Print Friendly VersionApril 2008, Issue 124
ADVOCACY ACTION NEWS
April 2008, Issue 124
Monthly News Bulletin Published by IndependenceFirst
NATIONAL
LOCAL
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
RESOURCES ON THE NET
ANNOUNCEMENTS 
31 YEARS AGO, HISTORY WAS MADE!
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was signed after being pocket vetoed two times by President Nixon. In order for the critical section that prohibited programs receiving federal funds from discriminating against qualified persons with disabilities to be implemented, regulations needed to be promulgated by the department of HEW.
In the election campaign of 1976, candidate Jimmy Carter promised that his administration would sign regulations that had received extensive input from affected agencies and the disability community nationwide, and which had taken years to finalize. However, when the new administration took office, the Department immediately began revising and watering down the regulations, with no input from the disability community.
A national coalition, the American Coalition of Citizens with disabilities (ACCD) announced that demonstrations would begin on April 5th if the original regulations were not signed. Demonstrations took place in a number of cities around the country. Sit-ins were held in Washington D.C., Eugene, Oregon, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. On April 5th, a group of disabled people took over the San Francisco offices of the Health, Education, and Welfare Department to protest Secretary Joseph Califano's refusal to sign meaningful regulations for Section 504. No one expected to live there for almost a month, but they did. The action became the longest sit-in of a federal building to date. The historic demonstrations were successful and the 504 regulations were finally signed.
The demonstrations were critical in securing comprehensive 504 regulations protecting people with disabilities from discrimination in all programs receiving federal financial assistance from HEW, and later, from all other federal agencies. Ultimately those regulations became the model for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
The 504 Demonstrations signaled the birth of the powerful, nation-wide disability rights movement that would achieve other important civil rights victories in the decade and a half that followed.
by Kitty Cone, October 1996
NATIONAL
HOW THE TAX REBATE APPLIES TO PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. Although most people dread dealing with another tax season, there is something good to look forward to this year. The federal government, via the IRS, is issuing one-time economic stimulus payments to more than 130 million households starting in May.
The amount of the stimulus payment is $300 for qualifying single individuals receiving just Social Security or veterans-disability benefits and $600 for married couples. However, the payment amount could be more for a couple where one individual is also working (up to a $1,200 rebate) or where a single person with a disability had earned other income (up to a $600 rebate). Also, anyone getting a rebate may be eligible to get an extra $300 for each of their children under 17.
To get an estimate of what your stimulus payment may be, use the IRS calculator offered on their site. (http://www.irs.gov/app/espc/) The stimulus payments are not taxable and will not affect your 2007 or 2008 tax returns in any way. The IRS also assures the public that the stimulus payments will not count toward or negatively impact any income-based government benefits, such as Social Security benefits, food stamps and other similar programs.
To be eligible to receive a stimulus payment, you must meet three simple requirements:
• Have a valid Social Security number;
• Have at least $3,000 in qualifying income; and
• File a 2007 federal tax return.
The first requirement is fairly straight-forward. Only those with a valid SSN are eligible for the one-time stimulus payment. Those with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) instead of an SSN are not eligible. If married filing jointly, both must have valid SSNs, otherwise neither can receive the payment.
The second requirement is a bit harder to meet. Fortunately, the definition of qualifying income is broad and includes earned income from a job, net self-employment income, Social Security benefits such as Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and veterans-disability payments.
However, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) does not count as qualifying income. Dividends, interest and capital gains income also do not count towards qualifying income.
For most taxpayers, the last requirement is no more a burden than usual. If you normally file a federal tax return from year to year, you will not have to do anything else other than file your 2007 individual income tax return to receive a stimulus payment this year. Payments are calculated and sent automatically by the IRS. No extra forms or applications are necessary.
For many people, however, there is a catch to the third requirement. Specifically, individuals that only receive minimal SSDI benefits or otherwise have low incomes, and who may not generally owe taxes, will need to file a 2007 federal tax return in order to receive the one-time stimulus payment.
