Re-charting the Course: Turning Points, December
2000Re-charting the Course: Turning Points, December
2000January 7
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration (SSA), announces publication of a new Social Security Ruling,
Disability Insurance Benefits - Claims Filed Under Both the Social Security
Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act, implementing the U.S. Supreme
Court's 1999 decision in Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corporation,
stating that individuals can receive Social Security disability benefits and
still exercise their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), announces settlement of a major disability discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., with Wal-Mart paying monetary damages to the plaintiffs and making corporate-wide changes in the hiring and training of new employees who are deaf or hard of hearing.
January 14
Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human
Services (HHS), issues guidance to state Medicaid directors on how to make
their programs responsive to people with disabilities who want to live in the
community, pursuant to the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C.
January 20
Marca Bristo, Chair of the National Council on
Disability (NCD), announces the release of From Privileges to Rights: People
with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves, as a response to
Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, issued by U.S. Surgeon
General David Satcher in December 1999.
Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announces an award of $9.3 million to 40 states through its Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency Program, to help low-income people with disabilities and elders get the health care and other supportive services they need to continue living independently in subsidized housing.
January 30
HUD publishes Strategies for Providing
Accessibility and Visitability for HOPE VI and Mixed Finance Homeownership,
with information for public housing agencies on universal design strategies
that can be incorporated into rental and homeownership units.
February 2
Presidential Task Force, SSA, Department of Labor
(DOL), Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and the Health Care
Financing Administration (HCFA) cosponsor the first of nine public education
forums on the implementation and coordination of the Workforce Investment
Act of 1998 and Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of
1999 in Kansas City, Missouri. The other eight are held throughout the year
in Durham, North Carolina; Phoenix, Arizona; New York City, New York; Austin,
Texas; Seattle, Washington; Worcester, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and
Fort Collins, Colorado.
February 4
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation (DOT),
announces a new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publication,
Adapting Motor Vehicles for People with Disabilities, DOT's first
consumer brochure with information on evaluating, selecting, and modifying
vehicles for use by drivers and passengers with disabilities.
February 7
The Clinton-Gore Administration announces their
FY 2001 budget, with funding for specific recommendations made in
Re-Charting the Course: If Not Now, When?, the second report of the
Presidential Task Force, including:
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces DOL's proposed 2001 budget, highlighting the agency's commitment to increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities by proposing establishment of a new Office on Disability Employment Policy.
February 17
William Kennard, Chair of the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC), announces FCC's overhaul of 1992
Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) rules to improve access to telephone
service for people with hearing and speech disabilities, requiring quality
standards and new services such as Speech-to-Speech relay, and permitting
funding mechanism for video relay service.
February 24
HUD publishes a new Notice of Funding
Availability for the HOPE VI Revitalization Program, giving points to
applicants who make at least 5% of "for sale" units accessible to individuals
with mobility disabilities and 2% accessible to individuals who have visual or
hearing impairments.
February 29
Department of Education (ED) and SSA cosponsor
the conference Stepping Stones to Increase Employment of American Indian
Women with Disabilities with the World Institute on Disability at the Fort
Mojave Indian Reservation in Laughlin, Nevada.
February
Nancy Ann DeParle, Administrator of the Health Care
Financing Administration, announces the launch of HCFA's new Web site,
providing information to states, beneficiaries, and advocacy groups concerning
implementation of TWWIIA.
March 1
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), announces issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rule
Making clarifying application of the employment provisions of the ADA to
Federal Government workers.
March 2
Janice Lachance, Director of the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM), issues a memorandum to all Federal agency directors of
personnel that, effective immediately, Federal employers must include language
in vacancy announcements stating that reasonable accommodations will be made
for qualified applicants and employees with disabilities.
March 3-4
Presidential Task Force and the National Mental
Health Association convene Addressing the Training and Employment Needs of
Youth with Mental Health Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System, a
working meeting attended by key stakeholders and experts in special education,
disability law, juvenile justice, mental health policy, youth employment, and
advocacy, to develop policy recommendations for the Presidential Task Force's
Youth Subcommittee.
March 6-7
ED cosponsors, with the Hawaii University
Affiliated Program, the 16th Annual Pacific Rim Conference on Disability,
Creating Futures: Kaleidoscopes of Opportunity for People with
Disabilities, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
March 7-9
National Institute of Health (NIH), and the
organization Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Government, host the 2000 National
Training Conference on Employment of Federal Employees who are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing, focusing on the employment, advancement, retention, and culture of
Federal employees who are deaf or hard of hearing.
March 10
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces
four new members of the Presidential Task Force: Janet Reno, Attorney General
of the United States; Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture; Andrew Cuomo,
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; and Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the
Interior.
FCC holds a public forum to discuss concerns about new relay services technologies and states' approaches to Telecommunications Relay Services.
March 14
Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, announces a second round of grants under the Resident
Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency Program, awarding $5.2 million to help
more than 5,500 low-income people with disabilities and elders obtain the
health care and other supportive services they need to continue living
independently in subsidized housing.
