New Freedom

Initiative

2007 Progress Report

july 2007
Table of Contents 

Foreword by President George W. Bush 1 

Executive Summary 2 

Frequently Used Abbreviations and Acronyms 5 

Chapter 1: Increasing Access through Technology 

Promoting Greater Access to Assistive Technology 6 

Spearheading Revolutionary Technological Innovations 7 

Fostering Policies and Procedures Promoting Use of Assistive Technology 8 

Increasing the Availability of Electronic Information 9 

Implementing Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act 10 

Creating a Robust Assistive Technology Industry Domestically and Abroad 12 

Additional Activities 13 

Chapter 2: Expanding Educational Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities 

Enhancing the Special Education Service Delivery Structure 15 

Preparing Children with Disabilities for the Future 17 

Enabling Youth with Disabilities to Enter the Workforce or Post-Secondary Education 17 

Providing Post-Secondary Students with Meaningful Internship Opportunities 19 

Upholding the Civil Rights of Students in Grade School and in Post-Secondary Education 20 

Chapter 3: Integrating Americans with Disabilities into the Workplace 

Addressing Causes for Unemployment Among People with Disabilities 21 

Removing the Physical, Programmatic, and Attitudinal Barriers to Employment 22 

Improving the Service Delivery Infrastructure to Support Persons with Disabilities 26 

Eliminating Work Disincentives 28 

Expanding the Pipeline of Prospective Employees and Business Contractors 29 

Chapter 4: Promoting Full Access to Community Life 

Implementing the Olmstead Decision Swiftly and Decisively 31 

Securing Voluntary Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act 34 

Expanding Transportation to Enhance Mobility 35 

Creating More Housing Options 36 

Enforcing the Rights of Voters with Disabilities 37 

Increasing Access to Healthcare, Services, and Supports 37 

Implementing the Recommendations of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health 39

Integrating Persons with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness 42 

Protecting the Rights of Crime Victims with Disabilities 47 

Improving Access to Telecommunications 48 

Working to Ensure that Everyone Counts 49 

Increasing Access to Federal Lands 50 

Broadening Access to the Arts by People with Disabilities 51 
FOREWORD BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH 

July 26, 2007 

Today, Americans with disabilities are enjoying greater freedom than they have ever known. 

This is freedom in a very real sense — a freedom beyond the imaginings of persons with 

disabilities from generations past. This new freedom — the freedom to dream and to do, the 

freedom to be and to become, the freedom to give and to grow, and the freedom to participate 

and to progress — is at the heart of my New Freedom Initiative, an agenda that I launched within 

three weeks of entering office. The New Freedom Initiative aims to remove the obstacles that 

still remain for Americans with disabilities. 

One of the cornerstone projects of the New Freedom Initiative became a reality on January 1, 

2007, when the Department of Health and Human Services awarded the first of the Money 

Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration grants, offering $1.75 billion over 5 years in 

competitive grants to States to rebalance their long-term support systems. These grants were 

created so that individuals have a choice where they live and receive services, and the grants are 

available to help individuals transition from institutions to the community. Money Follows the 

Person promotes a strategic approach to building a person-centered, needs-based system that 

supports quality of care and quality of life in both home and community-based settings and 

institutions. Giving people with disabilities the ability to choose where they live helps create a 

strong foundation to help achieve greater freedoms at work, at school, and throughout the 

community. 

Today, people with disabilities have greater access to assistive and universally designed 

technologies, receive broader opportunities to excel in the classroom, are integrating themselves 

into the workplace, and are participating actively in every facet of life in their communities. We 

are fighting against low expectations, and we are winning. Individuals and organizations of 

every description are answering the clarion call to make things better, not just for people with 

disabilities, but for everyone. 

Considering that over 54 million Americans currently have a disability and that most others will 

become disabled at some point in their lives, work in this arena touches us all. We must each do 

what we can to continue to create a world in which equal dignity and treatment are not the 

exception but the rule, a world in which disability is an incidental rather than a defining 

characteristic. 

This New Freedom Initiative Progress Report details the ongoing work done by the federal 

government to advance full participation for people with disabilities and to involve them in the 

work of securing their own tomorrow. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 1
Executive Summary 

The President’s New Freedom Initiative for People with Disabilities: 

The 2007 Progress Report 

Introduction 

Announced in February, 2001, the New Freedom Initiative is President George W. Bush’s plan 

to tear down barriers to full integration into American life that remain for many of the 54 million 

Americans with disabilities. This report highlights the many accomplishments of the 

Administration in implementing the President’s vision and builds upon the reports issued in May 

2002 and May 2004. 

Increasing Access Through Technology 

The President recognizes the power of assistive and universally designed technology to create 

greater access to the workplace, school, and community life for persons with disabilities. The 

Administration supports the development of creative ways to leverage the power of new 

technologies and the removal of financial barriers to acquisition of assistive technology. The 

Administration has: 

 

• Empowered states to develop plans for acquisition of assistive technology through the 

Assistive Technology Act of 1998 Amendments, signed in October 2004; 

• Aided state efforts to incorporate assistive technology into their education programs; 

• Streamlined accessibility standards for voting machines and other important technological 

advances; 

• Provided grants to various agencies to develop and stimulate technological advances; 

• Brought together a variety of agencies and organizations to better understand the need for 

assistive technologies and to discuss ways to make the technology a usable reality; 

• Advanced the President’s Executive Order centralizing electronic information of use to 

the disability community at www.DisabilityInfo.gov; 

• Continued full implementation of section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, making electronic 

and information technology acquired by the Federal government accessible to people 

with disabilities; and 

• Worked to develop a robust assistive technology industry at home and abroad. 

Expanding Educational Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities 

The President recognizes that people with disabilities need a complete and appropriate education 

in order to join their communities as equal members. In order to further this goal and ensure that 

no child with a disability is left behind in the educational system, the President has: 

• Emphasized the importance of including youth with disabilities in the annual 

improvement mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 2
Agencies have responded to the President’s direction and furthered his agenda in the following 

ways: 

• The Department of Education has issued final regulations implementing the Individuals 

with Disabilities Education Act and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 

established the Teacher Assistance Corps, monitored the first annual state progress 

determinations under the IDEA, and launched various other initiatives; 

• The Department of Health and Human Services has made specific efforts to reduce youth 

recidivism, homelessness, institutionalization, and other factors that inhibit a full and 

complete educational experience and that may disproportionately effect youth with 

disabilities; and 

• The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has promoted voluntary 

compliance with applicable civil rights laws relating to students with disabilities, 

including fostering classroom inclusion and limiting references to disability on report 

cards, and has also developed other civil rights initiatives. 

Integrating Americans with Disabilities into the Workforce 

The unemployment rate for persons with disabilities, while falling, remains unacceptably high. 

The President believes that full inclusion of persons with disabilities into the workforce is an 

important goal not only because of the positive impact this will have on the worker, but also 

because of the benefits to the economy as a whole as production increases and people begin to 

leave government assistance. The Administration has: 

• Sought to increase the number of employees with disabilities in the Federal workforce by 

implementing innovative hiring and working practices, including telework; by revising 

Schedule A hiring authority; and by forming new disability coordinating councils to 

address employment within federal agencies; 

• Established new initiatives integrating the efforts of the Justice, Labor, Housing and 

Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs Departments in advancing training and 

employment for persons with disabilities; 

• Released “Disability Employment 101” companion materials with the collaboration of 

the Justice and Education Departments; 

• Vigorously enforced the Americans with Disabilities Act; 

• Begun implementation of the “Ticket to Work” program as part of the Social Security 

and Supplemental Security Income programs to eliminate work disincentives among 

persons with disabilities; and 

• Reached out to individuals with disabilities and employers to facilitate productive 

employment opportunities. 

Promoting Full Access to Community Life 

The President believes that all Americans deserve an opportunity to become a part of the 

American dream: to vote, to participate in the marketplace, to own their own property, and to go 

about their business free of attitudinal and architectural barriers to full participation. This 

commitment includes implementation of the Olmstead decision affirming the right of persons 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 3
with disabilities to live in their own communities, and goes further by creating new initiatives to 

promote community participation. The Administration has: 

• Instituted the "Money Follows the Person" grant program through the Department of 

Health and Human Services, which includes $1.75 billion to support states in building 

Medicaid programs that enable recipients to live in their communities; 

• Won a number of Title II and Title III victories under the Americans with Disabilities 

Act, successfully defended the constitutionality of the ADA before the Supreme Court, 

and worked with employers to ensure voluntary compliance with its provisions; 

• Established the twenty-agency Interagency Council on Homelessness to seek innovative 

policy solutions to the high homelessness rate among people with disabilities.; 

• Increased transportation options by securing disability provisions in the Safe, 

Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, and worked with the 

Federal Interagency Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility to simplify access to 

reasonable transportation options for all; 

• Improved access to housing for all through the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development’s enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and the Architectural Barriers Act; 

• Issued an ADA checklist for polling places and administered the Voting Access for 

Individuals with Disabilities project; 

• Improved access to healthcare with the Medicare Prescription Drug Program, and sought 

to increase accessibility of healthcare for the elderly, minorities, and other at-risk 

populations, including people with disabilities; and 

• Taken numerous steps to modernize emergency preparedness plans and standards for 

persons with disabilities, including appointing a new director of disability preparedness at 

the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

Conclusion 

The President’s vision for people with disabilities is not yet achieved, and continuing to 

implement the provisions of his New Freedom Initiative remains one of his highest domestic 

priorities. The Administration, through the programs outlined in this document and others, will 

aggressively pursue innovative strategies to ensure that people with disabilities are included in 

the American Dream, and empowered to reach their full educational, social, and professional 

goals.

