Re-charting the Course: If Not Now, When?

THE SECOND REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON EMPLOYMENT OF
ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES.  PRESENTED TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES.

A Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.  Produced
pursuant to Executive Order No. 13078.  Printed November 1999.

Copies of this report are available from the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults
with Disabilities Web site http//www.dol.gov. The Task Force is located at 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Room S2220D, Washington, DC 20210; 202-693-4939 (V); 202-693-4290 (TTY);
and 202-693-4929 (Fax). Alternative formats of this report are also available by contacting the
Task Force.

Any modifications to the re port, or material contained in this report, must be specified clearly,
along with a description of the modification(s).  Notice of modification(s) must be displayed
prominently and must contain, if applicable, a notice that the modification(s) may compromise
the validity and reliability of the conclusions or data in this report.

This report is a product of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities.  Prepared with the assistance of Health Systems Research, Inc.  Report layout and
cover design by Leaird Designs.

On March 13, 1998, President William J. Clinton signed an Executive Order, which created the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.  The President named
Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman to Chair the Task Force, and appointed Tony Coelho,
Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, as Vice
Chair.

The purpose of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and aggressive national policy to bring
adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the
general adult population.  Task Force members include the Secretary of Education, the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of the Social
Security Administration, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Chair of
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Chair of the National Council on
Disability, and the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission.

The President urged Federal agencies to move swiftly in beginning the work outlined in the
Order.  Several interim reports are called for in the Executive Order, and the final report is due
July 26, 2002, the 10th anniversary of the initial implementation of the employment provisions of
the Americans with Disabilities Act.  This second report of the Presidential Task Force on
Employment of Adults with Disabilities has the unique opportunity to come at a time when we
are closing out a century and beginning the next millennium.  The opportunity is now to
substantively redirect the policies of our nation so that people with disabilities can work.  There
is tremendous demonstrated support from President Clinton and Vice President Gore, who
endorsed and acted on every recommendation made by the Task Force in its first report,
Re-charting the Course.  There is investment and support from 14 Cabinet members and other
agency leaders across the Federal Government, who are developing action plans to address policy
barriers and creating systemic change government-wide.  There is the expressed need of
employers across the nation, who are pleading for dedicated workers for their businesses at this
time of record-low unemployment.  And there is the demand from people with disabilities across
the nation who want to work, who want the benefits and choices that come with economic
independence, and who want to fully participate in their communities.  President Clinton and
Vice President Gore, the Task Force recognizes that change of the magnitude we are asking is
hard. But if we cannot address needed changes now, with expressed support and commitment
from so many sectors, when will it be possible?  If Not Now, When?  This second report of the
Task Force is intended to push forward the message to all stakeholders, including but not limited
to the Administration, Congress, Governors, State and local officials, people with disabilities and
other interested parties: The Time For Action Is Now.

Staff of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults With Disabilities: Rebecca L.
Ogle, Executive Director; William R. McKinnon, Ph.D., Senior Public Health Advisor, Special
Assistant to the Executive Director, Detailed from the Public Health Services, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services; Christopher Button, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor; Richard L.
Horne, Ed.D., Senior Policy Advisor; John R. Davey, Director of Operations, Detailed from the
Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense; Paul Bennett, Senior Advisor,
Detailed from the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration; Julie Clark,
J.D., Policy Analyst;
Randy Cooper, Policy Analyst, Detailed from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs, U.S. Department of Labor; Robert G. Goldstraw, Policy Analyst, Detailed from the
Office of Operations, Social Security Administration; Linda D. Kontnier, J.D., Policy Analyst,
Detailed from the Employment Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; LaToya
Plater, Office Automation Assistant. 

"According to research, three-quarters of working-aged people with severe disabilities are not in
the labor force."

The following is a letter sent to Alexis M. Herman, by a parent with a disabled daughter who
voices her concerns about the inadequacies of vocational rehabilitation services and wants to
bring several issues to the attention of the Task Force:
"Dear Ms. Herman: I recently received notice of the Town Hall meeting on employment
opportunities for adults with disabilities.  When my daughter was 20, we moved to Forest Grove,
Oregon.  I have been going the rounds with school districts regarding transition and my
daughter's right to be with a peer group of her own age for some time, and in several States.  I
won a few battles, but generally lost that war.  Tamara is now 21, no longer in school, and we
pay a person over $900 per month to be with her during the day. Tamara has autism and is unable
to speak.  She communicates in a variety of ways, including typing with facilitation, using picture
s, etc.  She is a personable and happy person despite her challenges.

I recently took a teaching job at the high school to work with students with moderate to severe
disabilities, so that I might start a student-run business for students that would be integrated with
typical peers and provide the experiences that I had hoped my own daughter would be able to
receive.  What I have found is that vocational training for students with moderate to severe
disabilities is disjointed and uninspired.  Students are placed in stereotypical job training and
there is little coordination or collaboration between the high school and the vocational agencies
who will be serving the students when they leave the high school.  I explore the Task Force to
consider the notion of job development along the lines of student strengths and needs, to
strengthen VR evaluations so that students with moderate to severe challenges receive
appropriate VR services, and to ensure that services are provided to those with the most
significant challenges.  Despite a lot of theory and discussion of educational best practices and
despite talk of inclusion and equal opportunity, there is the reality that many of our young people
are sitting at home or in group homes doing close to nothing after they leave high school.  I'm
sure this is not new information to anyone who has been working with the system.  However,
what I would like to suggest is that we give real backing to the notion of using technology and
encouraging entrepreneurial development.

I recently submitted a grant for my daughter to start her own vending business.  We'll see if such
a venture can be funded, since it is not typical of most supported employment strategies.  Still it
is the best one I can think of for my own circumstances.  Likewise, I am encouraging my students
to develop ideas for our Dream Keeper business in the high school.  They are taking me up on
that challenge too, despite fighting a lot of bureaucracy!!  But where is the technological support
for our students with special needs in the schools???  I have worked in several districts across
several States and in each school there we re no computers and little technology offered for
special Ed.  Our own student-run business still has an old Macintosh Performa that I brought in
because the District has not allocated funds for technology to the special education department to
sufficiently serve the needs of those students.  We need to make sure that we put our money and
our expertise where our mouths are, and then make sure the money goes where it can benefit
students the most.  I'm sure there must be programs which can serve as good models, but I am
also certain that there are a lot of promotion and hype when the reality is that needs are not being
met by a myriad of agencies whose purpose is to be serving adults with disabilities.  There is an
untapped potential out here, just waiting for an opportunity ... I hope whatever policy can be
assembled that it recognizes the vast need for action and commitment beyond mere words."

Letter submitted by Gaye Avery-Grubbs, Tamara Earle, and Dream Keepers Staff.

The Letter of Transmittal, addressed to William Jefferson Clinton,  acknowledged and signed by
Alexis M. Herman and Tony Coelho, Chair and Vice Chair respectively, The Presidential Task
Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, reads as follows:

"Dear Mr. President: On behalf of the Task Force members, we respectfully and proudly submit
to you our report, Re-charting the Course: If Not Now, When?  The Second Report from the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, as mandated by Executive
Order 13078.  The work documented in this report, the second in a series of four reports, is a
direct result of cooperation and collaboration among all our Federal partners - as mandated by the
Executive Order.  It represents a tremendous amount of work by dedicated members of the Task
Force and Federal agency representatives.

When you signed Executive Order 13078 on March 13, 1998, you assigned the Task Force an
enormous responsibility.  With unemployment at a 30-year low, and employers' demands for
more workers continuing to rise, fulfilling the objectives of the Executive Order is more critical
than ever.  As you have often stated in reference to adults with disabilities, "The last group of
people in this country who could keep the economy going for all of us, with low-inflation, are
Americans with disabilities - - who want to work, who can work, and who are not in the
workforce.  Every American citizen should have a selfish interest in the pursuit of this goal in the
most aggressive possible way." 

This report summarizes Task Force accomplishments over the past year, and provides
recommendations that will further enhance the employment of adults with disabilities.  We
believe that the work of Task Force members' departments and agencies, illustrated throughout
the pages of this second report, demonstrates that an aggressive national policy is beginning to
take shape that will lead to the eventual elimination of barriers to employment for adults with
disabilities. 

Individuals with disabilities recognize and demand the right to economic independence.  They
will no longer tolerate the pervasive systemic barriers that prevent their achieving this goal. 
Nowhere is this more evident than in their coordination of the campaign, backed by key members
of Congress and the Administration, to pass the Work Incentives Improvement Act.  Your
leadership, and that of Vice President Gore in this effort proved invaluable.  It is through this
type of demonstrated leadership that we are "re-charting the course," not only in the Federal
Government, but throughout the nation.  

On behalf of the Task Force members and staff, we applaud your sincere commitment to, and
actions on behalf of, persons with disabilities.  Because of your vision, as we enter the 21st
century, we are advancing a progressive agenda which will ensure a place for those with
disabilities as productive members of America's labor force.  We thank you for your ongoing
support."

This Report is dedicated to all working-aged Americans with disabilities, whose relentless
pursuit of equality, justice, and the basic right to work, continue to inspire the work of the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.

The Presidential Task Force members and staff acknowledge the invaluable leadership of each of
the Chairs and Co-Chairs of the Committees and Subcommittee, as well as the input from all of
the participants on each Committee.  The Task Force is also indebted to the numerous
participants during the Town Hall meetings conducted across the nation.  We appreciate
everyone's input, and look forward to building upon the foundation that has been laid toward the
development of a coordinated and aggressive national policy strategy to address the persistent
barriers to unemployment and underemployment of people with disabilities in the United States.

We are indebted for the time, energy and support from the National Economic Council, the
Domestic Policy Council, and the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of
the President and Office of the Vice President.  Your support and guidance is critical to the
success of the overall mission of the Task Force.

Finally, there have been others, too numerous to mention, that have contributed to the overall
mission, vision and daily work of the Task Force.  While it is not possible to list each and every
individual and group ... to all - we thank you.

Table of Contents
Executive Order -   Page 6
Introduction - Page 9
Overview -     Page 11
1999: The Year-at-a-Glance -  Page 22
Chapter One: 1999 Recommendations to the President from the Presidential Task Force on
Employment of Adults with Disabilities -     Page 32
Chapter Two: A Status Report on the 1998-1999 Task Force Recommendations - Page 38
Chapter Three: Supreme Court & the Americans with Disabilities Act - the View from 1999 -
     Page 43
Chapter Four Highlights of the Task Force Committee Report s: Goals, Actions, and
Recommendations -   Page 48
APPENDIX -     Page 65-92
Appendix A: Disability Employment Policies & Practices in U.S. Federal Government Agencies
-    Page 65
Appendix B: Report from the Employment Rate Measurement Methodology Work Group
(Statistics Committee) - Page 77
Appendix C: Research Activities of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities - Page 81
Appendix D: Disability-Related Initiatives - Page 85

Executive Order
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13078
INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, and in order to increase the employment of adults with disabilities to a rate that is as
close as possible to the employment rate of the general adult population and to support the goals
articulated in the findings and purpose section of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, it
is hereby ordered as follows:
     Section 1. Establishment of National Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities.
     (a) There is established the "National Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities" ("Task Force"). The Task Force shall comprise the Secretary of Labor, Secretary of
Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Commissioner of Social Security, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary
of Transportation, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, Administrator of the Small
Business Administration, the Chair of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, the Chairperson of the National Council on Disability, the Chair of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and such other senior
executive branch officials as may be determined by the Chair of the Task Force.
     (b) The Secretary of Labor shall be the Chair of the Task Force; the Chair of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities shall be the Vice Chair of the
Task Force.
       The purpose of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and aggressive national policy
to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to
that of the general adult population. The Task Force shall develop and recommend to the
President, through the Chair of the Task Force, a coordinated Federal policy to reduce
employment barriers for persons with disabilities.  Policy recommendations may cover such areas
as discrimination, reasonable accommodations, inadequate access to health care, lack of
consumer-driven, long-term supports and services, transportation, accessible and integrated
housing, telecommunications, assistive technology, community services, child care, education,
vocational rehabilitation, training services, job retention, on-the-job supports, and economic
incentives to work.  Specifically, the Task Force shall:
     (1) analyze the existing programs and policies of Task Force member agencies to
determine what changes, modifications, and innovations may be necessary to remove barriers to
work faced by people with disabilities;
     (2) develop and recommend options to address health insurance coverage as a barrier to
employment for people with disabilities;
     (3) subject to the availability of appropriations, analyze State and private disability
systems (e.g., workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, private insurance, and State
mental health and mental retardation systems) and their effect on Federal programs and
employment of adults with disabilities;
     (4) consider statistical and data analysis, cost data, research, and policy studies on public
subsidies, employment, employment discrimination, and rates of return-to-work for individuals
with disabilities;
     (5) evaluate and, where appropriate, coordinate and collaborate on, research and
demonstration priorities of Task Force member agencies related to employment of adults with
disabilities;
     (6) evaluate whether Federal studies related to employment and training can, and should,
include a statistically significant sample of adults with disabilities;
     (7) subject to the availability of appropriations, analyze youth programs related to
employment (e.g., Employment and Training Administration programs, special education,
vocational rehabilitation, school-to-work transition, vocational education, and Social Security
Administration work incentives and other programs, as may be determined by the Chair and Vice
Chair of the Task Force) and the outcomes of those programs for young people with disabilities;
     (8) evaluate whether a single governmental entity or program should be established to
provide computer and electronic accommodations for Federal employees with disabilities;
     (9) consult with the President's Committee on Mental Retardation on policies to increase
the employment of people with mental retardation and cognitive disabilities; and
     (10) recommend to the President any additional steps that can be taken to advance the
employment of adults with disabilities, including legislative proposals, regulatory changes, and
program and budget initiatives.
     (d) (1) The members of the Task Force shall make the activities and initiatives set forth in
this order a high priority within their respective agencies within the levels provided in the
President's budget.
     (2) The Task Force shall issue its first report to the President by November 15, 1998. The
Task Force shall issue a report to the President on November 15, 1999, November 15, 2000, and
a final report on July 26, 2002, the 10th anniversary of the initial implementation of the
employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The reports shall
describe the actions taken by, and progress of, each member of the Task Force in carrying out
this order. The Task Force shall terminate 30 days after submitting its final report.
     (e) As used herein, an adult with a disability is a person with a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity.
     Sec. 2. Specific activities by Task Force members and other agencies.
     (a) To ensure that the Federal Government is a model employer of adults with disabilities,
by November 15, 1998, the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Labor, and the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall submit to the Task Force a review of Federal
Government personnel laws, regulations, and policies and, as appropriate, shall recommend or
implement changes necessary to improve Federal employment policy for adults with disabilities.
This review shall include personnel practices and actions such as: hiring, promotion, benefits,
retirement, workers' compensation, retention, accessible facilities, job accommodations, layoffs,
and reductions in force.
     (b) The Departments of Justice, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services shall
report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their work with the States and others to
ensure that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act is carried out
in accordance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, so that individuals with disabilities and their families
can realize the full promise of welfare reform by having an equal opportunity for employment.
  The Departments of Education, Labor, Commerce, and Health and Human Services, the Small
Business Administration, and the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities shall work together and report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their
work to develop small business and entrepreneurial opportunities for adults with disabilities and
strategies for assisting low-income adults, including those with disabilities to create small
businesses and micro - enterprises. These same agencies, in consultation with the Committee for
Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled, shall assess the impact of the Randolph-Sheppard Act vending program and the
Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act on employment and small business opportunities for people with
disabilities.
     (d) The Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development shall report
to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their examination of their programs to see if they
can be used to create new work incentives and to remove barriers to work for adults with
disabilities.
     (e) The Departments of Justice, Education, and Labor, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, and the Social Security Administration shall work together and report
to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their work to propose remedies to the prevention of
people with disabilities from successfully exercising their employment rights under the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 because of the receipt of monetary benefits based on
their disability and lack of gainful employment.
     (f) The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor and the Census Bureau of
the Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the Departments of Education and Health and
Human Services, the National Council on Disability, and the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities shall design and implement a statistically reliable and
accurate method to measure the employment rate of adults with disabilities as soon as possible,
but no later than the date of termination of the Task Force. Data derived from this methodology
shall be published on as frequent a basis as possible.
     (g) All executive agencies that are not members of the Task Force shall: (1) coordinate
and cooperate with the Task Force; and (2) review their programs and policies to ensure that they
are being conducted and delivered in a manner that facilitates and promotes the employment of
adults with disabilities.  Each agency shall file a report with the Task Force on the results of its
review on November 15, 1998.
     Sec. 3. Cooperation. All efforts taken by executive departments and agencies under
sections 1 and 2 of this order shall, as appropriate, further partnerships and cooperation with
public and private sector employers, organizations that represent people with disabilities,
organized labor, veteran service organizations, and State and local governments whenever such
partnerships and cooperation are possible and would promote the employment and gainful
economic activities of individuals with disabilities.
     Sec. 4. Judicial Review. This order does not create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or
any person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 13, 1998.

Introduction
On March 13, 1998, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13078, establishing the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.  This Task Force has the
mandate to examine programs and policies related to employment of adults with disabilities to
"determine what changes, modifications and innovations may be necessary to remove barriers to
work faced by adults with disabilities" and to recommend options for such changes.  The
mandate is extremely broad - the examination and proposal of actions that sweep across national
policies.  Areas for Task Force activity touch the jurisdiction of virtually all governing agencies. 
The ultimate mission of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and aggressive national policy
to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to
that of the general adult population.  That strategy should be in place by July 26, 2002, the tenth
anniversary of the initial implementation of the employment provisions of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990.

Re-charting the Course: The first report of the Task Force issued on November 15, 1998,
outlined multiple barriers to employment and economic independence encountered by adults with
disabilities.  The primary barriers identified include: access to health care; complexity of existing
work incentives; lack of choice and control in selection of providers, services, and supports;
inadequate work opportunities; erroneous and prejudicial attitudes about youth and adults with
disabilities; and access to technology.  The first report called on President Clinton and Vice
President Gore to take immediate action to address these barriers and provided multiple initial
recommendations toward this goal.

The prompt action of President Clinton and Vice President Gore in response to these first-year
recommendations of the Task Force speaks volumes to their support of a progressive disability
agenda.  This action included provisions in the Administration's Fiscal Year 2000 budget request
for full funding of the Work Incentives Improvement Act; a substantial investment of $35 million
in assistive technology; a $1,000 tax credit for work-related expenses; and a $50 million
investment in work incentives grants.  Their initiatives also included: developing a plan to make
the Federal Government a "model employer"; raising the substantial gainful activity level in
Social Security programs; eliminating the stricter standard applied in Federal Government hiring
practices for individuals with psychiatric disabilities; developing and implementing an intensive
outreach campaign by the Small Business Administration to help individuals with disabilities
start their own businesses; and making a commitment to the passage of a strong Patients Bill of
Rights. Chapter Two includes a full status report on 1998-99 Task Force recommendations.

A progressive disability policy agenda is being elevated to new heights through the work of the
Clinton-Gore Administration, bringing about the necessary involvement of multiple stakeholders
that is required to reduce the barriers to employment for adults with disabilities.  The principles
of independence, empowerment, and inclusion have guided the Administration's effort to shape
national policy for Americans with disabilities.  From the
State of the Union Address challenging Congress to pass the Work Incentives Improvement Act,
to a Presidential Radio Address announcing the adoption of Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for
Employment for People with Disabilities in the Federal Government, developed by the Office of
Personnel Management, to the White House Conference on Mental Health, this Administration
has put disability issues at the forefront of the American public agenda.  Its initiatives will
permanently change not only Federal Government practices but also the private sector's approach
to employment of individuals with disabilities.  1999: Year-at-a-Glance includes
disability-related highlights from Task Force member departments and agencies.

As its second term comes to an end, the Clinton-Gore Administration can rightfully lay claim to a
legacy of steadfast commitment to advancing the rights of people with disabilities as full
participants in all aspects of society.  The Administration's record on cases involving the rights
and protections of individuals with disabilities has stayed the course, continually demonstrating
strong support for providing equal and meaningful opportunity for all people.  Supreme Court
decisions have been mixed, but this Administration has stood firmly grounded in preserving the
spirit and intent of the ADA.  As Tony Coelho, Vice Chair of the Task Force and Chair of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities noted in remarks made
directly after the decisions, " . . .As the initial sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act in
the House of Representatives, I found this spring's Supreme Court decisions very disappointing. 
We must continue to stick together and fight all efforts to cut back on Congress's original design. 
We must continue to speak truth to power - even a power as mighty as the Supreme Court." 
Chapter Three provides a more detailed report on Supreme Court decisions.

Equally important, Task Force members joined President Clinton and Vice President Gore in
using the power and visibility of their positions to show the nation and the world that people with
disabilities are valued contributors at all levels of our government and in every part of our
society, in this way responding to the call for action outlined in Re-charting the Course. 
Speaking at the National Conference of State Legislatures about the Supreme Court Olmstead
decision in July, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala stated that " ... no
individual should have to live in a nursing home or State institution if that individual can live in a
community..."  Secretary Rodney Slater, announcing multiple transportation access action items
for the Department of Transportation, stated on July 26th that "... transportation is about more
than concrete, asphalt and steel.  It is the means by which people get to where they need to go: to
jobs, to schools, to markets."

Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, Chair of the Presidential Task Force, joined by
Commissioner of Social Security Administration Kenneth Apfel, spoke at a joint meeting of the
National Council on Independent Living and the National Association of Protection and
Advocacy Systems in June.  Representing Task Force members, Secretary Herman said, "... the
time for excuses is over... we are taking on the challenge of a coordinated national employment
agenda for people with disabilities.  It is time for action."  The Task Force Committees are
ensuring that policies are coordinated and that agencies keep working together to knock down
obstacles to employment - whether the barriers relate to job training, transportation, health care,
technology, or any other challenge.  Chapter Four provides highlights of Task Force Committee
work to date.  

Over the course of the last eight years, more than 19 million new jobs have been created in the
Clinton-Gore era.  Unemployment is at the lowest it has been in 29 years.  Still, almost 75
percent of the 30 million working-age adults with significant disabilities remain unemployed or
underemployed.  Employers across the country are struggling daily to find workers.  According to
the Wall Street Journal, November 22, 1999, the nation's pool of skilled, educated workers is
"running dry " and no quick end to the labor short age is in sight.  Employers are being "forced to
find less-traditional methods of staffing" to keep their businesses and enterprises afloat.  The
Task Force is ideally positioned to make recommendations that will eliminate the barriers to
employment for adults with disabilities and thus respond to employers' demands for qualified
workers.  Chapter One includes the Task Force's recommendations to President Clinton and Vice
President Gore.

As our country prepares to enter the next millennium, our shared goal, as the world's leading
democracy with the strongest economy, must be to dramatically increase employment
opportunities for people with disabilities.  The Task Force is uniquely empowered to ensure that
the Federal Government is leading the way in eliminating program and policy barriers that have
prevented adults with disabilities from achieving economic self-sufficiency.  Consistent with the
mandate of the Executive Order, we proudly submit this report to the President and the public
about the progress made by the Task Force to date.

Overview
The Courage to Question
Prejudicial treatment, individual and societal avoidance, segregation, isolation, poverty.
Relationships built on obligation and pity.  How do we change this history of treatment of people
with disabilities?  How do we create a different future?

The foundation for our nation's policy related to people with disabilities was solidified through
enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  But do public policies, in and of
themselves, create equal and meaningful opportunity for participation in all the benefits of
citizenship in the United States of America?

Questions prompt discussion.  They lead to examination of the status quo, which leads to more
questions, deeper examination, and identification of strategies for change.  When questions result
in controversy, the ensuing debate is ultimately healthy for our nation if we are serious about
change.

Legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the Rehabilitation Act, or the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) cannot change history and does not
automatically produce needed change.  Instead, public policy lays a framework for action. As we
look back over twenty-five years of the implementation of IDEA, and ten years after enactment
of the ADA, we must recognize that the responsibility for change does not rest solely with the
Federal Government.  Nor does it rest solely with the Presidential Task Force, although the Task
Force is charged with creating strategies and mobilizing action for change.  It does not rest solely
with Congress or with the Courts, although each has a critical role.  It does not rest solely with
Governors and other State and local leaders, although their role in implementing change is
crucial.  It does not rest solely on the shoulders of the media, although their power to shape,
change and influence national dialogue should not be underestimated.  And the responsibility
does not fall solely on people with disabilities or their families.  It will take all of us, working
together, to create a more just and equal society for all people.  All are responsible.