If you normally don’t have to file a federal tax return and need to for the stimulus payment, the IRS form for you is the 2007 Form 1040A. The IRS provides a sample pre-filled Form 1040A on its site to illustrate what’s required of those that normally don’t need to file a return.
By Paul Gada
NEW GUIDANCE ISSUED ON “REASONABLE MODIFICATIONS” UNDER THE FAIR HOUSING ACT. New guidelines from HUD and the Justice Department explain the Fair Housing Act’s requirement that a housing provider must permit reasonable modifications of premises occupied by a tenant with a disability, at the tenant’s expense. Visit http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/disabilities.
STUDY FINDS HOUSING NEED FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES EXCEEDS HUD ESTIMATES. The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force calculates households that include non-elderly adults with disabilities constitute 35-40% of the country’s 6 million worst case needs households rather than 9-12% as previously estimated by HUD. A future report will calculate total housing need for people with disabilities. The Hidden Housing Crisis: Worst Case Housing Needs Among Non-Elderly Adults With Disabilities is free at http://www.tacinc.org.
NCD RELEASES FOSTER CARE REPORT.
On February 26, NCD released Youth with Disabilities in the Foster Care System: Barriers to Success and Proposed Policy Solutions http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/FosterCareSystem_Report.html The report focuses on the unique challenges older youth with disabilities face as they negotiate the foster care system.
The child welfare community generally accepts the fact that, while the American foster care system has come a long way in recent years, there is still much to be done to ensure the health and well-being of the children and youth it serves. Likewise, the disability community has seen great improvements in recent years but still advocates for additional needed change. But what is often overlooked among experts in both of these realms is the idea that foster care is indeed both a child welfare issue and a disability issue. This is due to the alarmingly high numbers of foster youth with mental, developmental, emotional, learning, and physical disabilities. The purpose of this report, therefore, is to shift the lens through which youth advocates and service providers view the importance of ensuring the well-being of foster youth. This new lens asserts the importance of understanding the prevalence of disability among foster youth and better ascertaining who should be held accountable for this uniquely challenged and often underserved population.
DISABILITY SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. On March 11, Senators Dodd, Casey and Hatch introduced legislation to allow families to create disability savings accounts for their children with disabilities. Senator Dodd’s bill is the Disability Savings Act of 2008 (S. 2741), and the Casey-Hatch bill is the Financial Security Accounts for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2008, (S. 2743). Similar to the Section 529 accounts to save for future higher education, these accounts would be designed for long-term savings to assist an individual with disabilities in meeting his/her future needs.
LOCAL
ADVOCACY IN ACTION. Every first Thursday of the month, the Waukesha ADA Consumer Advocacy Team meets at the Waukesha Training Center. Our March meeting focused on healthcare for people with disabilities, specifically issues that make medical examinations difficult or unapproachable. This month’s meeting had a pretty good turnout of eight people with a disability ready to give their complaints, comments, and ideas about fair medical care. Our guest at the meeting was Pam Steib, the Service Excellence Coordinator from ProHealth Care in Waukesha. She listened to, and took note of the complaints and problems mentioned.
Some of the issues raised were the absence of lifts or transfer aides, wheelchair accommodating scales, and the feeling that sometimes staff does not listen to people when they try to communicate their special needs. The issue was also raised that even if hospitals or offices have such aides, employees often don’t know where they are, or are not educated on how to use them properly. Ms. Steib said she would take her notes back to her boss at ProHealth Care. Ms. Steib also said she would meet with us at our May meeting to tell us the results of her meeting, and to further discuss ways that healthcare for people with disabilities can be improved in the ProHealth Care system.
Changes rarely happen overnight, but hopefully this meeting will raise awareness for our healthcare needs, and we’ll get the ball rolling in the right direction!
By Jill Potkay
YOUTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT. The Youth Leadership Summit is a week-long gathering of Milwaukee and surrounding area high school students with disabilities that is held in the summer.
