Civil Rights

The 112th Congress should protect and promote stronger enforcement of existing civil rights laws for people with disabilities, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act; Individuals with Disabilities Edu­cation Act (IDEA); Fair Housing Act; Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA); Sections 503, 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act; Help America Vote Act (HAVA); National Voter Registration Act (“motor voter”); Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act; Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act; and Air Carrier Access Act.

 

Criminal Justice

Statistics clearly indicate that more and more individuals with disabilities are ending up in penal institutions and juvenile justice facilities.  Many end up in such placements due to the lack of other alternate treatment programs.  Such individuals are frequently the victims of abuse and neglect.  Too little is being done to protect these individuals and prevent systemic mistreatment.

The 112th Congress should:

• Expand the authority and the funding for the Department of Justice to carry out criminal justice initiatives and activities that affect individuals with disabilities, including those unique to individuals with intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and other related disabilities.

Read more about the Legislative Agenda for Criminal Justice

 

Data Collection

The collection of accurate data on the incidence, prevalence, and wellbeing of individuals with developmental disabilities is essential to informing public policy.  Significant gaps in data collection exist.  Many national surveys still do not include questions that identify disability in a consistent manner.  Different definitions of disability and measures of disability across various surveys make it difficult to assess the status of people with disabilities and identify trends.  Consequently, there is no comprehensive data on individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. 

Read more about the Legislative Agenda for Data Collection

Developmental Disabilities Act
 

The Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights  Act (DD Act) is the fundamental law supporting states to enhance the lives of people with developmental disabilities and their families.  This law promotes the independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion in society of approximately 4.8 million people with developmental disabilities.  

The 112th Congress should:

·        Make the reauthorization of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act a priority and increase funding for programs authorized under the DD Act.

Read more about our Legislative Agenda for the DD Act

Emergency Management

People with disabilities still disproportionately represent those who remain uprooted and at risk in communities around the country, as well as on the Gulf Coast. While significant legislative action to address the situation of people with disabilities in emergency preparedness and relief efforts has taken place, much remains to be done.  Furthermore, the legislative progress that was achieved must be built upon. 

The 112th Congress should build on the progress made in addressing the needs of the disability community in emergency preparedness and response efforts by:

·         Conducting oversight (e.g., hearings, reports) of existing laws to document progress to date, address the needs of people with disabilities in emergency preparedness and response efforts, and address continuing failures and challenges and  make recommendations for improvement.

Read more about our Legislative Agenda for Emergency Management

Foster Care and Adoption

At least one-third of the more than 500,000 children and youth in American foster care systems today have disabilities.  The very systems intended to protect children were not designed to identify, assess, and manage the needs of children with disabilities and their foster families.  Once in the foster care system, children with disabilities may face a full range of systemic problems that prevent positive life experiences and often experience abuse and neglect.  Caseworkers lack the tools to identify and assess disabilities, foster parents lack even basic information about the unique needs of children placed in their homes, and foster children with disabilities are often considered “unadoptable.”

Read more about our Legislative Agenda for Foster Care and Adoption
 

Immigration and Naturalization

The 112th Congress should:

·         Ensure that non-citizens with any type of disability have a fair opportunity to enter and reside legally in the United States and to become citizens, without unnecessary or discriminatory restrictions;

·         Ensure that our constituents who are legal residents have access to essential supports and services, such as SSI, food stamps, and Medicaid.

Read more about our Legislative Agenda for Immigration and Naturalization

Liability Insurance Protections

The 112th Congress should:

·         Ensure fair compensation to our constituents for the negligence of another person or a corporate entity, including health insurance and managed care plans and non-profit organizations; and

·         Ensure that no entity can be absolved of liability because the individual affected has a disability.

Non-Profit Organizations

The voluntary and faith-based non-profit sector has provided, and must continue to provide, the overwhelming majority of services and supports for our constituents.  Disability related non-profits are assuming greater roles as state funding is reduced.  The non-profit sector must also be allowed to maintain its traditional role of advocacy.

Read more about our Legislative Agenda on Non-Profit Organizations

 

Quality of Services

The federal government has an important role in ensuring quality services.  This includes ensuring that services are based upon principles of maximizing independence, self-direction, and a person-centered community-supported life, while providing for health and safety.    The federal government should be fulfilling its role in monitoring and enforcement of the quality of services to our constituents. 

• Assure high quality services, supports, and access in all federally funded programs serving our constituents.

• Require federal agencies to include families, people with disabilities, and service providers in all aspects of development and assessment of quality.

Read more about our Legislative Agenda for Quality of Services

 

Research and Prevention

A variety of federal agencies are responsible for undertaking vital research activities to prevent and ameliorate disability and to improve the quality of life for children and adults with developmental disabilities.  Some of these research efforts directly target our constituents, while others are more broad based.

The 112th Congress should: 

·        Significantly expand federal funding of basic and applied research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and the Environmental Protection Agency designed to both improve the quality of life for our constituents and to prevent the causes and effects of intellectual and developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, and related disabilities.

Read more about our Legislative Agenda for Research

Social Services

The 112th Congress should recognize that social services programs are underfunded and that a wide variety of needs remain unmet.  Title XX of the Social Security Act, the Social Services Block Grant, provides states with flexible funding to provide many community-based services to people with disabilities and other targeted low income populations.  The Congress should restore funding for Title XX to $2.8 billion.

 

Tax Policy

In addition to the overall Revenue and Tax Policy discussed in the Federal Fiscal Policy Section, there are some specific tax policies that are important to people with disabilities and their families.

Therefore, in enacting tax policy, the 112th Congress must:

·        Reject tax policies that that help only the most wealthy;

·        Allow a tax credit for individuals or their families who incur expense in meeting long term support needs.

Read more about our Legislative Agenda for Tax Policy

Technology

Many people with disabilities could benefit from accessible technology, assistive and otherwise, to maintain independent lives and maximize health options.  Advances in technologies will continue to affect the lives of people in dramatic ways. These technologies can be readily available from a variety of program funding sources.  The 112th Congress should facilitate access to new technology from all sources to support the independence, inclusion, and community participation of people with disabilities. 

In particular, the Assistive Technology Act (ATA) of 2004 called for new approaches on the part of programs authorized under the Act to assure that people with disabilities and their families are able to access the assistive technology they need.  Funding of the ATA is key to making progress.