President’s Committee

for People with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID)

Committee Meeting

March 4, 2019

~Minutes~

Citizen Members

Chris G. Neeley, Chair

VijayaLakshmi Appareddy

Ollie D. Cantos

Emily Colson

Claudia B. Horn

Stephanie O. Hubach

Annette Liike

Karen Moderow

Ex Officio Members and Representatives

Bo Tayloe

Representing the Honorable Jeff Sessions, 

Attorney General, U.S. Department of 

Justice

Brian Walsh

Representing the Honorable Alexander 

Acosta, Secretary (unconfirmed), U.S. 

Department of Labor 

Carol Dobak

Representing the Honorable Betsy DeVos

Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

Monique Dismuke

Representing the Honorable Wilbur Ross, 

U.S. Department of Commerce

Brian S. Parsons and Laura Davis

Representing the Honorable Kirstjen 

Nielson, Department of Homeland Security

Honorable Lance Robertson, Administrator, 

Administration for Community Living, and 

Chair of National Access Board

Trent Morse, White House Liaison for 

Health and Human Services

Jennifer Sheehy, Deputy Assistant Secretary

and Patrick Maneck

U.S. Department of Labor

Leola Brooks

Representing the Honorable Nancy A. 

Berryhill, Commissioner of the US Social 

Security Administration
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The Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) - PCPID Staff

Julie Hocker, Commissioner Administration on Disabilities, ACL

Jennifer Johnson, ACL

Allison Cruz, ACL

Sheila Whitaker, ACL
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The PCPID Meeting Proceedings

Welcome, Greetings, Introductions, and Statement of Occasion

Christopher Glenn Neeley, PCPID Chair

Mr. Neeley welcomed participants to the teleconference, asked for appearances, and called the 

meeting to order. He moved to approve the minutes from the November 8-9, 2018 meetings, 

which were seconded and then approved by those in attendance. Mr. Neeley moved to have the 

minutes from the December 12, 2018 meeting approved. They were seconded by Ms. Liike and 

they, too, were approved by those in attendance.

Overview of the Status of PCPID’s Annual Report

Christopher Glenn Neeley, PCPID Chair

Mr. Neeley explained the way the Committee overcame challenges presented by the government 

shutdown. He described the Committee’s selection and delegation of focus areas for the Annual 

Report that would enable efficient compilation and production of said Report. Input submitted by 

experts has lent itself to better identification of the obstacles for people with disabilities so that 

the Committee can develop potential solutions.

Mr. Neeley recited data regarding economic challenges as follows:

• Poverty for people ages 16-64 has increased over the past 50 years

o For people with disabilities, this change has increased by 250% compared to peers

• 95% of people receiving SSI report no income

• 75-80% of people with disabilities are neither working nor seeking employment

These statistics imply a lack of infrastructure meant to help and engage those with disabilities.

The data also led Committee members to begin looking into the creation of focus areas to 

implement. These focus areas helped Committee members and citizens to examine what the 

government has done right and what can be improved upon so that people with disabilities can be 

better prepared to enter the workforce, as well as how to modernize the perceptions of people 

with disabilities in the United States.

Explanation of “Supply-Side” in Regard to People with Disabilities in the Workforce

Karen Moderow

Ms. Moderow opened by identifying a need to incentivize the private sector to employ more 

people with disabilities as the government cannot carry the full load. She identifies the main 

issue being that most programs that exist for people with disabilities only provide training, but do 

not provide employment. Ms. Moderow proposes a cost-sharing approach between the state and 

federal governments and private industry. She thinks that tapping into the charitable 

commitments of companies, the Committee can easily include the hiring of people with 

disabilities as a means of helping the companies’ communities.

Ms. Moderow would like to use companies that have already begun to hire people with 

disabilities as models for promoting and educating other companies on how to do so. She would 

also like to use federal funds that have already been delegated toward promoting employment to 
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increase the awareness among companies and those seeking employment, making the entire 

process more financially efficient. She also requests ideas from others on the Committee to 

continue to flesh out these ideas.

Several of the questions that her team investigated included:

• Would it be good use of government funds to have an awareness campaign that would 

bring awareness to the public that people with disabilities are able to work in meaningful 

jobs that contribute to the companies?