This year, through the exemplary leadership of President Clinton, Vice President Gore and senior
members of their Administration, the beginnings of a revolutionary strategy for eliminating
barriers to employment for adults with disabilities is emerging.  This strategy is based on the
belief that inclusion, economic independence, choice, and opportunities for meaningful
participation - and careers - must be afforded to all people in our nation. It is based on the
recognition that this has been denied to people with disabilities.  To change this fact requires that
we examine the depths of our own beliefs about people with disabilities as workers, as
colleagues, as business owners.  It requires that we ask the difficult questions, have the difficult
debates, recognize and act on the needed change.

If Not Now, When? documents that difficult questions are being raised, debates are ensuing and
strategies for change are emerging.  Task Force members are proud of what has been
accomplished in a short time, as reflected in this second report.  Each member recognizes that
eliminating barriers will require profound, systemic change, and is thinking strategically and
acting to bring about that change.

It is clear that only a massive and sustained effort, continuing into the next century and involving
all of us, will accomplish the task at hand.  It requires our willingness to raise difficult and
controversial questions about our priorities as a nation.  It requires the courage to question,
confront, challenge and change policies and practices, actions and beliefs.  It requires the
elimination of enormous disparities born of decades of erroneous societal thinking about, and
stereotypes of, people with disabilities.  It requires profound, top to bottom and side to side
change.  It requires thinking "outside the box " but not in isolation.  And it requires working
together and collaborating on a cross-disability, cross-agency, and cross-cultural basis.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force applauds your unquestionable and
unwavering dedication to this mission, your willingness to lead this debate, and your
determination to lead our nation into the next millennium with this critical charge.

The Urgency of Time
We must not lose the opportunity that faces us as we enter the 21st Century.  Our nation is
under-going a sweeping transformation that is impacting all parts of society.  The increasing
diversity of our population, the impact of technology on our lives, the globalization of our
economy - these and other changes are dramatically shifting the organization of our systems and
how we participate as workers in our world.

This transformation is resulting in monumental change in how our Government operates.  Gone
are the days that Congress or the Federal Government mandates a far-reaching change without
State and local cooperation and, most of all, financial resources attached.  Much of public policy
and its implementation is devolving to States, providing an increase in control and power to State
and local government over its design and implementation.  This is not bad, but it is a change -
and one that must be lived with and within as we continue to fulfill the mandate of the Executive
Order to bring employment of adults with disabilities as close as possible to that of the general
population.
As part of this transformation our nation is experiencing the strongest economy in a generation. 
There are new and expanded opportunities for employment and economic prosperity as scientific
and technological advances result in industries and occupations unheard of only a few decades
ago.  Unemployment is at an all time low.  Employers across the nation are struggling daily to
find qualified workers.  Yet, people with disabilities remain unemployed at stunning levels.

Opportunity is on our side.  We must leverage this transformation to open the door to economic
independence and employment for people with disabilities.  For example, The Workforce
Investment Act (WIA), passed by Congress in 1998, is a salient example of fundamentally
changing how we view workforce development policy in a way that is good for workers and good
for business.  This law codifies many of the reforms that States and local communities had
already begun to enact.  WIA is meant to streamline, to cut red tape, and to provide services that
are truly customized.  The foundation of WIA workforce reform rests on four cornerstones:
choice; integration; accountability; and a local focus.  The intent is that all people, including
people with disabilities, are customers of this new system.  The bottom line?  An outcome-driven
system, responsive both to employers and people seeking jobs, empowering people with
information and control, and resulting in employment.

The implementation of WIA is currently underway, and all States must have their workforce
system in place by July 1, 2000.  It is critically important that the One-Stop Career Center system
have the capacity to serve all of its customers.  This system will be the foundation for workforce
services during the early decades of the 21st Century, and there is dramatic potential for
increasing employment for people with disabilities as the system is put into place.  But there is
also great danger that patterns and practices of the past will be repeated - and that the needs of
people with disabilities will be an afterthought.

The Department of Labor in consultation with other Federal partners, particularly the
Rehabilitation Services Administration, has been working intensively to promulgate regulations
and other policy guidance regarding workforce development and people with disabilities. 
President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force values your leadership in securing
$20 million of the $27 million requested in the Administration's FY 2000 budget for Work
Incentives Grants to foster interdisciplinary consortia and service integration at the State and
local level - and thus promote coordination and integration of employment related services for
people with disabilities through One-Stop Career Center Systems.  The Task Force agencies and
department members are eager to begin work on this critical project, and look forward to
providing updates on our progress.

The foundation of choice, integration, accountability, and local focus is equally relevant to the
recently passed legislation, the Ticket-To-Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (WIIA)
of 1999.  WIIA is intended to provide increased choice and control for Social Security Disability
Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries through the newly
created Ticket-to-Work and Self-Sufficiency program.  One-Stop Career Center Systems are
identified as potential members of the eligible provider networks for SSDI and SSI beneficiaries
seeking or returning to work under this program.

WIIA also allows States to offer a Medicaid "buy-in" for people receiving SSDI and SSI benefits
who are starting or returning to work and, by working, would lose their health care eligibility.  In
addition, WIIA extends premium-free Medicare coverage for SSDI recipients who return to work
for an additional four-and-a-half years beyond the three years provided under current law.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, these are critical health care options for people with
disabilities that will assist significantly in expanding employment possibilities, and your
invaluable leadership to champion this legislation to passage goes without question.  However,
these provisions do not, in and of themselves, solve the enormous barrier to securing health care
for people with disabilities seeking work.  States must elect to implement these provisions, and
we must ensure that they do so.  We have a decisive and timely opportunity, right now, to ensure
that they do so through the continued efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services to
provide technical assistance and advice to States in implementing the WIIA.  Equally important
are the provisions within WIIA that include $150 million infrastructure grants for States, as well
as the five-year, $250 million demonstration program that allows participating States to provide
Medicaid-equivalent services to workers with disabilities that, without health care access, would
become significant enough to qualify them for SSDI or SSI.  It is imperative that these funds be
made available as soon as possible to maximize implementation of WIIA across the country.

The Social Security Administration has taken the lead in coordinating with the Departments of
Health and Human Services, Education and Labor and the Task Force to host a series of public
forums to provide information and opportunity for discussion on the following topics: SSA
customer service and work incentives initiatives; State health care systems and models;
employment initiatives of the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services;
and an update on the Administration's plans for implementation of WIIA.  These forums are yet
another example of government operating with a new focus - the customers.  They are also
indicative of the recognition by Task Force members that individuals with disabilities are
essential partners in ensuring successful implementation of the Ticket-to-Work and Work
Incentives Improvement Act and the Work force Investment Act.

These policy shifts and other opportunities are forcing us to re-organize how we do business
across the nation.  The mainstream infrastructure of our communities are where the future of
services and supports must rest.  People with disabilities across the nation are asking for
inclusion in these mainstream services and systems, which lay the foundation for their
community participation.  The program and service structures of the past which categorized and
separated children, young people and adults with disabilities, although with good intention, must
partner with these mainstream services, and in that process refashion a new way of working for
themselves.

The Opportunity to Lead
As previously outlined, our nation is undergoing dramatic shifts in how it operates as we enter
the next millennium.  The sweeping legislative agendas of the past are the past.  Gone are the
days that the Congress or the Federal Government mandates a far-reaching change without State
and local cooperation and, most of all, financial resources attached.  Big government spending
days are over and fiscal responsibility and accountability are primary themes driving
development and delivery of policy and services.  This is not bad, but it is a change.  It is a
change that must be lived with and within as we continue to fulfill the mandate of the Executive
Order to bring employment of adults with disabilities as close as possible to that of the general
population.  Recognizing this, the Federal Government can lead the way by modeling exemplary
practice in recruitment and hiring, accommodating and promoting people with the full range of
disabilities.  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force commends the recent
release of Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the
Federal Government by the Office of Personnel Management in October.  This action plan will
ensure that more people with disabilities are recruited for positions at all levels of government;
provide opportunities for students with disabilities; collect and maintain data to monitor the
success of people with disabilities in the Federal workforce; and provide reasonable
accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.  The successful implementation
and enforcement of Accessing Opportunity will provide the private sector an example to follow.

We must recognize that our existing laws prohibiting discrimination, such as the ADA and
Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, will be our foundation for creating change in
both the public and private sector.  We must leverage the existence of these laws, combined with
the leadership of our Federal Government, to create change.  For example, Federal contractors
employ approximately 26 million people, or nearly 22 percent of the total civilian workforce. 
This is a critical area for leveraging the influence of the Federal Government for increasing
employment and changing practices about employment of people with disabilities.  More
information on Section 503 compliance and best practices is needed to inform Federal
contractors about effective hiring strategies.

The enforcement agencies also should explore methods to strengthen their investigation
processes.  For example, the Department of Labor, through the Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP), should utilize compliance evaluation procedures that allow the
agency to focus on systemic barriers to the employment of individuals with disabilities.  The
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), in coordination with the Department of
Justice and the Department of Labor, should explore enhancing data collection efforts with
respect to the employment and the availability of persons with disabilities in the workforce,
possibly through new regulations.  Consistent with their complementary responsibilities for
enforcement, the EEOC and OFCCP should explore joint enforcement strategies.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force recommends that the Department of
Justice, Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission be provided
increased resources to collaborate in exploring methods for strengthening enforcement of
employment-related nondiscrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act.  All efforts shall provide a clear and unequivocal message that expanded
employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities are a high priority of the
Administration.  The efforts of the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission should include providing increased technical assistance to employers, strengthening
compliance evaluations, and enhancing data collection as appropriate.

There are multiple additional ways that we can reach our desired goal for increasing employment. 
The February 2000 release of standards governing Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act provides
a critical opportunity that can be leveraged both for procuring accessible technology and
equipment, and for increasing employment of adults with disabilities through the availability of
such equipment.  As the largest purchaser of technology and equipment, the Federal
Government's procurement practices must be leveraged to promote development of technology
that is accessible to and useable by people with disabilities.  In addition, the recently promulgated
regulations governing Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act include provisions to
influence development of communication technologies for the future that are accessible to people
with disabilities. These regulations, providing for an information highway infrastructure that is
accessible, create opportunities for expanded employment for people with disabilities.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, as a nation we must make a significant investment of
our resources targeted specifically to ensuring access to accessible and affordable information,
communication and assistive technology for people with disabilities.  As we enter a new century,
we must ensure through our actions today that the workers of tomorrow are prepared with skills
and training, and equipped with the tools necessary to succeed.

The year 2000 marks the Tenth Anniversary of enactment of the ADA.  As we prepare to
celebrate the anniversary of this landmark civil rights law, we must leverage the leadership of the
Federal Government through vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and oversight of critical
regulatory requirements.  The Federal Government can also demonstrate, through its own
exemplary practice, effective strategies as a model employer.

The Power and Responsibility to Participate
Ours is a government of the people, for the people, by the people - individual voices shaping our
collective future as a nation.  Each person has the power - and the responsibility - to participate. 
Our democracy affords each person a voice.  More and more people with disabilities are using
their personal power in this participatory democracy - making their voices heard - there by
influencing the ways that programs and policies are designed and delivered.

Every day in communities across the nation there are new opportunities to take part in the
democratic process, to create change that will open the door to employment and full participation
for people with disabilities.  The Clinton-Gore administration has taken the lead in reinventing
government and much of the impetus for this change came from the voices of the people.  One
example of reinventing government services is the "Access America for Seniors," an Internet site
providing information on a wide range of government services.  Vice President Gore described
this as..."an excellent example of our efforts to reinvent government to provide services that
American people need and care about."

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force commends the steadfast commitment
of the Administration to ensure that opportunities of the Information Age are available to all
Americans, and especially to children who are our future.  The Task Force respectfully requests
consideration of additional resources to establish a new Web site specifically addressing Federal
Government programs and policies for people with disabilities.  Access America for People with
Disabilities will link persons with disabilities and other interested individuals with
comprehensive information so that they can effectively navigate their worlds and ultimately more
effectively participate in their communities and the workforce.

The Task Force, led by Secretary of Labor and Chair Alexis M. Herman and Vice Chair Tony
Coelho, is taking the lead in reshaping Federal employment policies for people with disabilities
by actively reaching out to key stakeholders across the nation to involve them in the debate about
change.  During this year, numerous Town Hall meetings were held to provide a forum for
interested persons to discuss their thoughts, concerns and experiences about employment for
people with disabilities.  The first Town Hall meeting, held in Los Angeles on June 3, 1999,
focused on two key areas - expanding employment opportunities for young people with
disabilities and expanding self-employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

At this first Town Hall meeting individuals with disabilities, parents, educators and other
interested people provided in-depth testimony about issues, specifically relating to young people,
such as transition from school to work.  The overwhelming majority of voices implored Task
Force members to make young people with disabilities a priority when developing future projects
and examining public policy.  Task Force members heard first hand accounts from young people
about the lack of options available for employment and economic independence.  These young
people with disabilities very eloquently outlined multiple barriers that they face while in school
and as they attempt to transition into the workplace.  Some of these barriers included the
following: lack of adequate educational accomplishment; low expectation by their family, the
education system, service providers and societal expectation in general; their own low
self-esteem; and confusing governmental programs with baffling eligibility criteria and goals.

Each year, about 40,000 eighteen-year-olds are subject to an eligibility review for SSI benefits,
but only 25,000 are determined eligible for such assistance.  On average, the young adults
determined eligible will remain on SSI for 27 years, while those not determined eligible are
likely to live in poverty.  As we prepare to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the
most comprehensive civil rights laws for young people with disabilities, the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, it is imperative that aggressive efforts be taken to examine the
disconnect that seems to be occurring in the lives of young people with disabilities.  President
Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force recommends that the Departments of The
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities 10 Labor, Education, Health
and Human Services, the Social Security Administration and other appropriate Task Force
member agencies construct, coordinate and implement a Youth-to-Work Initiative to address this
critical area of need.

At this first Town Hall meeting Task Force members also learned from participants about their
growing interest in and concerns about entrepreneurial opportunities and provision of personal
assistance services.  People with disabilities at the meeting said they often call for, but seldom
receive, consumer-driven personal assistance - that is, the ability to manage, direct and, in many
cases, hire their own personal assistants through some sort of voucher payment.  Providing
personal assistance to an estimated seven to ten million Americans with disabilities with a variety
of every-day living tasks is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar "growth" industry.  Moreover, it is
one financed primarily through Federal Medicaid and Medicare payments.  Between three and six
billion dollars in Federal and State dollars are estimated to be spent on such services annually.

Additionally, the Task Force learned that recent research indicates that, on average, agency
personal assistance providers cost nearly twice as much as individual providers ($10.20 versus
$5.25 per hour).  More than half of this difference is not the result of paying individual providers
less, but the administrative costs built into the home health care business.  The Federal
Government, therefore, has a strong human and economic interest in helping to generate
competition in this field.  The resounding message from this Town Hall meeting was the need to
explore initiatives to spur the development of small businesses and micro enterprises owned and
controlled by individuals with disabilities in the delivery of personal assistance services.

The second Town Hall meeting, held in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 25, 1999, focused on
civil rights laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act.  The testimony from women and minority participants at this meeting was of
particular interest to Task Force members, and proved to be an invaluable resource for further
development of initiatives to eliminate barriers to employment for adults with disabilities.  The
major themes garnered from the many individuals who provided eloquent testimony concerned
the barriers that lack of transportation and housing create for people with disabilities, especially
those living in rural areas.

Task Force members heard over and over again that lack of available public transportation is a
major employment barrier for persons with disabilities.  According to the Department of
Transportation's report to the Task Force in November 1998, "Persons with disabilities tend to be
more dependent on transit service than the general public, and the prevailing transportation
patterns in the U.S. - dominated by sprawling development patterns and highly dependent on
highways and private automobiles - put all dependent populations at a disadvantage."

Individuals testifying at the Town Hall meeting expressed frustration with the lack of planning
and coordination of public and human service transportation providers.  Many living in rural
areas said that lack of adequate transportation has been a long-standing problem, and they did not
hold much hope for a brighter future.  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force
recommends that immediate steps be taken to develop a comprehensive plan of action to address
the lack of transportation services and systems for persons with disabilities, especially those
living in rural areas.

The Task Force would be remiss if this report failed to document the need for immediate action
in the area of housing for individuals with disabilities.  Many participants at the Town Hall
meeting shared with Task Force members the direct relationship of restrictive housing eligibility
criteria and the ability to find and keep meaningful work.  In addition to concerns about
maintaining health care, people with disabilities are increasingly worried that if they go to work
they will lose their eligibility for housing subsidies.  The need to explore avenues for increasing
home ownership by people with disabilities is also paramount.

Despite the Department of Housing and Urban Development's support for increasing services
available to low income and special needs populations and passage of the "Quality Housing and
Work Responsibility Act of 1998," testimony provided at this meeting showed that much more
needs to be done.  Participants pointed out to Task Force members that many benefits of the 1998
Act are not available to them because they are not part of a public housing authority program.  As
of October 1, 1999, a provision within the new Act establishes a mandatory disregard of 100
percent of earned income for a period of 12 months.  This is followed by a rent increase of only
50 percent of the amount it otherwise would have been increased without the disregard. 
President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force recommends that the Department of
Housing and Urban Development explore steps needed to establish an earned income disregard
for tenants with disabilities living in other-than-PHA housing who return to work; and a
provision which exempts any disability related expenses incurred when a tenant goes to work
from the countable income used to determine rents.

As previously stated, ours is a government of the people, for the people, by the people -individual
voices shaping our collective future as a nation.  Each person has the power - and the
responsibility - to participate.  People with disabilities, parents of individuals with disabilities
and other interested persons embraced these principles and provided the Task Force with
invaluable input into the overall mission to eliminate the barriers to employment for adults with
disabilities.  The Task Force appreciates the willingness of each participant to share their
opinions and expertise and hopes that each will see that it was not in vain.  More Town Hall
meetings are planned throughout the year 2000.

The Task Force also convened numerous meetings throughout the year, including summits on
welfare-to-work, youth leadership, and ongoing State and local systems change initiatives, as
well as outreach to groups who experience particularly high unemployment, such as Native
Americans.  A Research Roundtable brought together Federal agencies conducting research to
begin to identify gaps and needed areas for future focus of Federal discretionary dollars.  The
goal of these meetings was to identify specific policy-related actions for Task Force
consideration.

These meetings began what will be an ongoing process for ensuring access to cutting-edge,
real-world, policy-related information and recommendations by the Task Force and its staff. 
They reflect our determination to ensure that the debate about change is open to all.  Combined
with communication through technology established through the Task Force Web site, no one is
left out of the dialogue.

Despite the efforts from the Task Force to reach out to all stakeholders across the nation to
involve them in the debate about change needed to eliminate the barriers to employment, one
voice has remained less than front and center where it is desperately needed.  President Clinton
and Vice President Gore, the Task Force requests your assistance in forging an alliance with
business leaders in the public and private sectors.  The Task Force recommends that there be a
White House conference on employment of adults with disabilities that will include
representatives from the Administration, Congress, elected officials from State and local
governments, small and large businesses, the disability community and other related entities
regarding employment of people with disabilities.

The Next Millennium: Equity, Responsibility, Freedom, Justice and Employment for All
The Task Force is looking into the next millennium recognizing the crucial and timely nature of
its charge to develop a coordinated and aggressive national strategy.  This year it became clear
that additional Task Force members are needed in order to ensure that all policies and practices
are viewed from a disability perspective.  The Task Force requested the addition of the Federal
Communications Commission, Chaired by William E. Kennard, to the Task Force.  This was
accomplished in April 1999.  The Task Force will request that the Attorney General of the
Department of Justice, and the Secretaries of the Departments of Housing and Urban
Development, Agriculture and the Interior be added for Fiscal Year 2000, so that their important
jurisdictions can become a part of the overall mission and actions undertaken through Task Force
activities.

Meanwhile, the Task Force has identified the need for a major realignment of resources and
programs to ensure that a strategy for eliminating barriers to employment for adults with
disabilities is a theme of the next millennium.  The structures and practices of our public systems
have taken decades to evolve, have become cemented in their way of doing business, have
become very familiar and comfort able to many people both inside the Federal Government and
outside.  Altering these structures in a deep, substantive way will be difficult, and long-term
success will require a continuing mandate for change in order to prevent the patterns and
practices of the past from persisting.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force respectfully recommends the
establishment of an Office for disability employment policy to be headed by an Assistant
Secretary at the Department of Labor.  The purpose of the proposed new office will not be to
replicate service delivery systems currently provided through other parts of the department or
Federal Government, but to provide the programmatic infrastructure for needed employment
policy direction, best practice leadership, information dissemination and technical assistance. 
The Office will ensure the ongoing efforts to integrate people with disabilities into the
mainstream employment and training programs of the Department of Labor as they are
implemented across the nation.  It is a critical next step to implement the strategy being
developed by the Task Force.

As the Task Force continues its work toward the goals set forth in Executive Order 13078, the
foundation of our redesign must be based on increased choice and control for all people in
getting the services and supports they need to participate in a meaningful and effective way in
their communities and the workforce.  Federal dollars must be used as investments in the lives of
people with disabilities so that they can get the supports they need to live, meaning fully
participate in and contribute to their community.  This redesign will require examining how the
resources of existing Federal funding streams are used.  It will most likely necessitate modifying
those policies that promote dependence and segregation so that people with even significant
disabilities have not only the opportunity to get a job, but to achieve economic independence, and
control over their lives.

Recognizing the urgency of attacking this critical issue, the Task Force will convene a Summit in
January 2000 called "Beyond Theory and Discussion: Supported Employment Strategies for the
21st Century."  This venue will provide an opportunity to probe multiple issues, including those
relating to increasing wages, community-based employment, choice and control, among others. 
"Despite a lot of theory and discussion about educational best practices, despite talk of inclusion
and equal opportunity, there is the reality that many of our young people are sitting at home or in
group homes doing close to nothing after they leave high school... There is an untapped potential
out here, just waiting for the opportunity," said Mrs. Gaye Avery-Grubbs, parent of Tamara who
has significant disabilities.  The Task Force is committed to tapping into the potential of every
person with a disability.

Finally, it is alarming that, as we move toward the 21st Century, the persistence of negative and
erroneous stereotypes and attitudinal barriers remain one of the most difficult barriers to address. 
Decades of erroneous societal thinking about disability have demonstrated that they will not be
eliminated overnight.  An understanding that disability is a natural part of life, an appreciation of
the benefits of people with disabilities as employers, employees, neighbors and friends, and the
awareness that presence of a disability does not define the person must be created in the
American public.  Only through such awareness can we hope to make eliminating barriers to
employment for people with disabilities the mainstream policy interest that it deserves.

The need for immediate leadership in this area is essential to the success of any strategy to
increase employment and economic independence for people with disabilities.  President Clinton
and Vice President Gore, there is an immediate need to launch a massive public awareness
campaign, in partnership with the disability community, businesses and other influential entities,
to eliminate the erroneous beliefs, the stigma that permeates all parts of American society
regarding disability.

The Task Force is committed to the challenges outlined in this second report, and knows that as
challenges are confronted there will naturally be conflict and controversy - born of fear, of lack
of information, of lack of understanding.  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task
Force believes this debate is past due, and must occur.  Task Force members recognize that there
will be doubters; there will be cynics.  But it is an established fact that with the continued support
of the Clinton-Gore administration and members of Congress, this debate can result in systemic
redesign of our policies so that no one is left behind in the next millennium.

The Task Force acknowledges that there has never before been such a mandate - or opportunity -
for change as the one created through Executive Order 13078.  The Task Force will constantly
push for bold, courageous strategies for change that reach to the roots of our policies.  The
choices are ours as a nation.  We must not be afraid of new ideas.  The debate that has begun
must continue, and it must be elevated.  As we close the
20th century and look to the future, the challenges that remain require our willingness to raise
difficult and sometimes controversial questions about existing social policies, practices and
attitudes.  They require a raging debate that results in deep, substantive change.  The time for
action is now.  If Not Now, When?