March 15
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, announces that a Federal court in Wisconsin has
rejected the efforts of Chuck E. Cheese, Inc., to overturn a November 1999 jury
verdict that found the company liable under the ADA for firing an employee with
developmental disabilities. The court imposed the maximum monetary damages
allowed under the law (EEOC and Donald Perkl v. CEC Entertainment, Inc.).
Tony Coelho, Chair of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD), and the Department of Defense (DOD) announce the availability of the 2000 Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities database, containing names of job candidates with disabilities skilled in a wide variety of fields.
March 17
Janice Lachance, Director of the Office of
Personnel Management, announces the issuance of proposed regulations creating a
new government-wide "excepted appointing authority," allowing people with
psychiatric disabilities to noncompetitively convert to the competitive service
once they have successfully completed two years of Federal Government service.
March 20
President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton announce the launch of a public-private campaign to ensure that
children with emotional and behavioral conditions are appropriately diagnosed
and treated by qualified health care professionals, parents, and educators,
building on last year's White House Conference on Mental Health and the
recent Mental Health: A Report from the Surgeon General.
March 29
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation,
announces a settlement with Continental Airlines, which was found to have
violated the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) and Federal regulations
prohibiting discrimination against passengers with disabilities.
Nancy Ann DeParle, Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, announces issuance of its first letter of guidance to state Medicaid directors about TWWIIA, providing general information about the legislation, an overview of plans for implementing the two new Medicaid eligibility groups, and a description of plans for issuing grants to assist states with infrastructure and demonstration projects.
March 31
Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board (Access Board) proposes new accessibility standards for
electronic and information technology.
April 5
President Clinton signs the Wendell H. Ford
Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), which
includes improvements in protections for air travelers with disabilities.
April 7
Presidential Task Force convenes summit, Real
Choice, Real Jobs, Real Pay: Employment for the 21st Century, to discuss
practices and strategies to increase choice, employment, and wages for
individuals with the most significant disabilities.
April 11
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, hosts the
National Skills Summit, focusing on the development and exchange of
ideas on innovative, practical, and cost-effective strategies and the
development of partnerships for satisfying employers' immediate needs for
skilled workers, including a specific focus on workers with disabilities.
April 12
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces the
issuance of a DOL Training and Employment Information Notice providing
information to assist One-Stop service delivery systems in developing
accessible infrastructures and programmatic access for people with
disabilities.
April 13
William Kennard, Chair of the Federal
Communications Commission, announces the adoption of a rule requiring
broadcasters, cable operators, and other multichannel video programming
distributors to make emergency information accessible to persons with hearing
disabilities and issues a Notice of Proposed Rule Making on compatibility and
accessibility of digital television receivers and cable systems.
April 13-14
ED cosponsors, with the University of Montana's
Rural Institute on Disabilities, a national forum, Self-Employment for
People with Disabilities, in Missoula, Montana.
April 18
Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States,
gives the keynote address at the Federal Office Systems Exposition (FOSE
2000), the largest information technology exposition serving the government
marketplace, and announces the release of a new Department of Justice (DOJ)
report, Information Technology and People with Disabilities: The Current
State of Federal Accessibility, detailing the extent to which all Federal
agency electronic and information technology is accessible to, and usable by,
people with disabilities.
Presidential Task Force, Small Business Administration (SBA) and PCEPD hold the first of eight workshops around the country to: (1) increase partnerships between the disability community and local public and private small business resources, and (2) educate potential entrepreneurs with disabilities about small business options, procedures and resources, in Little Rock, Arkansas; the other five are held throughout the year in New Orleans, Louisiana; Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; Boston, Massachusetts; Iowa City, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; and Portland, Oregon. Cosponsors of the workshops include SSA, HUD, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
April
William Kennard, Chair of the Federal Communications
Commission, announces the launching of a beta version of in-house real-time
Internet captioning, making FCC meetings and public forums accessible to
Internet users who are deaf or hard of hearing.
May 1
Presidential Task Force holds a Think Tank with
leaders in the disability community to follow up on the April 7 summit, Real
Choice, Real Jobs, Real Pay: Employment for the 21st Century, and develop
policy recommendations for increasing choice, employment, and wages for
individuals with the most significant disabilities.
May 1-2
ED and DOL cosponsor the School to Work: Youth
with Disabilities conference in San Antonio, Texas.
May 2
Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, announces a third round of grants through its Resident
Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency Program, awarding $2.5 million in 22
states to help low-income people with disabilities and elders obtain the health
care and other supportive services they need to continue living independently
in subsidized housing.
ED announces the award of nine state grants, totaling $7.5 million, to help improve special and general education services for students with disabilities in Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.
May 4
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces the
issuance of a Training and Employment Information Notice to One-Stop
service centers regarding TWWIIA and its potential in serving people with
disabilities.
May 15
Marca Bristo, Chair of the National Council on
Disability, announces the issuance of NCD's report National Disability
Policy: A Progress Report with recommendations designed to advance
inclusion, empowerment, and independence of people with disabilities of all
ages from diverse backgrounds.
