On Target

 Informing Indiana About Disability Issues

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

2001 Conference gets down to business

The conference will feature a variety of business-themed workshops addressing issues such as employment, transportation, legislative issues, family services, Social Security, personal care and more. In addition, each daily opening session and luncheon will feature a keynote speaker addressing a disability-related issue. Exhibits will be available for viewing, and door prizes will be given away throughout the Conference. Tuesday evening also features a reception with light refreshments. Helen Thomas, a renowned White House reporter who has covered presidents from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton, will speak during Wednesday’s luncheon about being Front Row at the White House. She also will present the fourth annual Award for Excellence in Reporting on Disability Issues and the Profit From Our Ability Awards.

The first opening session on Tuesday, Nov. 27 features self-advocacy specialist Tia Nelis, who will provide attendees with empowering information to help them take charge of their advocacy. The Tuesday luncheon features Rae Lewis-Thorton, an AIDS activist and speaker, who will present The Power Within: Living with AIDS, a personal story of her experiences living with the virus. During Wednesday’s opening session, Bob Kafka and Bobby Silverstein will present Closing the Deal, an insider’s view of Washington, D.C., and what it takes to have influence there. Kafka brings experience as the national organizer of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) and co-director of The Institute for Disability Access in Texas. Silverstein is director of the Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability Policy at George Washington University Medical Center, and has 28 years of experience in providing policy analysis, research and technical assistance to policy makers.

Registration forms have already been mailed. The registration deadline for the 2001 Indiana Conference for People with Disabilities is Nov. 16. The scholarship applications are due Oct. 15. To receive a registration form, contact the conference coordinator at (317) 786-7272 (voice), toll-free at (866) 786-7272 (voice), (317) 786-7272 (fax) or SKH4HOG@prodigy.net (e-mail) or download the form from the Council’s Web site at www.state.in.us/GPCPD.

Keynote Speakers at the 2001 Indiana Conference for People with Disabilities:

• Bob Kafka, National Organizer of ADAPT (American Disabled for Attended Programs Today)
• Tia Nelis, Self-advocacy Specialist, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Robert Bobby Silverstein, Director of the Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability Policy, George Washington University Medical Center
• Helen Thomas, White House Press Corps Reporter since 1961
• Rae Lewis-Thornton, Crusader for AIDS who has been featured in several well-known magazines and national newspapers

Conference to address transportation issues

Peter Schauer, the keynote speaker, has led many planning efforts addressing transportation issues with the Indiana Department of Transportation and many Indiana communities. Other topics of discussion will include using community volunteers to provide transportation, innovative coordination efforts, and community transportation systems that are currently in place or being planned. Government leaders will explain how to coordinate ideas, policies and services. In addition, regional round-table discussions will give attendees a chance to address current transportation obstacles and efforts in their own communities. For more information about the conference, contact Nikki Bex at (812) 277-9626 (voice) or nbex@kiva.net (e-mail).

Act attempts to strengthen voting rights

Equal access to polling places and voting booths is a fundamental right of all Americans. Now, the Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001 seeks to ensure that voters receive independence and privacy in voting, regardless of disability.

According to iCan.com, 81 percent of voters with visual disabilities must rely on others to mark their ballots, while only about 10 percent of polling places are wheelchair accessible. The Voting Rights Act is to address such accessibility and privacy issues through the establishment of the Commission on Voting Rights and Procedures.

This Commission would study voting systems, ballot design, accessibility, voter registration, accuracy, voter education, volunteer training and more. Based on study results, the Commission would recommend changes to improve standards in voting and election administration, requiring states to comply.

The bill also would establish grants for states, territories and localities to defray improvement costs, including:

• updated or new voting equipment and/or technology to improve the accessibility of ballots and polling places;
• new administrative procedures to increase voter participation, such as "same-day" registration;
• education about voting procedures and rights; and
• training for polling place volunteers.

The Senate passed the bill (S. 565) through committee Aug. 2, while the House version (H.R. 1170) remains in committee.

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh is a co-sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. Contact Sen. Bayh to let him know you appreciate his efforts and hope for his continued support. Also contact Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar to let him know enhancement of voting rights for people with disabilities is an important issue to many Indiana citizens. Evan Bayh 463 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510-1404 (202) 224-5623 (voice)

Richard Lugar 306 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510-1401 (202) 224-4814 (voice)

Indiana moves toward aggressive voting reform

Members of the task force Election Day Process Issues subcommittee will examine issues that specifically affect people with disabilities. Other issues to be examined include voter registration, vote-counting systems and technology, and remote voting issues such as absentee ballots and Internet voting. The task force will also address training and education for election officials and voters.

