On Target is a monthly publication
of the Indiana Governor's Council for People with Disabilities.
We welcome your suggestions for newsletter content and
ideas concerning the actions of the Council. On Target is made available
in accessible formats upon request.
Suellen Jackson-Boner
Executive Director
Christine Dahlberg
Associate Director
Paul Shankland
Grants Manager |
Transportation tops list of attendees' concerns
Transportation was the number one concern for people with disabilities responding to a survey at the Council's Annual Conference for People with Disabilities. The survey gave conference attendees the opportunity to rank their top concerns and to provide feedback about the Council's various initiatives.
Because transportation consistently ranks high on the list of concerns among people with disabilities, the Council is addressing it through its Community Transportation Initiative and through an upcoming national transportation summit (see article below).
"The second highest-ranking issue was that more people with disabilities should be working in local government, on community boards, and in other leadership positions that would influence policy and practices," said Vicki Pappas, director of the Center for Planning and Policy Studies at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.
The Center conducted the survey on the Council's behalf.
Other top issues of concern included diverting funding to community-living options instead of institutions; providing consumer choice and control - with funding following the person; creating affordable and accessible housing; and improving community attitudes toward people with disabilities.
"The goal was to get people with disabilities to identify the major areas of concern where the Council and local advocacy groups should focus in the coming year," Pappas said.
Council plans national transportation summit
The Council received a grant from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities to host a national invitation-only transportation summit. The goal is to equip attendees with knowledge and resources to develop effective rural transportation systems for people with disabilities.
The two-day summit is expected to draw 200 to 300 attendees from state departments of transportation, advocacy organizations, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the national Administration on Developmental Disabilities, and other national groups.
"It will bring people together who don't often meet on the issue of transportation," said Paul Shankland, Council grants manager. "We're expecting that state representatives will go back with information they can apply at the state and local levels regarding policy and design. We anticipate that people at the federal level will return to Washington with a better knowledge of what kind of policy changes are needed to make rural transportation work for people with disabilities."
To help educate attendees, best-practice models will be presented from across the nation. Those models and others will be included in a post-summit white paper that will include recommendations for federal, state and local policy and practice.
The Council's grant application was approved in large part because of its commitment to exploring transportation solutions for Indiana, Shankland said.
"It goes back to the 1970s, when the Council was among the first to recognize that transportation was probably the single biggest and most difficult barrier to people with disabilities having good jobs and being able to participate in the community," Shankland said. "We've been pursuing that challenge at one level or another ever since."
As part of that effort, the Council created the Community Transportation Initiative to train a cross-section of community leaders to develop and enhance their local transportation systems. Now in its third year, the program has had a significant impact in several counties.
"So many things tie back to transportation - living in the community, going to school and work, even going out to get groceries," said Council Executive Director Suellen Jackson-Boner.
She said people with disabilities have struggled to overcome transportation barriers because of spending limitations and because people tend to view public transit not as a public utility, but as a social welfare program.
"We're becoming aware of the price we pay for the automobile in terms of the environment, international relations and crowding," Shankland said. "The time is right for public transit to be revisited."
Statewide housing funds at stake
Approximately $57 million in federal housing dollars, controlled by Indiana's statewide Consolidated Plan, enter the state each year. As the 2003 plan is prepared, people with disabilities have an opportunity to say how and where the money should be spent.
"If the disability community participates in the Consolidated Plan process, it provides an avenue to help determine how those dollars are used," said Deborah McCarty of the Back Home in Indiana Alliance.
Indiana's statewide Consolidated Plan covers people in rural areas, small cities and towns. Larger cities, such as Indianapolis and Ft. Wayne, are not covered under this plan because these cities have their own plans.
The statewide Consolidated Plan controls funding from federal affordable-housing programs, including:
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG)
Home Investments Partnership Program (Home)
Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)
McCarty said many of these funds could be directed to better serve people with disabilities. For example, a portion of Home funding could be targeted for a rental assistance program to supplement Section 8, she said. And CDBG dollars could assist people with disabilities in making home modifications. For that to happen, however, the ideas must first be included in the plan.
In addition, people with disabilities can read and comment on a draft of the 2003 Consolidated Plan at www.indianahousing.org. (Click on "Helping Communities" and then "Consolidated Plan.")
People are encouraged to attend the scheduled public forums and hearings to be held around the state (see sidebar).
Consolidated Plan Public Forums and Hearings
Public Forums
Valparaiso - Feb. 18
Housing Opportunities, Inc.,
Conference Room
Warsaw - Feb. 19
Warsaw Community Public Library, Meeting Room
Connersville - Feb. 20
Fayette County Public Library,
Meeting Room
Jasper - Feb. 24
Jasper City Hall
Sellersburg - Feb. 25
Ivy Tech, Room C46
Greencastle - Feb. 26
Putnam County Public Library
Public Hearings
Marion - April 12
Marion Public Library
Franklin - April 14
Franklin College,
Franklin Room
For additional information, contact Kelly Boe at the Indiana Department of Commerce (800) 824-2476 (voice).
