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Disability Action Agenda 2002
ΠOLMSTEAD IMPLEMENTATION
The Supreme Court’s 1999 Olmstead decision found that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires states to serve people with disabilities in the most integrated setting possible. New York State still has thousands of people with disabilities in institutions that are more restrictive than necessary to meet their needs. There is no acceptable rationale for keeping people in segregated settings. Public policy should support the fullest possible independence, inclusion, and participation as possible. Overall, it will cut government spending because integrated community-based supports are, on average, less expensive than restrictive, segregated programs. It will also stimulate economic development because people who live in their own homes within the community are more likely to get jobs, pay taxes and contribute to the economy. President George W. Bush made Olmstead implementation a cornerstone of his "New Freedom Initiative" and signed a subsequent Executive Order last year. The following steps should be taken to transition individuals from an institutional setting and promote community-based services:
Implement a Medicaid Waiver Program. Nationwide, over 80% of our Medicaid dollars ($41 billion) spent on long term care is in an institutional setting, leaving only 20% ($10.5 billion) for all community services. The money should follow the individual, not the facility or provider. It should empower people to make real choices within the community and turn recipients into taxpayers. This waiver must include funding for housing, assistive technology, personal assistance and/or safety monitoring at home or in any work or community setting, and other services to facilitate transition into the most integrated setting and maintenance of community living, including but not limited to "startup costs" to set up a household. It should permit variable levels of consumer responsibility for arrangement and oversight of services based on consumer preference. Waiver services must have statewide uniformity. Development of the waiver must involve input from people with disabilities and advocates.
Identify People with Disabilities Who Can Transition into the Community. Ask each state disability service agency to identify a process whereby they can identify the number of people with disabilities in their systems that can transition into a more integrated setting.
Transition at Least 1% of the Target Population into a More-Integrated Setting. Demonstrate a commitment to the process by achieving reasonable and immediate progress.
Expand Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. Continue to encourage all counties to provide the program with a choice of providers. Regulations must be drafted and approved with the input of the disability community to stop program inconsistencies from county to county. This program allows the individual to have the freedom and choice to hire their own attendant. The State saves money because non-medical staff are trained and hired to do the work. In most instances, the attendants are paid at a higher wage scale, which can be spent within their communities.
Apply for Federal Real Choice Systems Change and Nursing Home Transition Grants. NYS DOH should reapply for the $40 million dollars available in Federal "real choice" and $15 million in "transition" grants. The proposal should include the involvement of people with disabilities and look to address any or all of the items listed above.
CIVIL RIGHTS/ADA
The U.S. Supreme Court has been weakening aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in favor of 11th Amendment states rights. State employees no longer have the right to sue for monetary damages in Federal court as a result of the recent Alabama v. Garrett U.S. Supreme Court decision. This erosion was expanded in the Garcia decision from the Second Circuit Court. Action is needed to reinstate these rights for New Yorkers with disabilities.
Waive the State’s Sovereign Immunity in ADA Cases. Pass legislation to restore the civil rights of State employees with disabilities by waiving the state’s sovereign immunity in such cases. While disabled State employees can still sue for injunctive relief in Federal Court (i.e., get their job back or obtain a reasonable accommodation), most individuals need to retain an attorney on a contingency basis. They will be hard-pressed to find representation without this correction.
In order to ensure integration, people with disabilities need public accommodations and government programs to be accessible. While progress has been made over the past ten years, there is a greater commitment needed by our State so that New Yorkers with disabilities have the opportunity to achieve equal opportunity in all aspects of society.
Pass Legislation Requiring that Public Accommodations be Accessible. New York law only implies some specific ADA requirements in regards to public accommodations. A public accommodations law will help ensure continuity of regulations for business owners and make compliance easier.
Pass Legislation Requiring All State and Local Government Programs be Accessible. New York State's Human Rights Law extends many of the same protections to people with disabilities as the ADA. However, some of the provisions are only implied. This causes needless confusion for state agencies and localities. Putting the ADA's requirements for government into state statute will strengthen the law and help to lessen confusion.
Ž HOUSING
Less than 10% of all adults with disabilities are homeowners. Since many disabled individuals live below the poverty level, they often do not earn enough to qualify for a mortgage. The State needs to promote and expand existing opportunities to make the goal of home ownership more than just a "dream," but a reality for New Yorkers with disabilities.
