O. Box 97045 • Washington DC 20090-7045 Call toll-free (866) 241-3200 (V/TTY) • Visit our web site at: www.aapd-dc.org Please call or mail notification of any address changes. COURT WATCH Coalition for a Fair and Independent Judiciary Hosts "States' Rights" News Conference Disability Community Continues to Oppose Sutton Nomination to the Courts March 5, the Coalition For a Fair and Independent Judiciary held a "States' Rights" judicial nominee news conference to show members of the media the negative affect Jeffrey Sutton's legal cases have had on the lives of real people. Sutton, who has long been a States' Rights champion has been nominated by President Bush to serve a life- time appointment on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) hosted the event. Featured speakers included the following: • Patricia Garrett of Alabama, whose employment discrimination claim under the ADA was dismissed because her employer was a state entity; • Ann Rudolph, Chairperson of Westside Mothers, who was denied the right to enforce Medicaid laws so her children and others could receive appropriate medical care under Medicaid; • Bonnie Sanders, President of South Camden Citizens in Action in New Jersey, whose claim for environmental racism was dismissed after the Supreme Court eliminated an individual's ability to challenge racially discriminatory practices; • Judy Jones of Virginia, whose court victory under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act was erased as a result of a decision preventing age discrimination victims from recovering damages against state employers; and • Steven Schwartz, Executive Director of the Center for Public Representation, who has litigated a number of cases where state defendants have sought immunity from federal disability and Medicaid laws. Jeffery Sutton's track record as a lawyer in sovereign immunity cases has harmed millions of real people like the ones featured March 5. In Patricia Garrett's case before the Supreme Court, Garrett v. University of Alabama, Sutton argued successfully that Congress did not have the authority under the Constitution to apply the ADA to states in employment discrimination suits for damages. Feinstein Disregards Civil Rights and Votes to Confirm Sutton in Committee Dianne Feinstein was the only Democrat to support Jeffrey Sutton's nomination for Judge in the Senate Judiciary Committee, even though she had heard from many individuals and organizations representing persons with disabilities and other civil rights, labor, and environmental groups explaining why they are absolutely against his nomination. Feinstein, in defense of her vote, said she believed he would make a fair and thoughtful judge. In the nineties, Feinstein was quoted stating that she believed advocates for the rights of persons with disabilities were too extreme and that regulations enforcing access and equal opportunities for people with disabilities demanded unreasonable requirements. Please contact Senator Feinstein and tell her how displeased you are with her vote. E-mail: senfeinstein.senate.gov/email.html Write: 331 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Call: Phone (202) 224-3841 Fax (202) 228-3954 World Congress and Exposition on Disabilities (WCD) in Orlando September 18-20, 2003 Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida An annual conference and trade show bringing together people with disabilities and their families, caregivers, physicians, allied healthcare professionals, educators, therapists, and all others within the disability community is being held September 18-20 in Orlando. The WCD provides a forum for sharing ideas, experiences, and support for families and professionals involved in the care and development of those with disabilities and special healthcare needs. The WCD offers more than 120 educational seminars, an Assistive Technology Learning Center, a Sports & Recreation Activity Center, and an Employment Pavilion, as well as the latest products and services from more than 200 exhibitors. For more information, go to www.wcdexpo.com or call (877) 923-3976 ext. 831. National Council on Disability Analyzes Problematic Aspects of ADA Decisions by the Supreme Court The National Council on Disability (NCD) recently released two policy briefs analyzing and responding to certain problematic aspects of the ADA decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court: 1) "Negative Media Portrayals of the ADA" and 2) "Defining 'Disability' in a Civil Rights Context: The Court's Focus on Extent of Limitations as Opposed to Fair Treatment and Equal Opportunity." "Negative Media Portrayals of the ADA" identifies some prevalent myths and misconceptions about the ADA that the media coverage of the law has propagated. Together they paint a picture of the ADA as an unclear law that authorizes unworthy people to sue private businesses and government agencies on feeble and ludicrous grounds, and that subjects public instrumentalities and private business concerns to weighty and unjustified burdens and financial liabilities. "Defining 'Disability' in a Civil Rights