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 4
TABLE OF FREQUENTLY-USED ABBREVIATIONS

Agency Name Abbreviations and/or Other 

Commonly-Used Terms

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board U.S. Access Board; Access Board 

Corporation for National and Community Service CNCS 

Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or 

Severely Disabled 

Committee for Purchase 

Federal Communications Commission FCC 

General Services Administration GSA 

Interagency Committee on Disability Research ICDR 

Javits-Wagner-O’Day Program AbilityOne 

National Council on Disability NCD 

National Endowment for the Arts NEA 

Office of Personnel Management OPM 

President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities PCPID 

Small Business Administration SBA 

Social Security Administration SSA 

United States Department of Agriculture USDA 

United States Department of Commerce Commerce 

United States Department of Defense DoD 

United States Department of Education ED 

United States Department of Health and Human Services HHS 

United States Department of Homeland Security DHS 

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD 

United States Department of the Interior DOI 

United States Department of Justice DOJ 

United States Department of Labor DOL 

United States Department of Transportation DOT 

United States Department of the Treasury Treasury 

United States Department of Veterans Affairs VA 

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission EEOC 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 5
THE PRESIDENT’S NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE 

2007 PROGRESS REPORT 

CHAPTER 1 

Increasing Access through Technology 

The Administration has engaged in a multi-tiered approach that enables more individuals to reap 

the benefits of universally designed assistive technology. These efforts include supporting the 

development of new technologies while helping to remove the financial barriers associated with 

their acquisition. 

Promoting Greater Access to Assistive Technology

The President continues to devote significant resources to meeting the diverse technology-related 

needs of people with disabilities and enabling them to have access to these technology resources. 

• On October 25, 2004, the President signed into law the amendments to the Assistive 

Technology Act of 1998 (AT Act), which empowers the Department of Education to 

continue to manage programs including the State Grants for AT program. On October 1, 

2005, all 56 of these statewide assistive technology programs began implementing new 

three-year State Plans for Assistive Technology. 

• The Department of Education initiated funding for 33 Alternative Financing Programs 

(AFP) that provide loans to individuals with disabilities. In FY 2006, these programs 

made over 1,000 loans worth more than $12 million. 

• The Department of Education sponsored a national conference on the reuse of assistive 

technology devices in May 2006 and awarded more than $2 million in grants to support 

starting or expanding state and local reuse programs. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Education will administer an AT Device Reuse Technical Assistance 

and Coordination Center. The Center will: 

• Develop resources and guides on AT reuse to provide practical tips on 

how to begin, maintain, and expand device reuse programs. 

• Examine common problems encountered by reuse programs and possible 

solutions to solve these problems. 

• Work to create state and national device reuse networks. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 6
Spearheading Revolutionary Technological Innovations 

Assistive technology allows persons with disabilities to maximize their independence and 

integrate themselves into every aspect of societal life. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Commerce streamlined accessibility and usability standards of various 

technology advancements, including electronic voting machines, hearing aids, automatic 

rich transcription equipment, wheelchair design, and biocompatibility and prosthetic 

devices. 

• The National Science Foundation’s Research to Aid Persons with Disabilities (RAPD) 

program supports the development of technologies for new and improved devices or 

software for persons with disabilities through advancement of fundamental knowledge 

and research grants to undergraduate projects. In FY 2006, $3,346,845 was awarded to 

these projects. 

• The National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research and Small 

Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Program stimulates technological 

innovation in the private sector to increase the incentive and opportunity for small firms 

to undertake cutting-edge scientific and engineering research, including research into 

prosthetic devices, battery design, and mobility devices. 

• The National Science Foundation provides on-going support for the Quality of Life 

Technologies Engineering Research Center (QoLT ERC), jointly administered by the 

University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University, and maintains partnerships 

with industry and other universities. In FY 2006 $2.5M was awarded to support Center 

activities. 

• The National Science Foundation’s Research in Disabilities Education Program promotes 

and funds technological innovations that allow people with disabilities to access science, 

technology, engineering and mathematics with appropriate assistive devices. 

• The Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) released a compendium of 

currently funded research projects in the area of assistive technology in order to 

coordinate funding and reduce duplication. 

• The AbilityOne (formerly Javits-Wagner-O’Day) Program promotes technological 

innovations by: 

• Expanding financial support to nonprofits employing people with 

significant disabilities. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 7
• Opening new Federal contract possibilities, and developing individuallytailored employment options. 

• Initiating an engineering design challenge to spawn technological 

creativity in assistive technology. 

Fostering Policies and Procedures Promoting the Use of Assistive Technology 

The Administration continues to make efforts to minimize duplication among the many Federal 

agencies, the private sector, and non-profit groups in accessing and utilizing appropriate assistive 

technology. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Veterans Affairs convened the White House Conference on Emerging 

Technologies to bring together leaders in the field to exchange information and facilitate 

greater cross-disciplinary collaboration. 

• The National Science Foundation’s Research in Disabilities Education Program funds 

awards to numerous universities to train faculty and staff on the use of assistive 

technology for students with disabilities studying science, technology, engineering and 

mathematics. 

• The Department of Commerce brought together leaders in the technology field via the 

Assistive Technology Roundtable to discuss policies impacting innovation, investment, 

and marketing for disability-related technology products. 

• The Department of Commerce, in conjunction with the President’s Committee for 

Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (PCPID), expanded its assistive technology work to 

better serve those individuals. 

• The Department of Education trained 150 representatives from colleges and universities 

from around the nation on the importance of assistive technology for students. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services completed an analysis of barriers to 

implementing technology in residential long-term care settings, releasing its Report on 

Home Modification and Assistive Technology in October, 2006. 

• The Department of the Interior has promoted greater awareness of the many uses of 

assistive technology through its Disability Resource Center, a state-of-the-art facility that 

assists employees with the use of assistive technology and ergonomic solutions. 

• The Department of Veterans Affairs has made substantial progress in the development 

and use of assistive technology. Examples include: 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 8
• Automobile Adaptive Equipment Program giving veterans greater 

freedom to travel. 

• The Center of Excellence on Wheelchairs and Related Technology 

designing and testing assistive technology that truly works. 

• Other technology including video phones, an audible prescription 

reading device, GPS navigation for the visually impaired, and many 

more. 

Next Steps: 

• As a follow-up to the June 2006 workshop, “Technology to Improve Cognitive 

Function,” co-sponsored by the ICDR and PCPID, recommendations will be forthcoming 

in such areas as:

• Technology for improving function in employment settings. 

• Technology for improving cognitive function in educational 

environments. 

Increasing the Availability of Electronic Information 

The Administration has significantly expanded development of web-based content while 

clustering material by subject in order to enhance ease of use by the reader, including subjects 

such as civil rights enforcement information, emergency preparedness and response, and health 

and wellness. This effort complies with Section 508 standards under the Rehabilitation Act and 

assists people with disabilities who use assistive technology to access electronic information. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Labor continues to build www.DisabilityInfo.gov as a one-stop 

source of disability-related government information. 

• The Internal Revenue Service has made hundreds of its tax forms and products 

electronically accessible and compatible with assistive technology including screen 

readers and magnification devices. 

• The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has dedicated efforts to help blind and 

visually impaired individuals gain access to electronic forms. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services has made a considerable number of its 

materials electronically accessible to persons with any type of disability and established a 

new civil rights web portal on effective communications in hospitals. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 9
• The Department of Health and Human Services developed an online resource to assist 

families in applying for health and other services for children with disabilities and a 

“Partners for Recovery” program for those with psychiatric disabilities. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services developed an assessment instrument to 

collect assistive device and environmental information from adults with disabilities and 

older persons living in the community during national surveys. 

• The Department of the Interior has made 840,000 documents available and electronically 

accessible through its Bureau of Land Management, allowing people with disabilities to 

use assistive technology to access them for the first time. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Labor will expand the DisabilityInfo.gov website by continuing its 

aggressive partner development campaign and recruiting state and local partners.

• The Treasury Department, through its Alternative Media Center, will make its products 

accessible to individuals with disabilities using any type of common assistive technology.

• The Department of Health and Human Services will continue to support the national 

database and resource website on home and community-based services at 

http://www.hcbs.org. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will undertake the “Healthy Choices 

through Family History Awareness Project” which will increase awareness of the ways 

that family history may influence personal health, including the propensity for genetic 

disorders and other inherited disability.

Implementing Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act 

Under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, Federal agencies must make their electronic media 

accessible to people with disabilities, at a level approaching that of people without disabilities. 

President Bush strongly supports implementation of Section 508 and views compliance as 

integral to meeting the requirements of the E-Government Act that he signed into law in 

December 2002. An August 2005 memorandum from the Executive Office of the President 

reminded agencies of their obligation under Section 508, provided information about resources 

available from the GSA, and called for the continued coordination between agencies, the Chief 

Acquisition Officers' Council, and the Chief Information Officers' Council. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Access Board has provided technical assistance to more than 10,000 callers and has 

given 80 training sessions concerning Section 508 compliance.

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 10
• The Department of Health and Human Services issued a policy statement on reasonable 

accommodations and trained more than 2,000 managers on the importance of complying 

with Section 508.

• The Department of Homeland Security established and built a Section 508 Program 

Management Office, established new procurement procedures, initiated Section 508 

outreach and awareness plans, established work stations for equipment testing, and 

implemented review criteria to ensure compliance.

• The Department of the Interior provided technical assistance and training for employees 

and program visitors about the need for assistive technology. 

• The Department of Justice’s Project Civic Access efforts are resulting in increased 

accessibility of its websites. Also, its ADA.gov website serves as an information resource 

with other valuable material to assist with compliance. 

• GSA’s Office of Government-wide Policy (OGP) continues to be the Government’s 

principal advocate and coordinator for Section 508 information, tools, and direct 

assistance. It accomplishes this by: 

• Continuing to host, maintain, and improve Section 508.gov, a 

comprehensive resource for understanding and implementing the 

requirements of Section 508. Over 300,000 people per quarter visit the 

site. 

• Providing Section 508 training through the “508 Universe,” a 

dedicated on-line educational portal providing free training on design 

of web sites, how to acquire accessible electronic and information 

technologies, and other topics. 

• Providing support to the Section 508 Executive Steering Committee 

and its working group, focusing on government-wide implementation 

issues. 

• Developing, over the last two years, the Buy Accessible Wizard. This 

tool assists purchasers of Electronic and Information Technology in 

508 compliance. 