May 18-20
NCD holds Think Tank 2000: Coalitions for
Advancing the Civil and Human Rights of People with Disabilities from Diverse
Cultures to identify key strategies for eliminating barriers to civil and
human rights for people with disabilities from diverse ethnic, racial, and
cultural groups.
May 21 - 24
RSA holds their annual Conference on Native
Americans with Disabilities at the Choctaw Reservation in Philadelphia,
Mississippi.
May 24
Presidential Task Force holds a Town Hall meeting in
Hartford, Connecticut, on expanding employment opportunities for persons with
psychiatric disabilities, Recovering Our Dreams: Persons with Psychiatric
Disabilities in Search of Opportunities and Careers.
May 25
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces the
availability of $20 million in competitive grants designed to enhance the
employability, employment, and career advancement of people with disabilities
through enhanced service delivery in the new One-Stop delivery system
established under WIA.
May 26
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, announces the launch of a new Web site, The Work Site,
with information and support for individuals who receive Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), employers,
service providers, advocates, and others whose goal is to help employ persons
with disabilities: www.ssa.gov/work.
May 31
Marca Bristo, Chair of the National Council on
Disability, announces the issuance of a new report, Federal Policy Barriers
to Assistive Technology, describing the barriers in Federal assistive
technology policy, and recommendations for increasing availability of, and
access to, assistive technology devices/services for people with disabilities.
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social Security Commission, announces a grant solicitation directed at state and local governments and disability organizations to fund benefits planning, assistance, and outreach projects to disseminate accurate information to beneficiaries with disabilities about work incentives programs and to enable them to make informed choices about work.
Nancy Ann DeParle, Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, announces: (1) the award of $2 million to assist states in developing processes and infrastructure for transitioning beneficiaries out of nursing homes and into the community, and (2) available funding for eligible states under TWWIIA to assist them in developing infrastructures to support the competitive employment of people with disabilities.
May
William Kennard, Chair of the Federal Communications
Commission, announces: (1) a proposed rule regarding ultra-wideband
transmission systems to pave the way for new types of products, including
assistive technologies; (2) a new Consumers' Guide to Telecommunications
Relay Services on their Disabilities Rights Office Web page; and (3) a
letter to all Federal agency heads reminding them of the obligation to caption
public service announcements that are funded in whole or in part by Federal
agencies.
June 1
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation, notifies
foreign carriers serving the United States that they are now subject to the
Air Carrier Access Act, which protects airline passengers with
disabilities.
June 5
Tipper Gore announces the formation of the
National Mental Health Awareness Campaign, a public education campaign
designed to reduce the stigma attached to mental illness, on the one-year
anniversary of the White House Conference on Mental Health.
June 6
Presidential Task Force coordinates with DOL, SSA,
and HCFA to host the first of three technical assistance conferences for
organizations and government agencies interested in applying for DOL's Work
Incentive Grants, SSA's Benefits Planning and Outreach Grants, and HCFA's
Medicaid Infrastructure Grants in Kansas City, Missouri. The other two are held
in Oakland, California; and Washington, D.C.
June 7
Nancy Ann DeParle, Administrator of the Health Care
Financing Administration, issues a letter to state Medicaid directors inviting
them to participate in the Demonstration to Maintain Independence and
Employment, established by TWWIIA.
June 8
Richard Riley, Secretary of Education, announces a
new Web site to showcase the Federal Government's efforts to help America s
infants and preschoolers with disabilities and their families: www.fed-icc.org.
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, announces the issuance of a final rule clarifying the legal standard for determining when a person who uses mitigating measures meets the ADA's definition of disability, pursuant to the 1999 Supreme Court rulings in Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc., Murphy v. United Parcel Service, Inc., and Albertsons, Inc. v. Kirkingburg.
June 11
Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay - organized by
the Presidential Task Force, the American Association of People with
Disabilities (AAPD), Volkswagen of America, Inc., and other sponsors -
officially begins in Houston, Texas. The Relay, celebrating the 10th
anniversary of the ADA, travels through 25 cities for almost two months,
working to renew America s commitment to equality of opportunity, full
participation, and economic self-sufficiency for all people with disabilities.
June 12-14
RSA sponsors its first strategy forum,
Enhancing the Delivery of Vocational Rehabilitation Services within the
Workforce Investment Act, for state and Federal policy makers,
rehabilitation and workforce practitioners, consumers, family representatives,
and providers.
June 13
Mort Downey, Deputy Secretary of Transportation,
speaks at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in Austin, Texas.
June 14
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces the
issuance of a Training and Employment Information Notice to One-Stops
and other workforce liaisons on the availability of technical assistance on
serving customers with disabilities from regional Disability and Business
Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACS).
June 17
Judith E. Heumann, Assistant Secretary for Special
Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education, speaks at
the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in San Francisco, California.
June 19
William Kennard, Chair of the Federal Communications
Commission, speaks at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in Los
Angeles, California.
