Advocacy Alert: NIDRR Proposes Significant Changes to the ADA Technical Assistance Program (DBTACS). Action Is Needed by March 9th.

On February 7, 2006 the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research (NIDRR) issued their proposed program priorities for public comment. Priority 10 and 11 address the future of the Regional Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) program (also known as ADA and Accessible IT Centers).

The proposed NIDRR Priorities essentially eliminate the widespread technical assistance, training and material dissemination program that has been operating for the past 15 years. The proposed changes to the program will significantly reduce the amount of free or low cost, objective ADA technical assistance and training available to employers, businesses, architects and designers, local code officials, state and local government officials, educational institutions, organizations that provide services to people with disabilities, people with disabilities and their family members.

The proposed shift in the program will mean fewer resources will be available to promote voluntary compliance with the ADA at the local level. The proposed research focus for the DBTACs will mean people with disabilities will be the subject of more “study” instead of partners in the fight for their civil rights.

The DBTAC program is the only comprehensive source for information on all titles of the ADA and the intersect with other disability related laws. Some statistics regarding the extensive services provided include:

• Technical Assistance Provided: Over 2 million contacts
• Documents Disseminated: 12,773,987
• Website Visits: 27,501,643
• Individuals Who Received Training:Over 1 million

Action is needed now if the program has any chance of being saved. NIDRR’s public comment period regarding these proposed priorities ends on March 9th. They are accepting public comments via email or traditional mail. It is recommended that you send your comments via email because of significant delays that mail may experience due to increased security systems.

If you have questions regarding the proposed changes please contact the DBTAC (ADA and IT Center) that serves your area. Go to www.adata.org to locate the Center serving you or call 800-949-4232 (v/tty)

Comments may only be submitted to Donna Nangle via regular mail or email at the following address:

Donna Nangle U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 6030 Potomac Center Plaza Washington, DC 20204-2700 Donna.nangle@ed.gov

Please submit your comments on this proposed priority changes and let them know today how much you will need the services provided by the DBTACs tomorrow!

Below is a list of some key points you may wish to include in your comments. Select those that are important to you.

KEY POINTS:

• The public has continually shown a steady demand for the personal and direct community-based core services offered by the DBTACs. NIDRR needs to affirm this continuing need.
• The DBTACs are the only comprehensive regional-based confidential resource available for the American public on all aspects of the ADA and related laws across all time zones and who have staff that can respond in different languages.
• NIDRR needs to continue or increase the current level of funding in order to maintain the DBTACs’ current personal and direct community-based core services.
• The evaluation process is not described in the Proposed Priority. The evaluation process should put 15% of the points in technical assistance, 15% in training, 15% in material dissemination, and a maximum of 10% in research.
• Funding is not described in the Proposed Priority. If research is to be added as described, then additional funding needs to be included in order to cover this new component. Do not take money away from the existing direct core services.
• Creating DBTACs that have as a primary focus “rigorous research” significantly increases the indirect rate applied by Universities and Colleges thereby further reducing available funding devoted to achieving desired outcomes.
• The Review Panel should be composed of entities who are directly affected by this Proposed Priority (e.g., architects, contractors, disability organizations, persons with disabilities, and ADA professionals).
• Congress and NIDRR implemented this program in its current structure. What scientific research is NIDRR using as the impetus for this paradigm shift?
• NIDRR currently funds nearly 200 research projects, with several dozen new projects added each year. These research projects cover disability issues ranging from employment to community integration. With this broad portfolio of research the imposition of a requirement for the DBTACs to conduct additional research is duplicative. Why should NIDRR demand that the DBTACs conduct duplicative research at the expense of the only national network for knowledge translation and dissemination of the results of those research projects?
• A key element of the NIDRR long range plan (LRP) issued in February of 2006 is Knowledge Translation. The DBTACs are identified in the plan as a key contributor to this element of the LRP. The proposed priority neglects this fact entirely and instead reduces the DBTACs’ ability to conduct Knowledge Translation by demanding that they conduct research activities which would be generally duplicative of existing NIDRR research projects.