Next Steps: 

• GSA will implement planned functionality improvements, including: solicitation 

language support, usability improvements, and management reports. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 11
• The Access Board is revising and updating its Telecommunications Act Accessibility 

Guidelines and Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards through 

the creation of a Federal Advisory Committee, which began meeting in September 2006. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services, through the Office on Disability, will:

• Facilitate Section 508 compliance in web design, acquisitions, and 

enterprise architecture by performing a baseline assessment of web 

content for compliance with applicable accessibility requirements.

• Fully document electronic and information technology acquisitions 

regarding Section 508 compliance.

• The Department of Justice will work closely with the White House Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and GSA to develop a set of survey questions to be 

used for the next survey of all federal agencies regarding compliance with Section 508. 

Creating a Robust Assistive Technology Industry Domestically and Abroad 

The Administration has worked diligently to promote opportunities for American companies to 

expand their reach in this industry both domestically and abroad, linking providers of state-ofthe-art assistive technology to individuals with disabilities who need the technology. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Commerce has assisted the European Commission on Innovation in 

understanding the complexities of e-accessibility, resulting in ongoing efforts in other 

parts of the world to increase electronic access for people with disabilities. 

• The Department of Commerce encourages the development of assistive technology 

patents, resulting in greater direct involvement by small businesses and inventors. 

• The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) of the Department of 

Commerce has collaborated with the Veterans Administration (VA) on a number of 

advanced mobility, sensory, and other technologies, and is developing advanced robotic 

training and lifesaving devices. 

Next Steps: 

• During the coming months, the International Trade Administration of the Commerce 

Department will acquaint the Commercial Service’s domestic and international offices 

with the assistive technology industry. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 12
Additional Activities 

Agencies from across the federal government have either maintained or expanded their activities 

under the New Freedom Initiative, and many other efforts are the direct result of following the 

President’s lead. The following is some of the work that has been done since 2004. 

Accomplishments: 

• The GSA Center for Information Technology Accommodation will continue to provide a 

monthly Assistive Technology Day event to demonstrate the latest assistive technology 

available. 

• The Department of Defense Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program provides 

technology-related job accommodations to federal government employees filling a total 

of more than 52,000 requests from military and civilian personnel since its inception. 

CAP has also: 

• Provided online job accommodation information and assessments to 

millions. 

• Conducted regional training sessions for managers and employees in 

the use of assistive technology and the benefits of the CAP program. 

• Increased accessibility to the Military Health System and 

reemployment assistance. 

• Continued to implement its Telework Initiative to expand options of 

federal employees to work at home or at other offsite locations. 

• Enhanced options to enable federal employees to return to work after 

on-the-job injuries. 

• The National Council on Disability (NCD) published a report entitled “Over the Horizon: 

Potential Impact of Emerging Trends in Information and Communication Technology on 

Disability Policy and Practice.” 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Defense will continue to improve and expand its initiatives under the 

Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP). 

• The Treasury Department will remain strong in meeting the technology needs of its 

employees with disabilities and will continue to identify new and innovative ways to be 

of optimum support to these individuals. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 13
• The Department of Transportation will continue to expand the use of video relay services 

from Headquarters to field offices where deaf or hard-of-hearing people are employed. 

• To assist both employers and employees interested in learning more about assistive 

technology, the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy will 

develop materials on the availability of assistive technology in the workplace, including 

employer-targeted information on technology-related loans and tax credits. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 14
THE PRESIDENT’S NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE 

2007 PROGRESS REPORT 

CHAPTER 2 

Expanding Educational Opportunities for Children with Disabilities 

The President believes that all children, including those with disabilities, deserve to be taught by 

highly-qualified teachers in environments appropriate to their skills and achievement level. For 

too long, children with disabilities were forgotten in the system, contributing to a lower high 

school graduation rate, lower secondary education rates, and lower employment rates. In order 

to ensure that no child with a disability is left behind in our schools, the President has 

emphasized the importance of including youth with disabilities in accountability systems under 

the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which ensures these students receive more attention and 

targeted instruction. 

Enhancing the Special Education Service Delivery Structure 

On December 3, 2004, the President signed into law the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Improvement Act of 2004 (PL 108-446), which amended IDEA. The new IDEA made several 

significant changes designed to help redefine how States and schools identify children with 

disabilities, set assessment standards, strengthen the contents of students’ Individual Education 

Plans, and adopt NCLB’s highly qualified teacher standards. It also refocused special education 

programs on student achievement and required States to establish performance plans and 

implement programs to achieve performance goals. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Education: 

• Required supplemental educational services and school transfer 

options for students with disabilities attending low-performing 

schools, and required states to offer appropriate assessment 

accommodations to students with disabilities during the academic 

assessment process. 

• Issued final regulations implementing the reauthorized IDEA Part B 

program, which provides grants to states for special education, on 

August 3, 2006. 

• Issued regulations under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 

as reauthorized by NCLB, to provide additional flexibility to states to 

more appropriately measure the achievement of certain students with 

disabilities. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 15
• Established the Teacher Assistance Corps to facilitate professional 

development of special education teachers, ultimately leading to better 

quality instruction for children with disabilities. 

• Published the National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard, 

increasing the speed at which schools provide instructional materials to 

students who are blind or vision impaired. 

• Assembled and released a new “Tool Kit on Teaching and Assessing 

Students with Disabilities,” published in April 2006 which helps 

students with disabilities receive a quality education. 

• Issued the first annual State Determinations under the IDEA in June 

2007. The State and Federal reports will provide valuable information 

to the public on the success of the State’s efforts to educate children 

with disabilities to high standards. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services is now expanding assistance to Native 

American children with disabilities by helping to provide appropriate and coordinated 

services, resources, and personnel. 

• The National Science Foundation’s Research in Disabilities Education Program promotes 

and funds innovations in teacher preparation and training to help students with 

disabilities access and learn about science, technology and mathematics. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 

is implementing a comprehensive plan to help states, families, local educators, and 

administrators implement the IDEA 2004 final regulations, including establishing a onestop website, http://idea.ed.gov, with a variety of print and electronic resources. 

• The Department of Education will finalize implementing regulations for the reauthorized 

IDEA Part C Infants and Toddlers program, which provides state grants for early 

intervention services for young children. 

 

• The Department of Education will finalize implementing regulations for two pilot 

programs in the reauthorized IDEA. One pilot will focus on reducing the law’s 

paperwork burden on teachers and administrators. The other will allow parents and 

school districts the option to develop multi-year Individualized Education Programs 

(IEPs), which may enhance longer-term educational planning and reduce burdens on 

teachers and administrators compared to current annual IEPs. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 16
Preparing Children with Disabilities for the Future 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services supports 15 Information, Training, and 

Resource Centers to serve children and young adults with disabilities. 

• The Department of Education, through the recently established National Center for 

Special Education Research, is working to generate solutions to special education 

challenges in 10 core areas, including both student and teacher-based improvements. 

• The National Science Foundation’s Research in Disabilities Education Program funds 

projects that are working with national, state and local educational organizations to make 

science and math curricula fully accessible to youth with disabilities. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will: 

• Increase the school readiness of children with disabilities from lowincome families as part of the Head Start program. 

• Provide technical assistance to the states that participate in its Young 

Adult Program, which promotes smooth transition from youth to 

adulthood for persons with disabilities. 

• Endeavor to identify children with autism at younger ages and ensure 

the earliest possible initiation of intervention programs as well as 

target community and physician awareness of this disorder. 

• In 2007, NCD will be releasing a report that explores the multitude of issues surrounding 

youth with disabilities in foster care. 

• In 2007, NCD’s Youth Advisory Committee will present its findings regarding issues that 

young people through age 30 face in preparing for their futures. 

Enabling Youth with Disabilities to Enter the Workforce or Post-Secondary Education 

In order to help provide for a smooth transition for students with disabilities from secondary 

educational settings either to work or post-secondary education, the Administration has 

embarked on a series of collaborative partnerships that brought together stakeholders from 

around the country to address ways to enable students to reach their greatest potential. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 17
Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Education: 

• Supported seven Parent Training Information Centers to enable 

individuals with disabilities to increase independence through 

satisfaction of vocational rehabilitation goals. 

• Established a new five-year National Secondary Transition Technical 

Assistance Center (NSTTAC) in 2005 to help states build their 

capacity. 

• Hosted a Capacity-Building Institute in 2007 to assist state education 

agencies in coordinating four transition-related state performance 

indicators. 

• Held the first National Transition Conference in June 2005 to highlight 

programs and develop strategies to improve overall transition services. 

 

• Convened a National Employment Conference on Transition into High 

Demand Industries in 2006 to promote collaborative relationships 

between State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and employers. 

 

• Launched the Youth to Work Coalition with both public and private 

partners to promote mentoring and internship opportunities for youth 

with disabilities. 

• In conjunction with an independent contractor, conducted an 

assessment of transition policies and practices among state vocational 

rehabilitation agencies. 

• The Department of Labor, through its Responsible Reintegration of Youthful Offenders 

Initiative, continues to reach out to and serve youth with disabilities who return to their 

communities after involvement in the criminal justice system. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services: 

• Worked to prevent homelessness, criminalization, unemployment, 

attrition out of high school, and inappropriate and unnecessary 

institutionalization of young people with disabilities. 

• Supported efforts to train transitioning youth with disabilities to learn 

how to solidify career goals, develop interview skills, and become 

familiar with the qualities employers seek 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 18
• In September 2004, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) launched 

the ongoing Youth@Work Initiative, a national outreach and public education effort 

designed to address discrimination against teens with disabilities, and to increase 

awareness of their workplace rights and responsibilities. 

• The Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the 

Department of Labor, NCD, and SSA partnered with the National Youth Leadership 

Network to select and train young men and women with disabilities to be leaders in their 

communities. 

Next Steps: 

• As the result of the first Transition Conference, the Department of Education’s 

Rehabilitation Services Administration will implement the following recommendations 

as put forth by event attendees: 

• Disseminate information for transition coordinators using web-based 

resources about effective vocational rehabilitation transition practices 

(listserv for transition coordinators). 

• Increase the support and use of youth leadership forums.

• Host similar national conferences focused on vocational rehabilitation 

and employment.