Expand the SONYMA "Home of Your Own" Project. The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) has demonstrated success with this program for people with developmental disabilities. It provides information on mortgage products and grants to help individuals with low to moderate income qualify for a low interest mortgage as a first time homebuyer. This program can provide help with down payment assistance, closing costs, and environmental modifications, which are vital to people with physical disabilities. The Home of Your Own program should be expanded to include New Yorkers of all different types of disabilities.
Promote HUD’s Section 8 Homeownership Option for People with Disabilities. President Bush’s "New Freedom Initiative" will encourage recipients of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD’s) Section 8 rental voucher program for people with disabilities to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance the down payment on a home. This benefit will be successfully leveraged to reduce dependency and develop "ownership" in the community as it and helps to support local property taxes
"In 2000, there was not a single housing market in the country where a person with a disability receiving SSI benefits could afford to rent a modest efficiency or one-bedroom unit." In fact, on a national average, it required 98% of their SSI benefits to obtain such an apartment based on the Fair Market Rent.
Expand the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE). People with disabilities in New York City have difficulty finding and maintaining affordable and accessible housing. The events of September 11th have exacerbated this situation. Disabled New York City residents’ need the same protection from rent increases that are now provided for low-income senior citizens under the SCRIE program due to the demand for space and increased cost. Likewise, people who have been relocated to a hotel or shelter as a result of the disaster will eventually need to find and afford an accessible apartment when emergency management transitions out of the area. The State does not need to increase its homeless population.
Provide Tax Credits to Encourage the Construction of Accessible Apartments. Offer developers a tax credit for the construction of accessible apartments per New York State’s adoption of the International Building Code (IBC). This credit would extend to any fully accessible units beyond the requirement.
VOTING ACCESS
On Election Day 1999, the Office of New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer teamed up with advocates to evaluate the accessibility of polling places statewide. The groups found difficulties in almost every county. A February 2000 Federal Court decision mandated that counties must ensure that polling sites are accessible. The events surrounding Election Day 2000 only proved to highlight the further need for election reform.
Amend New York State Election Law § 4-104. Specify that counties are responsible for guaranteeing the accessibility of polling places and to provide basic accessibility guidelines to ensure consistency and encourage substantial compliance at polling sites and with voting machines.
Provide Matching Funds to Counties for Accessible Voting Machines. Provide a matching fund program for counties over a period of five years to assist them in making their voting machines accessible to all citizens. Funds would be provided to counties that can verify that the path, entry, and space inside every polling place is fully accessible.
TRANSPORTATION
The passage of the ADA helped to increase access to various modes of public transportation. However, the State still needs to promote and encourage alternatives that address gaps in service or coordination.
Encourage Innovative and Integrated Transportation Initiatives. Under the "New Freedom Initiative," the State should apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for both the Innovative and Competitive Matching Grant Programs. The first program looks to fund pilot programs that demonstrate innovative approaches to overcoming the transportation barriers still faced by Americans with disabilities. The second program offers a competitive match to better integrate Americans with disabilities into the workplace by promoting a network of alternative methods of transportation, such as the purchase and operation of specialty vans, ridesharing activities, community assessment planning, and the extension of existing transportation resources.
‘ ILC FUNDING
Independent Living Centers will require a 2.2 million dollar increase in FY 2002-2003 to achieve level funding. In 2000, the NYS Legislature prioritized a $1,000,000 increase for the statewide network of Independent Living Centers. Governor Pataki supported the increase and mentioned it as one of the many achievements in his budget news release dated May 5, 2000. Unfortunately, the Governor did not include this increase in the Executive Budget recommendation for 2001 and 2002. Governor Pataki also signed legislation last session to establish the Cortland County center as the thirty-sixth ILC without providing the base funding of $200,000 per year in his Executive Budget for 2001 and 2002. In addition, the New York State Education Department/VESID submitted a Department Request that included $500,000 for the previous fiscal year to keep the statewide network of Independent Living Centers current with the cost of living. Another $500,000 is required for the upcoming fiscal year.
Provide a $2.2 Million Dollar Increase to the ILC State Appropriation. Failure to provide the 2.2 million dollar increase will decrease each center’s contract by $34,285 per year. Cost of living will further erode each center’s purchasing power and service capacities by another $28,571. This will reduce each center’s service capacity and ability to meet the needs of over 2,000 people with disabilities statewide each year by eliminating 52 center staff from across the State.