Council member Gary May, a University of Southern Indiana associate professor and director of the university’s Center for Disability Studies, attended the task force’s final public hearing in July. He spoke on behalf of the Council and of people with disabilities, telling task force members they should address issues such as physical access to polling places and training of election workers.

Many common practices have the effect of threatening the integrity and indeed even threatening the opportunity of people to vote, and that especially applies to people with disabilities, May said.

May also disagrees with the notion that absentee ballot usage is the solution to voting problems for people with disabilities. He thinks all voters should be able to experience the ambiance of voting in a polling place.

I think voting is not just coloring in a bubble or punching out a card or making an X. Voting needs to be a more comprehensiveand complete experience, he said. Further information can be found at www.in.gov/sos/TaskForce.

Volunteering increases opportunities

Although this kind of inclusion of people with disabilities in volunteer programs is rare, it has the potential to help break down attitudinal barriers and provide real benefits to people with disabilities and the rest of society.

Studies show that as many as 70 percent of people with disabilities who can and want to work are unemployed. Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations often struggle to fill volunteer rosters and program schedules. The solution: Include people with disabilities in volunteer programs, providing them with opportunities to be the givers, not recipients, of services to the community.

People with disabilities gain invaluable knowledge and skills from volunteering. They accumulate work experience to put on resumes, and are able to practice job skills no classroom can teach. In addition, performing volunteer tasks increases self-confidence and independence, allowing people with disabilities to integrate more fully into the community.

An organization that proactively recruits volunteers with disabilities also has much to gain. People with disabilities are a willing, qualified workforce, and can often teach volunteers without disabilities how to work with clients and customers with disabilities.

People with disabilities and their families, friends and advocates can work with non-profit organizations to establish volunteer programs. Those involved with a nonprofit organization that seeks volunteers should encourage the volunteer coordinator to proactively recruit volunteers with disabilities. They should also be willing to help answer questions about disability-related topics including the ADA, accommodations and more.

The synergy created by a willing volunteer force of people with disabilities and nonprofit organizations seeking volunteers is undeniable. The entire community benefits from such a partnership. People with disabilities have a lot to offer and much to gain from volunteer programs that include them in a meaningful way.

Nonprofit and volunteer organizations can use the following tips to recruit people with disabilities:

• Make printed materials, such as orientation packets and organization brochures, available in alternative formats (Braille, large print, diskette, cassette, etc.).
• Ensure materials include a statement such as People with disabilities can make reasonable accommodation requests by calling (person’s name). Establish a system for people to request accommodations efficiently.
• Always consider the accessibility of a site before choosing it for recruitment meetings, projects and other events.
• Consider conducting sensitivity training for all staff and volunteers.
• Maintain the same standards for volunteers with and without disabilities, but be willing to provide reasonable accommodations to allow everyone to fulfill their job descriptions.
• Learn how to work and communicate effectively with people with disabilities.

Of Note

ADA CD-ROM offered to employers
The U.S. Department of Justice has released a free CD-ROM collection of ADA materials for employers. It allows users to search documents and identify appropriate information more easily and efficiently. Materials include regulations, architectural design standards, technical assistance publications and more. For more information or to order the CD-ROM, visit www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adatacd1.htm or call the toll-free ADA information line at (800) 514-0301 (voice).

MiCASSA reintroduced in Senate
In June, On Target reported that the Medicaid Community Supports and Services Act (MiCASSA) would soon be reintroduced in the Senate. The bill (S. 1298) would allow Medicaid money to be spent on community-based services for people with disabilities, and includes a pilot project to improve services for those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. The bill would be phased in over five years, allowing states to get a higher percentage of Federal Medicaid dollars if they provide these services and supports. To follow MiCASSA or to learn more, visit www.adapt.org or www.ican.com, or contact the Council at (317) 232-7770 (voice) or (317) 232-7771 (TT).

The Indiana Governor’s Planning Council for People with Disabilities wishes to extend our heartfelt sympathy to the victims, families and others affected by the tragic events on Sept.11.