• Develop tools or strategies for more creative ways to collaborate. 

• The Department of Education will: 

• Conduct a competition in 2007 to award 5 year grants to states to 

demonstrate and evaluate collaborative models for successful 

transition of students with disabilities into post-secondary education 

and employment. 

Providing Post-Secondary Students with Meaningful Internship Opportunities 

The Administration has emphasized the importance of empowering students with disabilities 

making the transition from secondary education to life at a college, university, 

vocational/technical school, or an adult education program. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Labor: 

• Initiated and continues to support the Public Service Internship 

Program, helping students with disabilities develop leadership skills 

and gain valuable work experience in the public sector. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 19
• Supported a large-scale domestic and international effort to promote 

career-oriented mentoring through job shadowing for students with 

disabilities. 

• Expanded support for students with disabilities by increasing the 

number of such individuals participating in Job Corps. 

Upholding the Civil Rights of Students in Grade School and in Post-Secondary Education 

The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) ensures that students both enjoy the 

rights to which they are entitled and understand the responsibilities that accompany those rights. 

The Department has engaged in an aggressive effort to promote voluntary compliance with 

applicable civil rights laws. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Education: 

• Issued a “Dear Colleague” letter, a “Dear Parent” letter, and a guide 

for high school staff about the legal rights and responsibilities of 

students with disabilities. 

• Since January 20, 2001, has addressed more than 10,000 complaints 

alleging disability-based discrimination using a variety of techniques 

to resolve complaints. 

• Initiated more than 130 compliance reviews addressing issues of 

discrimination on the basis of disability. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 20
THE PRESIDENT’S NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE 

2007 PROGRESS REPORT 

CHAPTER 3 

Integrating Americans with Disabilities into the Workforce 

Because the unemployment rate among people with disabilities remains stubbornly high, the 

President and his Administration continue to work actively to establish and implement 

comprehensive approaches to enable persons with disabilities to enter or re-enter the workforce. 

The Administration has enhanced its own employment practices while providing support for 

employment solutions derived from the private and nonprofit sectors. 

Addressing Causes for High Unemployment among People with Disabilities 

Accomplishments: 

• Under the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the Department of 

Labor has assembled a working group to address the employment of those with 

psychiatric disabilities. In addition, it initiated a collaborative effort with the other 

departments to assist ex-offenders with psychiatric disabilities to reintegrate themselves 

into society and the workforce. 

• The Department of Labor has launched an initiative to assist individuals with disabilities 

as they transition from segregated environments into the community, including the 

workforce. 

• The Department of Labor and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have 

joined forces to support employment of homeless individuals with disabilities. Through a 

series of grants totaling $13.5 million, this nation’s Workforce Investment System is 

being used to reach and serve these individuals. 

• The National Science Foundation’s Research in Disabilities Education Program provides 

over $5.3 million dollars per year in grants to institutions across the nation working to 

prepare people with disabilities for sustainable employment in the science and 

engineering workforce. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Labor will: 

• Provide on- and off-site training and technical assistance to the State 

Mental Health Transformation Grants Collaborating Councils for 

increasing employment. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 21
• Extract policy-related information from the Transformation States 

activities and other national workforce investment efforts, and develop 

a policy handbook to focus on employment of people with mental 

health disabilities. 

Removing the Physical, Programmatic, and Attitudinal Barriers to Employment 

Recognizing that most of the barriers to employment of people with disabilities are physical, 

programmatic, or attitudinal, the Administration has focused on overcoming those barriers by 

appropriate educational and enforcement efforts. These efforts to assist public and private 

employers and individuals are paying off, and more people with disabilities are able to enter the 

workforce every day. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Labor created the Workforce Excellence Initiative to raise awareness 

among employers that hiring people with disabilities is good for business. 

• The Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Commerce has generated a disability 

newsletter that is distributed via e-mail to interested employees and managers on 

pertinent issues related to employment of persons with disabilities. 

• The Department of Justice has worked in partnership with SSA to distribute tax incentive 

and other information to 7 million businesses to facilitate greater compliance with the 

Americans with Disabilities Act through its ADA Business Connection program, and has 

produced technical assistance material of use to businesses. 

• The EEOC has conducted free workshops tailored to small businesses, reached out to the 

private sector at business-focused events, and has published new technical assistance 

documents discussing reasonable accommodations in the restaurant industry and legal 

profession. 

• By revising Schedule A hiring authority, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 

has facilitated a greater influx of qualified people with disabilities into federal 

employment ranks. 

• GSA recently adopted the new Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Standard to 

achieve the highest possible level of access to public buildings.

• EEOC has released its compilation of best state government practices promoting 

employment of people with disabilities and launched Leadership for the Employment of 

Americans with Disabilities (LEAD) to identify practical ways for increasing the number 

of individuals with disabilities employed by the federal government. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 22
• The Department of the Interior has established the Disability Rights Coordinating 

Committee, which is comprised of representatives of every Departmental unit and 

addresses disability-related concerns both for its employees and members of the public. 

• The Department of Education convened a National Employment Conference in 2006 to 

highlight effective practices for state vocational rehabilitation professionals as they work 

with private businesses. 

• The Department of Homeland Security has worked to hire more individuals with 

disabilities by training thousands of hiring managers and establishing the Disability 

Employment and Awareness Council. The Council is comprised of Disability Program 

Managers and Selective Placement Program Coordinators from each DHS component. 

• The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency 

established a Disability Coordinator who will be responsible for providing guidance and 

coordination on emergency planning requirements and relief efforts for individuals with 

disabilities.

• The Department of Homeland Security trains managers and employees using the awardwinning Windmills attitudinal training program. This unique training program is 

comprised of a series of workshops and modules designed to increase awareness of the 

role that attitudes may play in the employment of people with disabilities. 

• The Department of Transportation has trained senior executives on effective recruitment 

and hiring strategies, built a curriculum for hiring supervisors, actively recruited people 

with disabilities at gatherings of consumer groups, distributed vacancy announcements to 

disability organizations, reached out to and hired disabled veterans, and made its 

facilities physically accessible.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs Employee Education System/VA Learning 

University has procedures in place to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not 

excluded, denied services, or segregated from educational events due to the absence of 

auxiliary aids and services.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs provided early intervention and outreach to 460 

wounded or injured service members at eight Military Treatment Facilities since 

January 2006 under the Secretary’s Coming Home to Work Initiative. 

• The Department of Veterans Affairs initiated a new Faith-Based and Community 

Initiative (FBCI) that has facilitated outreach to community faith-based and non-profit 

agencies or organizations that identified 518 successful job placements of disabled 

veterans since the outreach began in 2006. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 23
• The Department of Defense and the Department of Labor have created the REALifelines 

Program for disabled veterans, which provides career counseling and advocacy services 

to assist reentry into the workforce

• The Department of Homeland Security has reached out to disabled veterans through 

collaboration with local Veterans Affairs offices, vocational rehabilitation centers, 

military installations, and veterans organizations to recruit qualified job candidates.

• The Department of Homeland Security Headquarters sponsored an open house in 2006, 

in partnership with the DoD Military Severely Injured Center, to provide veterans and 

students with disabilities with an opportunity to meet managers and supervisors from 

organizations within Headquarters, and to obtain information about career opportunities.

• The Department of Homeland Security, notably through its Citizenship and Immigration 

Services (CIS), continues to hire disabled veterans at significant levels. Within the first 

eight months of FY 2007, CIS hired 28 disabled veterans, or 14 % of new permanent 

hires.

• The Department of Homeland Security was among the first federal agencies invited to 

participate in a pilot program that launched Operation Warfighter (OWF), a DOD 

program that offers temporary assignments within federal agencies to newly disabled 

veterans while they undergo medical and rehabilitative treatment. 

• The Department of Defense provides assistive technology to disabled veterans returning 

from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

• The NCD hosted an event to provide disabled veterans with an opportunity to give their 

perspectives on program and service delivery.

• The Department of Education launched a partnership with Treasury to help families build 

assets, provide assistance to entrepreneurs with disabilities, and facilitate employment of 

members of the disability community in small businesses. 

• The USDA continues to support thousands of farmers with disabilities through its 

“AgrAbility” Program. 

• The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published six question-and-answer 

documents on how Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to people with 

specific types of disabilities.

• Office of Personnel Management is promoting employment opportunities for people with 

disabilities through its Career Patterns Initiative.

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 24
Next Steps: 

• OPM will: 

• Establish a strategic partnership to take advantage of the Ticket to 

Work program at SSA, address the Schedule A excepted service hiring 

authority, and increase Federal employment of SSA benefit recipients 

with disabilities. 

• Utilize its existing employment website, USAJOBS, to link applicants 

with disabilities to information that will assist them in the federal 

hiring process. 

• Continue to disseminate information about disability employment 

issues through seminars and training. 

• Address disability employment issues as part of the broader Federal 

Human Capital initiative to expand and build a talented and diverse 

workforce. 

• Continue to emphasize the Career Patterns Initiative’s applicability to 

people with disabilities. 

• Expand the information and supports to Selective Placement Program 

Managers through the OPM Federal employment of people with 

disabilities website. 

• Conduct information sessions with agencies, Human Capital Officers, 

and Selective Placement Program Managers to disseminate 

information about hiring flexibilities, how to implement greater use of 

Schedule A, and other employment concerns. 

• SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development will continue to refine its database as part 

of ongoing improvements in its EDMISII data collection system. 

• The Department of Education will: 

• Strengthen its relationship with employers through the Rehabilitation 

Service Administration’s (RSA’s) partnership with the U.S. Business 

Leadership Network and other business associations. 

• Produce a film that will demonstrate the value of people with 

disabilities to the economy with the support of America's Strength, a 

non-profit organization dedicated to changing the attitudes of 

employers and the public about people with disabilities. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 25
• The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy will: 

• Continue to produce quantifiable findings related to employer 

perspectives on people with disabilities and address employer concerns 

about healthcare costs, absenteeism, and productivity. 

• Continue gathering data on what employers report to be the direct and 

indirect costs and benefits of providing reasonable accommodations to 

applicants and employees with disabilities. 