June 19-21
RSA sponsors a second strategy forum,
Enhancing the Delivery of Vocational Rehabilitation Services within the
Workforce Investment Act, for state and Federal policy makers,
rehabilitation and workforce practitioners, consumers, family representatives,
and providers.
June 20-21
Presidential Task Force holds National
Transition Summit on Young People with Disabilities: Bridging Systems to
Improve Transition Results, exploring policy options for improving the
transition results for young people with disabilities and making detailed
recommendations for strengthening and coordinating Federal, state, and local
programs that serve young people with disabilities and their families.
HCFA holds a technical assistance conference, Bridges for Health Care and Employment, for states applying for the Medicaid Infrastructure Grants and the Demonstrations to Maintain Independence and Employment under TWWIIA,.
June 24
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation, in
recognition of the 10th anniversary of the signing of the ADA, participates in
a ceremonial check presentation to the San Francisco Bay Area's Metropolitan
Transportation Commission and disability leaders for the Ed Roberts Campus, a
project that will be a model of accessible transit-oriented development.
NCD conducts the first of a series of nationwide community briefings on critical issues for people with disabilities in Puerto Rico.
June 24-28
Presidential Task Force cosponsors, with ED, SSA,
NCD, and HHS, the 2000 National Leadership Conference for Youth with
Disabilities, with 100 young people from all over the country attending,
focusing on leadership skills, career development, and expanded employment
opportunities.
June 26
RSA publishes a Notice of Proposed Rule Making
amending its definition of an allowable employment outcome to exclude sheltered
work. and requiring state rehabilitation agencies to establish a goal of
competitive, integrated employment for all people receiving vocational
rehabilitation services.
June 27
Marca Bristo, Chair of the National Council on
Disability, announces the release of a new report, Promises to Keep: A
Decade of Federal Enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Saul Ramirez, Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, speaks at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in Denver, Colorado.
July 1
President Clinton declares July 2000 as Spirit of
the ADA Month.
Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States, announces the DOJ Civil Rights Division's special 10th anniversary status report, Enforcing the ADA: Looking Back on a Decade of Progress.
July 2
EEOC celebrates its 35th anniversary.
July 6
National Museum of American History at the
Smithsonian Institution opens a new exhibit, The Disability Rights
Movement, marking the 10th anniversary of the ADA and looking at the
history of grassroots activism by people with disabilities, their friends, and
families to secure the civil rights guaranteed to all Americans.
July 7
Janice Lachance, Director of the Office of Personnel
Management, and William Halter, Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, speak at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in
Madison, Wisconsin. Director Lachance also announces: (1) the issuance of a
final regulation making it easier for Federal agencies to hire people with
psychiatric disabilities and opening the way for the Federal Government to
recruit from a new pool of qualified potential employees, and (2) a new OPM Web
page providing Federal employment and other information for people with
disabilities.
July 10-12
DOL holds the 2000 Joint Employment Training
and Technology Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, including workshops
by SSA and RSA focusing on the employment and training of individuals with
disabilities.
July 12
Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human
Services, hosts a celebration commemorating the 35th anniversary of the
Medicare program.
July 13
Paul Steven Miller, Commissioner of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, and Dr. Thomas Garthwaite, Under-Secretary
for Health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, speak at the Spirit of ADA
2000 Torch Relay event in Jackson, Mississippi.
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, announces the release of EEOC's preliminary status report highlighting enforcement of the ADA as part of its commemoration of the Act's 10th anniversary.
July 15
Bill Lann Lee, Assistant Attorney General of the
United States, speaks at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in
Montgomery, Alabama.
July 17
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, speaks at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in
Tallahassee, Florida.
July 19
Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States,
speaks at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in Warm Springs,
Georgia.
July 20-21
Aida Alvarez, Administrator of the Small Business
Administration, and William Halter, Deputy Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, speak at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay events in Atlanta,
Georgia.
July 21
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation, hosts
DOT's 10th Anniversary of the ADA celebration and announces: (1) new National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration standards improving the safety of
platform lifts used to enter motor vehicles, and (2) a comprehensive new plan
to improve transportation services and systems for persons with disabilities,
developed in conjunction with the Presidential Task Force.
William Kennard, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, announces rules for: (1) use of 711 for nationwide access to Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) to facilitate telephone conversations between people who do and those who do not hear and/or speak; (2) technical standards designed to facilitate the display of closed captioning on digital televison receivers; and (3) the provision of video description television programming.
July 22
Susan Daniels, Deputy Commissioner for the Office of
Disability and Income Security Programs at the Social Security Administration,
speaks at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in Columbia, South
Carolina.
July 24
Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human
Services, sends a letter to all the governors regarding TWWIIA, encouraging
them to increase their "competitive edge" by helping businesses enlist the
talents of people with disabilities.
July 24-25
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social
Security Administration, swears in the newly appointed members of the Work
Incentives Advisory Panel, charged with advising the President, Congress, and
SSA on issues related to work incentives for people with disabilities; the
Advisory Panel holds its first meeting.
