News

Washington, D.C. – RespectAbility is delighted to share with you the fact that the jobs bill for people with disabilities (WIOA) passed the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly today. This comes on the heals of a 95-3 vote for the bill in the U.S. Senate. It is expected that the WIOA bill will be signed into law soon. Many consider it the most important disability legislation since the groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990.

The vote comes almost exactly one year after the founding of RespectAbilityUSA.org, a non-profit organization working to empower Americans with disabilities to achieve the American Dream. Donn Weinberg, Founding Chair of RespectAbilityUSA.org, and its President/CEO Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, then introduced the nascent national, non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to:

1. Reshape the attitudes of American society so that people with disabilities can more fully participate in and contribute to society, and
2. Empower people with disabilities to achieve as much of the American dream as their abilities and efforts permit.

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Washington, DC. RespectAbility, a non-profit organization working to empower Americans with disabilities to achieve the American Dream, is celebrating the first anniversary of its work to empower Jews with disabilities to be included in Jewish life.

Since its inception only one year ago, RespectAbility has worked to help Jewish groups become more inclusive communities. According to the U.S. Census, 18.6% of Americans have a disability. This includes 13% of public school children. Given that there are 5.3 million Jews in America, this means that there are at least 985,500 Jews with disabilities. However, as Jews carry genetic risks and on average have children later in life than any other demographic group it is likely that we have more disabilities per capita than others, including higher rates of Autism, mental health and other issues linked to parental age.

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Washington, D.C. – At a time when 70% of working age Americans with disabilities are outside of the workforce and more than 9 million working age Americans with disabilities are living on government benefits, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on bi-partisan, bicameral legislation to increase opportunities for people with disabilities. Leaders from the House and Senate have introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The Senate passed WIOA on June 25th by a vote of 95-3. The House is scheduled to take up WIOA on the suspension calendar Wednesday, July 9, 2014.

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Hello!

I am writing to ask for your urgent help. We want Members of Congress to know that they have constituents who care about job opportunities for people with disabilities. Thus, can you please take a few moments to write an email to your member of Congress to ask them for their plan to enable people with disabilities to get a job? You can find your member of Congress here. Please send a note to your member of Congress to let them know that:

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From POLITICO’s Morning Education:

A WIN FOR THE WORKFORCE BILL:

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act sailed through the Senate Wednesday afternoon, taking steps toward streamlining federal workforce programs and overhauling the job training system for young people with disabilities.  [continue reading…]

BREAKING NEWS: Senate Votes 95-3 for Jobs for People with Disabilities

Washington, DC. At a time when 70% of working age Americans with disabilities are outside of the workforce and more than 9 million working age Americans with disabilities are living on government benefits, the U.S. Senate voted 95-3 on legislation (S. 1356) to increase job opportunities for people with disabilities.

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Washington, DC. At a time when 70% of working age Americans with disabilities are outside of the workforce and more than 9 million working age Americans with disabilities are living on government benefits, Congress will vote on bi-partisan, bicameral legislation to increase opportunities for people with disabilities.

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Washington, D.C. – The Washington DCJCC, with more than 25 years of proven leadership in providing safe outstanding volunteer service opportunities, and RespectAbilityUSA, a non-profit organization working to empower people with disabilities to achieve the American dream, are thrilled to announce the formation of community service opportunities for Washington area Middle and High School students with disabilities.

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As you know, RespectAbility works to empower people with disabilities to achieve the American dream. We have learned that a barrier to civil rights is that elite private schools – places where children of current leaders and influential people go to train to be leaders themselves – do not frequently welcome children with disabilities. We took at look at more than 90 elite schools that are considered “Ivy League Feeder Schools.” We know that their graduates go on to Harvard, Yale and other top schools – and then to policy and corporate leadership positions. 

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