Print Friendly VersionApril 2006, Issue 100
ADVOCACY ACTION NEWS
APRIL 2006, ISSUE 100
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
WISCONSIN
LOCAL
National Autism Awareness Month
National Youth Sports Safety Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Sports Eye Safety Month
Candlelight Vigil for Eating Disorders Awareness
National Child Abuse Prevention Month ∙
Alcohol Awareness Month
April 24 - 30 National Infant Immunization Week ∙
April 13 - Kick Butts Day
Monthly News Bulletin Published by IndependenceFirst
FEDERAL/NATIONAL
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES SUE FEMA
On February 17, 2006 the Advocacy Center Louisiana's federally mandated Protection and Advocacy System for individuals with disabilities, the Mississippi Center for Justice, the Welfare Law Center, Inc and the Public Interest Law Project filed a class action suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The suit challenges FEMA's failure to provide accessible temporary housing often in the form of trailers. Trailers that have been provided lack wheelchair ramps, grab bars in
the bathroom, wheelchair maneuvering room, and generally cannot be used by persons
with disabilities. Many people who need accessible units continue to wait for trailers.
The suit seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions enjoining FEMA from (1) failing to
provide accessible trailers on a timely basis to persons with disabilities; (2) failing to
replace or modify trailers to accommodate persons with disabilities; (3) failing to provide
adequate notice of the rights of people with disabilities to reasonable accommodations,
and how to exercise those rights; and (4) terminating FEMA hotel payments for
evacuees waiting for accessible trailers.
SOURCE: PRESS RELEASE (edited)
EEOC WINS DISABILITY BIAS SUIT AGAINST FEDEX
A federal jury found in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in its employment discrimination lawsuit against Federal Express Corporation (FedEx) for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). EEOC had charged the Memphis, Tenn.-based global shipping giant with failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to Ronald Lockhart, a profoundly deaf employee who worked as a package handler at the company's Baltimore Ramp.
The suit charged Federal Express with violating the ADA when it failed to provide reasonable accommodations to Lockhart in the form of American Sign Language interpreters, despite his repeated requests. The jury found FedEx liable for punitive damages in the amount of $100,000 for its knowing failure to accommodate Lockhart as well as compensatory damages of $8,000 for the loss of the accommodation itself. The EEOC's lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Maryland on September 30, 2004 (Case No. 04 CV-3129) after the agency first attempted to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement.
Title I of the ADA prohibits employment discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments. In Fiscal Year 2005, the EEOC received 14,893 charge filings from individuals alleging disability discrimination, filed 46 ADA lawsuits against employers, and recovered more than $48 million in total monetary benefits through enforcement and litigation.
The EEOC is the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation's anti-discrimination laws in the workplace. Further information about the Commission is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.
SOURCE: Press Release
KMART SETTLES SUIT OVER ACCESS
Kmart Corp. agreed to pay $13 million to settle a class- action lawsuit accusing the retailer of ignoring federal regulations that govern access for customers with disabilities.
The settlement, if it wins a judge's approval, would be the largest ever under terms of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The agreement, which plaintiffs' lawyers said could affect hundreds of thousands of Kmart customers, would allot $12.1 million in damages to class members in California. The
remainder would go to plaintiffs in six other states.
Kmart also agreed to spend as much as $70 million in the next eight years to bring stores around the country into compliance with federal standards for merchandise placement, counters, restrooms, fitting rooms and parking lots.
More information on the settlement is available at www.foxrob.com.
SOURCE: Justice For All Listserv
ACCESS BOARD RELEASES COMPARISON OF THE NEW ADAAG TO THE ADA STANDARDS AND THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE
This side-by-side comparison is arranged and ordered according to the format and sequence of the new ADAAG, which the Board published in July 2004. Provisions in the ADA Standards maintained by the Department of Justice, which currently are based on the original ADAAG (1991), are provided alongside corresponding sections of the new ADAAG. The Department of Justice is in the process of updating its ADA standards according to the new ADAAG.