Context: The Court's Focus on Extent of Limitations as Opposed to Fair Treatment and Equal Opportunity" provides an overview of the origins of the statutory language found in the ADA definition of disability; considers the dramatically narrowed scope of the ADA's coverage resulting from a series of hostile federal court decisions; looks to the experiences of several states that have adopted independent and broader definitions of "disability" for the purposes of anti- discrimination statutes; examines the models and definitions of "disability" used beyond the borders of the United States by other countries and by the World Health Organization; and outlines a broader approach to the statutory framework. This analysis was drafted by Andrew J. Imparato of AAPD and Claudia Center, a disability rights lawyer from California who has argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. In other papers in this series, NCD examines various specific substantive aspects of the Court's rulings that have weakened or restricted the impact of the ADA. Another major area to be addressed concerns constitutional limits on the power of Congress to enact disability rights laws such as the ADA and other civil rights legislation. Publications can be found on the NCD web site at www.ncd.gov. Medicare Homebound Modernization Act Introduced in Senate The "David Jayne Medicare Homebound Modernization Act" (S.598) was introduced into the Senate by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Zell Miller (D-GA), John Kerry (D-MA), Arlen Specter (R-PA), John McCain, (R-AZ), and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA). This effort to change Medicare's home health statute that currently requires an individual be "confined to the home" in order to receive vital and life- sustaining support services was first introduced during the last Congress. Please urge your Senators to cosponsor S.598, and maybe it will become law during the current Congress. Family Opportunity Act Needs Sponsors Family Opportunity Act (FOA) advocates are currently trying to get as many co-sponsors signed on (the new bill number is S622) as possible. There are now 58 Senator sponsors. Family stories can help get co-sponsors. If you know any families who could benefit from the FOA, please write up their story and send it to Janis Connallon at j- rcon@starpower.net. It will be forwarded to your Senator. For more information, call Janis Connallon at (202) 537-6046 or e-mail her at the above address. The FOA will soon be introduced in the House. New Web Site for Governmental Services There is a new governmental web site: www.GovBenefits.gov The site, introduced by Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, allows a user to answer a short series of simple, yes/no questions, then returns a list of federal benefit programs for which he or she may be eligible. GovBenefits represents the first time that multiple federal agencies have worked together to incorporate benefits as varied as Unemployment Insurance, Medicare, and Food Stamps in one spot – 200 benefits programs in all, representing $1.3 trillion (previous budget figures) in annual benefits. The site does not collect personal information and is designed to work for caseworkers, family and friends, in addition to the potential benefit applicant. Disability Organizations Rebut Department of Education's Principles for IDEA Reauthorization Editor's Note: When AAPD News went to press, IDEA reauthorization was heading toward the full House and heating up in the Senate. We wanted our readers to know the concerns the disability community has about the content of the reauthorization as it was presented by the Department of Education. IDEA was last reauthorized in 1997. On February 25, Secretary of Education Rod Paige released a document titled "Principles for Reauthorizing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)," laying out the broad principles the Administration seeks to implement in the course of IDEA reauthorization. In a nutshell, the administration calls for moving from the "culture of compliance with process to a culture of accountability for results," by implementing the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, while streamlining paperwork and IDEA compliance procedures and encouraging alternative dispute resolution. The Administration calls for enforced state testing, implementing early intervention programs to prevent misidentifying students as learning disabled, advancing the research principles outlined by the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education, and for promoting school choice by "expand[ing] opportunities to help parents, schools, and teachers choose appropriate services and programs for children with disabilities, including the charter and private schools of their choice." This apparently would include providing private school vouchers. According to the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF), IDEA advocates are concerned because students with disabilities are beginning to find that state tests mandated by No Child Left Behind, which have