Participants learn about independent living topics such as conflict resolution, college & employment issues, money management, disability rights, healthy & safe relationships and much more! Participants have the opportunity to meet, socialize, brainstorm, and participate in activities with other youth with disabilities from area high schools, hear from panelists of college providers, employment agencies and other successful young people from the community. The summit includes breakfast and lunch each day, travel reimbursement options and a $100 stipend for completing the entire program. The Youth Leadership Summit is a great way to meet others, learn about independent living and talk about issues affecting young persons with disabilities who are making the transition from high school to “the real world”.
The Youth Leadership Summit 2008 will be held twice:
June 23rd–27th & July 28th–August 1st
For more information
or to request an application, call:
Alie Kriofske-Mainella
at 414-226-8112 (V/Relay)
Disability-related accommodations must be requested 3 weeks prior to the Forum
ADA/FAIR HOUSING
ADA RESTORATION. Members of the disability community met with staff of the Department of Justice (DOJ). In a recent letter to Congress, the DOJ strongly opposed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Restoration Act. While acknowledging the ADA needed improvement, the DOJ, which enforces the ADA, said, “[the bill] would dramatically increase unnecessary litigation, create uncertainty in the workplace, and upset the balance struck by Congress in adopting the ADA.” The Department suggested that the appropriate fix for the ADA would be to restore the damage done by Sutton vs. United Airlines which concluded that an individual requesting protection under the ADA would be considered in their “mitigated state.” This means that if an individual with a disability managed his/her condition well with medication or devices, he/she would not be considered disabled in the eyes of the law. While a step forward, disability advocates voiced that this proposed solution falls short of protecting all individuals with disabilities who Congress intended to protect. The DOJ’s suggested solution would do nothing to protect people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, others without mitigating measures, and those who need to prove their disability affects “a major life activity” to bring their claim forward in a court of law.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“Diplomacy is the art of saying ‘nice
doggie’ until you can find a rock.”
~Will Rogers~
RESOURCES ON THE NET
DISABILITY RIGHTS WISCONSIN LAUNCHES NEW REDESIGNED WEBSITE
www.disabilityrightswi.org
On the site you'll find:
- "What's New” items (e.g. DRW featured in the media, announcements of DRW training events, employment openings, new DRW staff, DRW awards, etc.)
- a list of DRW publications (many can be downloaded from the site)
- links to numerous disability resources
- information about the agency's priority areas and advocacy strategies
- contact information for the 3 DRW offices
PATRICIAEBAUER.COM is an online collection of news and commentary about disability issues drawn from news organizations around the United States and elsewhere.
Patricia has attempted to create a crisply written website, updated regularly, that draws on a wide range of newspapers, magazines and other media resources to bring readers current reports on issues of interest to the disability community.
Each of the posts includes a summary of the original item, a short excerpt and a link that allows readers to access the original item in its entirety. The articles, editorials and columns displayed are chosen to give the reader a representative sample of what is being carried in the media.
INTERNET VIDEO COURSE: Ready, Willing, & Able Assisting People with Disabilities during DisastersReady, Willing & Able is available as a free, professional, 2 hour, introductory, online training course offered for independent study and for continuing education. It is designed for public health and hospital staff, health professionals, disaster preparedness managers, emergency response workers, and personnel working with people with disabilities.
Specific training covers disability etiquette, terminology, communications and assistance techniques during disasters for assisting people with disabilities. Course participants become familiar with various disaster assistance needs of persons with sight, mobility, hearing, and cognitive disabilities. Instruction is given in the video by professional educators, and one of the educators is a person with a disability.
This course can be taken at anytime in the comfort of an office or home from a computer. It is offered through TRAIN, a project of the Public Health Foundation, funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, participating states, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To get on board the TRAIN, for persons living outside of Kansas, first create an account at <http://www.train.org/>www.train.org and for those in Kansas go to <http://ks.train.org/>http://ks.train.org. The course name Ready, Willing, & Able and course number 1010882 are necessary to get to the course to register.
For more information regarding the course contact: Cathy "Cat" Rooney, Research and Training Center on Independent Living, University of Kansas, mailto:catr@ku.edu>catr@ku.edu, (785) 864-4095 (phone).