In updating ADAAG, the Board sought to reconcile differences from model building codes, including the International Building Code (IBC). Used by a growing number of states and local jurisdictions, the IBC contains scoping provisions for accessibility and references the technical criteria of the ANSI A117.1 standard, a voluntary consensus standard issued by American National Standards Institute. The comparison includes accessibility provisions of the IBC, including those referenced in the ANSI standard. For further information on the IBC, visit the International Code Council's website at www.iccsafe.org.
For the comparison, please go to http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/comparison/index.htm
SOURCE: Housing & Disability Issues Listserv
WISCONSIN
TAXPAYER PROTECTION AMENDMENT
On February 14, 2006, Rep. Jeff Wood and Sen. Glenn Grothman introduced the Taxpayer Protection Amendment (TPA). They are bills AJR 77 (Assembly) and SJR 63 (Senate). They are the same versions of the bill. The TPA is very similar to the proposed constitutional amendment known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). TABOR was introduced in the last legislative session but not passed. Here are the key features of the new TPA Amendment:
The bill amends the State Constitution.
It significantly changes the way state and local governments may raise public money.
The TPA puts a cap on taxes, fees and other revenue collected by state and local
governments using a formula based on population growth and inflation.
Unlike TABOR, the TPA does not impose spending limits; however, because the TPA strictly
limits the amount of money that state and local governments have available to spend; the
effect is the same.
No state or local taxes could go above the cap unless a majority of the voters approve it in a
referendum.
Any state revenue above the limit must be put in an emergency "rainy day" fund. Excess local
government revenue must be returned to the taxpayers.
Amending the State Constitution:
Amending the State Constitution is more complicated than passing a regular bill. The TPA needs to pass the legislature during two legislative sessions in a row. After the second approval by the legislature, a majority of the voters must approve the amendment in a statewide referendum. The Governor does not play a role in this process; he cannot veto the TPA.
The TPA would make a change in the process for amending the state constitution, but this change would only apply to amendments related to the new tax restrictions the TPA itself creates. If the TPA becomes law, then any future constitutional amendments related to tax limits would have to pass the legislature only once before going to a statewide referendum, rather than the two times required by current law.
The TPA is under consideration by the legislature for the first time this year. If it passes this spring, it could be considered again by the legislature in the next session, probably in early 2007. It could then be put before the voters as early as spring of 2007. The amendment would then go into effect starting with governments' 2009 budgets.
Impact on Public Services:
All public services could be affected:
State services, including Medicaid and long-term care programs; vocational rehabilitation; the correctional system, including state prisons and parole; state parks; and other state-funded programs.
County funded and provided services, such as human services (ex. disability, family, and children services); jails; county parks; public transportation; road building and repair; public safety; county parks maintenance; and others.
City, town, village and other municipality services, such as fire, police, libraries, public school regular and special education; road repair; parks; and others.
Direct Impact on People with Disabilities:
Legislation similar to the TPA has passed in other states and has devastated public services for people with disabilities. For instance, Colorado has made deep cuts in its Medicaid program, reduced mental health services, and dropped spending on education to last in the nation.
Special education services are already under- funded; with a formula cap, it is highly unlikely funding will ever increase to improve or even maintain current services.
Medicaid pays for a variety of health and long-term care services that people with disabilities depend on to live. Because of increases in the number of people served and increases in costs, especially for prescription drugs, the Medicaid budget has been growing at a rate greater than the TPA cap would allow.
Most Medicaid services used by people with disabilities are considered OPTIONAL by federal law. Federal law requires all states to provide core Medicaid services but allows states to choose to provide additional services. If Wisconsin's Medicaid budget has to be cut because of the TPA cap, Wisconsin could stop providing optional services. Here are some of the optional services provided in Wisconsin:
Dental services
Eyeglasses
Home and community based services
Personal care services
Medical transportation
Mental health & substance abuse services
Case management
Medical equipment and supplies
Physical and occupational therapy
Speech, hearing and language disorder services
Intermediate Care Facilities
Respiratory care services for ventilator-dependent individuals
Mental health crisis intervention services
School medical services
For more information go to the DAWN web site at: www.dawninfo.org/
If you have questions contact John Keckhaver at the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, email: jkeckhaver@wccf.org, or 608/284-0580 ext. 305 (V/Relay).
