Without accurate data regarding the number of people with disabilities who are unemployed it is difficult to measure the success or failure of any efforts to increase the employment rate. The executive order that created the task force requires us to develop a measurement tool so that we can actually determine who is a person with a disability and what is their employment rate. We currently do not have that measurement tool and do not have acccurate and adequate data. We have begun a collaborative partnership with the Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce to the tune of a half a million dollars to be awarded to a researcher that is going to develop the measurement tool. We hope to have the data included in the monthly CPS by 2002.
Voluntary compliance is obviously a better alternative.
The federal government has had to comply with the Rehabiliation Act of 1973. The Department of Justice has done extensive outreach to educate state and local government agencies about their rights and responsibilities under the ADA as has the other agencies reponsbile for enforcement. Unfortunately, these groups are not as comfortable when dealing with persons with progressive or invisible disabling conditions, such as the deaf and hearing impaired, and the ambulatory who have mobility impairments. I don't think that it is ever intentional. I hope it's not that one segment of the disability community is discriminating against and aiding in discrimination against another segment.