The Year at a Glance
White House, Executive Agencies and Task Force Disability-Related Activities in 1999

JANUARY
January 4  President Clinton and Vice President Gore unveil the Administration's long-term
health care initiative: a $1,000 tax credit for caregivers and individuals with long-term care
needs; a National Family Caregivers Support Program offering services such as respite and home
care; a national campaign to educate Medicare beneficiaries about coverage and care options; and
a proposal to offer private long-term care insurance to Federal employees.
January 12  Vice President Gore convenes the Lifelong Learning Summit, 21st Century Skills for
21st Century Jobs, in Washington, D.C., and announces the following initiatives: tax incentives
to encourage more employers to provide worker scholarships; $60 million to train workers for
high-skill jobs in industries that face serious skill short-ages; the "21st Century High-Skills
Community Award," celebrating communities that build the economy by investing in people; and
the Department of Labor's new online resource for training and education opportunities in their
communities, America's Learning Exchange.
January 13  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, speaking at a disability event in the East
Room of the White House, endorse all remaining Re-Charting the Course recommendations in
the Administration's FY 2000 budget initiative with a proposed investment of approximately $2
billion over five years.  The initiative includes the following: full funding of the Work Incentives
Improvement Act, a $1,000 tax credit to cover work-related costs, $35 million to expand
information and communication technologies, and $50 million for Work Incentives Grants.
January 14  Tipper Gore announces the Administration's endorsement of the Task Force
recommendation to direct the Office of Personnel Management to explore ways of eliminating
the stricter standards applied to Federal job applicants with psychiatric disabilities.  Additionally,
Mrs. Gore announces increased mental health funding for States, and White House plans to hold
a conference on mental health later this year.
January 19  President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, urging Congress to pass
and fully fund the Work Incentives Improvement Act to remove barriers to work for people with
disabilities, and announces that the White House will hold a conference on mental health issues
later this year headed by Tipper Gore.
January 27  The White House holds a Roundtable on the Future of Social Security and Medicare.
January 28  The Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, (S. 331) is introduced in the Senate
by Senators James Jeffords (R-VT), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), William Roth (R-DE), and D.
Patrick Moynihan (D-NY).

FEBRUARY
February 1  The Department of Labor begins a series of regional meetings on implementation of
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
February 10-13  The Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental Disabilities
convenes its Annual Commissioner's Forum.
February 12  Vice President Gore, joined by Secretary of Labor and Task Force Chair Alexis M.
Herman and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo, host an event in
Albany, New York with disability leaders.  Vice President Gore announces new regulations
proposing an increase in the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) amount, from $500 to $700 per
month, affecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) recipients who want to work and still receive critical cash and medical benefits.
February 17  The National Council on Disability publishes National Disability Policy: A Progress
Report, evaluating progress made in the previous year in public policy for people with disabilities
and making recommendations to Congress and President Clinton.
February 17  The Department of Transportation issues a notice of proposed rulemaking,
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Compensation for Damage to
Wheelchairs and Other Assistive Devices, amending the Air Carrier Access Act by lifting the
existing cap on the amount of compensation airlines must pay to passengers for loss or damage to
wheelchairs and other assistive devices.
February 23  The National Council on Disability hosts a dialogue on disability media and
communications strategies in Louisville, Kentucky, bringing together local leaders to discuss the
10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 25th anniversary of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act in the year 2000.

MARCH
March 1  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission releases policy guidance, Reasonable
Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, addressing the
duty of employers, including Federal agencies, to provide "reasonable accommodations" to
applicants and employees with disabilities under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
March 1  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities announces the
1999 Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities, a new resource to
help businesses recruit employees with disabilities.  The program is cosponsored with the
Department of Defense.
March 2  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, with funding
from the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
host a leadership conference for minorities with disabilities.
March 3  The United States Supreme Court rules, in Cedar Rapids Community School District v.
Garret F., that school districts must pay for professional nurses to accompany some students with
disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and that school districts must
fund such related services to help guarantee that students like Garret are integrated into the public
schools.  Judith E. Heumann, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, issues a statement: "[W]e believe students like Garret should receive the
services necessary to ensure access to an appropriate education.  That's what the law guarantees,
and now the courts have made that clear."
March 11-12  The Department of Health and Human Service Center for Mental Health Services
cosponsors Developing a State Vision for Employment Services for Persons with Psychiatric
Disabilities.
March 12  The Department of Education issues final regulations implementing the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act of 1997.
March 15  The Federal Communications Commission establishes a "one-stop shopping" e-mail
address for the disability community (access@fcc.gov).
March 18  The National Council on Disability releases report on the Air Carrier Access Act,
Enforcing the Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities, and makes recommendations on
improving enforcement of the Act, including statutory changes and other Department of
Transportation policy improvements.
March 18  The Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, (H.R. 1180) is introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives by Representatives Rick Lazio (R-NY), Tom Bliley (R- VA), Henry
Waxman (D-CA), and John Dingell (D-MI).
March 22  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in response to a Presidential
directive issued at the July 29, 1998, Task Force event, announces a small business initiative
expanding public education about Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
March 23  The Task Force, Rehabilitation Services Administration, National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Department of Labor, and Department of Housing and Urban Development, hold
an interagency meeting on research related to disability and employment to: discuss activities that
are underway in the Federal government, identify gaps and emerging issues that may require new
research efforts, and identify areas and strategies for further interagency collaboration and
coordination.
March 23  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities announces
Project Employ, an initiative to expand employment for persons with mental retardation, to
encourage employers nationwide to hire people with cognitive disabilities for positions in office
settings, and to use job training resources provided by local disability agencies and organizations.

APRIL
April 22-23  The Administration on Developmental Disabilities convenes a National Policy
Forum on Improving the Education and Employment of TANF (Temporary and Needy Family)
Mothers and the Low Wage Labor Market with Special Learning Needs.
April 24  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities' National
Business Leadership Network holds an employment fair at the Washington, D.C. Convention
Center with recruiters from a range of companies and government agencies who are seeking job
candidates.
April 28  William Kennard, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is appointed
to the Task Force.
April  The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Small Business Administration
release the first 15,000 copies of the pamphlet ADA Guide for Small Businesses, covering the
Americans with Disabilities Act and accommodations, architectural barriers, tax credits, polices
and procedures, and information sources.  In addition, they make plans to do a second printing in
Spanish.

MAY
May 2  The Department of Labor Women's Bureau participates in Global Strategies to Increase
Employment of Women with Disabilities, a joint initiative of the Social Security Administration
and the Department of Education.
May 2  The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research project directors meet in
Washington, D.C., and announce six new employment-focused rehabilitation research and
training centers.
May 10-12  The Welfare-to-Work Forum brings together people with a wide range of views and
experiences to discuss disability and welfare issues, implementation of the Workforce Investment
Act, and ways that Federal and State agencies can address disability-related issues and concerns. 
Sponsors include: the Task Force; the Department of Labor Welfare-to-Work Office; the
Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and Office of
Vocational and Adult Education; the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration
for Children and Families and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;
the President's Committee on Mental Retardation; the Social Security Administration; the
National Council on Disability; and the National Institute on Literacy.
May 17  The Department of Health and Human Services awards "nursing home transition" grants
to Wisconsin, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, to promote home and
community-based options for people living in nursing homes.
May 20  The Federal Communications Commission establishes an electronic listserve for the
disability community so that individuals can receive updates on FCC's disability-related actions
and events (ditfinfo@info.fcc.gov).
May 24  The United States Supreme Court upholds the Administration's position by unanimously
ruling in Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corporation that individuals who apply for
and receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are not precluded from pursuing a claim
of employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
May 27  The Justice Department announces an agreement with Avis Rent-a-Car, the nation's
second largest rental car company, to improve access to airport shuttle systems for people with
disabilities at all of its airport locations in the United States.
May 28-June 2  The Task Force cosponsors the VSA Art Careers 2000 and Art and Soul events,
an international celebration of arts, disability, culture, and careers.

JUNE
June 3  The Presidential Task Force holds a Town Hall Meeting in Los Angeles, California,
focusing on expanding employment opportunities for young people with disabilities and
expanding entrepreneurial and self-employment opportunities for adults with disabilities.
June 4  President Clinton signs Executive Order 13124 amending civil service rules relating to
Federal employees with psychiatric disabilities.
June 4  President Clinton and the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities present The President's Award - America's highest honor for achievement in
furthering the employment and empowerment of people with disabilities - to Laura Hershey,
Joyce Bender, and James Click, Jr. at a White House ceremony.
June 7  Tipper Gore chairs the White House Conference on Mental Health that brings together
people with mental illness and their families, members of Congress and the Administration,
mental health providers, advocates, community and State representatives, private sector entities,
and foundations from around the nation.  President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton, and Vice President
Gore and Mrs. Gore, announce new proposals to provide parity, improve treatment, bolster
research, and expand community responses to help those with mental illnesses. Breakout sessions
are led by Secretary of Labor and Task Force Chair Alexis M. Herman and these Task Force
Members: Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala; Secretary of Education
Richard Riley; Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West, Jr.; Office of Personnel Management
Director Janice Lachance; and Social Security Administration Commissioner Kenneth Apfel.
June 14  The Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs holds its annual
project directors meeting of the secondary education, transition, postsecondary, and
school-to-work projects, discussing effective transition strategies and determining research
directions.
June 22  The United States Supreme Court rules on four important Americans with Disabilities
Act cases that profoundly affect people with disabilities: Olmstead v. L.C.;
Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc.; Albertsons, Inc. v. Kirkingburg; and Murphy v. United Parcel
Service, Inc.
June 22  Task Force staff join the Mental Health Association of New York in leading a
discussion on the way people with mental illness are portrayed by the media.  Participants are
major news media, including: the Wall Street Journal; Time Magazine; the New York Times; the
New York Daily News; Psychiatric News; Employee Benefit News; and Business Week.
June 23-25  The National Council on Disability, with Task Force support, hosts the Youth
Leadership Conference.  Chair of the President's Committee on Employment of
People with Disabilities and Vice Chair of the Task Force Tony Coelho delivers keynote address.
June 23  Secretary of Labor and Task Force Chair Alexis M. Herman, joined by Social Security
Administration Commissioner Kenneth Apfel, deliver keynote addresses to a joint meeting of the
Youth Leadership Conference, the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Programs,
and the National Council on Independent Living in Washington, D.C.

JULY
July 1  The Social Security Administration officially increases the Substantial Gainful Activity
(SGA) monthly amount from $500 to $700 for people receiving Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
July 1  The Federal Communications Commission asks for White Papers on Technology Issues
on Access for Persons with Disabilities to be submitted to the Technology Advisory Council.
July 8-9  The Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental
Disabilities convenes a National Policy Forum on Improving Education and Employment of
TANF Mothers and the Low Wage Labor Market with Special Needs.
July 14  The Federal Communications Commission meets and (1) adopts a study on making
Internet telephony and future technology accessible to people with disabilities; (2) proposes
standards for closed captioning on digital television so that people will be able to have more
choices regarding captioning (e.g., font, size, language); and (3) holds a telecommunications
accessibility fair and demonstration on captioning capabilities in digital television.
July 19  The National Council on Disability announces the establishment of the National
Disability Fellowship Program - to be administered by the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities - to help identify and develop new leaders with
disabilities through a paid one-year policy fellowship in Washington, D.C., beginning in January
2000.
July 21  The Task Force, Department of Education, National Council on Disability and the Social
Security Administration convene a policy roundtable discussion on transitioning youth with
disabilities to employment and post-secondary education and formulate policy recommendations
for President Clinton and Congress.
July 22  The Social Security Administration and the National Institute for Disability and
Rehabilitation Research, with Task Force support, hold their annual meeting Youth with
Disabilities and Employment.
July 26  The Ninth Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act:
1. The White House, the National Council on Disability, and the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights convene a forum on disability and cultural diversity to celebrate the anniversary of the
ADA, focusing on improving outcomes in education, employment, and civil rights enforcement
for people with disabilities from diverse cultural backgrounds.
2. The National Council on Disability releases its new report, Lift Every Voice: Modernizing
Disability Policies and Programs to Serve a Diverse Nation.
3. Vice President Gore commemorates the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by
speaking at Technology Access Appreciation Day in Nashville, Tennessee.
4. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater holds an ADA Celebration, announcing new
departmental policy on accessibility as well as departmental actions to help ensure access to
transportation for people with disabilities.
July 29  Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala addresses the National Council
on State Legislatures regarding the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, stating that "no
individual should have to live in a nursing home or State institution if that individual can live in a
community."

AUGUST
August  The Social Security Administration establishes a new executive Office of Employment
Support Programs to improve service to people with disabilities who want to work
(www.ssa.gov/work).
August  The Social Security Administration holds a training seminar, Entrepreneurs with
Disabilities: Challenges and Solutions, on ways they can assist beneficiaries who want to enter or
re-enter the workforce through self-employment or small business start-ups.
August  The Small Business Administration and Department of Education produce a program
featuring a successful, self-employed entrepreneur with a disability for the Public
Broadcasting System's Small Business 2000 series.  The show airs on more than 200 public
television stations and copies are distributed to every SBA district office.
August 4-7  The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and
Prevention sponsors a conference in Houston, Texas, Promoting the Health and Wellness of
Women With Disabilities.
August 8  The Federal Communications Commission presents Congress with its Draft Strategic
Plan for the FCC for the 21st Century, highlighting access for people with disabilities.
August 11  The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General
publishes a report, Employment Programs for People with Developmental Disabilities,
describing promising approaches and barriers to employment programs for people with
developmental disabilities.
August 12  The Department of Labor and the Rehabilitation Services Administration hold a
meeting on implementing the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and disability issues in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SEPTEMBER
September  The Task Force, Small Business Administration, and the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities, enter into a Memorandum of
Understanding to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for people with disabilities by
developing local networks of Federal, State, and local agencies and private sector entities
involved in promoting and financing small businesses and those serving people with disabilities.
September 1  The Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental
Disabilities awards (1) over $4 million to 22 States for Family Support
Systems Change Grants to develop comprehensive systems of family support for families of
children with disabilities; and (2) over $5 million in grants to increase the independence,
productivity inclusion, and integration of people with disabilities into the community.
September 2  The Department of Labor releases a new report, Futurework: Trends and
Challenges for Work in the 21st Century, citing people with disabilities throughout.
September 8  President Clinton holds a health care event at the White House, and urges Congress
to work with him to pass critical health care initiatives, including the Work Incentives
Improvement Act, a strong Patients' Bill of Rights, and Medicare reforms that strengthen and
modernize the program.
September 12-14  The Department of Education and the Department of Labor's School- to-Work
Offices, with the Task Force, cosponsor the National Forum on Youth with Disabilities in
School-to-Work Systems.
September 15  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission begins work on developing an
interim method for measuring the employment rate of adults with disabilities.
September 16  The Department of Justice announces an agreement with the MGM Grand Hotel,
Casino, and Theme Park in Las Vegas - the world's largest hotel and casino complex - to make
their facility fully accessible.
September 16-17  The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Mental Health
Services cosponsors a meeting in Washington, D.C., Employment and Vocational Rehabilitation
for Homeless Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses.
September 17  The Task Force cosponsors the Family Forum, an annual event of the American
Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine to address the challenges and
opportunities facing young people with disabilities and their families.
September 18  The Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human
Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sign an
Interagency Agreement for continued support of the State Partnership Initiative to decrease
barriers to employment for people with disabilities.
September 21-25  The International Independent Living Summit begins in Washington, D.C.,
sponsored by the Task Force, the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation,
the Social Security Administration, and the United States Agency for International Development.
September 22  The Task Force sponsors the State Partnership Systems Change Initiatives
Symposium: Overcoming Barriers to Employment of People with Disabilities -Implications for
Federal Policies and Programs, inviting individuals working on State systems change initiatives,
funded by the Social Security Administration, the Department of Labor, the Rehabilitation
Services Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 
Participants develop recommendations on changes to Federal policies for consideration by Task
Force Members and Task Force Committees.
September 22  The National Council on Disability hosts a Town Meeting on enforcement of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act with about 100 participants from around the country.
September 22  The Federal Communications Commission holds its second meeting of the
Technology Advisory Committee, with presentations on access to technology by persons with
disabilities.
September 27  Task Force holds a roundtable discussion on Native Americans with disabilities
and related employment issues.  The Health, Wellness, and Disability for Native
Americans Conference begins in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
September 29  The Department of Housing and Urban Development host the first meeting of the
Interagency Group on Mental Health and Housing, with the Task Force as a member.
September 29  The Department of Labor awards a Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional
Occupations WANTO Grant to the Women's Resource Center and Abilities of Florida in Largo,
Florida to promote the mainstream employment of women with disabilities in nontraditional
occupations.
September 29  The Federal Communications Commission releases the final rule requiring that
telecommunications services and equipment (e.g., telephones, cell phones, pagers, call-waiting,
and operator services) are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities when "readily
achievable."
September 30  The Department of Justice announces an out-of-court agreement with Greyhound
Lines, Inc. to improve the availability and quality of accessible bus service for persons with
disabilities.
September 30  President Clinton proclaims October 1999, as National Disability Employment
Awareness Month, calling upon government officials, educators, labor leaders, employers, and
American citizens to "observe this month with appropriate programs and activities that reaffirm
our determination to fulfill both the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

OCTOBER
October  The Center for Mental Health Services awards funding to: the Employment Intervention
Demonstration Program, a five-year multi-site research initiative; and the
Consumer-Operated Services Program, a four-year, multi-site research initiative.
October 1  The National Council on Disability releases a new report entitled Implementation of
the National Voter Registration Act by State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies.
October 3  Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, in honor of Mental Health
Awareness Week, announces the new anti-stigma campaign by the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.
October 8  The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research holds the Disability
Statistics and Policy Forum, in Washington, D.C.
October 16  President Clinton, in his weekly radio address to the nation, announces the release of
the Office of Personnel Management's "Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of
People with Disabilities in the Federal Government."  President Clinton directs all Federal
agencies to implement the plan immediately.
October 19  The White House, the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities, and National Council on Disability host Experience the Power: Art and Disability in
America, commemorating National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
October 20  Vice President Gore hosts a gathering of disability leaders at the White House
commemorating National Disability Employment Awareness Month and announces a
Memorandum of Understanding between the Social Security Administration and Small Business
Administration coordinating the efforts of SBA's " Welfare-to-Work" initiative and the SSA's
programs to help adults with disabilities find employment and/or become entrepreneurs.
October 21  The Administration on Developmental Disabilities holds a meeting on Projects of
National Significance, highlighting its new project with the Urban League addressing the needs
of African-Americans with disabilities.
October 21-23  The Task Force cosponsors the National Leadership Summit on Self
Determination, Consumer-Direction, and Control, bringing together key consumer, research,
policy, and government leaders of self-determination and consumer-directed initiatives in areas
of independent living, aging, developmental disabilities, mental health, and youth leadership.
October 25  The Presidential Task Force holds a Town Hall Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama,
focusing on civil rights.
October 27  The White House sponsors Disability Mentoring Day: Career Development for the
21st Century to promote employment opportunities in the Federal government for high school
and college students with disabilities.

NOVEMBER
November 5  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receives the verdict in a
disability discrimination case against the Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain.  The jury awards $13
million in compensatory and punitive damages to an individual with cognitive disabilities, the
largest monetary relief awarded by a jury in a case brought under the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
November 8  The Federal Communications Commission establishes a new Enforcement Bureau,
Consumer Information Bureau, and Disabilities Rights Office to: protect consumers with
disabilities; provide technical assistance to consumers and entities on their rights and
responsibilities for disability accessibility provisions; and provide comprehensive policy analyses
on ensuring access to persons with disabilities.
November 8  The Department of Health and Human Services announces that the State of New
Jersey will begin enrolling elderly and young people with disabilities in a "cash and counseling"
demonstration program as an alternative method of providing long term services and supports to
Medicaid recipients with disabilities.  The Department also announces that the State of Florida
will begin enrolling individuals with disabilities in a similar program in January 2000, and
current HHS grantee, the State of Arkansas, celebrates its one-year anniversary of enrollment of
individuals with disabilities in their cash and counseling program.
November 16  Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduce the
Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA), which would create a
national program of home and community-based services and encourage States to move away
from the institutional bias that now exists.
November 18  The Federal Communications Commission proposes that commercial television
broadcasters in the top 25 television markets, and the largest national video programming
distributors, introduce video descriptions in their transmissions to allow Americans with visual
disabilities to better follow the visual action in television programs.
November 22  The Federal Communications Commission posts a video clip of the movie
Casablanca on the Internet, demonstrating video description and captioning.

DECEMBER
December 1  The Social Security Administration hosts the first in a series of regional public
awareness forums, entitled Federal Policy - State Opportunities: Building an
Inclusive Workforce, with co-sponsorship by the Task Force, Maryland Governor's Committee
on the Employment of People with Disabilities, and the Department of Education, Department of
Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services.
December 7  The Social Security Administration, Department of Education, Department of
Health and Human Services, the Task Force, and the National Endowment for the Arts hold a
policy education meeting entitled Supplemental Security Income Issues for People with
Disabilities who have Careers in the Arts.
December 8-9  The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Mental Health
Services cosponsors meeting with the National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Illness and the
Workplace.
December 8  The Presidential Task Force holds a Town Hall Meeting in Chicago, Illinois,
focusing on individuals with significant disabilities.

CHAPTER 1
1999 Recommendations to the President from the Presidential Task Force on Employment of
Adults with Disabilities

The Task Force wishes to recognize the outstanding work by the Clinton-Gore Administration in
acting on the recommendations made to the President in last year's report - Re-charting the
Course: First Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. 
Prompt action and strong support by the Administration on these recommendations has resulted
in significant achievements that are leading to increased employment opportunities for people
with disabilities.  See Chapter two for a complete review of the status of last years'
recommendations.

The Task Force also wishes to acknowledge the efforts of the Task Force Committee members,
particularly those who chaired the various committees established this past spring to guide and
focus the work of the Task Force.  The Task Force has received a report from each committee on
their activities in 1999, which largely have focused on putting in place plans for more specific
activity in 2000 and beyond.  The Task Force will be reviewing and using these reports as the
basis for future activities as appropriate.  We have included highlights of these reports in Chapter
Four.

The Task Force respectfully submits the following recommendations to the President of the
United States of America for immediate consideration; The Task Force recommends that:

1.  The President direct the Department of Labor to develop a proposal for consideration in the
FY 2001 budget process for an Office of Disability Policy, Evaluation and Technical Assistance
(ODPET) to be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Labor.  ODPET functions could include:
-Ensuring ongoing efforts to integrate people with disabilities into the Department of Labor's
mainstream employment and training programs.
-Establishing the National Disability Business Development Board to be comprised of the
membership of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and to
serve as the advisory body to ODPET.
-Maintaining the principle functions of the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities.
-Assisting the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities in
implementing a coordinated and aggressive national employment strategy for people with
disabilities.

The Office of Disability Policy, Evaluation and Technical Assistance could provide a long-term,
permanent force to continue the work needed to ensure that persons with disabilities are
integrated into mainstream employment and training programs within the Labor Department. 
The Presidential Task Force would continue to be responsible in the short-term for developing,
refining, and monitoring the implementation of an aggressive, national employment strategy for
persons with disabilities.

2.  The President direct the Departments of Justice and Labor, and the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission to collaborate in exploring methods for strengthening enforcement of
employment-related nondiscrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act.  All efforts shall provide a clear and unequivocal message that expanded
employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities are a high priority of the
Administration.  The efforts of the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission should include providing increased technical assistance to employers, strengthening
compliance evaluations, and enhancing data collection as appropriate.