SOURCE: Disability Advocacy of Wisconsin Network (DAWN)
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"The price of apathy toward public affairs is to be ruled by evil men."
~ Plato
SENATE GOP ESTABLISHES HEALTH CARE COMMITTEE
Republicans in the Senate are establishing a five-member committee on Health Care Reform. The committee is charged with studying the rising costs of health care with an emphasis on long-term care for Wisconsinˇ¦s aging population. Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz has appointed Senators Alberta Darling and Carol Roessler to co-chair the committee.
The committee plans to hold up to five public hearings around the state this spring, following the end of the legislative session. Senator Darling says the first hearing will be in Milwaukee, where members will examine a recently completed GAO study of health care costs. Another hearing will be held in the Marshfield area. Senator Darling says the Marshfield Clinic is a national leader in providing quality health care at lower costs.
The committee is scheduled to issue its final report no later than May 31st.
SOURCE: The Wheeler Report
LOCAL
WE CAN'T WAIT FOR SERVICES
Sitting in a wheelchair and speaking through a computerized voice simulator, Debra Patterson called for government to do more for people with disabilities. "We want dignity and respect for all," said the 39-year-old Waukesha woman, who has a developmental disability. Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas responded by assuring representatives of people with disabilities that the county would work hard to meet their needs but that he could not support higher taxes and that tight finances will make it difficult to improve services.
The county executive met with about 50 members and supporters of People Can't Wait, a countywide coalition of agencies serving or advocating for people with physical or developmental disabilities.
Coalition members later expressed concern about Vrakas' emphasis on controlling taxes rather than making more resources available to those in need. Doreen Eicher, chairwoman of People Can't Wait, said county funding for people with disabilities has not increased significantly in several years, and her organization hopes to see improvement soon. "I'm not opposed to paying a little higher taxes," she said. "It's important to be able to look at saving money if you're not going to be hurting the people who need support."
In a program that provides independent living services for adults with developmental disabilities, nearly 200 applicants are on a waiting list several years long because of a lack of funding.
When a member of the County Board last year proposed reducing the waiting list by shifting funds away from county parkland acquisition efforts, the idea was roundly criticized and rejected.
Members of People Can't Wait questioned Vrakas about whether he would eliminate the waiting list. In her message to the group gathered inside the Goodwill Industries center on Nike Drive, Patterson urged "regular houses and regular neighborhoods" for people with disabilities.
Vrakas called the coalition's goals visionary but said the county does not have a "magic checkbook" to fulfill all such wishes. Referring to the waiting list, he said: "It'd be nice to make it go away, but it's not happening, because the resources are not there." Asked if he would support a county sales tax to improve services for people with disabilities, Vrakas said he would not.
He also told the crowd that he supports a new state proposal to amend the Wisconsin Constitution with limits on how much counties and municipalities can raise property taxes - a measure that many in the disabled community see as a threat to needed government services.
SOURCE: Wisconsin Journal Sentinel (Edited)
MILWAUKEE ALDERMEN BACK GROUP HOME CHANGE
The Milwaukee Common Council voted to undo a nearly 30-year-old rule restricting the placement of group homes for people with disabilities, based on court rulings that had already rendered the 2,500-foot-spacing rule largely unenforceable.
The council voted 13-2 on a measure that lifts the rule on homes for people with mental or physical handicaps. Aldermen hope that will make it easier to retain the restrictions as they relate to drug treatment centers or halfway houses for released criminals.
Advocacy Action News is published by IndependenceFirst on or about the 1st of each month. Submissions of articles are due by the 15th of each month prior to publication. For consideration, send your articles or announcements to the Editor, Karen Avery, via e-mail to kavery@independencefirst.org.
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