July 25
Presidential Task Force joins with the Consortium
for Citizens with Disabilities and the National Council on Independent Living
in commemorating the 10th anniversary of the ADA in Washington, D.C., with two
days of ceremonies, celebrations, and events on Capitol Hill, and at the
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) Memorial, Gallaudet University, and the
Endependence Center of Northern Virginia.
At the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in Arlington, Virginia, speakers include Frederic K. Schroeder, Commissioner of RSA; Judith E. Heumann, Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services at ED; Norma Cantu, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at ED; and William E. Leftwich III, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Equal Opportunity at DOD.
Vice President Gore and Tipper Gore host A Summer Evening on the Lawn to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Vice President Gore commemorates the 10th anniversary of the ADA by making the following announcements:
NCD presents the Justin Dart Freedom Award to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights for the pivotal role it played in passage of the ADA.
Nancy Ann DeParle, Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, issues letter to state Medicaid directors detailing: (1) policy changes/clarifications supporting state initiatives in assisting people with disabilities as they transition from institutions to the community, and expanding the availability and quality of home and community-based services, and (2) guidance on how states may use the flexibility that Medicaid offers to expand services.
July 26
President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton
commemorate the 10th anniversary of the ADA at the FDR Memorial in Washington,
D.C.
President Clinton announces the following:
First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton announces a series of steps to help young people with disabilities successfully transition from education to employment, including:
The Administration releases Working on Behalf of Americans with Disabilities: Goals and Accomplishments of President Clinton and Vice President Gore, a comprehensive summary of disability-related accomplishments, 2000 legislative priorities, and FY 2001 budget initiatives.
Norman Mineta, Secretary of Commerce (DOC), calls upon the American business community to work with him to ensure that Americans with disabilities are full participants in the nation s digital economy and announces several key initiatives, including a joint study with DOL and the Presidential Task Force to test a methodology for accurately determining the number of people with disabilities in the workforce.
Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, makes the following announcements:
July 27
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, holds a public Commission Meeting to commemorate the 10th
anniversary of the ADA, issues a status report on the enforcement of the
employment provisions of the ADA, and announces two new guidances covering
genetic discrimination in the Federal workplace and disability-related
inquiries and medical examinations of employees.
July 28
Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States,
announces a new tool to help hospitals communicate with patients who are deaf,
Pictograms for Hospital Communication, to facilitate communication with
individuals who use American Sign Language and Contact Language, the two most
common sign languages in the United States.
July 29
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation, speaks
at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
July 31
White House issues report, Disability, Medicare
and Prescription Drugs, documenting the need for prescription drugs by
Medicare beneficiaries with disabilities and validating the importance of a
voluntary, affordable, and meaningful Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, speaks at the Spirit of the ADA Torch Relay ceremonies in Detroit, Michigan, and holds meetings with local stakeholders representing employers, employees, the disability and civil rights communities, legal organizations, and state and local government officials.
August 1
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation,
announces that the Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility Department,
sponsored by DOT and HHS, is releasing for comment Planning Guidelines for
Coordinated State and Local Specialized Transportation Services, intended
for use by states and local communities to coordinate and improve
transportation for their citizens with disabilities.
August 6
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor; Senator Ted
Kennedy; Paul Steven Miller, Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission; and Jonathan Young, Associate Director for the White House Office
of Public Liaison speak at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch Relay event in
Boston, Massachusetts.
August 7
Richard Riley, Secretary of Education; Judith
Heumann, Assistant Secretary for Education; and Richard C. Holbrooke, U.S.
Ambassador to the United Nations, speak at the Spirit of ADA 2000 Torch
Relay event in New York City.
August 9-11
DOL's Civil Rights Center cosponsors the 11th
annual national equal opportunity training conference, Equal Opportunity:
The Key to Universal Access, focusing on making One-Stop Centers accessible
to people with disabilities.
August 10
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces
the largest settlement the Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs (OFCCP) has ever obtained for people with disabilities, stating that
American Airlines will pay nearly $1.7 million to 99 people with disabilities
who were denied jobs in Nashville, Tennessee, and Detroit, Michigan.
August 11
President Clinton issues statement calling for
Congress to fully fund WIA, passed in 1998, which provides broad access to
employment opportunities by people with disabilities and others.
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, announces the publication of proposed rules affecting SSDI and SSI beneficiaries who start or return to work: indexing the "substantial gainful activity" amount; raising and indexing the trial work period amount; and increasing and indexing the student earned income exclusion.
August 18
Rodney Slater, Secretary of Transportation,
announces that DOT's Inspector General will begin reviewing airline customer
service, inviting the flying public to share their air travel experiences in
order to evaluate how well U.S. airlines are accommodating the needs of air
travelers with disabilities and special needs. DOT will issue a report to
Congress by December 31, 2000.
August 21
HUD follows up on its July announcement and
publishes a proposed rule extending "earned income disregards" to individuals
with disabilities receiving various types of HUD housing assistance and
clarifying the applicability of deductions for disability-related expenses.
August 29
William Kennard, Chair of the Federal
Communications Commission, announces that the new FCC rule increasing
accessibility of televised video programming to viewers with hearing
disabilities is effective immediately, requiring programmers to make local
emergency information accessible to persons with hearing disabilities either
through closed captioning or by using a method of visual presentation.