Effective enforcement of employment-related, nondiscrimination requirements is crucial to
increasing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.  The agencies responsible
for enforcement must continue to explore new and more effective approaches for increasing
compliance with laws requiring equal opportunities for job applicants and employees with
disabilities.  The enforcement agencies should develop and disseminate technical assistance
guides to assist employers in understanding and implementing nondiscrimination requirements. 
These agencies should also develop educational tools to inform individuals with disabilities of
the full range of protections under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.  The enforcement
agencies also should explore methods to strengthen their investigation processes.  For example,
the Department of Labor, through the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, should
utilize compliance evaluation procedures that allow the agency to focus on systemic barriers to
the employment of individuals with disabilities.  The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, in coordination with the Departments of Justice and Labor, should explore
enhancing data collection efforts with respect to the employment and the availability of persons
with disabilities in the workforce, possibly through new regulations.  Consistent with their
complementary responsibilities for enforcement, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program should explore joint enforcement
strategies.

3.  The President direct the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services,
the Social Security Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and other appropriate
Federal agencies to construct and coordinate, under the leadership of the Presidential Task Force
on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, a Youth-to-Work Initiative.

Barriers to employment for youth with disabilities include: low educational attainment; low
educational and employment expectations; and confusing governmental programs with
conflicting eligibility criteria and goals.  As a result, many youth with disabilities transition from
youth welfare to adult welfare without access to the education and training opportunities needed
to make a transition to work and achieve independence.  This Youth-to-Work Initiative would
test alternative approaches to helping youth with disabilities gain access needed to education and
training opportunities and overcome barriers to employment.

Each year, about 40,000 eighteen-year-olds are subject to a continuing disability review for
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, but only 25,000 are determined eligible for such
assistance.  On average, the young adults determined to still be eligible will remain on SSI for 27
years, while those found ineligible are likely to live in poverty.  Many youth with disabilities
spend a significant portion of their lives living in poverty, dependent upon public assistance
programs, and relegated to the margins of society.  In addition, compared to students without
disabilities, students with disabilities drop out of school much more frequently and enroll in
post-secondary education less frequently.

4.  The President direct the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a proposal to
allow the Maternal and Child Health Programs for Children with Special Needs to provide
Healthy and Ready to Work services to youth with disabilities who are under the age of 16.

The Maternal and Child Health Programs for Children with Special Needs (Title V of the Social
Security Act) provides Healthy and Ready to Work services to youth with disabilities that are
essential to preparing them for continued education and training, but are restricted to serving only
youth 16 years and older.  As a result, many youth with disabilities are ready to drop out of the
education stream just at a time when they become eligible to receive services that would enable
them to benefit from continued education.
There is a clear need to provide these services to youth with disabilities at an earlier age. 

5.  The President direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development to explore steps
needed to establish an earned income disregard for tenants with disabilities living in
other-than-Public Housing Authority housing who return to work, and to exempt any
disability-related expenses incurred when a tenant goes to work from the "countable" income
used to determine rents.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has promulgated rules under recently
enacted legislation aimed at providing additional incentives for low-income individuals in public
housing to go to work, or work additional hours.  Current rules, however, do not provide
sufficient incentives for employment of people with disabilities who are assisted by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidies, but do not live in Public Housing
Authority housing.  The Department should explore ways to extend similar incentives to all
HUD-subsidized tenants with disabilities.

6.  The President continue to work with Congress to secure adequate funding, proposed in the
Administration's FY 2000 budget, for their program to accelerate the development and adoption
of information and communication technologies that can be used by the 54 million Americans
with disabilities.

The President should continue to push for this initiative that would: (1) help make the Federal
Government a "model user" of accessible electronic and information technology through the
implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act; (2) support new and expanded State
loan programs making assistive technology more afford able for adults with disabilities; and (3)
invest in research, development, and technology transfer in areas such as "text to speech," speech
recognition, and eye tracking for people who cannot use a keyboard.

7.  The President continue to work with Congress to pass the tax credit proposed in the
Administration's FY 2000 budget, in order to assist adults with disabilities with expenses related
to work.

Working-age adults with disabilities are often discouraged from working because of the high cost
of personal attendant services and other services or technologies required for employment.  
Similarly, the cost to employers of hiring an individual requiring personal attendant services can
sometimes be prohibitive.  Tax credits provide a flexible way to assist people with disabilities in
defraying these expenses.

8.  The President continue to work with Congress to pass a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of
Rights.

It is critically important to people with disabilities that we enact a strong, enforceable Patients'
Bill of Rights.  This legislation must include the following: guaranteed access to needed health
care specialists; access to emergency room services when and where the need arises; continuity
of care protections so that patients will not have an abrupt transition in care if their providers are
dropped; access to a fair, unbiased, and timely internal and independent external appeals process,
to address health plan grievances and to help govern decisions about medically necessary
treatments; an enforcement mechanism that ensures recourse for patients who have been harmed
as a result of a health plan's actions.

9.  The President convene a White House Conference on Employment of Adults with Disabilities
that will include representatives from the Administration, Congress, elected officials from State
and local governments, small and large businesses, the disability community and other
stakeholders.

A White House Conference would provide heightened visibility to the issue of employing
persons with disabilities and help build partnerships between public and private sectors.  It would
also provide the opportunity to showcase "best practices" and innovative strategies for
employment of people with disabilities, and highlight actions taken by Task Force member
agencies, departments, and other Federal agencies.  Finally, it could commemorate the 10th
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 25th anniversary of Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, and the 35th anniversary of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.

10.  The President direct the Task Force members' departments and agencies to collaborate on the
development and implementation of a multimedia, interagency public awareness campaign to
eliminate the negative and erroneous stereotypes about employment of people with disabilities.

This campaign would focus on the benefits of employing people with disabilities.  There is an
immediate need for leadership to address negative attitudes and prejudices against people with
disabilities.  An aggressive public awareness campaign, conducted in partnership with the
disability community, businesses, and other influential entities would help to eliminate erroneous
and prejudicial thinking about disability that results in limiting employment opportunities.

11.  The President direct the Social Security Administration and the Department of Labor to
create an "Access America for People with Disabilities" Web site that targets individuals with
disabilities.

In February, Vice President Gore announced "Access America for Seniors," a Web site providing
a wide range of services to older Americans - an example of his vision of "one-stop" Web access
to government services.  A new Web site, "Access America for People with Disabilities," would
likewise provide information and services offered by virtually every major Federal Government
agency, by linking to an abundance of helpful Federal agency sites, information, programs, and
services.

12.  The President direct the Department of Transportation to work with the Departments of
Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, and other
relevant Task Force members to develop a comprehensive plan of action to address the lack of
transportation services and systems for persons with disabilities.

The lack of available public transportation is a major employment barrier for persons with
disabilities.  This factor is cited by many individuals with disabilities, at recent Town Hall
meetings held by the Task Force and at other events, as being the major impediment to finding
and keeping jobs.  The Department of Transportation has been vigorous in addressing public and
private accessibility issues for people with disabilities.  This directive would be to concentrate
Federal efforts on developing an interagency action plan that addresses the lack of available
transportation.

13.  The President direct all Federal agencies with customer service call centers and other
appropriate services to explore ways to encourage hiring people with disabilities.

Cutting-edge telecommunications technology has recently made it possible for customer service
centers to send voice and data to home-based customer service representatives who work just as
if they we re in a call center.  Many agencies in the Federal Government operate significant
customer service call center activities.  This cutting-edge technology needs to be widely available
in the Federal Government, and used to increase the employment rate of individuals with
disabilities as much as possible.

Research has shown that the percentage of individuals with significant disabilities who are
employed is the lowest of disadvantaged groups in the nation.  It is critical that we seek out as
many strategies as possible to change this picture.

14.  The President direct the Social Security Administration to explore options for raising the
Earned Income Exclusion in the Supplemental Security Income program, for both adults and
students, in order to encourage work efforts.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested program, but beneficiaries are able to have
limited earnings without impact on their benefit amounts.  Allowing such earnings not only
increases overall income security, but also provides an incentive to work.  The earned income
exclusions for both adults and students, however, have not been raised since the early 1970's,
even though the SSI Federal Benefit Rate is indexed annually for inflation.  The Earned Income
Exclusion remains at $65 per month for adults and up to $400 per month for students for a
limited time period.  As a result, SSI beneficiaries with non-SSI income do not receive full
indexing of their benefits, and work effort is less rewarded than it was previously.

CHAPTER 2
A Status Report on the 1998-1999 Task Force Recommendations

Since the creation of the Task Force, both President Clinton and Vice President Gore have
consistently accepted and supported the recommendations of the Task Force.  This chapter
highlights the progress and current status of those action items recommended by the Task Force,
which the President and the Vice President of the United States have fully accepted and acted
upon.

WORK INCENTIVES
1.  The President announced that his FY 2000 budget would fully fund the Work Incentives
Improvement Act (WIIA) introduced by Senators Jeffords, Kennedy, Roth, and Moynihan.
STATUS: On January 28, 1999, S.331 was introduced in the Senate, and on March 18, H.R.1180
was introduced by Representatives Lazio, Bliley, Waxman, and Dingell.  On June 16, S.331 was
passed unanimously by the Senate, and on October 19, the House of Representatives passed
H.R.1180.  On November 18, the House of Representatives passed the conference report
accompanying H.R.1180, the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, by
a vote of 418-2. The Senate passed the conference report, by a vote of 95-1, on November 19,
1999.  The President has indicated that he will sign the legislation.  The bill contains the
following provisions:
- Access to health care coverage/Medicaid "buy-in" - two new State options to extend Medicaid
coverage to persons with disabilities who earn more than the limit of 250 percent of the Federal
poverty level - or approximately $21,000 - and meet the SSI definition of disability, and to
persons with disabilities who would otherwise lose their SSDI/SSI eligibility because of medical
improvement, but who still have a medically-severe impairment and are working.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Both options enacted allow States to set higher income, unearned
income, and resource limits.
- Building infrastructure to support Medicaid "buy-in" - $150 million in grants to encourage
States to take advantage of the above two Medicaid "buy-in"options.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Fully funded.
- Health care coverage demonstration - creation of a $300 million demonstration program
allowing States to extend Medicaid equivalent coverage to workers who have a disability that,
without health care access, would become severe enough to qualify them for SSDI or SSI.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Enacted as a $250 million demonstration.
- Continuing access to Medicare coverage - creation of a ten-year trial period allowing SSDI
beneficiaries who return to work to continue receiving subsidized Medicare coverage.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Enacted as a four-and-a-half year extension of Medicare coverage for
people in the disability insurance system who return to work.
- "Ticket to Work Program" - establishment of a new program to increase choice in employment
services, by allowing SSI and SSDI beneficiaries to deposit a "ticket" with the public or private
provider of their choice.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Enacted as a voucher-like system that permits recipients to purchase job
training and rehabilitation services to help them return to work.  Final legislation also changed
the title of the bill to "Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999."

2. The President announced that his FY 2000 budget provided for a new $1,000 tax credit to
cover work-related expenses for people with disabilities.
STATUS: There was no Congressional action on this initiative.

3. The President, in his FY 2000 budget, announced a $50 million "work incentives" grant
program in the Department of Labor.  Competitive grants would provide outreach to individuals
with disabilities and would foster systems change through, and service integration at, the State
and local levels within the One-Stop Career Center Systems mandated by the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998.
STATUS: The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 authorized
outreach grants in the Social Security Administration, rather than the Department of Labor.  The
appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and
related agencies provided $20 million of the $27 million requested for systems change grants in
the Department of Labor.

HEALTH CARE
1.  The President announced that he would continue to work with Congress to pass a "strong,
enforceable patients' bill of rights."
STATUS: The House passed a bill that includes enforceable protection for all Americans, while
the Senate passed a much more limited version.  The legislation is currently in conference.

2.  The Vice President announced that the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
would issue a new regulation increasing the Substantial Gainful Activity amount, i.e., the amount
of income that recipients of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability
Insurance can earn without losing critical cash and medical benefits under Social Security.
STATUS: On April 15, 1999, the Social Security Administration published final rules that raise,
from $500 to $700, the monthly earnings guidelines used to determine whether work done by
persons with disabilities (other than blindness) is "substantial gainful activity."  The rule became
effective on July 1, 1999.

3.  The President announced the release of a letter from the Health Care Financing
Administration to all State Medicaid directors clarifying the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) with respect to States offering appropriate community-based services.
STATUS: The Administration's position on the ADA's "integration mandate" was confirmed by
subsequent court rulings and upheld by the Supreme Court in its June 22, 1999, decision in
Olmstead v. L.C., holding that States must provide services to people with disabilities "in the
most integrated setting appropriate," when it would not result in a "fundamental alteration" to the
program or in excessive new costs.
Upon learning of the Supreme Court 's decision, the President issued a statement reaffirming his
Administration's commitment to "finding afford able ways to enable people who need long-term
services and support to remain in the community if they choose and are able to do so."  He added
that the best way to continue progress toward this goal is for State governments, the Federal
Government, and the affected communities to work together to develop cost-effective ways to
provide these services.  "We must ensure that the quality of these services is excellent and that
they are available to persons with disabilities of all age s," the President stated, "[therefore] I am
asking Secretary Shalala and Attorney General Reno to work with all interested parties to carry
out today's decision in a fair and effective manner."

4.  The President released an Executive Memorandum which directed the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that Governors, State legislators, and State
Medicaid directors work with consumer organizations to increase public information about the
State "Medicaid buy-in," a new option that became available as a result of the Balanced Budget
Act of 1997.  Under Section 4733 of the Balanced Budget Act, States now have the option to
allow individuals with disabilities who start or return to work the ability to purchase Medicaid
coverage as their earnings increase, up to 250 percent of the poverty level.
STATUS: The Secretary of Health and Human Services wrote a letter to each Governor and each
State Medicaid director, informing them of the new option, and urging their serious consideration
of this " critical opportunity to provide real assistance to many people living with disabilities who
want to work."  The Secretary also reaffirmed that staff of the Health Care Financing
Administration would respond to States' inquiries and provide technical assistance on a
case-by-case basis.
Currently, the Health Care Financing Administration has received and approved amendments to
six State Medicaid Plans: South Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska, and
Mississippi.  These States have exercised the new option, choosing to extend Medicaid coverage
to eligible working individuals with disabilities.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS A MODEL EMPLOYER
1.  The Vice President directed the Office of Personnel Management to develop a model plan to
increase the representation of adults with disabilities at all levels throughout the Federal
workforce.
STATUS: In a national radio address, President Clinton released the plan, "Accessing
Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal Government,"
along with a companion employment guide, also prepared by the Office of Personnel
Management.  These documents give Federal agencies detailed and practical information on
ways to do the following: recruit people with disabilities for positions at all levels of
Government; provide opportunities for students with disabilities; collect and maintain data to
monitor their success; and provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees
with disabilities.  The President directed all Federal agencies to implement the plan
"immediately."

2.  The President directed the Office of Personnel Management to explore ways to eliminate the
stricter standards applied to Federal job applicants who have psychiatric disabilities.
STATUS: On June 4, 1999, P resident Clinton signed Executive Order 13124, amending civil
service rules relating to Federal employees with "psychiatric disabilities."  Prior to this change,
although the Federal Government could hire individuals with: mental retardation, severe physical
disabilities, or "psychiatric disabilities" under a special noncompetitive appointing authority, only
those with mental retardation and severe physical disabilities could convert to competitive status
without an examination after a minimum of two years of satisfactory service.  Individuals with
psychiatric disabilities could be hired only into temporary jobs that ended after two years,
requiring them to compete for permanent Federal employment.
Now, as a result of the Executive Order, agencies are required to apply the same hiring rule to
persons with "psychiatric disabilities" as they apply to persons with mental retardation and to
persons with severe physical disabilities.  The Office of Personnel Management is in the process
of drafting regulations to implement the Executive Order. The proposed regulations are expected
to be published early next year.

TECHNOLOGY
1.  The President announced that the Administration's FY 2000 budget would provide
approximately $35 million for a national investment in "assistive technology," expanding access
to communication and information technologies for adult working-age people with disabilities.
STATUS: Congress acted on only two small portions of the President's "assistive technology"
initiative:
- The Administration requested $8 million for the General Services Administration to enable it to
procure assistive technology for the larger Federal agencies, and to better ensure that these
agencies are able to fulfill their responsibilities in making the Federal Government a "model
employer."  Congress appropriated $2.5 million.
- The Administration requested $2 million for the General Services Administration to test
hardware and software to make assistive technology more afford able for working adults with
disabilities, and to help fully implement Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 973, as
amended in 1998.  Congress appropriated $1 million.
- The Administration requested $2 million for the Department of Defense to help support the
assistive technology needs of small Federal agencies through extension of its highly regarded
Computer/Electronics Accommodations Program (CAP).  Congress did not appropriate any
amount.
- The Administration requested $23 million for the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research for technology initiatives: $8 million for three initiatives related to
information technology and telecommunications, and $15 million for grants to States to establish
alternative loan financing programs.  Congress appropriated $5 million for the technology
initiative and $4 million for the State grant loan programs.

SMALL BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
1.  The President signed an Executive Memorandum directing the Attorney General at the
Department of Justice, the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the
Administrator of the Small Business Administration to expand public education about the
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act to employers, employees, and others whose
rights may be affected. The Memorandum directed special attention to small businesses and
under-served populations.
STATUS: In April of 1999, a partnership between the Small Business Administration and the
Department of Justice resulted in the production of 15,000 copies of a pamphlet entitled, "ADA
Guide for Small Businesses."  The pamphlet contains information on the ADA and
accommodations, architectural barriers, tax credits, and sources of additional information.  A first
printing was delivered to the Small Business Administration field offices in August 1999 for
distribution to small business clients, and a Spanish version was released in September 1999. 
The pamphlet is now in its fourth printing.
In response to the President's directive, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
increased its education and outreach efforts to employers.  On March 1, 1999, for example, the
Agency released a comprehensive policy guidance document entitled, "Reasonable
Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act."  This
guidance provides "plain language" answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning
what reasonable accommodations are, when they must be provided, and when employers may
refuse to provide them.
On March 22, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a new "Small
Business Initiative" to improve customer service and to expand education, outreach, and
technical assistance to the employer community.  For this initiative, the Commission issued a
shorter version of its March 1, 1999, guidance under the title, "Small Employers and Reasonable
Accommodation."

2.  The Vice President directed the Small Business Administration to launch a new outreach
campaign to help those with disabilities who already own their own small businesses, and to help
those who want to start their own small businesses.
STATUS: The Small Business Administration entered into an agreement with the President's
Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and the Task Force to increase
entrepreneurial opportunities for people with disabilities.  The agreement calls for the
development of local networks of Federal, State, and local agencies with various private sector
entities that promote and finance small businesses involving or serving people with disabilities. 
Funding support for technical assistance through a nationwide series of workshops is being made
available through commitments from the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities, the Small Business Administration, the Social Security Administration, the
Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Presidential Task Force.
Through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Small Business Administration and the
Social Security Administration, staff of the two agencies are being encouraged to form local
partnerships, thereby making SBA services available to beneficiaries who want to explore
"entrepreneurship," and similarly, making SSA information available to local SBA staff about
"employment supports" that may be crucial to SSA beneficiaries as they make the transition into
the competitive workforce.
The SBA, with funding from its "partnering" relationship with the Department of education,
helped produce a program segment for the highly successful PBS-sponsored series titled: "Small
Business 2000."  The program featured Bill Mellaris, a self-employed homebuilder.  Since its
debut in mid-August of 1999, nearly 200 public television stations across the country have aired
the program, and video copies have been distributed to every SBA District Office.

CHAPTER 3
The Supreme Court and the Americans With Disabilities Act: The View from 1999

Introduction
When Congress adopted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, it gave people with
disabilities a powerful tool to challenge the discrimination and exclusion that still existed in far
too many areas of public and private life.  No longer could employers, Government agencies, or
places of public accommodation simply ignore people with disabilities.  Nor could they exclude
people with disabilities on the basis of unfounded myths, fears, and stereotypes.  Instead,
Congress promised the many entities covered by the statute would now be required to cleanse
their decision-making processes of irrational stereotypes or the inertial force of  "the way we've
always done things."  People with disabilities would be entitled to demand nondiscriminatory
treatment and reasonable accommodations that would afford access to the same opportunities -
the same chance to work hard, do one's best, and show one's talents - as anyone else.

But as with all civil rights laws, the effectiveness of the ADA depends crucially on the
construction given to it by the courts.  Those involved in the struggle to expand opportunities for
people with disabilities are all too familiar with this point.  After Congress enacted the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
(EAHCA), early Supreme Court decisions like Southeastern Community College v. Davis
(1979), and Hendrick Hudson Board of Education v.
Rowley (1982) threatened to significantly undermine the effectiveness of those statutes.  After
absorbing the initial disappointment that attended those setbacks, committed advocates for
people with disabilities we're forced to take a step back, carefully evaluate the Court's opinions,
and come up with new strategies to realize the promise of those landmark laws.  Thanks to
"creative lawyering" and passionate efforts to educate judges about the problem of disability
discrimination, people with disabilities were able to turn the tide in the courts and ensure that the
Rehabilitation Act and the EAHCA would remain the forces for positive change as originally
intended.

With that experience in mind, disability rights advocates awaited with some trepidation the
courts' first decisions interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The initial returns in the
lower courts seemed to confirm advocates' worst fears.  As two recent studies have confirmed,
individuals filing employment discrimination cases under the ADA have been among the least
successful claimants in Federal courts.  More than 90 percent of their suits have failed - a
measure of futility exceeded only by Samuel Bagenstos Research Fellow, Harvard University
Law School by prisoners who file lawsuits to challenge their conditions of confinement (Colker
1999; ABA Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law 1998).

ADA plaintiffs have been unsuccessful, in large part, because lower courts have taken a very
narrow view of the statute's protections.  Many courts have viewed the ADA as limited to a
narrow group of people they have labeled the "truly disabled."  Some have gone further and
carved out a series of exceptions to the Act that had no apparent warrant in the statutory text
(Burgdorf 1997).

Surveying these distressing results in the lower courts, many advocates pinned their hopes on the
Supreme Court, but for eight years, the Court stood silent.  When the Court accepted a half dozen
ADA cases for review in its 1998-1999 Term, the Court appeared to be moving aggressively to
put its own stamp on the law.  Advocates hoped that the
Supreme Court would reverse the trend of restrictive interpretations the lower courts had placed
on the statute.

Reasons for Optimism -The Court's 1998 Decisions
Advocates had some reason for optimism.  In two decisions in the spring of 1998, the court had
issued its first-ever rulings on the interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  In one
case, Bragdon v. Abbott, the Court ruled that a woman with a symptomatic HIV infection was
protected by the statute.  By accepting the Administration's argument that the statute protects
people with asymptomatic HIV, the Court forcefully vindicated Congress's plain intent.  At the
time the ADA was enacted, both its supporters and its opponents clearly agreed on one thing -
that the statute would protect people with HIV, whether their conditions had advanced to the
"symptomatic" stage or not.  But some lower courts had ruled that the condition is not a
"disability" in its early stages; and that employers, Government agencies, and places of public
accommodation were there fore free to discriminate against people with asymptomatic HIV
infection.  The Court 's rejection of that flawed approach marked a major victory for people with
HIV who are trying to continue to live normal, productive lives.

In its other 1998 case, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections v. Yeskey, the Court
unanimously rejected an argument, which had been accepted by some lower courts, that State
prison inmates were not protected by the nondiscrimination provisions of the ADA. The Court
emphasized that State prisons fell squarely within the statute's definition of public entities, which
include "any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or
States or local government."

Mixed Results - The Court's 1999 Decisions
With the spring 1998, experience in mind, many advocates believed that the Supreme Court
would continue to adopt a generous construction of the ADA's protection against disability-based
discrimination.  Now that the dust has settled after the 1998-1999 Term, however, the picture
appears to be far more mixed.  The Court's Olmstead v. L.C. and Cleveland v. Policy
Management Systems Corp. decisions gave strong support to the efforts of people with
disabilities to live empowered, independent lives.  But the Court's Sutton v. United AirLines,
Murphy v. United Parcel Services, and Albertsons, Inc. v. Kirkingburg decisions reflected a
disturbingly narrow view of the protections afforded by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

On the positive side, it is difficult to overstate the historic significance of the Supreme Court's
decision in Olmstead v. L.C.  For decades, disability rights advocates had fought to eliminate the
unnecessary isolation of people with disabilities in institutional living settings set apart from the
community.  In Olmstead, the Court held for the first time that such unnecessary segregation
constitutes disability-based discrimination that can be challenged under the ADA.