sometimes been administered without disability accommodations, constitute a new barrier to realizing their academic potential. Additionally, DREDF issued a report done in collaboration with People for the American Way, entitled Jeopardizing a Legacy: A Closer Look at IDEA and Florida's Disability Voucher Program, that disputes the benefits of private school vouchers in special education. According to the DREDF/PFAW report, the Florida's McKay program is fundamentally flawed in a number of ways. Critical problems with the McKay program include weak standards for participating private schools, sacrifice of critical parental rights and services guaranteed by IDEA for those who accept the vouchers, lack of private school accountability to parents and taxpayers, and draining of critical funds from special education in public schools. Most shocking is that this program allows participating private schools to discriminate on the basis of religion, gender, or type of disability — notions that this report asserts are inconsistent with the spirit and letter of IDEA. For the DREDF/People for the American Way news release see: www.dredf.org/press_releases/vouchers.html. The National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (NAPAS) also issued an IDEA alert listing what problems they believe to be the most important. They are as follows: • the reauthorization principles allow Individual Education Plans (IEPs) to be written for three years rather than one-year periods; it removes short-term objectives, which provide parents with useful information • the reauthorization principles would give schools the unilateral ability to send children with disabilities to Interim Alternate Educational Settings for simple violations of the school code; students receive fewer services in these settings, and it would result in schools filled with students with disabilities; there is no clear path to return to the regular classroom; there would be no more Manifestation Determination Review (where the decision is made whether or not a behavior is related to the child's disability); there would be no more functional behavioral assessments or behavioral intervention plans, • the reauthorization principles would establish a due process option of voluntary binding arbitration‚ and, while on the surface this option might seem like a good idea, the problem is that parents don't always know all of their rights and options; if a parent selects voluntary binding arbitration, he or she loses all rights to appeal; if an arbitrator makes a bad decision, it can be very hard to overturn, • the reauthorization principles would make parents wait one month before any complaint they raise could go to due process, regardless of the problem or issue, and • the reauthorization principles would establish a system of pre-referral interventions — which may be a good idea — however, it would divert already scarce funds away from IDEA-eligible students to provide services for non-IDEA-eligible students. Thousands of Talking ATMs Installed Across the Country By Lainey Feingold Did you know that there are now close to 10,000 Talking ATMs across the United States, with thousands more scheduled for installation? By delivering information privately through a standard Walkman-type headset, Talking ATMs allow persons who are unable to read an ATM screen to independently use ATMs for the first time since ATMs were introduced more than 30 years ago. What is a Talking ATM? Talking ATMs speak all information necessary to conduct transactions at an ATM. They have an audio jack into which any user can plug a standard walkman-type headset, which ensures privacy, and volume can usually be adjusted. Talking ATMs are easy to use, as most have a standard telephone keypad with an extra column of function keys on the right. The function keys, used to correct, cancel, and confirm transactions, typically have raised tactile symbols and/or braille labels. Talking ATMs have an audio orientation to assist inexperienced users that includes information about component location, keypad layout, how to activate the machine, and other details such as whether a decimal point must be entered and how to repeat instructions. Today, many Talking ATMs speak Spanish as well as English. In February, 2003, Wells Fargo announced that it had already installed 2,700 bi-lingual Talking ATMs. The goal of Talking ATM advocacy has been full functionality: whatever a person can do at an ATM by reading the screen, a person using the audio program should be able to do. Significant progress has been made toward that goal, and in many cases the goal has been achieved. The following functions are available on Talking ATMs: cash withdrawal (including "fast cash" options and the ability to set a preferred fast cash amount), deposit, transfer, account balance, payments in envelopes, stamp purchases, ability to change personal identification number (PIN). Error information that lets the user know why a transaction failed is also available audibly. Talking ATMs: Where Are They and How to Find Them Talking ATMs can be found at bank branches, college