Nancy Ann DeParle, Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration, announces the issuance of a second guidance letter to state Medicaid directors regarding implementation of TWWIIA, providing detailed information about the two new Medicaid eligibility groups.
August 30
Donna Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human
Services, announces issuance of written policy guidance to assist Federal
programs and providers in ensuring that persons with limited English
proficiency can effectively access critical health and social services.
August 31
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, announces settlement of a major ADA lawsuit against
Landers Auto Sales, a large Arkansas auto dealership, for discriminating
against a former sales manager who has quadriplegia. The settlement includes
monetary relief, an accessible van, comprehensive training for management
employees in ADA requirements, and maintenance of a wheelchair accessible
workplace, including accessible doors, parking facilities, work areas,
computers, telephones, and restrooms.
August
The National Council on Disability announces a
cooperative agreement with the National Fair Housing Alliance and the Judge
David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law to evaluate and comprehensively
review the first 12 years of enforcement efforts under the 1988 Fair Housing
Amendments Act and related legislation.
September 11-12
HCFA holds a Technical Assistance
Conference for States Implementing Medicaid Buy-Ins Under the Balanced Budget
Act of 1997 and the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of
1999.
September 13
President Clinton announces the release of a
study that demonstrates that hate crimes, including crimes against persons with
disabilities, are greatly under-reported, and issues a directive to DOJ to work
with state and local law enforcement officials on strategies to improve hate
crimes reporting.
September 14
Presidential Task Force, SSA, DOL, ED, and HCFA
cosponsor Tribal Opportunities under the Workforce Investment Act and the
Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act for Native American
tribal leaders and members with disabilities in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Presidential Task Force, NCD, and PCEPD present a disability issues forum at the 2000 Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference on barriers to employment faced by African-Americans with disabilities.
September 21
President Clinton, as part of his Disability
and the Digital Divide Tour, travels to Flint, Michigan, and announces new
commitments by the Administration, businesses, universities, and nonprofits to
help ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in the
Information Age:
Susan Ness, Commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission, speaks in Flint, Michigan on the need for bridging the digital divide for Americans with disabilities, stressing the importance of incorporating access during the design stage to eliminate need for expensive retrofits later.
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces the Department's first international project focused on disability employment issues: a grant from the International Labor Affairs Bureau to The Trust for the Americas, the private sector arm of the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development. The Trust will implement the project in El Salvador, working with Salvadoran government agencies and local non-governmental organizations (including disability groups, universities, and businesses) to train Salvadorans with disabilities to use new information and communication technologies to increase their rate of employment. The Presidential Task Force will be providing technical guidance and assistance throughout the 21-month project.
September 24
Andrew Cuomo, Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, awards $4.3 million to assist Ability First, a nonprofit
organization that will create apartments for people with disabilities, and to
provide rental assistance to people living in the apartments. The grants were
awarded under HUD's Section 811 program, which covers housing for people with
physical, developmental and mental disabilities.
September 25
SBA hosts the Economic Development and
Entrepreneurship for People with Disabilities Blue Ribbon Roundtable in
Washington, D.C.
September 27-29
SSA, DOL, and PCEPD cosponsor with Disabled
Sports USA Challenge 2000: Disabled Sports Employment Conference, the
first national conference on employment opportunities in the sports and
recreation field for people with disabilities.
October 1
President Clinton proclaims October 2000
National Disability Employment Awareness Month and calls upon Federal
Government officials, educators, labor leaders, employers, and the people of
the United States to observe the month with programs and activities that
reaffirm our determination to fulfill the letter and spirit of the ADA.
Executive Order 13163, Increasing the Number of Individuals with Disabilities Employed in the Federal Government, takes effect.
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, announces that the new Medicare provisions of TWWIIA are now in effect and people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance and start or return to work can now receive premium-free Medicare coverage for an additional four and one-half years.
October 6
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, announces
issuance of proposed rules giving the Department express authority to use the
compliance evaluation approach to enforce Section 503 of the Rehabilitation
Act.
October 10
The National School-to-Work Office, administered
by DOL and ED, holds its School-to-Work Annual Conference with 1,400
participants, and a strong focus on young people with disabilities.
October 11
U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in
University of Alabama v. Garrett, looking at whether Congress had the
constitutional authority under the Fourteenth Amendment to enact the ADA; the
Court's opinion could have a profound impact on the civil rights of all
Americans for generations to come.
William Cohen, Secretary of Defense, hosts DOD's annual National Disability Employment Awareness Month Awards Ceremony, honoring outstanding employees with disabilities and three components of DOD for outstanding achievement in advancing the hiring, promotion, and retention of people with disabilities.
October 13
President Clinton issues a memorandum
establishing the National Task Force on Preparing Youth for 21st Century
College and Careers which will examine how a coordinated Federal policy can
help all youth prepare for future careers.