Accepting the core claims of the disability rights movement - and the position urged by the
Administration - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's opinion for the Court pointed to two reasons why
"unjustified institutional isolation of persons with disabilities" would fall under Congress'
"comprehensive view of the concept of discrimination advanced in the ADA."  First, it fosters
prejudice against people with disabilities by "perpetuate[ing] unwarranted assumptions that
persons so isolated are incapable or unworthy of participating in community life."  Second,
unnecessary institutionalization directly denies access to the bounty of opportunities available in
community life.  Institutionalization can deprive people with disabilities of the opportunity to
pursue an education or occupation, to start a family, and to become involved in civic affairs. 
Accordingly, the Court held that under the ADA, States may not place people with disabilities in
isolated institutional settings without strong professional or administrative justification.  Though
the Court recognized that States must have some leeway to "maintain a range of facilities and to
administer services with an even hand," its recognition of the harms of unnecessary isolation
marks a major victory for the efforts of people with disabilities to make their own way in our free
society.

The Court's unanimous decision in Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems also struck a blow
for empowerment and independent living.  At issue in Cleveland was something called the
"judicial estoppel" doctrine, which is best exemplified by the following scenario: A woman loses
her job because of disability-based discrimination.  She files a lawsuit under the ADA to get her
job back.  In the meantime, she looks for a new job but can't find one.  Lacking any means of
supporting herself, she applies for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

In dozens of cases just like this one, lower courts ruled that people who applied for Social
Security Disability Insurance had waived their right to get their jobs back under the ADA. 
Pointing to the plaintiffs' representations on their SSDI application that a disability had rendered
them unable to work, these courts ruled that those representations "estopped" the plaintiffs from
asserting that they were "qualified individuals with a disability" entitled to relief under the ADA. 
Those lower-court decisions placed people who experience disability-based discrimination on the
horns of a dilemma: Continue to try to get their job back and give up their only possible means of
support in the meantime, or put food on the table by applying for SSDI and give up any attempt
to get their job back.

In an opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer, the Court put an end to that disempowering dilemma. 
The Court recognized a key point that underlies the ADA - that sometimes it is nothing but the
failure to provide reasonable accommodation that makes someone "unable" to work.  People with
disabilities who are trying to find productive work should not be denied a remedy simply because
they need to rely on government support to make ends meet while they are looking for a job.  A
rule that required SSDI recipients to forfeit their right to seek workplace accommodations under
the ADA would condemn people with disabilities to lives of permanent dependency.  Adopting
the Administration's arguments, the Court properly rejected such a rule.

But three other cases decided by the Court last spring are more disturbing.  One case, Albertsons,
is particularly significant for the Federal Government.  The plaintiff, Hallie Kirkingburg, was a
truck driver whose vision was monocular.  Although a Department of Transportation (DOT)
regulation generally requires drivers of commercial motor vehicles to have 20/40 or better vision
in both eyes, the Department had waived the requirement based on Kirkingburg's safe driving
record and his promise to submit to periodic examinations.  But his employer, Albertsons
Supermarkets, was not so accepting.  When his monocular vision was discovered, Albertsons
fired Kirkingburg.  Albertsons said that it would not hire any truck driver who was unable to
meet the Department of Transportation's general vision standard, regardless of whether the
Department had issued a waiver to that driver.

The Supreme Court endorsed Albertsons' decision to exclude Kirkingburg.  Although the ADA
generally requires employers to prove the existence of safety risks based on an individualized
inquiry into the plaintiff's abilities and the best available objective evidence, the Court found
such an inquiry unnecessary in Kirkingburg's case.  Because the Department had adopted the
waiver program in order to collect empirical data to reevaluate visual acuity standards for driving
commercial motor vehicles and had not modified its standards, the Court concluded that
Albertsons was entitled to disregard the DOT waiver and insist that the employee meet the DOT's
minimum visual acuity standard as a condition of employment.  Even if the DOT grants waivers
in some cases, the Court said, employers are not required under the ADA to take part in the
Department's experiment.  The Albertsons decision is particularly troubling, for it allows
employers to make a broad-gauged judgment that all people with a given condition are
unqualified for a job without making an individualized determination of the abilities of the
particular applicant who has that condition - even when a regulatory agency has determined that
the applicant would pose no undue risk.

Perhaps the most widely publicized cases of the Term involved the ADA's definition of
"disability" - the central provision that identifies the people who may invoke the protections of
the statute.  In Sutton v. United Air Lines and Murphy v. United Parcel Service, the Court ruled
that a determination of whether an individual is disabled should be made with reference to
measures that mitigate the individual's impairment.  Thus, an individual would not be found
disabled if he or she employed measures that mitigated the impairment.

While the Sutton case involved twin sisters who had visual impairments that were correctable by
wearing eyeglasses and the Murphy case involved a person with medicated hypertension, the
Court 's ruling denying ADA protection could affect people with any number of other
impairments that Congress plainly meant to cover under the statute: people with epilepsy that is
currently controlled by medication; people with diabetes that is controlled by regular
administration of insulin; people who are receiving treatment for depression; people who use
prosthetic limbs to walk or hearing aids to hear.  If courts treat these mitigating measures as
erasing any limitations imposed by the underlying conditions, then many people who suffer
irrational stereotypes and prejudice could be deprived of any remedy under the ADA.

Looking Ahead
The Supreme Court's most recent Term contained both victories and setbacks for people with
disabilities.  Many in the disability rights community have understandably focused on the
setbacks.  Many fear that the restrictive decisions in Sutton, Murphy, and Albertsons, taken to
their logical conclusions, will deprive a large number of deserving claimants of the protections of
the Americans with Disabilities Act.

There are reasons to believe that the Court's restrictive decisions will not have the devastating
effects that some predict.  Notwithstanding Sutton and Murphy, the ADA still protects people
with past and perceived disabilities - even if they have no current impairment at all.  Many
people who experience discrimination on the basis of currently controlled conditions will be
protected under these prongs of the statute.  Even if not, they may still invoke the ADA's
coverage by showing that their medications or assistive devices do not in fact eliminate the
limitations imposed by their conditions; indeed, people who experience serious side effects may
be able to show that the medications themselves impose substantial limitations sufficient to
justify statutory protection.  The Albertsons decision, too, may be understood as resting on the
Court 's assessment of the highly experimental nature of the particular waiver program at issue; it
need not be read as a general license for employers to exclude people with disabilities who have
obtained waivers from generally applicable safety rules.

The role of the Administration in making good on the promises of the Americans with
Disabilities Act therefore remains of vital importance.

Perhaps the greatest lesson we should draw from the recent Supreme Court cases, however, is of
the inherent limits of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The ADA's comprehensive civil
rights protections remain vitally important - both as a statement of our Nation's core principles,
and as a front-line guarantor of access to opportunities.  But civil rights law cannot be the only
vehicle by which we attempt to guarantee opportunity, empowerment, and independent living to
all people with disabilities.  We must supplement ADA enforcement with creative new strategies
to reduce the stubbornly high unemployment rate among people with disabilities, and we must
work to eliminate the disempowering incentives that still mark many areas of the law.

References
American Bar Association, Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law, Study Finds
Employers Win Most ADA Judicial and Administrative Complaints, 22 Mental & Physical
Disability L. Rep. 403 (1998).

Robert L. Burgdorf Jr., "Substantially Limited" Protection from Disability Discrimination: The
Special Treatment Model and Misconstructions of the Definition of Disability, 42 Vill. L. Rev.
409 (1997).

Ruth Colker, The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Windfall for Defendants, 34 Harv.
C.R.-C.L.L. Rev. 99 (1999).

CHAPTER 4
Highlights of the Task Force Committee Reports Goals, Actions, and Recommendations 

Executive Order 13078 outlines issues the Task Force must consider as it designs an aggressive
and coordinated strategy to increase employment of adults with disabilities to a rate that is
comparable to that of the general population.  In addition, the Executive Order details specific
policy issues that key member agencies must address.  Accordingly, in June 1998 the Task Force
established work groups made up of key staff from member agencies to begin identifying actions
and recommendations to eliminate barriers to employment for adults with disabilities.  The work
group recommendations are detailed in the Task Force's first report, Re-charting the Course,
released on November 15, 1998.

Recognizing the importance of interagency activities and the need for further collaboration,
Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, Chair of the Task Force, and Tony Coelho, Vice Chair of
the Task Force, with input from other members, developed a Committee structure to further serve
the Executive Order mandate.  This plan was ratified by the full Task Force membership at the
December 13, 1998 meeting with Vice President Al Gore. Six Committees and one
Subcommittee resulted from this process: the Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning
Committee, which also has a Subcommittee on Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young
People with Disabilities; the Health Care and Income Support Committee; the Economic
Incentives and Entrepreneurship Committee; the Federal Government as a Model Employer
Committee; the Civil Rights Committee; and the Statistics Committee, also referred to as the
Employment Rate Measurement Methodology Work Group.

During the spring of 1999,Task Force members worked to identify leaders, agency membership
and senior staff for these Committees and by summer 1999, all Committees were fully
functional.  Throughout the summer and fall of 1999, the Committees met to exchange
information, make recommendations for policy changes, and begin acting on the
recommendations identified through their collaborative work.

Each Committee has written a report detailing its action plan, including work completed thus far,
short- and long-term recommendations for policy changes, and the specific actions already being
taken to eliminate barriers to employment for adults with disabilities. These reports represent
only the beginning of a multi-year effort to identify and take proactive, strategic actions that will
open doors to employment and establish a new way of working collaboratively across the Federal
Government.

COMMITTEES OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE
Each committee is responsible for looking at a broad range of issues that fall generally under its
purview.  Some issues, such as technology, a re being looked at by more than one committee.  In
general, the committees are looking at the following issues:

Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee
Co-Chairs: Secretary Alexis M. Herman, Department of Labor; Secretary Richard Riley,
Department of Education.
Chair Designees: Assistant Secretary Judith Heumann, Department of Education, Office of
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Deputy Assistant Secretary Raymond Uhalde,
Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
Committee Focus: Technology, telecommuting, transportation, housing, retraining, tax credits,
needs of diverse cultural groups, significant disabilities, and physical, programmatic access to
welfare-to-work and Workforce Investment Act programs.

Economic Incentives and Entrepreneurship Committee
Co-Chairs: Administrator Aida Alvarez, Small Business Administration; Chairman Tony Coelho,
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.
Chair Designees: Director of the Disabilities Initiative Lydia B. Bickford, Small Business
Administration; Executive Director John Lancaster, President's Committee on employment of
People with Disabilities.
Committee Focus: Tax credits and other incentives that are needed to help individuals move into
jobs and self-employment.

Health Care and Income Support Committee
Chair: Secretary Donna Shalala, Department of Health and Human Services.
Vice Chairs: Commissioner Kenneth Apfel, Social Security Administration; Administrator
Nancy-Ann DeParle, Health Care Financing Administration/Department of Health and Human
Services.
Committee Focus: Access to appropriate and affordable health benefits and services, including
long term services and supports; reducing and avoiding reliance on income support programs.

Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young People with Disabilities Subcommittee of the
Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee
Co- Chairs: Commissioner Sue Swenson, Department of Health and Human Services
Administration on Developmental Disabilities; Deputy Assistant Secretary Curtis Richards,
Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
Committee Focus: Programs for youth with disabilities; transition policies under the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Statistics Committee (also known as the Employment Rate Measurement Methodology Work
Group)
Chair: Assistant Commissioner Philip Rones, Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics.
Committee Focus: Ways to design and implement a methodology to determine the employment
rate of adults with disabilities.

Federal Government as a Model Employer Committee
Chair: Director Janice Lachance, Office of Personnel Management.
Committee Focus: Changes Federal agencies can make to set an example for other employers and
businesses.

Civil Rights Committee
Chair: Chairwoman Ida L. Castro, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Committee Focus: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues, as well as technology issues
related to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
GOAL: Develop local networks of Federal, State and local agencies and private sector entities
that promote small business opportunities for people with disabilities. [Economic
Incentives and Entrepreneurship Committee]
STEPS: The Small Business Administration (SBA), the President's Committee on Employment
of People with Disabilities (PCEPD), the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD), and the Task Force are collaborating to fund a massive technical assistance and outreach
campaign to: (1) encourage and establish partnerships between the local disability community
and small businesses; and  (2) educate potential entrepreneurs with disabilities about small
business options and re sources.  Participants include local SBA offices, community
organizations representing people with disabilities, Small Business Development Centers, local
financial institutions, college and university-based small business programs, the Department of
Veterans Affairs and other Federal agencies, local Chambers of Commerce, and State Vocational
Rehabilitation offices.

GOAL: Increase collaboration between, and coordination of, the Small Business Administration's
programs and the Social Security Administration's employment support provisions. [Economic
Incentives and Entrepreneurship Committee]
STEPS: The SBA and the Social Security Administration (SSA) signed a Memorandum of
Understanding to strengthen their relationship and encourage entrepreneurship in the following
ways:
- Encouraging local SBA offices and local SSA field offices to form partnerships;
- Providing SBA services to people with disabilities who receive social security benefits and who
want to explore entrepreneurship, and providing the SBA with information on employment
supports available to beneficiaries with disabilities; and
- Jointly developing educational materials on disability-related issues that affect small businesses
as part of the SBA's online "Small Business Classroom."

GOAL: Leverage community development funds to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for
adults with disabilities. [Economic Incentives and Entrepreneurship Committee]
STEPS: The Committee is working with the Treasury Department and the Community
Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to explore ways economic development
programs can be leveraged to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for adults with disabilities. 
The CDFI Fund promotes access to capital and local economic growth by directly investing in
and assisting community development financial institutions and expanding financial service
organizations' lending, investment, and services with underserved markets.

GOAL: Develop public awareness/educational media and print materials about small business
and people with disabilities. [Economic Incentives and Entrepreneurship Committee]
STEPS: Committee members have initiated public awareness and public information activities
promoting self-employment, small business, and people with disabilities:
- PCEPD has contracted with the Job Accommodation Network to establish the Small
Business/Self-Employment Service.  Starting in October 1999, this service will be a source of
comprehensive information about entrepreneurship for people with disabilities, including a Web
site with links to other entrepreneurship sites and a telephone counseling service.
- Using funds provided by the Department of Education (ED), the Small Business Administration
produced a program for the Public Broadcasting System's Small Business 2000 series.  The show
featured Bill Mellaris, a successful, self-employed homebuilder who has a disability, and made a
powerful statement about self-employment as a viable option for people with disabilities.  It
includes an interview with Betsy Myers, then the Assistant Deputy Administrator for
Entrepreneurial Development at SBA and aired on more than 200 public television stations.  A
copy was also distributed to every SBA District Office.
- The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and SBA produced approximately 15,000
copies of the ADA Guide for Small Businesses, to distribute to small business clients.  A second
printing in Spanish is being prepared for distribution in 2000.  The pamphlet contains
information on the Americans with Disabilities Act, public accommodations, architectural
barriers, tax credits, policies and procedures, communicating with customers, and additional
resources.
- SSA held a training seminar entitled Entrepreneurs with Disabilities: Challenges and Solutions,
with conference participants exploring ways the agency can assist beneficiaries who want to enter
or reenter the workforce through self-employment or small businesses.
- The SBA is developing a "Disabilities Web Page" for use by small business owners, SBA
offices, and entrepreneurs with disabilities.  The page will provide information on resources for
small business owners and people with disabilities across the Federal Government.  Other
Federal agencies, such as the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans
Affairs, will be able to link their Web sites so that people with disabilities seeking
entrepreneurial opportunities can find all the information they require relating to financing, work
incentives, technical support, and training.
- The SBA has developed a Welfare to Work Tool Kit with information on working with people
with disabilities and disability awareness training materials for its entrepreneurial development
field staff.
- Through PRO-Net, the SBA's Procurement Marketing and Access Network, the Department of
Labor Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) has identified approximately 1,600 small
businesses whose owners are veterans with disabilities. The Office is creating a database so they
can conduct direct outreach to these small business owners and entrepreneurs.

GOAL: Increase entrepreneurship and telecommuting as "outcomes" in the State vocational
rehabilitation systems. [Economic Incentives and Entrepreneurship Committee]
STEPS: The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), with Committee support and input,
is working to develop a major policy initiative supporting self-employment and small business as
outcomes for people with disabilities.  In addition, the agency is developing a technical assistance
publication that will reiterate provisions in the Rehabilitation Act's 1998 Amendments that focus
on self-employment and telecommuting.  RSA is also highlighting self-employment in their
regional employment conferences and it will be a major part of their National Employment
Conference in 2000.

CHOICE/SELF-DETERMINATION
GOAL: Increase choice and self-determination for adults with disabilities in securing
community-based employment and training opportunities.
[Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: The Committee convened a Symposium on September 22, 1999 with more than 70
representatives of key federally funded systems change and demonstration projects.  The goal
was to share new and innovative strategies being used by the projects to address barriers to
employment, and recommend changes to Federal policies that prevent these innovative strategies
from being more widely used.  The recommendations were then referred to appropriate Task
Force Committees for consideration. [Note: A copy of the entire Symposium report is available
from the Task Force.]  A number of the recommendations focus on increasing choice,
self-determination, and inclusion for persons with significant disabilities, including the
following:
- Ensuring a transition process to "customer-controlled" resources by adding incentives for early
adopter states and for implementing systems change initiatives;
- Including clear financial incentives in Federal policy for provision of integrated,
community-based employment;
- Reviewing Federal policy promoting non-integrated placements (such as day habilitation,
institutional and sheltered workshop placements) and developing incentives for integrated,
community-based employment;
- Redirecting all funding to support customer-controlled resources by the year 2009;
- Increasing funding of systems change initiatives and providing intensive outreach and technical
assistance on successful strategies; and
- Funding intensive Federal, State and local technical assistance on the use of choice and
person-directed strategies for employment.

CIVIL RIGHTS
GOAL: Effectively enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and
other laws that impact the employment of people with disabilities. [Civil Rights Committee]
STEPS: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Department of Justice
(DOJ), and the Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract and Compliance Programs
(OFCCP) are implementing three joint initiatives:
- A coordinated enforcement initiative targeting hiring discrimination related to unnecessary
qualification standards in State and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and professional
certification requirements;
- An interagency coordination working group, including representatives from EEOC, DOJ,
OFCCP, the ED, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to examine the
implications of the recent Supreme Court decisions interpreting the ADA and developing a
response strategy; and
- Improved and increased training for investigators and attorneys across Federal agencies on
disability discrimination laws, and the development of targeted training materials in the area of
discrimination faced by persons with disabilities who are non-English speakers and/or from
diverse cultural and racial back grounds.

GOAL: Work with the Department of Transportation (DOT) to implement regulations that do not
discriminate against individuals with disabilities who are employed, or would like to be
employed, by the nation's transportation carriers. [Civil Rights Committee]
STEPS: The Committee reviewed the DOT's interstate commercial motor carrier driver
qualifications, which have served as absolute barriers to people with disabilities.  The Committee
wants to modify these qualifications to be more responsive to an individual's actual ability to
perform the job, while still ensuring the safety of the nation's roadways.
Currently DOT regulations prohibit employment of individuals who have diabetes requiring the
use of insulin for treatment as commercial motor carrier drivers.  Evaluation of the diabetes
standard and its appropriate modification could be a model for addressing other regulatory
standards that, in their current form, appear to be inconsistent with Federal disability law.  DOT
created a panel of medical experts to review all aspects of diabetes, with the ultimate goal of
providing medically-based recommendations.  The panel's report is due in December 1999 and
the Civil Rights Committee will then issue a final recommendation.

GOAL: Ensure that racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities are aware of their civil rights in
the workplace and remind the Federal community of its responsibility to meet their unique
cultural needs. [Civil Rights Committee and Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning
Committee]
STEPS: The Committees have developed three major initiatives under Project Impact, a
comprehensive, interagency project aimed at increasing the employment and economic
empowerment of under-served groups, especially racial and ethnic minorities, in the disability
community:
- A comprehensive pilot program in Baltimore, Maryland, to educate racial and ethnic minorities
with disabilities about their civil rights relating to employment;
- Talking points about disability and minority status to be used in education and outreach efforts
by members of the Task Force and high-level Government officials, and intended to increase
awareness about the unique needs of minorities with disabilities and provide examples of how
agencies and organizations can meet those needs; and
- Contract/grant language acknowledging the civil rights of minorities with disabilities, for
inclusion in all requests for contract bids and grant proposals solicited by Federal agencies
regarding employment, housing, health care, transportation, and education.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
GOAL: Develop a statistically reliable and accurate method to measure the employment rate of
adults with disabilities. [Statistics Committee]
STEPS: The Committee has begun comprehensive research that will result in the design of
questions to identify persons with disabilities in the context of the Current Population Survey
(CPS):
- Compiling an annotated bibliography of currently available survey instruments along with
information about the re liability, validity, and other testing the questions have undergone; and
- Developing a detailed research plan and a set of research protocols to select and/or design
questions to identify this population.  The development of an employment measure for adults
with disabilities has become a critical need for policy makers, analysts, and others concerned
with their labor market status.  The employment rate, as a measure of labor market activity, is
vital to the design, implementation, and evaluation of legislation and programs enabling persons
with disabilities to participate as fully as possible in the labor market.  Employment data also will
demonstrate how the cyclical expansions and contractions of the economy affect employment
among people with disabilities compared to other population groups.

GOAL: Effectively coordinate the various research projects that focus on youth. [Expanding
Employment Opportunities for Young People with Disabilities Subcommittee]
STEPS: The Subcommittee is working with various member agencies to better coordinate their
research efforts involving youth, including the Department of Education's National Longitudinal
Transition Survey, the Social Security Administration's survey of beneficiaries, and the
Department of Labor's military aptitude study and youth opportunity study. The Subcommittee
wants to ensure that these surveys are asking the appropriate research questions and will truly
enable policymakers to better understand the barriers faced by young people with disabilities.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS A MODEL EMPLOYER 
GOAL: Implement White House and Office of Personnel Management initiatives to make the
Federal Government a model employer. [Federal Government as a Model Employer Committee]
STEPS: This year, the White House and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in
cooperation with many Task Force member agencies, announced a number of initiatives that
affect individuals with disabilities who are currently working for, or seeking employment with,
the Federal Government.  The Committee is developing implementation strategies for these
initiatives, which include the following:
- The Office of Personnel Management's Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of
People with Disabilities in the Federal Government - This model plan, released in October 1999,
is intended to serve as a framework for Federal departments and agencies to use as they create
strategies and initiatives to recruit, hire, develop, and retain more persons with disabilities.
- The excepted appointing authorities for hiring persons with disabilities in the Federal
Government.
- Federal health insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatment.
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Guidance on Reasonable
Accommodation and Undue Hardship.

GOAL: Assist Federal agencies in meeting their legal obligations as public sector employers
under the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and effectively implement
the reasonable accommodation requirements. [Federal Government as a Model Employer
Committee]
STEPS: The Committee is working with EEOC to develop a set of methods and forms that will
ensure that all Federal agencies have consistent government-wide written procedural guidelines
and accountability mechanisms for meeting their obligations under the Rehabilitation Act and the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  All policies developed by the Committee will be
coordinated and consistent with the EEOC policies.

GOAL: Develop consistent Federal policies and procedures for handling "reasonable
accommodation" requests. [Federal Government as a Model Employer Committee]
STEPS: The Committee is exploring the feasibility of developing and promoting the use of
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques and systems that would complement and
strengthen the ADR program recently set up and expanded by the EEOC.  The Committee will
work with the EEOC through Management Directive 110, which requires all agencies to have
ADR programs in place by January 2000.  Through the use of these programs, it is hoped that
individual agencies can resolve reasonable accommodation complaints before complaints are
filed with the EEOC.