• The Department of Justice will expand the ADA Business Connection and develop new 

fact sheets, entitled “Expanding Your Market,” that address issues related to the large 

market of people with disabilities. 

• The Department of Justice will create the “ADA Business Connection Information 

Exchange Toolkit,” a collection of material about the ADA that will enable business 

organizations, disability organizations, and others to hold their own Business Connection 

meetings locally. 

• The Department of Labor, through its Veterans Employment and Training Services 

(VETS) and the Office of Disability Employment Policy will work to assist states and 

localities to respond to the needs of returning service members who are newly disabled. 

• EEOC will continue to publish user-friendly documents on the ADA for employers and 

individuals with disabilities. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will continue to educate Departmental 

human resource personnel and managers on employing persons with disabilities and 

addressing accessibility challenges. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services is developing a civil rights technical 

assistance tool for all State TANF agencies, assisting them in implementing their 

programs in accordance with Federal law as it relates to people with disabilities. 

• The Department of Homeland Security will increase permanent employment, retention, 

and development of individuals with disabilities within its staff. 

• The Department of Labor will continue to partner with and engage members of the 

Secretary of Labor’s New Freedom Initiative Award Circle of Champions business group 

and, on the international stage, will meet with European leaders in 2008 in Brussels to 

advance employment policies for people with disabilities. 

Improving the Service Delivery Infrastructure to Support Persons with Disabilities 

The Administration has led in streamlining program operations and enhancing inclusion of 

individuals with disabilities seeking employment. The three most wide-reaching government 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 26
agencies providing direct service are the One-Stop Career System in the Department of Labor, 

the Rehabilitation Services Administration in the Department of Education, and the Committee 

for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled. These programs pave the way 

for employment opportunities of hundreds of thousands of individuals with all types of 

disabilities, and have worked to optimize service delivery. Over the past two years, significant 

reforms have been underway to increase quality and quantity of service delivery within these 

departments and agencies. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Labor has: 

• Awarded a total of $65 million to 113 work incentive grantees within 

the workforce investment system from October 2000 through June 

2006. 

• Partnered with SSA to provide approximately $22 million annually to 

support a Disability Program Navigator Initiative in 31 states. 

 

• Implemented a customized employment initiative designed to build 

capacity within the workforce investment system and to integrate 

customized employment and universal design features within the 

system. 

• The Department of Education has successfully reorganized its Rehabilitation Services 

Administration, providing tailored service to individual state vocational rehabilitation 

agencies. 

• AbilityOne conducted its first strategic plan to modernize its operations and fulfill the 

vision of every Program employee earning at least the minimum wage, receiving a 

comprehensive benefits package, having the opportunity for upward advancement, and 

being placed in competitive employment. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Labor will use existing benchmarks to support necessary 

improvements to One-Stop Career Centers in order to improve physical and 

programmatic accessibility. 

• The Department of Labor will continue analysis of the rich data sources resulting from 

grant activities to produce a comprehensive report of findings and develop governmentwide policy recommendations for employment of people with disabilities. 

• The Committee for Purchase will continue to implement and update its strategic plan in 

order to pursue its vision for employment and will continue to work with NIB and NISH 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 27
in the development of business lines that create new high-level employment opportunities 

and management-level jobs for people who are blind or who have other disabilities. 

• In 2007, NCD will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 

Eliminating Work Disincentives 

In addition to the skills that qualify individuals with disabilities for specific jobs, removal of 

employment-related barriers is vital. Examples of work disincentives include an absence of 

accessible or reliable transportation to and from work, fear of loss of government benefits 

(especially medical benefits to address disability-related needs), and physical inaccessibility of 

various places of work. As a creative way to confront these concerns, the President and the 

Administration have put into place an array of supports. 

Accomplishments: 

• SSA has continued its successful implementation of the Ticket to Work Program by 

enrolling 1,377 Employment Networks into the program and increased marketing and 

outreach. 

• SSA has refined its Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program to place more 

emphasis on maximizing self-sufficiency and is working in partnership with the 

Department of Education and the Department of Labor to improve the workforce 

investment system. 

• The Department of Labor: 

• Funded three multi-year telework research projects to explore the full 

dimension of telework as a viable and sustainable employment option. 

• Provided job accommodation information to public employers, 

corporations, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and 

individuals with disabilities. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services provided support for the Ticket to Work 

and Work Incentives Act through: 

• Medicaid Infrastructure Grants, which provided over $125 million in 

grants to 47 States and the District of Columbia 

• Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment (DMIE) 

Grants that has committed to providing over $152 million to assist States 

in providing health care and other services early in the progression of a 

disease. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 28
• NCD is conducting a series of studies aimed at improving work incentives for people 

with disabilities and is taking into account the perspectives, policies, and programs of 

public and private employers, as well as incentives to persons with disabilities as they 

consider available employment options. 

Next Steps: 

• SSA will release regulatory guidance on the Ticket to Work program, clarifying and 

simplifying eligibility and application procedures. 

• The Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy will continue to 

enhance the effectiveness and reach of services while reducing costs through use of its 

Searchable Online Accommodation Resource (SOAR). 

• NCD will analyze existing public policies that impact the employment of people with 

disabilities. 

Expanding the Pipeline of Prospective Employers and Business Contractors 

The federal government has provided job opportunities to people with disabilities on a short-term 

and long-term basis. In addition, the Administration has actively supported efforts to contract 

with small business owners with service-connected disabilities. 

Accomplishments: 

• Jobseekers with disabilities gain long term employment through a series of successfullyadministered programs: 

• The Department of Education sends hundreds of thousands of 

qualified individuals with disabilities into the workforce to fill jobs in 

employment – 205,791 in 2006 alone. Out of these, 96.0% were 

earning at or above minimum wage in an integrated setting (an 

increase over the 85.4% figure in 2000). 

• The Department of Veterans Affairs has hired thousands of people 

with disabilities and has enabled them to staff its operations at every 

level of leadership, totaling more than 8% of its workforce. 

 

• The Department of Labor continues to build its Employer Assistance 

and Recruiting Network (EARN), its Training and Technical 

Assistance for Providers (T-TAP) program, and its efforts to promote 

employment. 

• The Department of Homeland Security has dramatically increased the 

number of full-time employees with disabilities hired into its ranks, 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 29
making up 5.90% of its Headquarters component, comprising 9.09% 

of Headquarters senior executives and increasing the number of people 

with disabilities at Headquarters by 256% between February 2004 and 

October 2006. 

• GSA continues to advance its commitment to strengthening contracting opportunities 

with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses by establishing set-aside 

contracting opportunities. 

• The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness has encouraged more than 115 

cities to date to adopt the innovation of Project Homeless Connect, a one-day, one-stop, 

results-oriented and consumer-centric engagement strategy to end homelessness. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Labor, through the Office of Disability Employment Policy, will 

enhance the effectiveness of the EARN program by leveraging the project’s demand-side 

connections, exploring partnerships with key veterans agencies, and formulating 

alternative approaches for reaching a broader range of job candidates. 

• The Department of Labor will develop policy recommendations based on the success of 

its customized employment initiative and work with other federal agencies on their 

implementation.

• The Department of Transportation, through the Federal Railroad Administration, will 

continue to participate in the Microsoft Foundation/AAPD Federal Information 

Technology Summer Internship Program, the Minority-Serving Institutions Program, and 

the Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities.

• The Department of Homeland Security developed a web-based Disability training 

program to educate DHS managers and supervisors nationwide on recruiting, 

interviewing, hiring, accommodating and retaining people with disabilities. The course 

also provides managers with important information on emergency preparedness for 

individuals with disabilities, and contains a glossary and resource section. 

• The Department of Education, through the Rehabilitation Services Administration, will 

continue to align its vocational rehabilitation and independent living state plan process 

with its monitoring and review process and continue to focus on program improvement.

• The Committee for Purchase, an independent Federal agency, and its two Central 

Nonprofit Agencies will promote telecommuting. For instance, NISH is allocating funds 

for grants to AbilityOne participating nonprofits that obtain federal telecommuting 

contracts and request assistance for training and related start-up needs. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 30
• THE PRESIDENT’S NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE 

2007 PROGRESS REPORT 

CHAPTER 4 

Promoting Full Access to Community Life 

The President is committed to promoting equal basic civil liberties for all Americans, including 

those with disabilities. Community integration is the hallmark of this commitment, which is why 

the Administration has worked to put into place the kind of infrastructure that fosters equality of 

opportunity and the right of every American to strive for his or her goals. 

Implementing the Olmstead Decision Swiftly and Decisively 

This Administration has undertaken many steps within the areas of transportation, housing, 

access to government programs and services, and the removal of the bias favoring institutional 

treatment over community-based care. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services implemented the “Money Follows the 

Person (MFP)” program, spending $1.75 billion on the program over five years to build 

Medicaid programs that enable people with disabilities to transition from institutions to 

the community. 

• The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 allows self-direction of Medicaid services, meaning 

that people with disabilities have a greater say in their receipt of services. 

• The Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services continues 

to investigate and resolve complaints alleging that persons with disabilities are denied the 

opportunity to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. 

• The Department of Justice has brought enforcement of the Civil Rights of 

Institutionalized Persons Act to historic levels as part of its ongoing commitment to 

eliminate isolation of institutionalized persons in various kinds of facilities. 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued guidance to Community 

Development Block Grant recipients to promote community living for individuals with 

disabilities. 

• The Department of Education provides support for several programs that assist 

individuals with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in their 

communities. These programs support: 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 31
• More than 330 consumer-controlled community-based centers for 

independent living that give assistance to individuals with disabilities 

through various support services.

• Services for those with severe visual impairments developed late in life. 

• State efforts to enhance independent living services through the operation 

of Statewide Independent Living Councils, outreach, capacity-building, 

evaluation, and training. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services:

• Funded programs and services for children and adults with 

developmental disabilities by supporting state Protection and 

Advocacy systems, University Centers for Excellence and 

Developmental Disabilities, and State Councils on Developmental 

Disabilities. 

• Empowered people with disabilities to take greater economic control 

of their lives by leading in the creation of the TAXFACTS Program. 