October 16
General Services Administration (GSA) and the
National Science Foundation sponsor Meeting the 508 Mandate: Today and the
Future, covering the Rehabilitation Act's Section 508 technology
requirements and challenges.
Alexis M. Herman, Secretary of Labor, sponsors a one-day academic symposium, Telework and the American Worker in the 21st Century, at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. The symposium emphasized that telecommuting/telework is an example of "universal design" principles that can significantly increase the ability of people with disabilities to participate fully in the workplace and improve the quality of life of all people, with and without disabilities.
October 17
Norman Mineta, Secretary of Commerce, begins the
"Digital Inclusion" tour in San Jose, California, and announces release of the
new DOC report Falling Through the Net, reiterating his commitment to
ensuring digital inclusion for Americans with disabilities.
October 17-18
Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture,
cosponsors with the Presidential Task Force and GSA, the annual Interagency
Disability Educational Awareness Showcase (IDEAS 2000), featuring
workshops, discussions, and exhibits highlighting methods to increase
employment of people with disabilities; Janet Reno, Attorney General of the
United States, gives the opening keynote address.
October 17-19
DOL's Welfare-to-Work office sponsors several
workshops on including individuals with disabilities in the welfare-to-work
system as part of Beyond 2000: Building the Future, a national
conference for state and local Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
program caseworkers and administrators.
October 20
Ida Castro, Chair of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, announces issuance of EEOC Policy Guidance explaining
the requirements of Executive Order 13164, Establishing Procedures to
Facilitate the Provision of Reasonable Accommodation, which requires
Federal agencies to establish effective written procedures for processing
requests for reasonable accommodation.
President Clinton announces $54 million in DOL demonstration grants to fund high-skills training for American workers in areas where companies are facing labor shortages, including four projects that will focus on training individuals with disabilities for existing jobs in the Information Technology industry. These grants are part of the almost $95 million DOL is investing this year in fees received through the H1-B visa program that allows companies to hire temporary foreign workers, enabling American workers to receive training in such targeted occupations as computer engineering, Internet technology, Web design, data communications and networking, computer support specialties, electronics, accounting, e-commerce, and health care occupations.
October 20-25
SSA and the Disability Rights Education and
Defense Fund, in partnership with the Presidential Task Force, sponsor From
Principles to Practice: An International Disability Law and Policy
Symposium, with support from the PCEPD, the Department of State, HHS's
Center for Mental Health Services, ED's Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), and U.S. Agency for International Development.
October 24-25
Access Board holds hearings on proposed
regulations covering automatic teller machines (ATMs) and captioning equipment
for movie theaters.
October 25
The Presidential Task Force, in conjunction with
PCEPD and AAPD, sponsors the second National Disability Mentoring Day, a
chance for young people with disabilities to gain insight into career options.
Mentors at the White House, Federal agencies, and businesses across the country
host students with disabilities for a day and experience firsthand the
contributions this future talent pool can bring to the workplace.
In conjunction with National Disability Mentoring Day, CEOs of major corporations representing a broad diversity of industries - computer hardware and software, consumer products, insurance, entertainment, office products, consulting, marketing, career support, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications - submit a letter to President Clinton identifying concrete actions that promote the recruitment, hiring, and advancement of employees with disabilities.
President Clinton announces that award of $8 million in SSA grants to 43 nonprofit organizations and/or state agencies in 26 states and two territories to provide benefit planning, assistance, and outreach for persons with disabilities who are returning to work.
President Clinton announces the award of $20 million in DOL Work Incentive Grants to 23 state and local programs to enhance employment opportunities for people with disabilities in the One-Stop career system.
President Clinton announces the award of (1) Medicaid Infrastructure Grants to 24 states and the District of Columbia, intended to improve the ability of people with disabilities to work and still maintain their health coverage, and (2) grants to two states for the Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment, intended to discern whether getting health care to people earlier than traditional Medicaid rules allow will lower long term costs and increase a person's work life.
President Clinton makes several technology-related announcements that build on his September visit to Flint, Michigan, where he highlighted the need to create digital opportunities for people with disabilities:
October 27
President Clinton announces a proposed regulation
expanding Medicaid eligibility for people with disabilities and promoting the
use of home- and community-based services and supports. States will be able to
use these rules to move people with disabilities from institutions into the
community and to encourage people to start, return to, or continue work by
ensuring that they will not lose their health insurance coverage if their
income increases slightly.
October 30
President Clinton signs reauthorization of the
Development Disabilities Act.
October 30-31
HUD holds its first regional design training
in Seattle, Washington, including workshops by disability advocates on
accessibility and visitability in HOPE VI, mixed-finance, and homeownership
communities. October 31 HCFA issues proposed rule on income disregards for
state Medicaid programs, changes that allow states greater flexibility in
determining Medicaid eligibility, thus assisting people with disabilities and
families who have children with disabilities to obtain Medicaid coverage while
staying in their homes and communities.
DisAbility.gov launches two new sections: (1) Employers' Resources, providing access to information that facilitates recruiting, hiring, and making easy, low-cost accommodations for employees with disabilities, and (2) Media Resources, offering journalists and broadcasters information on appropriate language for reporting about people with disabilities, interviewing tips, and a growing bibliography of publications and films that depict the disability experience.