GOAL: Identify "progress measures" for ensuring Federal Government accountability in the areas
of reasonable accommodation and accessibility. [Federal Government as a Model Employer
Committee]
STEPS: The Committee is identifying mechanisms for measuring the progress of Federal
agencies against their plans and policies for providing reasonable accommodations and ensuring
accessibility.  Benchmarks for measuring success will come from a variety of sources, including
reasonable accommodation tracking systems, agency self-evaluations, and employee surveys of
technology accessibility.

GOAL: Develop ongoing, structured, or formal training of supervisors, managers, executive
administrators, and employees regarding accessibility and accommodation issues. [Federal
Government as a Model Employer Committee]
STEPS: The Committee has recommended a training program on reasonable accommodation and
accessibility for managers, supervisors, and employees and is exploring the extent to which such
training should be regarded as mandatory.

GOAL: More effectively communicate and disseminate internal Federal policies that promote the
employment of adults with disabilities within the Federal Government. [Federal Government as a
Model Employer Committee]
STEPS: The Committee recommends the creation of a mechanism or system that can be used
routinely to widely promote and disseminate all Federal agency policy initiatives that directly
affect the employment of adults with disabilities.  Activities the Committee is considering
include the following:
- Working through the Interagency Advisory Group (IAG) of Human Resources Directors and
Small Agency Human Resources Council to reach the smaller Federal agencies;
- Promoting new policy initiatives through letters from the Director of the OPM to all Federal
agency human resources directors;
- Providing briefings to the President's Management Council on new policies relating to the
Federal employment of people with disabilities; and
- Determining who, in addition to Federal human resources and equal employment opportunity
(EEO) staff, are critical "stakeholders" (including, for example, professional associations and
Federal employee union organizations), and providing formal briefings to such representatives on
policy issues.
STEPS: The Committee also recommends developing a "tool kit" to help disseminate
information and policies that will affect the employment of adults with disabilities in the Federal
Government, including the following:
- A consolidated list of recruitment sources for applicants with disabilities;
- Information on telecommuting and satellite centers;
- A list of resources related to assistive technology, universal access and design, and information
technology;
- A "library" of innovative practices and success stories;
- Information on the use of designated Web sites; and
- A newsletter or similar mechanism that reports, in "plain English," agency successes with
accommodations and related issues (e.g., transportation, housing, reassignment, flexiplace, and
job restructuring).

GOAL: Promote a greater understanding by supervisors and managers about the tools and
"flexibilities" that already exist for recruiting and hiring persons with disabilities. [Federal
Government as a Model Employer Committee]
STEPS: The Committee is reviewing data on Federal agency use of the competitive process and
special appointing authorities, used in recruiting and hiring persons with disabilities, to ensure
that all available mechanisms are being fully utilized.  Those Federal agencies with low numbers
of employees with disabilities will be encouraged to undertake special educational and outreach
efforts to promote and expand use of all hiring tools, including special appointing authorities, in
an effort to increase their representation rates.

HEALTH CARE AND INCOME SUPPORT
GOAL: Support demonstration projects that encourage State partnerships as they create
innovative ways to address health care barriers for individuals starting and/or returning to work.
[Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning and Health Care and Income Support
Committees]
STEPS: As mentioned above in the "Choice/Self-Determination" section, the Task Force
sponsored a symposium in September 1999 for the States involved in the State Partnership
Initiative and other federally-funded initiatives focused on systems integration and increased
choice.  The Symposium covered a range of issues that resulted in numerous recommendations to
improve access to health care for people with disabilities who start or return to work.  These
include more coordinated and aggressive actions by the Health Care Financing Administration
(HCFA) and SSA in encouraging States to use existing Medicaid "buy-in" provisions for
individuals with disabilities who want to start or return to work, and greater provision of
technical assistance to the States who have (or want to add) demonstration projects and Medicaid
waivers.  The health care recommendations that came out of the Symposium have been
forwarded to the Health Care and Income Support Committee for consideration. [Note: A copy of
the entire Symposium report is available from the Task Force.]

GOAL: Increase the number of States implementing Section 4733 of the Balanced Budget Act of
1997 (BBA), which permits States to allow certain working individuals with disabilities to buy
into Medicaid. [Health Care and Income Support Committee]
STEPS: The Committee is developing strategies to increase the number of States utilizing the
BBA's Medicaid "buy-in" option (to date, six States have added this option to their Medicaid
plan):
- HCFA is seeking to achieve 30 percent implementation of the Medicaid buy-in under Section
4733 of the BBA by 2001.  To do this, HCFA will identify key individuals from States that have
already successfully developed BBA State plan options and other work incentive programs and
encourage those individuals to provide technical assistance to other States.
- HCFA is also working with SSA and RSA to interest States already undertaking work
incentives demonstrations sponsored by these agencies to take up the Medicaid buy-in.

GOAL: Implement work incentive provisions under SSA, Medicaid and Medicare programs in a
more aggressive and coordinated manner. [Health Care and Income Support Committee]
STEPS: The SSA, HHS, DOL, and RSA, are identifying joint technical assistance, outreach,
education, and coordination activities they can undertake to promote the increased use of existing
work incentives, including the following:
- A coordinated State outreach and consumer education effort to raise awareness around work
incentives and facilitate individual participation in work incentive programs;
- Development of more user-friendly resources and consumer resource guides synthesizing
existing health and income related work incentive programs, benefits and demonstrations at the
Federal and State levels; and
- Targeted public education events for consumers, advocates, State officials and providers.

GOAL: Develop consumer-responsive home and community-based services systems, critical for
many people with disabilities who work or who want to begin working. [Health Care and Income
Support Committee]
STEPS: Following the recommendation of the Committee, HHS will work in the coming year to
promote and expand technical assistance to States in developing and improving consumer
responsive home and community-based services systems.  HHS has agreed to ensure that the
employment aspect of this work is highlighted.  As the focal point for these activities in FY 2000,
the agency is developing a resource center for States, advocacy groups, and consumers to
promote home and community-based alternatives in their States.  In addition, they will be
completing the Medicaid Primer, a synthesis of information that will explain in clear language
the flexibility States have under Medicaid to deliver home and community-based supports and
provide examples of what States have done so far.

GOAL: Obtain input from individuals receiving benefits into the implementation of existing
work incentive programs and policies. [Health Care and Income Support Committee]
STEPS: SSA and HCFA are developing and implementing a plan to actively seek input from
individuals receiving (or formerly receiving) SSDI and SSI disability benefits, and to assist in
regularly assessing the impact of agency regulations on the lives of people with disabilities. 
People with disabilities are in the unique position of being able to identify issues and concerns
with the current income support and health programs, but to date there has been no organized
forum for HHS and SSA to gather this first-hand information.

GOAL: Increase and index amounts/exclusions that relate to work attempts and employment by
individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) disability benefits. [Health Care and Income Support Committee]
STEPS: The Committee, with the significant participation of SSA, is exploring fiscally sound
ways to make the following improvements in the SSDI and SSI programs:
- Indexing the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) amount, which determines the amount that a
person can earn and still be eligible for SSDI and/or SSI: In 1999, the SGA was increased for the
first time in many years, from $500 to $700.  The Committee recommends that SSA look at
establishing a regular and predictable mechanism to increase this amount, ensuring a consistent
relationship between that amount and future wage growth.
- Increasing and indexing the Trial Work Period (TWP) amount: The SSDI program authorizes
beneficiaries to have a trial work period consisting of nine months during which individuals can
earn any amount without affecting their benefits.  The current monthly earning level that
constitutes a trial work period month, $200, has not been increased since 1990.  The Committee
recommends that SSA look at whether an increase in this amount is warranted, and determine
how such an increase would keep pace with future increases in wages.
- Increasing and indexing the Earned Income Exclusion (EIE): As an incentive to work, SSI
beneficiaries are able to have nominal earnings before experiencing any reduction in benefit
amounts.  Currently the portion of an SSI beneficiary's wages excluded for purposes of
calculating benefits equals the amount of the earned income exclusion, $65, plus half of any
wages exceeding that amount.  The EIE of $65 has not been increased since 1972.  The
Committee recommends that SSA look at increasing and indexing this amount to encourage
work efforts by increasing the total income available to SSI beneficiaries before they begin to see
a decrease in benefits.

GOAL: Develop and promote a more coordinated research agenda between the agencies involved
in health care and income supports for individuals with disabilities who want to start or return to
work. [Health Care and Income Support Committee]
STEPS: HHS and SSA have committed to developing a research work group that will develop a
coordinated, interagency research agenda by mid-2000 to present to the Task Force for
consideration and action.

LIFELONG LEARNING
GOAL: Invest more extensively in skill development for persons with disabilities. [Access to
Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: The Committee recommends the following actions:
- Increase support to the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) to continue and expand their
national training on disability and literacy issues and appropriate instructional approaches.
- Increase funding and other actions that aggressively address the impact of school reform efforts
(including new skills testing) on young adults with disabilities and their impact on lifelong
learning.

SYSTEMS CHANGE AND INNOVATION
GOAL: Develop innovative strategies on systems change and support ongoing State efforts.
[Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: As mentioned above under "Choice/Self-Determination" and "Health Care and Income
Support," the Committee convened a Symposium in September 1999 bringing together
representatives of key federally-funded systems change and demonstration projects.  The meeting
resulted in multiple recommendations for specific policy actions that were referred to appropriate
Task Force Committees for consideration.  The recommendations relating to systems change
include the following:
- Developing incentives for collaboration at the State and local level by challenging Governors
and State leaders to implement collaborative efforts similar to the Task Force at the State level;
- Providing a cost analysis of any proposed policy change which incorporates cost savings across
all programs and not just savings within a single program;
- Encouraging States to develop a unified plan to implement the Workforce Investment Act in
order to increase coordination and collaboration;
- Mandating intensive outreach to the disability community regarding the development of State
plans under the Workforce Investment Act, due in the spring of 2000; and
- Providing examples of "best practices" for guidance and technical assistance to States for
developing a coordinated system, based on innovative strategies developed through model
demonstrations and waivers.

TAX POLICY
GOAL: Examine Federal, State and local tax policy to determine what policy and
implementation efforts are required in order to expand employment opportunities for adults with
disabilities. [Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: The Committee, with significant participation from the Treasury Department, is
reviewing and analyzing existing tax laws and the impact of current tax policy on the
employment of people with disabilities.  Working-age adults with disabilities often have a
disincentive to work because of the high cost of personal attendant services and other services or
technologies required for employment.  Similarly, the cost to employers of hiring an individual
requiring personal attendant services can be prohibitive.  Tax credits and other incentives may
provide a flexible way to assist people with disabilities and their employers in offsetting some of
these expenses.  The Committee is taking the following actions:
- Reviewing existing data and literature regarding the impact of tax policy on the ability of
individuals with disabilities to become employed.
- Reviewing State and local tax credits and other work incentives to identify short- and long-term
actions and recommendations.  For example, the Committee has determined that about 25
percent of the States have statewide credits modeling the Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit.
- Developing a targeted outreach effort on tax credits and other work incentives to educate
business and individuals with disabilities on provisions of the tax code.
- Initiating discussions between the Internal Revenue Service and the Task Force to develop
tax-related publications and link appropriate Web sites.  The Committee will use its research to
make recommendations for amendments to the existing tax code.  These changes will be
designed to encourage private sector employers to hire people with disabilities and promote and
encourage people with disabilities to more advantageously enter the workforce.

TECHNOLOGY
GOAL: Promote and enforce access to technology for all employees and job seekers with
disabilities. [Civil Rights Committee, Federal Government as a Model Employer Committee, and
Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: To ensure more adequate access to technology for persons with disabilities, the
Committees recommend vigorous implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act,
which requires agencies to make all new technology acquisitions accessible to people with
disabilities, and expanded training and technical assistance within and among Federal agencies. 
The Committee is also exploring the following strategies to promote technology access in
Federal agencies:
- Most, if not all, Federal agencies have utilized specialized Y2K staff to test and change all
agency software, and to coordinate with numerous programs and projects to accomplish this
crosscutting task.  Some of these same skills will be required to successfully implement the
Section 508 standards.  Federal agencies should use their Y2K project managers and staff for
Section 508 compliance after January 2000.
- Many Federal agencies have a Chief Information Officer (CIO).  These Officers should
establish assistive technology programs within their organizations specifically to address
electronic and information technology access issues and standards.  Such programs will serve to
ensure that the agencies are fully compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
- Federal resources available under the ED and DOL should be leveraged to expand
implementation and piloting of remote interpreting technologies for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
in more States and local One-Stop Career Center Systems.

GOAL: Ensure full access to multiple Federal agency data bases and Web sites that list jobs,
share resumes, convey job accommodation information, or in other ways promote employment of
people with disabilities. [Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee and Health
Care and Income Support Committee]
STEPS: Several of the Task Force agencies have begun to work on linking their databases and
Web sites, and making them more accessible.  The Committee is working to determine how best
to coordinate, reconcile, and/or combine agencies' independent efforts and resources in order to
promote employment of people with disabilities in the Federal work force more successfully. 
The following are some of the efforts begun this year:
- DOL is working to make America's Career Kit, an electronic information delivery infrastructure
that offers an interactive system of multiple electronic databases on job openings and worker
qualifications, fully accessible for persons with disabilities.
- DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is adding SSA and other Task Force
members as subscribers to the America's Learning Exchange (ALX) CONNECTS, a monthly
electronic newsletter that describes new developments in ALX and America's Career Kit.
- SSA's Project ABLE is a national resume bank of people receiving SSDI and/or SSI benefits
who want to work and have been assessed as "job-ready" with other Federal resume banks. 
Project ABLE participants can develop and post their resumes on the DOL's America's Job Bank
using the online registration process.  Project ABLE staff are also reviewing the America's Job
Bank and America's Learning Exchange to identify other areas of possible coordination.
- SSA's Office of Employment Support Programs Web site added a link to the HCFA site which
has information on Medicaid and Medicare relevant to individuals receiving SSDI and/or SSI
disability benefits who want to start or return to work.
- PCEPD is revising its Job Accommodation Network to include a Searchable Online
Accommodation Resource, which will enable employers and people with disabilities to find
examples of accommodations by identifying particular disabilities and functional limitations.
- DOL and RSA are developing a training program for vocational rehabilitation counselors and
One-Stop Center counselors to enable them to use the databases appropriately and effectively to
serve people with disabilities.
- The Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration has developed a
"Disability Online" Web site and is in the process of developing a search able directory of
training, employment, rehabilitation and other providers search able by State and local area.

GOAL: Ensure that Federal agency training and technical assistance efforts that use technology,
and which are hosted by agencies and/or by contractors, are totally accessible to individuals with
disabilities. [Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: The Committee recommends the following actions:
- Design and deliver Federal agency training programs which use technology, e.g., distance
learning and Web-based tutorials, in a manner that is fully accessible to people with disabilities.
- Incorporate expertise with technology access and assistive technology into all end-user support
functions in Federal agencies, e.g., computer help desks and installation and support functions.
- Incorporate Section 508 and technology access concepts into all contracting and procurement
training and certification programs within Federal agencies, the Department of Agriculture's
Graduate School programs, and others as determined by the Federal Acquisition Regulations
Council.

TRANSPORTATION
GOAL: Enhance mobility and transportation options for people with disabilities who need access
to employment and educational opportunities. [Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning
Committee]
STEPS: DOT has taken the lead on the Committee by undertaking several initiatives that will
enhance the mobility and access of people with disabilities:
- Creation of a new Web site (www.dot.gov/accessibility) to provide more information on
transportation access issues.
- Elimination of liability caps for wheelchairs and other assistive devices damaged aboard
airlines.
- New ways to achieve maximum access for sidewalks, trails, and airports.
- A newly created accessibility task force within DOT, comprised of representatives from all
modes of transportation.
- A consumer booklet on adapted/modified personally owned motor vehicles used by drivers with
disabilities.
- Creation of a disability resource center, to provide centralized, quick, and efficient reasonable
accommodations for DOT employees with disabilities.
- A new tracking system for Air Carrier Access Act complaints by persons with disabilities
against airlines.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
GOAL: Ensure that people with disabilities fully participate in One-Stop Career Center Systems
and other programs/initiatives under the Workforce Investment Act that are intended to promote
employment and lifelong learning. [Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: The Committee has developed and is supporting multiple steps to ensure inclusion of
persons with disabilities in programs and services authorized under the Workforce Investment
Act (WIA), in order to ensure physical and programmatic accessibility:
- Multiple technical assistance tools for the One-Stop Career Center Systems are being produced
by the Department of Labor ETA and RSA.  These include a video on assistive technologies for
people with disabilities and a training video on WIA implementation, both for One-Stop Career
Center staff, and the publication A One-Stop Guide to Access.
- ETA and RSA are jointly planning an expanded regional technical assistance effort to train
State and local workforce staff on compliance issues and customer services for individuals with
disabilities.
- The two agencies are also working closely together at the national and regional levels to address
regulatory and policy guideline issues that have arisen this year during the beginning
implementation phase of WIA, and to jointly plan and carry out implementation activities in each
region (e.g., joint conferences, training on disability issues, and other collaborative efforts).
- WIA partners are working at the Federal, State and local level to encourage effective
collaboration and facilitate widespread participation by people with disabilities in One-Stop
Career Center Systems.  These activities include cost sharing, cost leveraging and integrated
funding to support services for people with disabilities.
- The Committee held two roundtable discussions at the Native Health Promotion and Disability
Conference to begin looking at the cultural and political barriers to developing and delivering
work force programs and services for Native Americans with disabilities.

GOAL: Address the specific needs of individuals with disabilities who are receiving Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), or who are receiving TANF and are caregivers for family
members who have disabilities. [Access to Employment and Lifelong Learning Committee]
STEPS: The Committee co-sponsored the May 1999 Welfare to Work, TA N F, and Disabilities
Work Group Meeting, resulting in multiple recommendations for action that have been referred
to appropriate Task Force Committees for consideration:
- Training of employees of State welfare programs on disability issues, including reasonable
accommodation;
- Developing a national consumer awareness training program for persons with disabilities in
welfare and job training efforts;
- Focusing goals on sustained economic self-sufficiency for persons with disabilities, not just
caseload reduction;
- Developing  "safety net" strategies for individuals with disabilities who do not succeed in
employment; and
- Developing and implementing an effective means to screen participants with hidden or
undiagnosed disabilities, such as learning disabilities.

YOUTH
GOAL: Receive input directly from young people with disabilities, their families, educators,
service providers and others about barriers they face transitioning from adolescence to adulthood
and work. [Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young People with Disabilities
Subcommittee]
STEPS: The Subcommittee participated in and co-sponsored a series of  "listening sessions" this
year, including the following events:
- Town Hall meeting focusing on youth with disabilities, sponsored by the Task Force in Los
Angeles, California;
- Roundtable discussion hosted by the National Council on Disability;
- Youth Policy Forum sponsored by the SSA and the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research;
- Luncheon discussion at the National Council on Disability's Youth Leadership Forum; and
- Health, Wellness and Transition to Employment Interagency Work Group Meeting.

GOAL: Develop internship opportunities in the Federal Government and the private sector for
young people with disabilities. [Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young People with
Disabilities Subcommittee]
STEPS: The Subcommittee recommends the following actions:
- Expanding existing Federal Government internship opportunities for young people with
disabilities, such as the Workforce Recruitment Program for People with Disabilities and the
High School High Tech Program.
- Increasing participation of young people with disabilities in existing Federal internship
programs such as the Presidential Management Internship Program, White House, and other
agency fellowships and internships, and the high school summer intern jobs program.
- Initiating a public-private sector partnership to create internship opportunities with the top 15
information technology industry leaders.

GOAL: Increase the number of young people with disabilities who pursue postsecondary
education. [Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young People with Disabilities
Subcommittee]
STEPS: The Subcommittee recommends that SSA explore increasing the amount of the SSI
Student Earned Income Exclusion and increase the age limit, which is currently age 22.  In
addition, the Subcommittee is working to develop an initiative to stimulate higher participation
rates of young adults with disabilities in post-secondary education, including greater participation
of vocational rehabilitation consumers in postsecondary education, and intensive efforts aimed at
young people who receive SSI benefits.

GOAL: Increase leadership development activities for young people with disabilities.
[Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young People with Disabilities Subcommittee]
STEPS: The Subcommittee is working to coordinate and expand a Federal interagency National
Youth with Disabilities Leadership Development Program funding priority.

GOAL: Increase participation of youth with disabilities in Federal agency programs that
generically target youth. [Expanding Employment Opportunities for Young People with
Disabilities Subcommittee]
STEPS: The Subcommittee members have been working with DOL to re fine and publicize the
"Youth 2 Work" and "YO! Movement" Web pages and use them as vehicles to disseminate
information on young people with disabilities in transition.

CONCLUSION
The recommendations and activities described above represent the beginning of the Task Force
Committees' collaborative, multi-year effort to build an aggressive national strategy that
increases the employment rate of people with disabilities.  Their continued efforts will yield
greater insight into the obstacles people with disabilities face in securing and maintaining
employment, and provide for effective and strategic Federal leadership and action.

The era of isolated, specialized services for people with disabilities is over.  For our Government
to be truly efficient and effective, and to meaningfully meet the needs of all its citizens, Federal
agencies cannot work in isolation.  The Task Force Committees have demonstrated extraordinary
leadership in the initial phase of their deliberations and collaborations.  All Committee members
deserve great thanks for their demonstrated effort and commitment within their agencies and
Government-wide.

APPENDIX A
Executive Summary

Background
The Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities was created by
Executive Order 13078 on March 13, 1998, to establish a coordinated and aggressive national
policy to increase the employment rate of persons with disabilities.

This research is a part of the efforts of the Presidential Task Force to meet the Section 2(g)
mandate of the Executive Order.  This mandate states that "[a]ll executive agencies that are not
members of the Task Force shall: (a) coordinate and cooperate with the Task Force, and (b)
review their programs and policies to ensure that they are being conducted and delivered in a
manner that facilitates and promotes the employment of adults with disabilities."  One step in this
endeavor is an analysis of the efforts of Federal agencies in recruiting and retaining persons with
disabilities in Federal employment.  A survey of U.S. Federal agencies, entitled "Survey of the
Federal Government on Human Resources/EEO Policies and Practices in Employment of People
with Disabilities," was initiated by the Presidential Task Force in June.  This research identifies
how Federal agencies are responding to the employment disability nondiscrimination
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973, as amended.  This report identifies areas in which progress has been made.  It also
identifies areas that warrant further investigation and follow-up in order to increase opportunities
and eliminate barriers to the employment, retention, and career advancement of people with
disabilities in the Federal workforce.  The information contained in this report will be broadly
disseminated to Task Force members and committees, as well as to Federal departments and
agencies for further action.  Of particular importance, this report will be used by the Task Force's
Committee on the Federal Government as a Model Employer in its ongoing work.  In addition,
the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will consider the implications of this report in
implementing its recently released "Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People
with Disabilities in the Federal Government."  This plan serves as a framework for Federal
departments and agencies to use as they create strategies and initiatives to recruit, hire, develop,
and retain more people with disabilities.

This U.S. Federal agency survey research effort was under the direction of the Presidential Task
Force, conducted by the Program on Employment and Disability with the assistance of the
Computer Assisted Survey Team (CAST), both located in the School of Industrial and Labor
Relations at Cornell University.

Methodology
A ten-page survey was designed to capture information on the human resources and equal
employment opportunity practices of U.S. Federal agencies in response to the employment
nondiscrimination requirements of Federal civil rights laws.  The survey items draw extensively
from a similar survey used by Cornell University to conduct comparable research on private
sector employers in 1998.  The ten-page survey covers issues dealing with: (1) the reasonable
accommodation process; (2) recruitment, pre-employment screening, testing, and new employee
orientation; (3) health and other benefits of employment; (4) opportunities for promotion and
training; (5) disciplinary process/grievance, dismissal or termination; (6) interaction with
labor/industrial/collective bargaining issues and other employment legislation/considerations; (7)
Federal agency employee training on the employment disability nondiscrimination and the
accommodation process; (8) resources used and found most helpful in handling disability
nondiscrimination and accommodation disputes; and (9) the role of disability management
(return-to-work) programs in contributing to the accommodation process and the acceptance of
employees with disabilities.