• Continued research to replicate the highly regarded Cash and 

Counseling Demonstration Program in ten states.

• The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, consisting of 20 Federal agencies, is 

dedicated to addressing the needs of homeless individuals with psychiatric disabilities. 

• The National Council on Disabilities provided guidance on ways better to serve 

individuals with disabilities across a wide spectrum of government programs, most 

recently posting new guidance in November 2006.

• The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $21 million to 10 States in 

fiscal year 2007 to develop demonstration programs that provide home- and communitybased services for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services convened the 9th Biennial International 

Congress, bringing together representatives from more than 50 countries to exchange 

information and ideas about community inclusion and integration.

• The Department of Health and Human Services, through the Administration on Aging, 

held the “Choices for Independence” Summit in Washington, DC in December 2006 to 

promote specific strategies for assisting older individuals to remain in their homes.

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 32
• The Department of Health and Human Services, through CMS, held the seventh annual 

CMS New Freedom Initiative Conference, “Access to Community Living: Promoting 

Choice and Independence,” in Baltimore, Maryland, March 5-7, 2007. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services completed a multi-year, 50-State review 

of state policies on home modification and assistive technology to gain an understanding 

of the scope of support that is available through Medicaid, including coordination with 

other funding streams such as Medicare, tax credits, and workers’ compensation.

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will continue to administer the $1.75 

billion Medicaid-supported “Money Follows the Person” demonstration, which began in 

2007 and will last through FY 2011. 

• The Department of Justice will continue to focus efforts on matters fundamental to 

people with disabilities, including access to core activities of community living and 

Olmstead implementation. These include: 

• Ensuring the ability to travel freely. 

• Ensuring access to education and childcare. 

• Providing access to the community, including health care facilities 

and medical equipment, access for people who use service animals, 

and access to consumer goods and services. 

 

• Ensuring that polling places nationwide are accessible under the ADA 

and work to ensure that the disability provisions of the Help America 

Vote Act are implemented. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will: 

• Continue to implement its Effective Communication in Hospitals 

Initiative. The Department is partnering with the American Hospital 

Association to assist hospitals in communicating with persons who are 

deaf or hard of hearing. 

• Continue the several projects it has underway that will help inform 

policy makers on methods to increase access to community life, 

including a Money Follows the Person project in Texas and studies of 

inclusion of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in 

community and civic organizations. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 33
• In 2007, NCD will release a report that identifies financial incentive factors that may 

influence employees and potential employees with disabilities to seek, maintain, and 

advance in the employment market.

Securing Voluntary Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act 

Titles II and III of the ADA cover government and public accommodation standards. The 

Department of Justice, in addition to litigation efforts discussed elsewhere in this chapter, has 

engaged in a number of strategies that have resulted in significant barrier removal in every part 

of the country within state and local government settings and places of public accommodation. 

The Administration is committed to ongoing efforts to reduce barriers in Title II and III entities. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Justice: 

• Facilitated greater compliance with Title II provisions of the ADA 

through Project Civic Access. 

• Continued to build its mediation program, which has had a success rate 

of 75 %. 

• Fielded more than 46,000 technical assistance calls to its information 

line and provided online information to more than 3.1 million 

individuals. 

• Distributed free ADA materials to more than 25,000 police 

departments, sheriff’s offices, highway patrols, and other agencies. 

• Established a new course to train businesses on providing goods and 

services to customers with disabilities. 

• Made a variety of streaming video products available on-line, 

including the “Ten Small Business Mistakes” video and “Police 

Response to People with Disabilities.” 

• Raised public awareness about disability rights by reaching out to 

more than 300,000 people in FY 2005 alone through a variety of 

education activities. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 34
Next Steps: 

• In the next two years, the Department of Justice will review 20 additional cities and 

towns nationwide under Project Civic Access. The Department will also create and 

disseminate the “ADA Best Practices Toolkit for State and Local Governments.” 

• The Department of Justice will expand its popular ADA website to provide new 

information for design and construction professionals to get quick answers to ADA 

design questions and add interactive visual materials to explain ADA requirements. 

• In 2007, NCD will release two reports on the Americans with Disabilities Act analyzing 

its impact and areas for improvement in implementation. 

Expanding Transportation to Enhance Mobility 

The Administration continues to support transportation alternatives that enable individuals with 

disabilities to travel independently from home to school or work and to maximize their ability to 

live in the community. Beyond the local community, access to transportation allows individuals 

with disabilities to make their way to places that would otherwise be out of reach. 

Accomplishments: 

• The President has increased transportation options by securing disability provisions in the 

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, which includes the 

New Freedom transportation program. 

• The Department of Transportation: 

• Continues to implement Executive Order 13330, which brings 

together stakeholders at all levels under the banner of “United We 

Ride” to coordinate transportation for low-income individuals, senior 

citizens, and persons with disabilities. 

• Remains on track in facilitating the removal of physical barriers 

within the U.S. inter-city passenger rail system, with the goal of full 

accessibility by 2010. 

• Has continued to educate airline personnel about how to comply with 

the Air Carrier Access Act. 

• The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has reached out to 

Spanish speakers with disabilities by launching its new Spanishlanguage website located at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 35
• The Department of Veterans Affairs has continued to provide the Driver Rehabilitation 

Program which gives veterans with disabilities the training to drive their own vehicles, 

including with adaptive equipment. 

• The Federal Interagency Council on Access and Mobility will fund demonstration grants 

for local communities to improve coordination of transportation and simplify access for 

consumers. 

• The Federal Transit Administration has issued comprehensive guidance for the New 

Freedom program outlining eligible projects, strategies for developing a coordinated 

plan, and options for conducting competitive selections. 

Creating More Housing Options 

For many Americans today, community-based housing is still a dream yet unfulfilled. Physical 

barriers such as inaccessible rental units and common areas remain. Even more insidious are the 

attitudinal barriers erected by those who do not treat individuals with disabilities with the dignity 

and respect they deserve. President Bush is committed to creating more and better housing 

options for persons with disabilities through enforcement of applicable Federal laws. 

Accomplishments: 

• A variety of initiatives in the Department of Housing and Urban Development have 

increased the percentage of persons with disabilities who own their own homes from 30% 

in 2005 to 36% in 2006.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development, in order to help establish higher 

standards for accessibility, has worked to improve standards under the Fair Housing Act, 

the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Architectural Barriers Act. 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice have 

worked in close partnership to uphold the rights of persons with disabilities:

• Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST, a Department of Housing and 

Urban Development initiative, provides training of architects and 

builders in accessible design and construction of apartments.

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued Housing 

Choice Voucher Program guidance to help grant recipients obtain 

affordable housing, resulting in over 7,000 units created or modified. 

• The Department of Justice prosecuted the largest disability-related 

Fair Housing Act case in its history, resulting in the mandated creation 

of 5,000 accessible units.

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 36
Next Steps: 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development will continue its program of 

headquarters-led compliance reviews of major housing authorities. 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Justice will 

issue two additional joint statements covering Reasonable Modifications and Fair 

Housing Act Design and Construction Requirements. 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development will reissue its New Freedom CDP 

Notice, which will give guidance to HUD grantees on how CDBG, HOME, and HOPWA 

funds can be used to facilitate housing assistance to persons with disabilities. 

Enforcing the Rights of Voters with Disabilities 

The Administration takes very seriously the need for every American voter with a disability to 

gain access to the polling place and to vote independently. This most fundamental of American 

rights must be protected and cherished. 

Accomplishments: 

• In February 2006, the Department of Justice issued a 33-page ADA Checklist for Polling 

places, which helps election officials recognize and identify accessibility problems at 

polling places. This document offers practical, simple, and efficient solutions for 

eliminating barriers, including temporary measures for Election Day. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services administers the Voting Access for 

Individuals with Disabilities (VOTE) project and funds Protection and Advocacy 

programs to aid implementation of the Help America Vote Act. 

• Through the Help America Vote Act, the Department of Commerce’s National Institute 

of Standards and Technology (NIST) has played a key role in providing technical support 

and guidelines to help realize nationwide improvements in the voting system. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Justice will continue to distribute its “ADA Checklist for Polling 

Places” and will enhance outreach to disability organizations, local and state government 

officials, civic groups, and others. 

• The Department of Justice will continue to monitor the efforts of the states as they seek to 

bring themselves into full compliance with the disability provisions of HAVA and take 

appropriate steps as necessary to uphold the voting rights of Americans with disabilities. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 37
Increasing Access to Healthcare, Services, and Supports 

The President believes that access to quality healthcare means access to a better quality of life. 

Understanding that each person has his or her own unique needs, many efforts have been 

underway to provide appropriate support for persons with disabilities in this area. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services, through the Administration on Aging 

and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, supported “one-stop shops” for 

expanding access to long-term care services. There are now over 120 demonstrations in 

43 states.

• The Medicare Prescription Drug Program included targeted outreach to members of the 

disability community.

 

• The Department of Health and Human Services streamlined a process to enable funding 

to move from institutional care to community-based living for those with long term 

disability or illness. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services encourages physical fitness and healthy 

nutrition among youth with disabilities through the “I Can Do It; You Can Do It” 

program; advanced a community-based model of care for children with specialized 

needs; and developed a total of 21 new Family-to-Family Health Information Centers to 

provide information, education, training, and peer support for these children, responding 

to more than 222,000 requests for technical assistance from FY 2004 through FY 2005 

alone. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services promotes greater health for older 

Americans through evidence-based intervention, identifying effective strategies to 

facilitate community-based care, and providing technical assistance and support to 

promote healthy aging, decreasing the impact of age-induced disability.

• In FY 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services provided a series of grants to 

support treatment to persons who are homeless due to psychiatric disability.

• Over the last two years, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness has 

encouraged more than 115 cities to adopt the implementation of Project Homeless 

Connect, a one-day, one-stop engagement strategy to end homelessness. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 38
Next Steps: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will: 

• Continue to implement the health-based recommendations of the 

December 2005 White House Conference on Aging and promote the 

goal of independence, dignity, and health for older adults living with 

or at risk for later-life disability and chronic illnesses. 