November 1
Aida Alvarez, Administrator of the Small Business
Administration, announces the formation of the SBA Committee to Advance
Employment and Business Opportunities for People with Disabilities, a new
committee made up of SBA senior-level management from key program, policy, and
administrative offices, to focus on ways to enhance business opportunities for
people with disabilities.
November 2
PCEPD releases Getting Down to Business: A
Blueprint for Creating and Supporting Entrepreneurial Opportunities for
Individuals with Disabilities, discussing the current status of small
business and self-employment opportunities for people with disabilities and
offering recommendations for addressing barriers to business ownership. The
findings build upon the proceedings of the National Blue Ribbon Panel on
Self-Employment, Small Business and Disability, convened in 1998 by PCEPD,
the Presidential Task Force, SSA, the World Institute on Disability, and the
Association for Enterprise Opportunity.
November 9
ED's Office of Vocational and Adult Education
(OVAE) releases a new report, Learning Disabilities and Spanish Speaking
Adult Populations, proposing a national model for diagnosis of learning
disabilities in Spanish-speaking adults and a joint effort with seven states on
development of a validated screening tool for learning disabilities written in
Spanish.
SBA announces an interim rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation and establishing Federal procurement goals for small businesses owned by veterans with service-connected disabilities .
November 13-15
TWWIIA Advisory Panel holds its second
meeting in Washington, D.C.
November 16
Task Force holds first of several focus groups
for youth with disabilities in New York City. HHS's Administration for Children
and Families, OVAE, and the National Institute for Literacy announce the first
round of intensive trainings on learning disabilities and individuals who
receive TANF in Tennessee, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Virginia.
Kenneth Apfel, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, announces that beginning in January 2001, under the new Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, tickets will be issued to individuals with disabilities who receive SSDI and SSI in these 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
November 16-17
HUD holds its second regional design
training, which includes workshops by disability advocates on accessibility and
visitability in HOPE VI, mixed-finance, and homeownership communities, in
Boston, Massachusetts.
November 29
President Clinton holds an Oval Office ceremony
to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Public Law 94-142, now known as the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The Consortium for Citizens
with Disabilities presents President Clinton with an IDEA Hero Award in
appreciation for his Administration's strong advocacy on behalf of students
with disabilities being served under IDEA. Following the ceremony, the
Department of Education and Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities host a
celebration for disability advocates, educators, Congressional staff, and
families and students with disabilities.
To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, OSERS:
November 30
FCC issues notice seeking members with
disabilities for a new Consumer/Disability Telecommunications Advisory
Committee to provide guidance to the Commission.
December 6-8
Presidential Task Force cosponsors, with the
Department of Agriculture, DOD, HHS, DOL, State, VA, and PCEPD, the 19th
Annual National Symposium on Perspectives on Employment of Persons with
Disabilities, offering Federal managers and others updated information on
personnel policies and practices, technology, reasonable accommodation, and
resources that facilitate employment opportunities for people with disabilities
throughout the Federal Government.
December 12-13
Presidential Task Force, SSA, RSA, DOL and
HHS sponsor the State Partnership Systems Change Initiative Annual
Meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, supporting 17 states in the development of
innovative effective service delivery systems that increase employment of
individuals with disabilities: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Illinois, Iowa, Minne-sota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
December 13-15
DOL holds its first meeting for the new Work
Incentive Grant grantees.
December 14-15
HHS Administration on Developmental
Disabilities (ADD) holds its annual meeting, Developmental Disabilities Act
Reauthorization: Challenges, Opportunities and Future Direction in
Washington, D.C.
December 14
FCC requires digital wireless phone service
providers to make their services TTY compatible by June 30, 2001, so callers
can make 911 calls using TTY devices now that technology is available for this
access.
December 15
SSA cosponsors with the National Academy of
Social Insurance a policy education seminar, Disability Income Policy:
Opportunities and Challenges in the Next Decade, and an evening policy
education workshop, Reflections on the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives
Improvement Act: Lessons Learned for Effective Policy Development.
December 21
Access Board issues final standards for
electronic and information technology under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act, which requires access for persons with disabilities to electronic and
information technology in the Federal sector. The standards cover various means
for disseminating information, including computers, software, Web-based
applications, telecommunications products, and electronic office equipment.
President Clinton signs Public Law 106-554, the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2001, making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. The law contains the appropriation to establish the Office on Disability Employment Policy in the Department of Labor.
December 28
SSA announces publication of proposed rules to
implement the new Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, which will
provide expanded access to employment services, vocational rehabilitation, and
other support services for people with disabilities who receive SSDI and/or SSI
benefits.
December 29
SSA publishes final regulations on three
important changes related to employment: (1) the Substantial Gainful Activity
(SGA) amount; (2) an increase and automatic annual adjustment to the amount
used to determine a successful Trial Work Period month; and (3) an increase in
the Student Earned Income Exclusion.
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