campuses, and at retail outlets such as shopping malls, grocery stores, and convenience stores. They are in train stations, bus stations, and airports across the country, including those in Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Even Disneyland and Disney World now have Talking ATMs. Among the financial institutions that have installed Talking ATMs are Bank of America, Bank One, Brokaw Credit Union, Chevy Chase Bank, Citibank, First Union/Wachovia, Fifth Third, Fleet, Hibernia, Mellon, National City Bank, Pioneer Savings Bank, San Francisco Federal Credit Union, Sovereign Bank, Union Bank of California, Union Bank and Trust (Nebraska), U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. In addition, Mississippi-based Triton Corporation has already sold in excess of 1,000 Talking ATMs in the United States to non-bank retail outlets. Internationally, Talking ATMs have been installed in Australia, England, Italy, India (where the Talking ATMs speak both Hindi and English), and Spain. Talking ATM locations in the U.S. can be found by contacting banks by phone or checking web sites. Many banks now have a filter for Talking ATMs on their ATM "locator" pages so the user can search for accessible machines. Wells Fargo's Talking ATM locator provides specific orientation as to where the Talking ATM is located on the site. Several banks have also made an explicit commitment to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium. Importance of Advocacy in the Talking ATM Effort Talking ATMs in the United States are the result of advocacy efforts undertaken by the blindness community. Continued advocacy is needed. The simplest form of advocacy involves using the machines that exist and sharing information about Talking ATMs. People can also contact their financial institutions about undertaking a Talking ATM program or can request a particular location from institutions that have already installed some machines. Many banks will gladly send a speaker or set up a booth for local meetings, conferences, or conventions. Local media, newsletters, e-trees, web sites, and radio reading services should be encouraged to cover the Talking ATM issue. Finally, Talking ATMs are not just for blind people; they benefit anyone with difficulty reading an ATM screen — whether it be from dyslexia, intellectual disability, limited English proficiency or illiteracy. Advocacy and outreach can provide an opportunity for coalition building among all members of the disability community who can benefit from inclusive and accessible technology. Since 1995, Lainey Feingold, a Berkeley, California disability rights lawyer, has represented organizations and individual members of the blindness community in efforts to obtain Talking ATMs and ensure that financial institutions maintain accessible web sites and effectively communicate other visually- delivered material, such as bank statements. She can be reached by emailing Lainey Feingold or 510.548.5062. 2003 AAPD Gala Sponsors continued from front page $10,000 Silver Sponsors (cont.) Recording Industry Association of America Rehabilitation Institute of America (in-kind support) United Technologies Corporation Verizon Vivendi Universal $5,000 Bronze Sponsors BellSouth Corporation Cingular Wireless Darden Restaurants, Inc. Genentech Hart Intercivic Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP McDonald's Corporation Microsoft Corporation Novartis SBC Communications Sequoia Voting Systems Sprint The Walt Disney Company $2,500 Benefactors Digital Federal Credit Union Eli Lilly & Company The Honorable Tom Harkin and Mrs. Harkin HSBC Bank USA Kimberly-Clark Corporation Manpower, Inc. Motion Picture Association of America Powers, Pyles, Sutter & Verville SunTrust Wisconsin Energy Corporation $1,000 Patrons AdvaMed American Speech Language Hearing Association Best Buy Co. Blistex Jeremiah Bogert Marca Bristo Cassidy & Associates Credit Union National Association, Inc. Richard Ellis Gallaudet University Hammerman and Fisch Foundation The Honorable Judith E. Heumann Issue Dynamics Inc. David Johnson Joukowsky Family Foundation Leslie Harris & Associates Marwood Group LLC Metropolitan Foundation NCI Information Systems Sodexho Vivendi Universal U.S. Holding Co. Henry B. Betts Award Funders Prince Charitable Trusts Paul G. Hearne/AAPD Leadership Award Funders The Bodman Foundation Milbank Foundation for Rehabilitation Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation AAPD is grateful as well to the numerous contributions of under $1,000 made to the Gala, and to all individual ticket purchasers. Thank you for your strong support of AAPD! If you want to help make voting accessible in your community, contact Jim Dickson at AAPD's Disability Vote Project, (202) 457-0046, or by e-mail at: jim_dickson@earthlink.net. 1629 K Street NW Suite 503 Washington, DC 20006 To request an alternate format call (800) 840-8844 (V/TTY) For AAPD Membership Inquiries: Toll-Free Telephone: (866) 241-3200 (V/TTY) Written: AAPD Milford Office 258 Main Street, Suite 203 Milford, MA 01757 Visit our web site at: www.aapd-dc.org