YOU AND YOUR DOCTOR: A SHORT GUIDE TO YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES.
To access this publication, please visit: http://ilru.org/html/publications/SCI/library/You_and_Your_Doctor.pdf This brochure is intended for spinal cord injury survivors living in the community to help increase awareness of their rights and responsibilities when visiting a doctor's office and/or interacting with their doctor.
THE ROLLING EXHIBITION. Kevin Connolly is a photographer who traveled the world and photographed people staring at him because of his disability. His website features photos of his journey and the people who stared. Kevin writes, "Everyone tries to create a story... we want to know how someone different, strange, or disfigured came to be as they are. Everyone does it. It's natural. It's curiosity. But before any of us can ponder or speculate—we react. We stare... [it is] more reflex than conscious action—that makes us who we are and has been one of my goals to capture over the past year. Looking at each face, I saw humanity. Rolling through their streets, I found the unique cultures and customs that created an individual."
http://www.therollingexhibition.com/
ANNOUNCEMENTS
ADAPT – 25 YEARS STRONG. The ADAPT community is excited and proud to announce that 2008 marks its 25th year of advocating for equal access to community services and activities.
Across the nation they have organized people with disabilities, family members and supporters to advocate for real changes in their communities. These changes resulted in millions of people with disabilities, old and young, being able to integrate into every aspect of community life. No one could have accomplished this alone. ADAPT’s power comes from working together.
Access to attendant services, mainline transportation and public buildings; housing that is affordable, accessible and integrated; education and recreation are only a few of the victories that the ADAPT community has chalked up over the last two and a half decades. They have a lot to celebrate in 2008, but even after 25 years of accomplishments and significant changes, much remains to be done.
The ADAPT 25th Anniversary Celebration will be held in Washington, D.C. on April 27th, beginning with a Fun Run for Disability Rights at Upper Senate Park and culminating with a day-long Celebration including an exhibition/show and dinner on May 1st at the Holiday Inn Capitol.
NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ALL LEGALLY BLIND INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE ATTEMPTED TO ACCESS TARGET.COM SINCE FEBRUARY 7, 2003 MAY HAVE A CLAIM AS DESCRIBED BELOW:
A lawsuit has been brought against Target Corporation (“Target”) concerning the Target.com website. In the lawsuit, Plaintiffs allege that Target.com has, during the period of time covered by the lawsuit, failed to contain features needed by blind customers who use screen access software to access websites. Plaintiffs allege that U.S. and California law require websites such as Target.com to be accessible to the blind. Target disputes this and alleges that it has not violated any federal or state laws relating to its website.
The lawsuit, National Federation of the Blind v. Target Corp. (Case No. 06-01802 MHP), is proceeding as a class action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California before Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. The Court has certified the following two classes:
(1) a nationwide class for claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”); and
(2) a California class for claims under two California state civil rights laws – the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Disabled Persons Act. Plaintiffs allege that during the time period covered by the case, Target failed to make its website accessible to the blind by, among other things:
1. Failing to provide labels for pictures and other images that can be read by screen access software (these labels are called “alt tags” by web designers);
2. Failing to ensure that all functions can be performed with a keyboard and not just a mouse;
3. Failing to ensure that forms for website visitors to fill-out on-line are labeled in ways the screen access software can recognize;
4. Failing to include marked headings within each page that can be recognized by screen access software so that blind people can easily navigate the site.
Target contends that it has taken steps to make its goods and services accessible to the blind and visually impaired, and Target disputes Plaintiffs’ allegations that the website was inaccessible.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking injunctive relief under federal and California law requiring Target to make and keep its website fully accessible to the blind. The federal ADA does not provide a damage remedy for cases such as this lawsuit. The California statutes, however, do provide for damage remedies including statutory minimum damages in the amount of $4,000 per offense (Unruh Act) or $1,000 per offense (Disabled Persons Act). The California statutes also allow for the award of actual damages instead of the statutory minimum damages, as well as punitive damages in appropriate cases for the purpose of punishing a defendant. Plaintiffs in this case are only seeking the statutory minimum damages for each member of the California class.
