News from Around the Region
New Hampshire ADA Coalition Activities
Cheryl Killam, Accessibility Specialist for the Governor's Commission on Disability, is working with NH Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick and has developed a courthouse access checklist for all clerks to use in evaluating their facility. Justice Broderick has made access to all courts in NH one of his priorities. He has visited all of the local and superior courthouses and has ordered that all be surveyed for compliance with accessibility standards. Cheryl has evaluated over 25 courthouses.
Ongoing projects:
- Providing access codes seminars
- Advising Main Streets Programs and places of worship on how to provide access
- Improving accessibility into and within NH State Parks and Public Water Access Areas
- Working on the "visitability" movement and "EasyLiving" collaboration building as part of Housing Committee agenda.
Partnership with EEOC and the NH Human Rights Commission:
To increase employment of people with disabilities, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is partnering with the NH Governor's Commission on Disability (GCD) and the NH Human Rights Commission. This will be a collaborative study of selection criteria and other practices that may affect individuals with disabilities who are either employees or applicants for state employment. The review will (1) showcase best practices that could be used as models in other states; and (2) provide confidential technical assistance on employment practices that may pose barriers for the hiring or retention of individuals with disabilities.
The Institute on Disability at University of NH has been working on a grant "Working Together: Responding to Domestic Violence Against Men and Women with Disabilities," funded by the NH Administration for Children and Families. The project addresses the needs of domestic violence shelters and disability-related organizations in assisting people with disabilities. The Institute is also working on bringing universal design into colleges and secondary schools in NH and MA, so students with disabilities do not have to identify themselves as disabled in order to access classes.
Lead to Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities
Lead to Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities (LOYD) is an initiative of Build the Out-of-School Time Network (BOSTnet), which works with parents, providers and policymakers to build out-of-school time opportunities for children, youth and families. LOYD seeks to strengthen the capacity of community organizations to create or expand programming for children and youth with disabilities by increasing access to out-of-school programs, by developing the skills of program providers and enable them to operate effective inclusive programs, by advocating for inclusive opportunities and the related needs of youth with disabilities, and by developing the skills of youth with disabilities to empower them to become leaders.
LOYD also offers consulting services and grants to youth agencies that wish to begin, improve, or enhance out-of-school time activities by including children and youth with disabilities. LOYD serves as a powerful advocate for children and youth with disabilities and for these inclusive programs. The Massachusetts Office on Disability is a member of LOYD's steering committee.
In Massachusetts, there are approximately 150,000 students with disabilities and over 1,000 students in private, residential facilities. Although out-of-school time activities and after-school programs are critical for all children, there are few in Massachusetts that offer youth with disabilities an opportunity to participate in a quality and inclusive experience. A recent study with transition aged youth indicated that children with mental retardation, emotional disturbances, autism, or multiple disabilities, including deaf-blindness, are the least active in extracurricular activities; about 30% or more of these youth had not participated in any extracurricular endeavor in the past year.
If you would like more information on the LOYD initiative or would like to discuss replicating this initiative please call Susan Tufts at 617-720-1290 ext. 241 or email her at tufts@bostnet.org.
RI Families PLAN for Quality of Life
Two recent episodes of Rhode Island Governor's Commission on Disabilities' weekly television show, Able Too..., focused on developmental disabilities and ways that families can develop networks to support their loved ones now and beyond their own care giving years.
Struck by the success of Personal Lifetime Advocacy Networks (PLAN), an organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, a group of Rhode Island parents are duplicating it for the benefit of their sons and daughters with developmental disabilities. Funded by member families, the organization hires facilitators for a few hours each month. Each facilitator builds and maintains a network of friends around the focus person.
John Susa, Chair of the PLAN RI Steering Committee, said, "We meet while we are still here and able, so that as parents, we can influence the vision that the network will maintain beyond our lifetime. This informal, community support does not replace government services, but rather provides quality of life for our loved ones as we increase peace of mind for ourselves."
John Susa may be contacted at (401) 785-9541.
ADA Coalition Conducts Polling Place Access Surveys
The ADA Coalition of Connecticut (ADACC), under a contract with the state Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities (OPA), conducted polling place assessments for over 300 sites during the summer and fall of 2004. Sixty eight of Connecticut's 169 towns were covered. The project was funded by OPA as a part of its Every1Counts Voter Accessibility Project, using funding received under the Help America Vote Act.
In July 2004, volunteers participated in two workshops designed to acquaint them with the basics of access surveying. The survey form focused on parking, path of travel to the site entrance, the entrance itself, and the path of travel from the entrance to where the voting machines were located. A section of the survey form also included interviews with town representatives on policy and protocol.
Materials were distributed by ADACC as part of the training activity. These materials included a copy of the Voter's Rights Bill, as amended in 2004, a FAQ sheet based on questions raised during the training activity, and a copy of a Voter Information Card developed primarily for people with disabilities.
One particularly interesting feature of the project was the engagement of individuals from the League of Women Voter chapters from the Bridgeport and Hartford areas. Both chapters have recently integrated disability access into their voting rights initiative.
Riders of Vermont
Riders of Vermont or RoVer is a new organization of individuals advocating for improved public transportation services. Recently RoVer received a grant from the Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council to expand awareness of the transportation needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Members of Green Mountain Self Advocates, a statewide organization of self advocates will be trained to help transit providers, planning commissions and others to make their programs and services accessible and to better work with individuals with disabilities. They will also help individuals with disabilities get involved in local and statewide transportation advocacy efforts. The Vermont Center for Independent Living (VCIL) helped with grant planning and will be assisting with training and outreach activities. For more information about RoVer, contact Peter Johnke at VCIL 800-639-1522.
Green Mountain Self Advocates has also produced other training materials including an innovative video that highlights the self-advocacy movement's relationship to America's Bill of Rights. For more information about the video and the work of Green Mountain Self Advocates, call 800-564-9990.