• Implement an action plan resulting from recommendations from its 

2005 National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic 

Disparities in Health. These recommendations address the challenge 

of healthcare for minority women with disabilities. 

• Analyze Home- and Community-Based Service waivers for persons 

with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

• Continue to work with all involved federal departments to render 

necessary support for children 0 to 3 years of age who are deaf or hardof-hearing. 

• Help states develop quality improvement programs for children with 

specialized healthcare needs or disabilities, including health plans to 

improve systems of care for these children. 

• Continue to implement key health initiatives to respond to ongoing, 

frequently under-treated chronic health and disability-related issues 

among the American Indian/Alaska Native population. 

• Continue to assist states in their efforts to implement Aging and 

Disability Resource Center programs in accordance with the Older 

Americans Act. 

• In 2007, NCD plans to analyze the history of federal efforts in healthcare as it relates to 

Americans with disabilities and to review efforts towards access to coverage and care 

through the private sector. 

• In order to reduce healthcare-related disincentives to employment for people with 

disabilities, the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy will: 

• Provide information and technical assistance to the existing workforce 

development network to increase the level of competency and 

familiarity with healthcare issues. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 39
• Work with the Department of Health and Human Services Medicaid 

Infrastructure Grant states to assist them in better addressing the 

employment-related healthcare needs of their Medicaid recipients. 

• Examine personal assistance cooperatives to identify promising 

practices. 

Implementing the Recommendations of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health 

Several mental health conditions can result in significant disability. The President believes that 

work remains to be done in this area, and has taken numerous steps in that direction, including 

the establishment of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2003. Ongoing military 

operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have resulted in a new focus on mental health services for our 

returning veterans, and the President is committed to furthering that cause. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services:

• Awarded a total of $92.5 million to seven states to transform the ways 

in which they each deliver mental health services.

• Launched the National Anti-Stigma Campaign to educate the general 

public about mental illness, focus on recovery, and encourage 

individuals experiencing mental health issues to seek treatment and 

support.

• Convened the 2005 Invitational Conference on Medicaid and Mental 

Health.

• Supported reform of state mental health systems to treat co-occurring 

substance use and psychiatric disabilities.

• Coordinated educational support and other services to children with 

significant psychiatric disabilities.

• Succeeded in making mental health services further available to 

individuals from diverse communities.

• Supported community-based organizations in providing mental health 

services to older Americans.

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 40
• Doubled funding support for national suicide prevention efforts, 

including college campuses and tribal communities from FY 2005 to 

FY 2006.

• Released materials guiding Social Security Disability and 

Supplemental Security Income applications, Medicaid, and mental 

health services. 

• Hosted a National Behavioral Conference for Returning Veterans and 

their Families, to aid them in identification and prevention of mental 

health disabilities and substance abuse disorders.

• The Department of Veterans Affairs:

• Has substantially increased mental health care capacity across the 

service continuum, increasing psychology, psychiatry, social work, 

and mental health nursing staff. VA currently employs over 9,000 

mental health professionals. 

• Has integrated mental health into geriatrics. A psychologist has been 

funded at every Home Based Primary Care (HBPC) team nationally. 

• The Department of Education is supporting efforts to identify evidence-based mental 

health care and to remove barriers for children and adults in obtaining effective treatment. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will: 

• Continue working through its Mental Health Action Agenda to align 

activities, remove barriers to collaboration, and develop a systemic 

response to fragmented services and systems across the Federal 

government. 

• Support an ambitious collaborative effort to address the significant 

problem of youth experiencing both developmental disabilities and 

emotional and/or substance abuse. 

• The Department of Veterans Affairs will: 

• Increase access to mental health services and eliminate disparities 

across geographic areas by increasing mental health care staff, as well 

as promoting the availability of tele-mental health care technology 

throughout the VA system. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 41
• Develop programs to train VA mental health staff in the delivery of 

evidence-based treatments for PTSD, depression, and serious mental 

illness, and continue to place mental health providers in the primary 

care setting at VA medical centers. 

• Implement its Mental Health Strategic Plan, which supports the 

integration of mental health services into primary care settings and 

provides assessment and brief treatment for those veterans who may 

not require specialty mental health care, as well as coordinated 

referrals if a veteran requires specialty mental health services. 

• The Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs will continue the 

Senior Oversight Council, which addresses veterans with traumatic brain injury and 

mental health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder. 

• The National Council on Disabilities will complete its Mental Health consumer paper in 

2007, incorporating available research findings and addressing the potential for federal 

policy and/or legislative actions. 

Integrating Persons with Disabilities in Emergency Preparedness 

The President issued Executive Order 13347, Individuals with Disabilities in Emergency 

Preparedness, on July 22, 2004. The purpose of this Executive Order is to ensure the safety and 

security of individuals with disabilities in all-hazard emergency situations. The Executive Order 

established an Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals 

with Disabilities (ICC). The Secretary of Homeland Security is the chair of the ICC and he has 

delegated that role to the Department of Homeland Security’s Officer for Civil Rights and Civil 

Liberties. 

The ICC is comprised of senior leadership from more than 20 federal departments and agencies. 

Its mission is to ensure that people with disabilities and their unique needs are fully integrated 

into all aspects of emergency management. The ICC has concentrated its work in eight major 

areas: 

• Emergency Communications. 

• Emergency Preparedness in the Workplace. 

• Emergency Transportation. 

• Health. 

• Private Sector Coordination. 

• Research. 

• State, Local and Tribal Government Coordination. 

• Technical Assistance and Outreach. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 42
The ICC’s Report to the President issued one year after the ICC’s creation contains background 

information on disaster and emergency preparedness, needs of people with disabilities, a 

historical overview of efforts to integrate these needs into the nation’s preparedness activities, a 

description of the implementation of the Executive Order, a summary of accomplishments, and 

recommendations. Since its inception, the ICC has achieved major accomplishments that are 

central to the eight core areas of the ICC’s focus. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Justice created the Disability and Emergency Preparedness Resource 

Center, which brings together hard-to-find information of importance to first responders, 

emergency managers, disability community organizations, and members of the general 

public. 

• The Department of Labor developed and disseminated a framework of guidelines to 

emergency planners, managers, and employees, containing key guiding principles that 

help federal agencies include persons with disabilities at every stage of emergency 

management.

• The Department of Homeland Security provided input into integrating individuals with 

disabilities in simulated emergency response exercises.

• The ICC, with coordinated leadership of the Department of Transportation, developed 

and launched an emergency transportation website, particularly to assist with emergency 

evacuations. It also released and posted a new emergency transportation publication in 

September 2006.

• The ICC formed a partnership with the National Citizen Corps Subcommittee to foster 

ongoing and regular dialog with community-based national organizations within the 

disability field.

• The Department of Commerce organized a workshop identifying numerous 

recommendations for additional research concerning emergency evacuation of people 

with disabilities from buildings. 

• The Federal Communications Commission took affirmative steps to improve emergency 

warning systems for persons with hearing and visual disabilities, expanded access to the 

Emergency Alert System, and implemented Executive Order 13407, addressing the 

public warning system’s accessibility to persons with disabilities. 

• The EEOC brought together representatives from the disability and employer 

communities to address emergency preparedness in the workplace and determine specific 

next steps for improvement.

• The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland 

Security co-hosted a national conference in June 2006 that addressed the emergency 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 43
preparedness needs of older individuals and persons with disabilities, integrated targeted 

capabilities into FEMA’s Emergency Support Functions, and prioritized emergency 

preparedness at the state level.

• The Interagency Coordinating Council moved quickly to assist individuals with 

disabilities during the 2005-2006 hurricane season and supported the implementation of 

the Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 

Act of 2005.

• The Department of Homeland Security Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) office 

submitted recommendations to the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program 

(HSEEP) volumes, calling for the addition of specific language that will ensure 

accessibility and inclusiveness of the DHS exercise and evaluation process. 

• On behalf of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, CRCL led the 

development of Guidelines for Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities in Disasters 

as required by Section 689 of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act. 

• FEMA senior staff met with approximately 20 representatives of disability consumer, 

advocacy, and service organizations regarding disaster response issues. 

• A National Advisory Council was created within FEMA to “ensure effective and ongoing 

coordination of Federal preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation for 

natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters.”

Next Steps: 

• The Department of Homeland Security will work closely with ICC partners and 

stakeholders to implement the recommendations set in its first two years: 

• Direct homeland security funding to promote the full integration of 

people with disabilities in all aspects of emergency preparedness, 

response and recovery. 

• Urge federal building officials and managers to include the concerns 

of federal employees and visitors with disabilities in developing 

emergency plans and continuity of government plans. 

• Ensure that Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) personnel, 

Public Safety Entering Point (PSAP) personnel, and captioners may 

travel to and from their designated facilities to provide continuity of 

services for persons with hearing and speech disabilities. 

 

• Coordinate evidence-based federal research into the effectiveness of 

audio, visual, and/or tactile protocols and technologies related to 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 44
emergency preparedness, alerting, warning and response for 

individuals with disabilities. 

• Ensure comprehensive medical approaches that address the health 

care and medical needs of individuals with disabilities across the 

lifespan of an emergency event. 

• The Department of Homeland Security is acting upon the recommendations of its 

Remediation Plan in the TOPOFF (Top Official) 3 Full Scale Exercise After-Action 

Report. Recommendations include the following: 

• Identify individuals with disabilities, advocacy groups, and emergency 

preparedness experts to assist in planning and provide actors for 

realistic exercises. 

• Integrate individuals with disabilities in exercise scenario and play 

(specifying that a school for the deaf or a nursing home is in the area 

affected in the scenario, for example). 

• Work with the Department of Homeland Security Section 508 

Program Coordinator and Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 

to ensure maximum accessibility and accommodation for observers 

and players in TOPOFF 4 and intermediate exercises. 

• DHS CRCL is working closely with TOPOFF 4 exercise developers 

to incorporate issues presented by people with disabilities and other 

special needs populations into exercise planning and delivery. 