• How can the Committee educate companies about the benefits of people with intellectual 

disabilities so that they can envision the benefits of having that person on their team?

o Can the company allocate funds toward business-to-business forums to share 

successful models?

o Could grants or partial reimbursement be provided to companies who hire people 

with intellectual disabilities?

• Could agency dollars be used toward the promotion of vocational programs?

• What kind of safety nets can be provided to people with intellectual disabilities if things 

do not work out?

Explanation of the “Demand-Side” of People with Disabilities in the Workforce

Emily Colson

Ms. Colson explains that there is a willing workforce, but they need willing employers. She 

details that her team looked into companies that have hired people with disabilities, how they 

have done so, and what benefits resulted.

Some of these topics have included:

• Richard Branson’s challenge to 500 companies to add hiring of people with disabilities to 

their board agendas

• Job market trends toward inclusion and greater diversity

o More information is needed in regard to numbers about how many companies 

consider “diversity” to include people with disabilities

• Business-to-business forums

• National business-to-business panel

• What are the common areas in the companies that have successfully implemented 

inclusion and hiring of people with disabilities and why are they doing it?

Education and Advocacy

Annette Liike

Ms. Liike said that they are rebranding the “education and advocacy” segment as “marketing and 

rebranding individuals with intellectual disabilities.” She cites data that demonstrates the success 

rates of companies that embrace hiring and supporting people with disabilities compared with 

companies that have not appropriately tapped into the means of properly training and placing 

people with disabilities. After examining this information, her team began to look into educating 

businesses on the benefits and potential outcomes of hiring people with disabilities.
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Discussion of Draft Framework

Christopher Glenn Neeley

Mr. Neeley asks the Committee their thoughts on the supply angle and redirection of incentives.

To answer, Mr. Neil Romano explains that there is a gap in the information among companies 

about what people with disabilities can do today versus 50 years ago. Mr. Romano states that the 

vocabulary used to speak about people with disabilities should be a primary focus when 

communicating with employers.

Mr. Tom Hess suggests providing incentives for companies to become more educated on hiring 

people with disabilities and those with disabilities on their options for actually finding 

employment. He states that there needs to be greater education regarding the myths about people 

with disabilities’ options for employment. Mr. Neeley requested that Mr. Hess send information 

regarding best practices.

Mr. Neeley moved the Committee’s focus to demand-side perspectives regarding employment 

options. Ms. Horn emphasized the current public-private partnerships that exist which enhance 

business-to-business relationships. She argues that the structures which are already in place are a 

platform to build upon instead of recreating the wheel.

Ms. Appareddy pointed out the present drive toward inclusion and workplace culture. She 

believes that information on accommodating people with mental disabilities and mental health 

issues should be a focus of the report.

Mr. Romano indicates a greater willingness among larger employers to hire people with 

disabilities. He states that the focus of the Committee should be on encouraging small and midlevel employers’ education about the benefits of hiring people with disabilities. He also points 

out that asset limitations for people with disabilities causes concern about hours of availability 

among employers. He indicates that the time to train several people for the same job as opposed 

to one person for the same job, as well as the costs of transportation for the employees, is a 

deciding factor for most businesses. He argues that hiring people with disabilities must be shown 

to benefit companies financially because that is the purpose of a company, to make money. He 

believes that precise, targeted campaigns with goals of spreading information about specific 

disabilities to specific organizations can be more effective than a widespread, general public 

campaign.

Adjournment

Christopher Glenn Neeley

Mr. Neeley moves to have the items discussed above placed as the framework of the Report. The 

motion was seconded and then approved by all. Mr. Neeley reminded everyone that they want 

the Report to be bold and to stand out, not to go unnoticed. He reminds Committee members to 

keep the end goal in mind, in that they are working to mobilize and open opportunities for those 

with disabilities in the workforce so that they can live out their dreams.

Mr. Neeley turns the meeting over to Ms. Hocker so that she can inform the Committee of the 

meeting to take place March 21st and 22nd. Commissioner Hocker requests that Committee 

members ask the ACL (specifically herself, Jennifer Johnson, or Alison Cruz) for help in areas in 
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which they need it. She reminds everyone to reach out to the ACL travel staff to make 

arrangements for attending the March 21-22 meeting. She also requests names for nominees to 

join the Committee, particularly self-advocates.