IRS resources for people with disabilities
While we just completed the holiday season, another one is fast approaching - tax season. To assist people with disabilities in preparing their taxes and obtaining applicable tax credits, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a variety of resources, including:
Tax Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities and the Hearing Impaired
(Teletax Topic 102) - Provides an overview of disability-related tax services and publications.
Tax Highlights for Persons with Disabilities (Publication 907) - Highlights disability-related sections of tax law.
Taxpayer Help and Education (Teletax Topic 101) - Describes IRS services for
people with disabilities.
Child and Dependent Care Expenses (Publication 503) - Explains the criteria for claiming a person as a dependent.
Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled (Publication 524) - Explains who qualifies for this credit and how it is computed.
The IRS also is making its online tax forms more accessible to people with disabilities, breaking down a significant access barrier on the Web.
People who use text readers to navigate the Internet have encountered problems with Portable Document Format (PDF) files, which many government entities use to post information online. Now new software developed by the IRS allows the screen reader to read PDF files more effectively.
For direct links to these and other resources, visit www.irs.gov and www.disabilityresources.org/TAX.html or contact the IRS at (800) 829-3676 (voice).
IDEA faces potential changes
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which mandates free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities, faces potential changes this year during its reauthorization. Advocates are gearing up for debates on several fronts.
IDEA was scheduled for reauthorization last fall. With elections looming, however, Congress delayed the debate until this year. The bill was automatically renewed in its current form in the interim.
The three issues under discussion - and where changes are most likely to occur - are funding, paperwork and discipline.
Funding has been a concern for IDEA since its passage. Although Congress promised up to 40 percent funding, that number is currently at 17 percent, the highest to date, iCan News Service reports.
Because schools are required to provide special education, they sometimes must cut other programs, such as the arts or athletics,to meet budgets. Funding special education at the original percentage would benefit students both with and without disabilities.
Advocates also may need to defend the high volume of paperwork involved in each child's educational progress. While special education teachers have complained they spend too much time filling out forms, some advocates argue that the paperwork is necessary for students' due process rights.
Reauthorization also will focus on discipline. In hearings last year, some senators supported "uniform discipline policies," in which schools would no longer need to consider whether a "disruptive" behavior is disability-related to determine punishments, according to the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF).
"For purposes of reauthorization, 'disruptive' has not yet been defined, but it may include behaviors such as unacceptable remarks due to a social skills deficit, a verbal tic, even pencil tapping due to ADHD, and countless other disability-related behaviors," according to a July DREDF news briefing. "It is true that there are some students for whom it may be necessary to find an alternative educational setting due to persistent behavioral challenges that are truly a danger. Our concern is that children with disabilities with disruptive behaviors will be unfairly targeted."
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund operates the Rapid Response Network to inform subscribers about IDEA issues and to summarize Congressional hearings. To obtain an e-mail subscription, visit www.dredf.org or e-mail dredf@dredf.org.
State to address election reform legislation
In a bipartisan effort to overhaul the nation's election system, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (now Public Law 107-252) in October, which includes provisions to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities.
Now, Indiana must follow up with its own legislation.
"Much of what the state must do is decide how to disseminate the federal dollars to counties, which administer elections and pay for most expenses," said Count Us IN Project Director Julia Vaughn.
Vaughn said she hoped the state law - scheduled to be introduced this month - would fill in some holes in the federal law, including a statewide definition of what makes a polling place accessible and a deadline for this accessibility.
In addition, the bill should include a requirement that municipalities maintain their current spending levels on elections. "The fear is they'll just use federal dollars and
not spend their own money, perpetuating the status
quo instead of making improvements," she said.
Of Note
Free CD-ROM offers
ADA Technical Assistance The Department of Justice offers a free CD-ROM containing a complete collection of the Department's ADA materials, including regulations, architectural design standards and technical assistance publications. Documents are provided in a variety of formats and programs to help ensure accessibility. Order the CD-ROM online at www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adatacd1.htm or contact the ADA Information Hotline at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 (TT).
Order Disability Awareness Month materials now
Order materials now for this year's Disability Awareness Month, which takes place in March. The 2003 theme is "Ability: no matter how you spell it." A variety of materials, including posters, bookmarks, buttons, stickers and information packets are available at no charge. Themed coffee mugs and T-shirts can be purchased. To obtain an order form or to place an order, contact Kim Dennison at (317) 631-6400 (voice), (317) 631-6499 (fax) or kdennison@bjmpr.com (e-mail).
Indiana Governor’s Planning
Council for People with Disabilities
150 West Market Street, Suite 628
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
(317) 232-7770 voice
(317) 232-7771 TT
E-mail: GPCPD@gpcpd.org
Web site: www.state.in.us/gpcpd
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