• The Department of Homeland Security is engaged in the revision process of the National 

Response Plan (NRP) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). DHS is 

coordinating a diverse group of stakeholders to develop recommendations that 

incorporate disability and other special needs considerations into federal policy, 

operations, and incident command structure.

• GSA will incorporate into its existing emergency management plans (Occupancy 

Evacuation Plan, Shelter in Place, and Continuity of Operations Plans), exercises, and 

actual events the recommendations found in the recommendations of “Preparing the 

Workplace for Everyone: A Framework of Guidelines for Federal Agencies.” 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will analyze data on the status of 

healthcare facilities located in areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and track the 

availability of hospitals and long-term care facilities in the Gulf Region, as part of the 

Office of Gulf Coast Recovery efforts. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will provide the following emergency 

preparedness and response supports: 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 45
• A web-based training toolkit targeting State and local emergency 

response managers. 

• An introductory web-based training module on disability that will be 

used to educate Public Health and civil service staff to be detailed for 

an emergency. 

• An Assessment Tool developed in collaboration with the American 

Red Cross (ARC) to identify specific needs of persons with 

disabilities, functional impairments and chronic medical conditions 

who present at American Red Cross Shelters and HHS Federal 

Medical Shelters during an emergency. 

• Public health risk communication messaging for vulnerable 

populations to support implementation of the Pandemic and All 

Hazard Preparedness Act of 2006. 

• The Department of Health and Human Services will continue to collect and assess reports 

from state emergency management offices and disability and public health authorities 

that participated in the Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland 

Security June 28 – 30, 2006 Conference on Emergency Management and Individuals 

with Disabilities. 

• The Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation 

Research will fund research into effective solutions and strategies to address the needs of 

persons with disabilities in planning, response, and mitigation of disasters. 

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development will be working with the Access 

Board to consider amendments to the Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Guidelines 

to establish standards for emergency transportable housing as part of its hurricane 

disaster relief efforts. 

• The FCC is currently undertaking rulemaking proceedings to update regulations for 

Internet-based Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) with respect to calling for 

emergency assistance using 9-1-1 and E9-1-1 for TRS. 

• EEOC is evaluating the input it received at the October 25, 2005 Commission meeting 

and the June 7, 2006 Employer Roundtable to determine what strategies will most 

effectively integrate people with disabilities into workplace emergency preparedness 

procedures. 

• The Department of Transportation is acting upon the recommendations identified in its 

report to Congress and the President regarding lessons learned from past efforts to meet 

the needs of individuals with disabilities and will: 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 46
• Involve transportation agencies and operators more directly in key 

aspects of evacuation planning and implementation. 

• Encourage state and local agencies to work with the disability 

community to develop systems to identify vulnerable populations prior 

to an evacuation. 

• Develop regional mass evacuation plans with representatives of 

various vulnerable populations. 

• Under the Homeland Security Appropriations Act for FY 2007, H.R. 5441, NCD is 

working directly with FEMA on nine major activities delineated by Congress to focus 

and strengthen emergency planning and preparation work. 

Protecting the Rights of Crime Victims with Disabilities 

The Department of Justice has taken a leading role in raising awareness about rights and services 

available to victims of crime with disabilities. It has sought input from national experts from the 

victim assistance, disability advocacy, and policy and research fields in this effort. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) has made progress in 

tracking crime victimization of individuals with disabilities. To advance the 

requirements of the Crime Victims with Disabilities Awareness Act, new questions are 

being tested for possible incorporation into the National Crime Victimization Survey, 

which is collected for BJS by the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. 

• The Department of Justice: 

 

• Actively supports efforts to render education and technical assistance 

on domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking against women with 

disabilities. 

• Improved forensic interviewing techniques for law enforcement and 

medical professionals who come into contact with these victims. 

• Educated professionals in the victim/witness field by facilitating 

receipt of its article and companion piece to almost 10,000 

victim/witness offices working in partnership with the National Center 

for Victims of Crime (NCVC). 

• Expanded its Project Civic Access Program to include inspection of 

domestic violence shelters funded by cities and towns in support of 

their local citizens. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 47
Next Steps: 

• The Bureau of Justice Statistics, in response to the Crime Victims with Disabilities 

Awareness Act, will produce estimates of the number of crimes committed against people 

with disabilities and evaluate the relative risks for these groups. An initial release of these 

estimates is planned for late 2007 or early 2008. 

• The Department of Justice Office on Violence against Women will host a series of focus 

groups and bring together experts from the criminal justice system to plan how to 

incorporate the new provisions under VAWA 2005 into the Disability Grant Program. 

• The Department of Justice, through its Civil Rights Division, will investigate and then 

require specific remedial action in instances in which domestic violence shelters funded 

by local cities and towns are found to be inaccessible.

• The Department of Justice, NCD, and NCVC will continue to partner with one another to 

foster greater public awareness about crime victims with disabilities.

Improving Access to Telecommunications 

The President believes that access to communications is a prerequisite to full community 

integration. Recognizing this, the FCC has undertaken efforts that have resulted in greater access 

to telecommunications than ever before. 

Accomplishments: 

• The FCC has: 

• Recognized new technologies, including new uses of 

Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS), American Sign 

Language, and other systems to meet the needs of specific groups. 

• Released a Declaratory Ruling to ensure that VRS consumers can 

place a call through any VRS providers’ service and that all VRS 

providers may receive calls from and make calls to any VRS 

consumer, ensuring access in an emergency. 

• Embarked on a public awareness campaign to inform consumers about 

expanded communication options for persons with hearing and speech 

disabilities. 

• In December 2006, the National Commission on Disabilities issued a report calling for 

legislative and regulatory safeguards to guarantee equal access by people with disabilities 

to evolving high speed broadband, wireless, and Internet-based technologies. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 48
Next Steps: 

• The FCC will consider an open rulemaking addressing issues that might enhance the 

effectiveness of the Commission’s closed captioning regulations. 

• The FCC has several open rulemaking proceedings designed to update regulations for 

Telecommunications Relay Services to keep up with advancements in technology and 

accessibility, and to improve financial and program management to ensure the efficient 

and effective provision of assistive communications technologies. 

• The IRS will continue allowing deaf or hard-of-hearing customers to communicate with 

its staff by various methods, rather than requiring customers to effect all communications 

through the Federal Relay Service. 

Working to Ensure that Everyone Counts 

The President believes that one key to ensuring full participation by people with disabilities is 

ensuring that they are included in the Census Bureau results. This allows more efficient delivery 

of essential services, more timely evacuation in emergencies, and more equitable use of 

sometimes-scarce resources. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Census Bureau has established a Disability-Data Users Group to provide a forum for 

bilateral communication to share ideas, comments, research, and analysis on disability 

data collected at the Census Bureau. 

• The Census Bureau has produced a series of reports entitled “Americans with 

Disabilities,” which are developed using data from the Survey of Income and Program 

Participation (SIPP). 

• The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in cooperation with the 

Employment Rate Measurement Methodology Interagency Workgroup, is determining 

ways to modify the Current Population Survey (CPS) in order better to track employment 

rates of individuals with disabilities. 

Next Steps: 

• The Census Bureau is currently reengineering the Survey of Income and Program 

Participation (SIPP) to improve the accuracy, timeliness, and quality of data on economic 

well-being and program dynamics. 

• The Census Bureau has evaluated the results of the disability questions that were tested 

as part of the 2006 ACS Content Test. The tested questions will be included in the 

Census Bureau proposal for the 2008 ACS. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 49
• The Census Bureau will release the results of the Current Population Survey Annual 

Social and Economic Supplement by October 2007. 

• The Census Bureau expects to build upon the accomplishments from the 2000 Census 

and to duplicate similar partnerships with the disability population in preparation for the 

next decennial census in 2010. 

• NCD is developing a sample national disability performance indicator system that may be 

considered for use by the Federal Government or any of its various components to assess 

the quality of life of Americans with disabilities. 

Increasing Access to Federal Lands 

One of the most important aspects of community life entails taking full advantage of 

opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors. Individuals with disabilities deserve to enjoy the rich 

natural treasures that America has to offer. This Administration is committed to providing 

increased access to these shared resources. 

Accomplishments: 

• The Department of the Interior has: 

• Eliminated physical and programmatic barriers which had once stood 

in the way of enabling individuals with disabilities to enjoy all that 

this nation’s federal lands have to offer, making substantial 

improvements to its facilities each year. 

• Honored its commitment to advance access by overseeing a 

nationwide strategy of monitoring barrier removal efforts, 

coordinating remedial measures, engaging in active outreach and 

education, and instituting an awards program recognizing model 

practices. 

Next Steps: 

• The Department of the Interior will: 

• Continue to enhance accessibility of federal land around the country, 

applying the principles of universal design to achieve maximum 

integration in all programs, services, and activities. 

• Initiate a major focus on providing effective communication for 

participants who are hard-of-hearing, deaf, blind, or have 

developmental or learning disabilities. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 50
• Continue to provide training to its staff and develop a core of 

knowledgeable and effective accessibility coordinators within its 

bureaus. 

. 

• Remain proactive in addressing civil rights complaints related to both 

the federal lands and local and state parks and recreational sites under 

the ADA Title II provisions. 

• Continue to provide technical assistance and coordinate with the 

Department of Justice and the Access Board. 

Broadening Access to the Arts by People with Disabilities 

Theaters and museums, intended for enjoyment by everyone, serve as centers for artistic 

expression and enable members of the general public to experience yet another important aspect 

of community life. The Administration recognizes that persons with disabilities are a vital part 

of that community and should therefore be supported in their efforts to maximize opportunities 

afforded to patrons with disabilities. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has played a 

significant role in making this ideal a reality. 

Accomplishments: 

• NEA continues to provide technical assistance to arts organizations and institutions on 

the most effective and efficient ways to make their facilities and activities accessible and 

compliant with federal accessibility regulations. 

• During FY 2004-2006, NEA supported six regional arts agencies to conduct a series of 

two-day training institutes for staff and board members of state and regional agencies 

across the country. 

• NEA identifies and awards support annually to an exemplary project that creates greater 

public awareness of and demand for universally designed environments. 

Fulfilling America’s Promise to Individuals with Disabilities 51