A list was obtained from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management's Interagency Advisory
Group across 96 Federal agencies.  A preliminary letter was sent out to all agency heads prior to
the survey's initiation from the Executive Director of the Presidential Task Force, Rebecca Ogle,
alerting them about the survey and clarifying its purpose.  A letter was sent to each potential
interviewee approximately two weeks prior to the initiation of the survey.  The survey was
conducted by telephone from Cornell University by the Computer Assisted Survey Team
(CAST), using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) system.

Survey Respondents
A total of 403 surveys we re completed, out of 415 agency representatives who were contacted (a
97 percent response rate).  The majority of the respondents had job titles of directors/chiefs of
human resources and EEO (41 percent) or personnel managers (18 percent), whose positions
were in the functional areas of human resources (41 percent) or equal opportunity (35 percent). 
They responded primarily for the entire agency (49 percent) or a regional office (40 percent) of
agencies that employ more than 500 employees (71 percent).  All information is provided in
aggregate to protect the confidentiality of individual respondents and their agencies.

SURVEY RESULTS
Accommodations and the Accommodation Process
Most agencies reported having made accommodations for their employees with disabilities.  At
least nine in ten respondents reported that their agency has made existing facilities accessible to
employees with disabilities, been flexible in the application of HR policies, or modified the work
environment (93 percent for each).  Agencies were less likely to acquire or modify training
materials (49 percent), or provide a job coach (41 percent).

Seventy-one percent reported that their agency has a formal process for handling accommodation
requests.  Twenty-seven percent report that the immediate supervisor of the employee making the
accommodation request is responsible for the final decision regarding its provision.

Fifty-six percent reported that they had received ten or fewer accommodation requests to date in
the fiscal year (FY 1999), with 20 percent reporting that they had received no such requests.

Accommodations in Recruitment, Interviewing, and Pre-Employment Screening
Twenty-six percent of respondents reported frequent use of Schedule A or B provisions for hiring
persons with disabilities; 49 percent of respondents reported occasionally using these provisions. 
Twenty-eight percent of respondents reported frequently using the special hiring program for
disabled veterans; 52 percent reported occasionally using this program.

The majority of agencies re p resented by the respondents reported that they have made changes
in their existing recruitment, pre-employment screening, testing, and orientation procedures in
order to comply with Federal civil rights laws.

The pre-employment area where change was reported as being difficult to achieve was making
information accessible for a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, or with a visual or learning
impairment.

Respondents indicated that their interview staff are least familiar with interview considerations
relating to people with visual disabilities, or people who are deaf or hard of hearing.  Such
considerations include using a text telephone (TTY) or relay service to set up interviews with
deaf or hard of hearing applicants; using a reader to assist a person with a visual impairment or
learning disability; or adapting print materials used in interviews to large print, diskette, or
Braille.

More than three-quarters of respondents indicated that staff who perform interviews at their
agency are familiar or very familiar with restrictions on eliciting information about medical
issues affecting an applicant's health and safety on the job, framing questions about the ability to
perform job tasks, knowing when to ask an applicant about how specific job tasks would be
performed, and accessing sign language interpreters.

Barriers to Promotion and Training for People with Disabilities 
The remaining barriers to employment for persons with disabilities were identified as attitudes
and stereotypes about people with disabilities (43 percent), supervisors' lack of knowledge about
accommodations (33 percent), lack of related experience (53 percent) and lack of requisite skills
and training (45 percent) in the person with a disability (see Chart 1).

Ninety percent of respondents thought that the most effective means of barrier reduction is
visible top management commitment.

To help overcome barriers to the employment and advancement of people with disabilities, the
majority of agencies made changes to organizational policies and practices (see Table 2). 
Agencies reported changing co-worker or supervisor attitudes toward employees with disabilities
(91 percent), creating flexibility within the performance management system (83 percent), and
ensuring equal pay and benefits for employees with disabilities (81 percent).  Changing attitudes,
the change most often attempted, was also seen as the most difficult change to make.

Dispute Resolution Process and Claims Experience
Sixteen percent of respondents indicated that their agency had disability claims filed in 5 or more
of 11 specified categories of discrimination claims; 50 percent said they had not had a claim filed
in any of the listed areas (see Table 3).

The disability discrimination claims most commonly reported by agencies were: (1) failure to
provide a reasonable accommodation; and (2) failure to promote.

A high percentage of respondents reported having a grievance or dispute resolution process in
place to deal with disability and accommodation issues (93 percent).

Labor Relations/Collective Bargaining Issues
Seventy-three percent of these agencies are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and of
those, 66 percent reported that unions are involved in the accommodation process.

Unions are most often involved by providing representation in reasonable accommodation
discussions (75 percent).

Interaction with Other Employment Laws
Forty-one percent of respondents reported being uncertain about coordination of leave under the
ADA and/or the Rehabilitation Act and other Federal laws, such as the Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA), Worker's Compensation, short-term and long-term disability, and sick leave
/salary continuation.

Thirty percent of respondents were uncertain about Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act's
requirements for designing and implementing affirmative action requirements.  A similar
percentage were unsure about the new requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act,
which mandates the purchase of accessible technology and equipment by Federal agencies.

Personnel Training
Fifty percent of respondents indicated that their employees had been trained in at least 10 of 14
listed areas for training.  

Ninety-one percent of respondents reported that agency employees had been trained in
nondiscriminatory recruitment and hiring practices.

In all fourteen areas, more than eight of ten agencies which had trained any staff had trained their
human resources (HR) staff.

Sixty-nine percent indicated that they would like more information on accommodation for
psychiatric disabilities and 66 percent wanted more information on Rehabilitation Act
requirements.

Resources Used to Resolve Civil Rights-Related Issues
Ninety percent of respondents reported that they use their agency's EEO office as a resource to
resolve disability discrimination or accommodation issues at their agency.

Eighty-five percent consult an internal legal counsel.

Internal legal counsel and disability management/benefits staff we re considered the most helpful
resources (84 percent found each "helpful" or "very helpful").  The agency's EEO office received
a similar rating (83 percent).

Forty-three percent of respondents reported using the President's Committee on Employment of
People with Disabilities Job Accommodation Network (JAN) to resolve ADA issues; 73 percent
found JAN "helpful" or "very helpful."

Disability Management Programs
Two-thirds of respondents reported that their agency has a formal or informal disability
management program.  Respondents who have such a program indicated that these programs
contribute to implementation of civil rights laws.

COMPARISON WITH THE NON-FEDERAL SECTOR
A similar survey was conducted on a random sample of the membership of the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the entire membership of the Washington Business
Group on Health (WBGH).  The comparative results presented here are based on the feedback of
approximately 800 private sector and over 400 Federal sector employer representatives, mostly
HR representatives, since a HR membership organization (SHRM) was surveyed and HR and
EEO representatives were the informants selected for the Federal sector research.

Employers in both groups are responding to the ADA by making accommodations, most often by
making existing facilities accessible, being flexible in the application of HR policies, and
restructuring jobs and work hours.  Other often-made changes by both groups were modifying the
work environment and making transportation accommodations.  Least often made
accommodations were in the areas of modifying training materials and making changes in
supervisory methods.  There was a difference in the groups' responses to making these changes in
all of the 11 categories, with Federal agencies being more likely to make each change. 
Non-Federal sector organizations were also more likely to indicate that they had never been
asked to make the changes.

A higher percentage of Federal agencies than non-Federal employers keep data to fulfill reporting
requirements (62 percent for Federal, 48 percent for non-Federal), but the numbers in each group
keeping data for future accommodations was quite similar (52 percent and 49 percent
respectively).

Across both groups, respondents we re much less familiar with considerations in the applicant
interview process for accommodations for people with visual disabilities or who are deaf or hard
of hearing: adapting print materials for people with visual disabilities, use of a reader for a person
with visual disabilities, and the use of TTY/text telephones to set up interviews.  However,
Federal sector respondents indicated a much greater familiarity with accessing sign language
interpreters (33 percent of non-Federal vs. 76 percent of Federal respondents reported their staff
was "familiar" or "very familiar" with this accommodation).  Federal respondents, while least
familiar with accommodations for people who are deaf or hard of hearing or who have visual
disabilities, were far more familiar with them than their non-Federal sector counterparts.

Continuing barriers to employment and advancement for persons with disabilities reported by
employers were identified as being both within the workplace itself and within the individual
with a disability.  In terms of workplace barriers, attitudes or stereotypes among co-workers and
supervisors towards persons with disabilities were seen as a significant barrier (43 percent of
Federal respondents, 22 percent of non-Federal respondents).  Approximately one-third in each
group sees supervisor lack of knowledge of how to make accommodations as a continuing barrier
(31 percent of the non-Federal employers and 34 percent in Federal agencies).  In terms of
barriers in the individual with a disability, lack of requisite skills and training we re cited as a
continuing barrier by 39 percent of non-Federal employers and 45 percent of Federal, as was lack
of related experience (49 percent of non-Federal and 53 percent of Federal employers).

There was little difference in the top choice of method of reducing employment barriers
identified by both groups, which was visible top management commitment (81 percent for the
non-Federal, 90 percent for Federal respondents).

When asked about the types of access provided to enhance opportunities for promotion and
training, Federal agencies reported significantly more provision of communication access for
persons who are hearing impaired (91 percent in the Federal sector compared to 43 percent in the
non-Federal), and persons who are visually impaired (77 percent in the Federal sector compared
to37 percent in the non-Federal sector).

Non-Federal employers reported significantly fewer claims filed against them than did Federal
respondents.  Failure to provide reasonable accommodation was reported by Federal agencies as
the most often experienced claim, at 36 percent.  The most commonly filed claim for non-Federal
employers was wrongful discharge (19 percent).

Federal workplaces were more significantly unionized (73 percent) compared to the non-Federal
sector (23 percent).  In both groups, among those who have collective bargaining agreements and
have union involvement in the accommodation process, unions were most often used to provide
representation in discussions about the accommodation process (69 percent non-Federal, 75
percent Federal).

The staff training profiles for both groups were, on the whole, very similar.  The areas in which
training was most often conducted were the accommodation process and non-discriminatory
recruiting and hiring.  Areas where the least training was conducted were allowable limitations
on health plans, interaction with other legislation, and accommodations for people with
psychiatric disabilities.  Both sector's respondents identified further information on
accommodations for persons with psychiatric disabilities as a significant ongoing need (69
percent of Federal respondents and 65 percent of non-Federal respondents).

Across both groups, legal counsel ranked highly as a resource often used to resolve disputes (82
and 88 percent for the non-Federal and Federal respectively).  This was the most often-used
resource for the non-Federal group, and a close second in the Federal group, topped only by the
agency EEO office (90 percent).  Next most often used in the non-Federal sector were
professional societies such as the Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM), and safety and disability staff within the organization.  For Federal
agencies, after EEO and legal advisors the next most often used resources to resolve disputes
were safety staff and State rehabilitation agencies.

The majority of people in both groups reported having formal or informal disability management
or return-to-work programs, although non-Federal employers had a significantly higher number. 
Those who have disability management or return to work programs in both groups reported that
these programs contributed to implementation of civil rights laws.

IMPLICATIONS
This report identifies how Federal departments and agencies are responding to the employment
disability nondiscrimination requirements of the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.  The results
from this research indicate that while much progress has been made, there remain many barriers
to the recruitment, hiring, retention, and career advancement of adults with disabilities in the
Federal workforce that warrant consideration.

Agency Accommodation Structure
Most agencies report having made accommodations for their employees with disabilities. 
However, one in five agencies reported having received no accommodation requests in the prior
fiscal year.  There would seem to be a ready mechanism for getting further information on this
from most agencies, as most reported having a formal process in place for handling
accommodation requests.  Since the immediate supervisor is most often cited as the final
decision-maker in accommodation decisions, however, there may not be a ready reporting
mechanism at the central level, and further information gathering may need to occur deeper
within the agency structure.

Increase Use of Hiring Authorities
Another area for concern is the extent to which Federal agencies use special hiring authorities. 
Only one in four agencies reported frequently using the Schedule A or B provisions for hiring
persons with disabilities or using the special hiring program for veterans with disabilities.  These
provisions appear to be an under-utilized tool by Federal agencies, lessening the effectiveness of
efforts by Federal agencies to increase the employment of people with disabilities.  These are
areas for further exploration where changes might be indicated.

Supports Needed for Specific Populations
The majority of agencies reported having made changes in their existing recruitment,
pre-employment screening, testing, and orientation procedures in order to comply with civil
rights laws.  However, making information accessible for a person with a visual or learning
disability, or a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, was an are a reported to be more difficult
than others, in terms of accommodations in the pre-employment area. Respondents indicated that
their interview staff are least familiar with interview considerations relating to people with visual
or auditory impairments, such as using a text telephone or relay service to set up interviews with
deaf or hard of hearing applicants, using a reader to assist a person with a visual impairment or
learning disability, or with adapting print materials used in interviews to large print, diskette, or
Braille.  This finding is significant in light of the recent addition of Section 508 to the
Rehabilitation Act.  Section 508 mandates that all Federal technology purchases be fully
accessible to employees with disabilities.  Significant technical assistance and training at the
agency level will be required if Section 508 is to be successfully implemented.  Another area for
further exploration is the workplace supports needed for persons with psychiatric disabilities. 
Respondents in both the Federal and non-Federal sectors indicated a need for further information
on accommodations for persons with psychiatric disabilities.  Exploration of how to use the
proposed new hiring authorities for this group, as well as how to provide supports, once
individuals have been employed, needs to be examined.  This, again, may be a place where
Federal and private sector employers can join to find effective solutions to enhance the hiring and
retention of this group.

Employ Diversity Strategies
Some of the remaining barriers to employment for persons with disabilities identified by Federal
agencies were both in the workplace and within the individual.  Attitudes toward people with
disabilities continues as a workplace integration issue, even though this was an area where most
agencies reported having made changes.  Perhaps this is an area that can be merged with diversity
programming or addressed independently with continued training across all agencies.  It would
be a valuable discussion with Federal agencies as to whether the presence of diversity programs
has been of any assistance in addressing issues of disability discrimination and negative attitudes
or stereotypes toward persons with disabilities.  Since diversity programs are increasing in
popularity in the private sector, joint exploration with non-Federal employers of application of
this use might be most beneficial.  The Task Force should closely examine Federal agency
training programs and curricula to determine the extent to which disability issues are included.

Engage Unions and Advisory Councils
Since the Federal workplace is heavily unionized and unions are often involved in the
accommodation process, focus groups with unions might be a good place to continue information
gathering in this process to learn more about barriers to employment for people with disabilities. 
Another possible source of information close to the workplace about employment and disability
issues are the disability advisory councils.  Both might be groups for further follow-up with focus
groups in the future for continued research.

Increase Supervisors' Knowledge of Accommodations
Supervisors' lack of knowledge about accommodations was also reported as an ongoing barrier in
the work environment for persons with disabilities.  Since the majority of training in the Federal
agencies has been focused on human resource personnel in the past, this is not surprising.  It is an
area where training and technical assistance should be focused in the future.  Since supervisors
reportedly make the final decision on accommodations in most Federal workplaces, it is
imperative that they have the training needed to be able to make appropriate decisions and access
needed resources for particular accommodation requests.

Areas for Further Training and Technical Assistance
When asked about areas for further information and technical assistance, respondents indicated
needing assistance and further resources in the area of accommodations for people with
psychiatric disabilities.  This is also an area of great concern for non-Federal employers, and also
perhaps an area where jointly developed products around best practices and available resources
might be helpful in both sectors.  Another area where the need for further training was identified
by the Federal sector respondents in this study was for more information and training on the
Rehabilitation Act requirements.

Alternative Dispute Resolution
Almost all of the agencies reported having a grievance or dispute resolution process in place for
accommodations, yet a U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) report indicates that many
employment discrimination disputes, including those relating to disability discrimination, are
making their way to the EEOC.  The length of time for processing these disputes continues to
increase.  It would appear that significant further work must be done to encourage and inform
dispute resolution, particularly on accommodation issues, earlier on and closer to the workplace. 
Alternative dispute resolution is an area that is gaining in popularity in the private sector, and
again may be an area that the Federal sector might want to further explore.  An example might be
setting up model teams within agencies that represent the various interested parties in the
accommodation process such as the person with a disability HR representative, supervisor, health
and safety representative, union, and EEO representative.

Use of Disability Management
Programs Two-thirds of respondents reported that their agency has a formal or informal disability
management program; respondents who have such a program indicated that these programs
contribute to implementation of civil rights laws.  This is an area that perhaps could be further
explored as a programmatic structure for support for workplace disability nondiscrimination
policies and practices.

Disability Employment and Training Policy
One of the areas across both Federal and non-Federal organizations seen as a remaining barrier to
the employment of people with disabilities is the lack of requisite training, skills, and related
work experience in persons with disabilities.  These identified barriers have implications for
employment and disability social policy changes that advance the interests of people with
disabilities in the employment and training arena.  It is imperative that initiatives such as those in
existence under the Workforce Investment Act include people with disabilities in their mandate
and implementation.  This means not only having the direction for such inclusion written into the
legislation and resulting regulations, but also making certain that implementation at the local
level takes into account the unique service delivery needs of such system users.  Success at this
level calls for skilled professionals who will understand and be able to identify the service needs
of persons with disabilities to assist them in making meaningful choices for training and
subsequent employment.  This also necessitates physical and communication accessibility of
such service systems.

Also of interest for further study is the perspective of non-Federal employers about the
effectiveness of tax incentives as a means to remove barriers for persons with disabilities in the
hiring and retention employment processes.  Tax incentives were seen as the least effective
means to reduce such barriers by non-Federal sector employers; indeed only 26 percent reported
these as effective or very effective in reducing barriers.  A parallel item on special budget
allocation as a way to reduce accommodation costs to employers was asked in the Federal survey. 
Sixty-nine percent of those interviewed saw this as effective or very effective in reducing
barriers.

As evidenced by this research, Federal and non-Federal organizations are making significant
strides in responding to employment disability nondiscrimination legislation such as the ADA
and the Rehabilitation Act to change internal business organization environments and policies to
respond to the law.  Such efforts must be complemented by supporting national employment and
training policies that provide persons with disabilities with training and experience resulting in
skills that are marketable in a labor market that needs skilled workers.

FURTHER RESEARCH NEEDED
The results discussed in this report indicate a need for further research.  One direction for further
research is to gain the perspective of nondiscriminatory practices from Federal employees with
disabilities, supervisors, and co-workers.  Additional areas for future research include Federal
training programs and technology applications.  Finally, this report highlights many areas where
the Federal government can and should provide additional promotion, outreach, and technical
assistance to Federal agencies.  This includes use of special hiring authorities; accommodations
for people with visual, learning, and hearing impairments and people with psychiatric
disabilities; alternative dispute resolution; and laws governing employment of people with
disabilities.

NEXT STEPS FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE
This report to the Presidential Task Force identifies significant areas which warrant further
investigation and follow-up in order to increase opportunities and eliminate barriers to the
employment, retention, and career advancement of people with disabilities in the Federal
workforce.  The information contained in this report will be broadly disseminated to Task Force
members and Committees, as well as Federal departments and agencies for further action,
including the following:
- The Committee on the Federal Government as a Model Employer will examine the results from
this survey.  The Committee's three Subcommittees on Federal Policy Development,
Recruitment, Retention, and Career Advancement, and Reasonable Accommodations will use the
results in their ongoing work.
- The Office of Personnel Management will use the information to implement "Accessing
Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal Government." 
The Plan, released in October, serves as a framework for Federal departments and agencies to use
as they create strategies and initiatives to recruit, hire, develop, and retain more people with
disabilities.
- The Committee on Civil Rights will use the report to continue its examination of coordinated
enforcement of various Federal nondiscrimination employment policies.
- Federal departments and agencies will be sent copies of the report for consideration in their
efforts to increase opportunities and remove barriers for adults with disabilities.
- The report will be used by the Task Force to continue its examination of Federal employment
practices and to consider actions on the additional data collection efforts recommended.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities (PCEPD) 
1331 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20004-1107
Phone: (V) 202-376-6200 (TDD) 202-376-6205
Web site: http: //www.pcepd.gov
Email: info@pcepd.gov

P resident's Committee Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
918 Chestnut Ridge Road, Suite 1
West Virginia University, PO Box 6080
Morgantown, WV 26506-6080
Phone: (V) 800-526-7234 (TDD) 800-232-9675
Web site: http: //www.pcepd.gov and click on JAN or go directly to JAN at
http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/english/homeus.htm

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
1801 L Street NW (Federal Sector Programs)
Washington, DC 20507
Phone: (V) 800-669-3362 (TDD) 800-800-3302
Web site: http: //www.eeoc.gov
For specific Federal employment questions, call the "ATTORNEY OF THE DAY" at
202-663-4599.

Department of Labor: Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20210
Phone: (V) 888-376-3227 (TDD) 202-208-0452 (V) 202-219-9475
Web site: http: //www.dol.gov/dol/esa

U.S. Office of Personnel Management
(for Federal employment information)
1900 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20415
Phone: (V) 202-606-2700 (TDD) 912-744-2299
Web site: www.opm.gov

CONTACTS FOR MORE INFORMATION
A copy of the full survey report is available from the Presidential Task Force, or from Cornell
University.  For additional information please contact:

Richard L. Horne, Senior Policy Advisor
P residential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities
200 Constitution Avenue NW Room S2220D
Washington, DC 20210
(V) 202-693-4939 (TTY) 202-693-4920
(Fax) 202-693-4929
e-mail: horne-richard@dol.gov
Web site: http: //www.dol.gov
                                   
Susanne M. Bruyere, Director
Program on Employment and Disability
School of Industrial and Labor Relations
106 ILR Extension                  
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-3901
(V) 607-255-7727 (TTY) 607-255-2891
(Fax) 607-255-2763
e-mail: ilr_ped@cornell.edu
Web site: http: //www.ilr.cornell.edu/ped

APPENDIX B
Report from the Employment Rate Measurement Methodology Work Group (Committee on
Statistics) to the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities

THE MANDATE
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor and the Census Bureau of the
Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the Departments of Education and Health and
Human Services, the National Council on Disability, and the President's Committee on the
Employment of People with Disabilities shall design and implement a statistically reliable and
accurate method to measure the employment rate of adults with disabilities as soon as possible,
but no later than the date of termination of the Task Force.  Data derived from this methodology
shall be published on as frequent a basis as possible.

Background
The development of an employment measure for adults with disabilities has become a critical
need for policy makers, analysts, and others concerned with their labor market status.  The
employment rate, as a measure of labor market activity, is vital to the design, implementation,
and evaluation of legislation and pro grams enabling persons with disabilities to participate as
fully as possible in the labor market.  Employment data also would tell us how the cyclical
expansions and contractions of the economy affect employment among those with disabilities
compared to other population groups.

Efforts to produce a statistically accurate and reliable measure of the employment rate for adults
with disabilities began over two years prior to the issuance of the Executive Order.  In a
cooperative initiative undertaken by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Bureau of the
Census, the President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, and the National Council on Disability, a small number
of questions designed to identify this population were drafted and placed in the "Survey of
Income and Program Participation" (SIPP).  SIPP also contained a comprehensive module of
questions aimed at identifying and characterizing individuals with disabilities.  The thought was
that if the small set of questions identified the same population as the more extensive module,
then the smaller set could be confidently placed in the "Current Population Survey" (CPS), the
monthly national household survey which collects information used to prepare the official
estimates of total employment and unemployment for the nation and for various population
groups. This would allow BLS to produce regular estimates of employment and unemployment
for persons with disabilities that would be consistent with the official measures for other groups.

The results of the test were not encouraging.  The smaller set of questions failed to identify the
same individuals with disabilities who we re identified by the full battery of questions.  In
particular, the vast majority of those identified as having a disability but not a significant
disability, in the full SIPP disability module we re not identified as having a disability with the
short set of questions.  It later became clear that even the full SIPP battery may have limitations
as a "benchmark" for identifying this population.  The Bureau of the Census found that an
extraordinarily high proportion of individuals who indicated they had a disability when first
surveyed by SIPP did not respond that they had the same disability a year later.  One would
expect minor fluctuations in disability status over the course of a year but no one expected, for
example, that only about 25 percent or fewer individuals who had a significant visual or hearing
impairment in the first year would have the same impairment in the second year.