If you are a legally blind individual in the United States who has attempted to access Target.com since February 7, 2003 and as a result of access barriers on the website have been denied access to the enjoyment of goods and services offered in Target stores, then you may have a claim as part of the nationwide ADA class. As such, you have the following options:
1. You may choose to do nothing in which case you will be bound by future orders and rulings in this lawsuit regarding access to Target.com;
2. You may seek to intervene in the case directly on your own behalf or through an attorney that you hire to represent you.
If you are a legally blind individual in California who has attempted to access Target.com since February 7, 2003 and have experienced access barriers on the website, you may have a claim as part of the California class. As such, you may choose one of the two options listed above, or you may choose to opt out of the damages portion of the case. If you choose to opt out, you will not be awarded any statutory damages from this lawsuit. However, if you opt-out you will preserve any rights you would otherwise have to sue Target for damages.
If you wish to opt out of the damages portion of the case, you must either:
1. Visit www.NFBtargetlawsuit.com and follow the instructions for completing and submitting an online Opt-Out Form; or
2. Send a completed Opt-Out Form or other written request to opt-out of the damages portion of the case to the Opt-Out Administrator at: RG2 Claims Administration, LLC P.O. Box 59479, Philadelphia, PA. 19102-9479. You may call the Opt-Out Administrator at 1 (866)742-4955 to obtain an Opt-Out Form or to request assistance in completing and submitting an Opt-Out Form.
All requests to opt-out submitted by mail must be postmarked by May 2, 2008 to be effective.
All requests to opt-out made through www.NFBtargetlawsuit.com or otherwise must be received by the Opt-Out Administrator by May 2, 2008 to be effective.
The Court has appointed the following attorneys to represent the nationwide and California classes:
Laurence W. Paradis
Roger Heller
Disability Rights Advocates
2001 Center Street, Third Floor
Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone: (510) 665-8644
Fax: (510) 665-8511
rheller@dralegal.org
Joshua Konecky
Rachel Brill
Schneider & Wallace
180 Montgomery Street, Suite 2000
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 421-7100
Fax: (415) 421-7105
rbrill@schneiderwallace.com
Daniel F. Goldstein
Mehgan Sidhu
Brown Goldstein & Levy LLP
120 E. Baltimore Street, Suite 1700
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 962-1030
Fax: (410) 385-0869
ms@browngold.com
You may contact class counsel for more information about this lawsuit. You may also find out information about this lawsuit, including information about the opt-out procedures, by visiting www.NFBtargetlawsuit.com.
You may also consult the documents in the public file of this lawsuit, which is available from the United States District Court, Clerk’s Office, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA. 94102. Please call the Clerk’s Office at (415) 522-2000 for information regarding hours and procedures for reviewing the public file. Please do not contact Judge Patel directly.
It is so ordered.
Dated: January 24, 2008
________/s/___________________
MARILYN HALL PATEL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
FEEL THE POWER OF THE DISABILITY VOTE! Celebrate the18th Anniversary of the ADA at a National Presidential Candidate Forum on Disability IssuesSaturday, July 26, 2008
Veteran's Memorial, Columbus OH
Hosted by: Ohio Disability Vote Coalition and major national sponsors. Additional information will be posted on JFActivist Blog at http://www.jfactivist.org/ . For more information, contact Sue Hetrick at shetrick@abilitycenter.org
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.
Advocacy Action News is available by request in alternative formats such as Braille, large print, on disk or audiotape. It is also made available via our website.
You may also receive Advocacy Action News via email instead of print copy. Contact Karen at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY) or kavery@independencefirst.org.
If you do not have access to the internet, and would like assistance in obtaining any of the internet-based items described in this news bulletin, please contact Karen at 414-291-7520 (V/TTY).
IndependenceFirst
The Resource for People with Disabilities…
600 W. Virginia Street, 4th Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53204
414-291-7520 (V/TTY)
414-291-7525 (FAX)
www.independencefirst.org