Several possible explanations emerged.  One was that the time frame the questions referred to
(long-term) was not clear in the minds of the respondents when they were initially interviewed. 
However, it may also be that the disability population is very dynamic, and that shifts of persons
into and out of different disability status categories are indeed large.  Whatever the reasons for
the unexpectedly large shifts in disability status indicated by the SIPP data, it is important to
understand and explain this phenomenon, if effective questions are to be designed.

The Presidential Task Force on the Employment of Adults with Disabilities came into being at
this point.  The government agencies that worked with BLS in its initial efforts to develop
questions for the CPS also participate in the Employment Rate Measurement Methodology
(ERMM) Work Group and the initial measurement effort was subsumed into the work of the
ERMM.  Currently, approximately 16 government agencies are represented in the Work Group.

Several Work Group meetings have been held to prepare a foundation for comprehensive
research that would result in the design of questions to identify persons with disabilities in the
context of the CPS.  One important discussion involved particular Federal agencies' uses of
disability employment data and the dimensions of disability they would like identified through a
survey.  For example, most agreed that information about the severity of disability is important,
and that it would be particularly useful if the survey were able to distinguish employment rates
for those with physical and mental disabilities.

The next task identified by the ERMM Work Group was to put together a database containing
survey questions on disability along with some measures of the effectiveness of these questions. 
In order to determine what surveys and survey questions are currently available, and what level
of testing the questions have undergone, the BLS compiled an annotated bibliography of survey
instruments along with information about the reliability, validity, and other tests that the
questions have undergone.  The bibliography indicated that even the most promising survey
questions require additional testing.

POSITIVE EFFORTS ALREADY UNDERWAY
The Work Group on Employment Rate Measurement Methodology (ERMM) is developing a
detailed research plan and a set of research protocols to select or design questions to identify this
population.  The first priority of the Work Group is to develop monthly estimates of employment
rates for persons with disabilities, including those with significant versus non-significant
disabilities.  Assuming that an effective small set of questions can be developed, and that this set
of questions does not impose an excessive burden on respondents, the goal is to embed it within
the monthly CPS.  The second priority of the Work Group is to evaluate the relative accuracy of
different longer modules of questions in identifying this population.

The Annotated Bibliography narrowed the range of surveys and questions that potentially could
be used to gather disability data, but it is still difficult to select the surveys in which the Work
Group should invest its research efforts.

Conceptually, the research plan is relatively straightforward.  Complete batteries of questions on
disability will be selected from several surveys that were identified in the Annotated
Bibliography as being the most promising from the standpoint of the ERMM Work Group. 
Smaller sets of "screener" questions will be developed for each of the complete batteries. 
Screener questions have several important characteristics.  They are typically few in number -
one to six questions - so they minimize the time and space requirements imposed upon an
existing survey such as the CPS.  They are designed to identify a population of people with
disabilities to whom one can administer a longer survey - one in which specific types of
disabilities can be determined.

Then, both the screener and the longer, more detailed, complete batteries of questions will be
tested on comparable panels of respondents.  The data would then be analyzed to determine how
well the screener questions identified the same population as the longer survey questions.

The relative accuracy of the different sets of screener questions, however, is only meaningful if
the more complete batteries of questions have the same degree of accuracy. The quality of the
data generated by the complete batteries of questions will be assessed through various
techniques, including comparison of results from the screener questions and other questions on
the CPS, as well as the standard survey evaluation techniques of cognitive interviews, respondent
debriefing, and behavior coding.

Ultimately, if the ERMM Work Group research is successful, a set of screener questions and the
related complete battery of questions will be selected as the best instruments to identify this
population in the context of the CPS.  The testing indicated above, however, will largely be
conducted outside of the context of the CPS.  The number of surveys and questions that must be
examined render the CPS an inappropriate research vehicle for this phase of the research.  When
the list of candidate screener questions is considerably narrowed (to perhaps one or two sets),
they can and should be tested in the context in which they will be used - the CPS.

The ERMM Work Group has several options it can explore in the event that none of the screener
questions adequately identifies the same disability population as the longer, more detailed
surveys.

Even if the screener questions initially fail to identify the same population as the longer disability
surveys, there is a strong likelihood that the Work Group will have gone far in understanding
why the screener questions fail to identify the same populations.  We will be able to examine the
demographic and disability information in detail to see why individuals responded differently to
the long and short set of questions.

If the tests fail in the context of the CPS, it is possible that another survey vehicle can be
enhanced (in terms of its frequency of administration or the nature of the labor force questions,
for example) so an employment rate among adults with disabilities can be produced on a regular
and timely basis.  The evaluation of the underlying validity of the complete batteries of questions
will permit a judgment as to which of these longer sets of questions should be used to generate
employment data on persons with disabilities over time.

The Work Group and BLS will also consider the possibility of conducting an annual supplement
to the CPS on disability.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED:
There is agreement on the scientific validity of the proposed research, but there are several
critical methodological issues to be addressed by the ERMM Work Group.

One important question involves the selection of the surveys to be used.  Thus far, the list of
candidates includes the Survey of Income and Program Participation (Census), the National
Health Interview Survey (NCHS), and the Disability Assessment Schedule (WHO).  In addition
to screeners drawn from these surveys, the Census 2000 questions will also be tested.

A second important question goes back to the definition of disability, and the survey thresholds
used to operationalize the definitions. Once the definitions of disability are established,
thresholds for disability must be set for the purposes of this research.  Thresholds for disability
need to be established in order to know who is and who is not included in the population.  This is
a particularly difficult task, but the organizations offering their survey for the tests will set
thresholds for their own survey.

The last important question at this time involves establishing protocols for the research. 
Technical questions, such as the appropriate sample composition and size, and the criteria for
judging the acceptability of questions need to be addressed.

APPENDIX C
Research Activities of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities

DATA COLLECTION:
Survey of the Federal Government on Human Resources/EEO Policies and Practices in
Employment of People with Disabilities 

Section 2(g) of the Executive Order mandated that "All executive agencies that are not members
of the Task Force shall: (a) coordinate and cooperate with the Task Force; and (b) review their
programs and policies to ensure that they are being conducted and delivered in a manner that
facilitates and promotes the employment of adults with disabilities."

As part of a multi-year initiative to address the many facets of this mandate, the Task Force
conducted a survey of Federal agencies to determine their response to employment
nondiscrimination, affirmative action, and accommodation requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.  The results of this survey are
described in the report, Disability Nondiscrimination and Accommodation Policies and Practices
in U.S. Federal Government Agencies.  This report documents many positive accomplishments
that have resulted in opening the door to employment for people with disabilities in the Federal
workforce.  It also describes persistent barriers and recommendations to increase the employment
of adults with disabilities in Federal agencies.

Models for Identifying and Measuring Disability Practices in Hiring 
The purpose of this project is to develop a valid and reliable model for measuring
disability-related barriers and problems in the hiring process.  This model will be developed for
use in the Federal and private sectors.

Employment Data Policy Analysis
The purpose of this project is to develop a template for examining data regarding general
employment policies and those targeted specifically to people with disabilities in order to
improve employment rates of people with disabilities.  This project will seek to devise
consistency in data collection and improve data analysis.  This will affect the examination of
policy relating to employment of people with disabilities.  The project will result in the
production of the template and a series of reports.

Affirmative Employment Goal for Federal Agencies under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
Federal agencies are required to establish and maintain affirmative action plans for the hiring,
placement, and advancement of individuals with disabilities.  The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for monitoring the affirmative action efforts of
Federal agencies, and has issued instructions for the agencies in "EEO Management Directive
712: Comprehensive Affirmative Action Programs for Hiring, Placement, and Advancement of
Individuals with Handicaps," and "EEO-Management Directive 713: Affirmative Action for
Hiring, Placement, and Advancement of Individuals with Handicaps."

Based on prior statistical analyses, the EEOC has estimated that 5.95 percent of the available
work force is comprised of people with these disabilities.  The estimate is based on outdated data,
and may well understate the current availability of people with targeted disabilities.  The purpose
of this project is to derive, using appropriate research methodologies, an updated estimate of the
availability of individuals with targeted disabilities in order to revise EEO Management Directive
712.

Background Reports on Existing Federal Programs
The purpose of this project is to develop a current and concise, but comprehensive, overview of
existing Federal programs to determine what changes, modifications, and innovations may be
necessary to remove barriers to employment opportunities faced by adults with disabilities.

YOUNG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:
Youth with Disabilities and Lifelong Learning
The purpose of this project is to collect and analyze data related to young people with disabilities'
participation in postsecondary education opportunities, such as college and technical training,
and other lifelong learning opportunities.  The project will result in a national forum and the
development and dissemination of a product, "Summary and Profile of Youth with Disabilities in
Life long Learning in the U.S."

Exploring International Options for Young Women with Disabilities
The purpose of this project is to increase the participation of young women with disabilities in
international employment.  The project will result in an international exchange and conference in
the summer of 2000 and the production and dissemination of a report.

Training and Employment Needs of Youth with Disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System
This project will seek to obtain a better understanding of the unique issues surrounding
employment and training needs of young juvenile offenders with disabilities.  The project will
conduct research, plan a conference, and produce materials that will be used to guide the work of
the Task Force and its Subcommittee on Expanding Opportunities for Young People with
Disabilities.  The project will result in the development of a report, a conference proceedings
document, and a guidebook for use by policymakers and service providers.

White Paper on Improving Employment Outcomes for Youth with Disabilities
Federal programs have little information regarding the employment outcomes for adolescents and
young adults with chronic health conditions or disabilities that do not qualify for special
education services.  This population is often characterized as "Section 504 kids," because their
conditions are significant enough to afford them the rights and protections of Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act, but are not of the nature to qualify them for special education programs.  This
population is significantly larger than the number of youth served under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act.  The purpose of this project is to synthesize the research about this
population and examine policy options and future directions.  The resulting "White Paper" will
be used to guide the activities of the Task Force Subcommittee on Young People with
Disabilities.

MOST SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES:
From Segregation to Community Participation: People with Significant Disabilities at Work
People with the most significant disabilities continue to be excluded from community-based
employment and segregated in institutions, day habilitation and sheltered workshop settings, and
to experience even higher rates of unemployment.  This remains true in spite of the fact that
multiple demonstrations have proven that certain strategies can be highly successful in
connecting such individuals to community-based employment.  The purpose of the project is to
research and develop a brochure documenting the success stories that have led to changed work
status of individuals in community-based settings, who were previously in segregated settings.

National Summit on Policy Options for Work and Enhanced Economic Independence for
Persons with Developmental Disabilities and other Significant Cognitive Disabilities, and

Think Tank on Policy Options for Work and Enhanced Economic Independence for
Persons with Developmental Disabilities and other Significant Cognitive Disabilities
Individuals with significant disabilities (72 percent) have historically remained unemployed and
living below the poverty level despite multiple Federal programs.  The Institute for Community
Inclusion's recent report (May 1999) reviewed RSA data and data from State Mental Retardation
and Developmental Disability agencies addressing issues of integrated employment and trends in
day and employment services nationally.  During an eight year period, while there has been an
increase in the total number of persons with significant disabilities entering integrated
employment (competitive and supported employment), the number of people in segregated
(sheltered workshops and day activity centers) and non-work programs, also continues to rise.

The purposes of these projects are to: (1) assist the Task Force with the identification and
analysis of current Federal and State policies and practices that continue to pose barriers to
consumer choice; and (2) identify the direction of supports that would enhance opportunities for
meaningful work and economic status for Americans with developmental and the most
significant disabilities.  The projects will result in a National Summit which will bring national
experts together to synthesize information and best practices.  This will lead to the think-tank
which will result in the identification of policy options and future directions.

SYSTEMS CHANGE:
Interagency Agreement: Social Security Administration, Office of Disability and Income Security
Programs
The purpose of this project is to identify and share best-practice models which focus on
employment barriers and improved employment outcomes for people with disabilities.  The
project will bring together grantees from the Social Security Administration, Rehabilitation
Services Administration, Department of Labor, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Administration's Center for Mental Health Services to identify and share best practices.  The
project will result in a report to the Task Force with recommendations for their coordination, as
appropriate.

CUSTOMER CHOICE:
The Meaning of Choice: Implications for Project Participants and Systems
The Task Force held a meeting of researchers and best-practice practitioners across the nation on
September 22, 1999, (see above project) in order to develop specific recommendations for further
analysis and/or policy actions for consideration by task force member agencies.  Several
recommendations ensuing from this meeting related to increasing choice and customer direction
for people with disabilities in securing needed employment and related supports.  A specific
concern that emerged during the meeting was the need for analysis of the meaning and impact of
the "choice demonstration" projects on the lives of individual people with disabilities who
participated as customers.  These projects were funded six years ago through the Rehabilitative
Services Administration.  However, no qualitative analysis exists that explores the impact and
outcome of these projects and their implication for the ongoing evolution of policy reform
promoting increased choice and customer-control.

Accordingly, the purpose of this project is to conduct a qualitative analysis of the choice
demonstration projects, and their outcomes in two targeted areas: (1) impact on employment and
life status of individual people with disabilities who participated in the projects; and (2)
implications for public systems in terms of needed policy reform and recommendations.

Meaning of Choice: Perspectives from Project Participants and Facilitators
This project also builds on the results of the meeting conducted by the Task Force on September
22, 1999.  The purpose of this project is to implement a qualitative analysis of the impact of the
choice experience from the perspective of the individual participants with disabilities and the
facilitators who assigned them in securing employment.  The qualitative analysis will: (1)
investigate the meaning and impact of choice on the employment and life status of individual
people with disabilities and facilitators who participated in the projects through a series of
in-depth interviews of project participants and facilitators; (2) assist in identifying the
implications for public systems in terms of needed policy reform and recommendations; and (3)
contribute to a white paper and monograph of materials on choice.

APPENDIX D
Summary of Disability-Related Legislative Initiatives

National Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1920
Established Federal/State system of rehabilitation services.

Social Security of Act of 1935
Established Federal/State system of health services for "crippled" children; permanently
authorized civilian rehabilitation program.

Wagner-O' Day Act of 1938
Authorized Federal purchases from workshops for people who are blind.

Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1938
Authorized Federal program to employ people who are blind as vendors on Federal property.

Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1954
Authorized innovation and expansion grants, and grants to colleges and universities for
professional training.

Wagner-Peyser Act Amendments of 1954
Required Federal/State employment security offices to designate staff members to assist people
with severe disabilities.

Social Security Amendments of 1956
Established Social Security Disability Insurance Trust Fund; provided for payments to eligible
workers who became disabled.

National Defense Education Act of 1958
Authorized Federal assistance for preparation of teachers of children with disabilities.

Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963
Provided grants for construction of mental retardation research centers and facilities; provided
for training of educational personnel involved with youth with disabilities; authorized grants to
States for construction of community mental health centers.

Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act
Amendments of 1965
Established grant program to cover initial staffing costs for community mental health centers.

Social Security Act Amendments of 1965
Established Medicaid program for elderly people and for blind persons and other persons with
disabilities.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
Authorized Federal aid to States and localities for educating deprived children, including children
with disabilities.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendments of 1966
Created National Advisory Committee on Handicapped Children; created Bureau of Education
for the Handicapped in U.S. Office of Education.

Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1966
Established standards for employment of workers with disabilities, allowing for subminimum
wages.

Elementary and Secondary Education Amendments of 1967
Authorized regional resource centers; authorized centers and services for deaf-blind children.

Handicapped Children's Early Education Assistance Act of 1968
Established grant program for preschool and early education of children with disabilities.

Vocational Education Act Amendments of 1968
Required participating States to earmark 10 percent of basic vocational education allotment for
youth with disabilities.

Architectural Barriers Act of 1968
Required most buildings and facilities built, constructed, or altered with Federal funds after 1969
to be accessible.

Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Amendments of 1970
Expanded services to individuals with epilepsy and cerebral palsy; authorized new State formula
grant program; defined "developmental disability" in categorical terms; established State-level
planning council.

Urban Mass Transportation Act Amendment of 1970
Authorized grants to States and localities for accessible mass transportation.

Javits-Wagner-O' Day Act of 1971
Extended purchase authority to workshops for people with severe disabilities in addition to
blindness; retained through 1976 preference for workshops for people who are blind.

Social Security Amendments of 1972
Extended Medicare coverage to individuals with disabilities; established Supplemental Security
Income pro gram for elderly people and for blind persons and other persons with disabilities.

Small Business Investment Act Amendments of 1972
Established the "Handicapped Assistance Loan Program" to provide loans to nonprofit sheltered
workshops and individuals with disabilities.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Prohibited disability discrimination in Federally assisted programs and activities and Federal
agencies; required affirmative action programs for people with disabilities by Federal agencies
and some Federal contractors; established the Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board.

Education Amendments of 1974
Required States to establish plans and timetables for providing full educational opportunities for
all children with disabilities as condition of receiving Federal funds.

Headstart, Economic Opportunity, and Community Partnership Act of 1974
Required that at least 10 percent of children enrolled in Headstart be children with disabilities.

Housing and Community Development Act of 1974
Established Section 8 housing pro gram for low-income families, including individuals with
disabilities and/or their families.

Developmentally Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 1975
Described congressional findings regarding rights of persons with developmental disabilities;
established funding for protection and advocacy systems; added requirement that State plan
include deinstitutionalization plan; required States to develop and annually review rehabilitation
plans for all clients.

Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975
Required States to establish policy assuring free appropriate public education for children with
disabilities as condition for receiving Part B funds; established procedural safeguards, procedures
for mainstreaming children with disabilities to the maximum extent possible, and procedures for
nondiscriminatory testing and evaluation practices.

Rehabilitation, Comprehensive Services, and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978
Established National Institute of Handicapped Research; established National Council on the
Handicapped; authorized grant program for independent living services; replaced categorical
definition of developmental disability with functional definition; established minimum funding
level for protection and advocacy services.

Civil Rights Commission Act of 1978
Expanded jurisdiction of Civil Rights Commission to disability discrimination.

Department of Education Organization Act of 1979
Established Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in new cabinet-level
Department of Education.

Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980
Empowered Department of Justice to bring suit against States for allegedly violating rights of
institutionalized persons with disabilities.

Job Training Partnership Act of 1982
Authorized training and placement services for "economically disadvantaged" individuals,
including persons with disabilities.

Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1983
Authorized grants for training parents of children with disabilities.

Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act Amendments of 1984
Required States' child protection agencies to develop procedures for responding to reports that
newborns with disabling conditions were being denied treatment; established conditions for
requiring such treatment.

Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984
Shifted emphasis to employment in priority services; required Individual Habilitation Plan for
consumers; increased minimum funding for protection and advocacy services.

Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1984
Established Client Assistance Pro grams as formula grant program s; made National Council on
the Handicapped an independent agency.

Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985
Expanded the definition of  "habilitation" for Home and Community-Based Waiver recipients
with developmental disabilities to cover certain pre-vocational services and supported
employment for previously institutionalized individuals; authorized States to cover
ventilator-dependent children under the waiver pro gram if they would otherwise require
continued inpatient care.

Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986
Authorized a new grant program for States to develop an early intervention system for infants
and toddlers with disabilities and their families, and provide greater incentives for States to
provide preschool programs for children with disabilities between the ages of three and five.

Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986
Authorized courts to award reasonable attorneys fees to parents who prevail in due process
proceedings and court actions under Part B of the Education of the Handicapped Act.

Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act of 1986
Made the Section 1619(a) and 1619(b) work incentives a permanent feature of the Social
Security Act; added provisions to enable individuals to move back and forth among regular SSI,
Section 1619(a) and Section 1619(b) eligibility status.

Education of the Deaf Act of 1986
Updated statute establishing Gallaudet College and changed name to Gallaudet University;
authorized Gallaudet University to operate demonstration elementary and secondary schools for
deaf children; established Commission on Education of the Deaf.

Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986
"Severe disability" definition expanded to include functional (as well as categorical) criteria;
defined "employability" for first time; added formula grant program for supported employment;
renamed research branch the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.

Air Carrier Access Act of 1986
Prohibited disability discrimination in provision of air transportation.

Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986
Authorized formula grant program for statewide advocacy services for persons with mental
illness, provided directly by, or under contract with, the protection and advocacy system for
persons with developmental disabilities.

Developmental Disabilities and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1987
Raised minimum allotment levels for basic State grant program and protection and advocacy
systems; increased minimum allotment for university-affiliated programs, basic State grant
program, and protection and advocacy systems.

The Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988
Provided grants to States to develop statewide assistive technology programs.

Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988
Added persons with disabilities as a group protected from discrimination in housing and ensured
that persons with disabilities are allowed to adapt their dwelling place to meet their needs.

Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1989
Included major expansion in required services under Medicaid's Early and Periodic Screening,
Diagnosis and Treatment Program (EPSDT).

Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990
Required new television sets to have capability for close-captioned television transmission.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Prohibited disability discrimination in employment, public services and public accommodations
operated by private entities; required that telecommunication services be made accessible.

Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992
Changed eligibility requirements and procedures for determining eligibility; strengthened
requirements for interagency cooperation; strengthened consumer involvement requirements, and
provided that A DA Title I Standards shall be applied to determine whether there has been
non-affirmative action discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act.

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
Allowed workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year to care for newborn and adopted
children and family members with serious health conditions or to recover from serious health
conditions.

National Voter Registration Act of 1993
Required States to liberalize their voter registration rules to allow people to register to vote by
mail, when they apply for driver's licenses or at offices that provide public assistance and
programs for individuals with disabilities such as vocational rehabilitation programs.

Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1994
Provided framework for meeting national educational goals and carrying out systemic school
reform for all children with disabilities.

Telecommunications Act of 1996
Required telecommunications manufacturers and service providers to ensure that equipment is
designed, developed and fabricated to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities,
if readily achievable.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996
Improved access to health care for some Americans by guaranteeing that private health insurance
is available, portable, renewable, and limited pre-existing condition exclusions.

Mental Health Parity Act of 1996
Included a provision that prohibits insurance companies from having lower annual or lifetime
caps for treatment of mental illness than for treatment of other medical conditions.

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996
Required work in exchange for time-limited assistance; Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
(TANF) replaced the former welfare programs, ending the Federal entitlement to assistance;
States, territories, and tribes receive a block grant allocation with a requirement on States to
maintain a historical level of State spending known as maintenance of effort.

Balanced Budget Act of 1997
Section 4733 provided a new Medicaid buy-in option for people with disabilities.  This provision
gives States the option to allow individuals with disabilities who return to work the ability to
purchase Medicaid coverage as their earnings increase up to 250 percent of poverty, based on an
individual's net rather than gross income.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 (IDEA)
Formally called P.L. 94-142 or the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, IDEA
requires public schools to make available to all eligible children with disabilities a free,
appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their individual
needs.

Workforce Investment Act of 1998
Required consolidation of several Federal education, training, and employment programs;
reauthorized Rehabilitation Act programs through Fiscal Year 2003 and linked those programs to
State and local workforce development systems; expanded Section 508 to ensure that all Federal
departments and agencies procure, use and maintain accessible electronic and information
technology.

Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998
The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, affecting HUD-funded public and
assisted housing, eliminated previously required Federal preferences shown to people with
disabilities and some other groups but left any such previous preferences intact or optional at the
local level.  Public housing agencies, which provide HUD-funded public and assisted housing,
must also develop Annual Plans and 5-Year Plans reflecting their preferences and other matters
such as changes in the "disability-related tenant composition" of the housing those agencies offer
and accessibility issues.  Public housing agencies must also certify that their plans and
implementation comply with all Federal civil rights and fair housing laws including those which
cover persons with disabilities in addition to cove ring other protected classes.

Assistive Technology Act of 1998
Authorized State grant programs and protection and advocacy systems to address the assistive
technology needs of people with disabilities; authorized the development of alternative financing
mechanisms to assist people with disabilities in purchasing assistive technology.

Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999
Allowed for Medicaid and/or Medicare benefits for many people with disabilities who go to
work; provided for a "ticket to work and self-sufficiency" which allows Social Security
beneficiaries with disabilities choice and expanded options in pursuing employment and
employment supports.