Policy

On September 7, 2023, the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights published a proposed update to the HHS regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits agencies receiving federal funds from discriminating on the basis of disability. Since the passage of the Rehabilitation Act in 1973, the more far-reaching Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990. The proposed rule aligns HHS’ Section 504 regulations with newer ADA regulations in accordance with Congress’ directives to interpret the two consistently. [continue reading…]

It has long been a source of consternation to members of the disability community that political candidates and elected officials rarely speak publicly about issues specific to disabled voters. In fact, few politicians even address how broader issues that they do speak about impact people with disabilities. After most presidential debates, there is a predictable barrage of social media posts from disabled voters who are disappointed that the candidates never mentioned the word “disability,” let alone addressed some of the issues that impact our daily lives the most.

It turns out that the disappointment shared by disabled social media users is more widespread than many might have imagined. According to a recent poll by the think tank Data For Progress, “a majority of disabled voters don’t believe politicians care about the disabled community.”

61% of likely voters with disabilities who were polled disagreed with the statement, “Public officials and politicians care about what people with disabilities think.” Interestingly, 50% of the non-disabled voters who were polled agreed with them. This held true across party lines; 58% of all Democrats polled and 52% of all Republicans disagreed with the statement that politicians care about disabled voters. [continue reading…]

With California wrapping up its legislative session on September 14 and North Carolina adjourning on October 13, state legislatures are going into recess just in time for autumn. Even the full-time representatives are largely done with their major efforts for 2023.

So, what now? Is everyone on vacation leaf-peeping and sipping their pumpkin spice lattes?

Not exactly. This is the key time when California state legislators and their staff members will be reviewing bills that the governor has signed or vetoed and planning their strategy for next year. Legislators with vetoed bills may want to reintroduce them next year, choose another technique for accomplishing their goal, or abandon the bills altogether. Others will be sorting through ideas, constituent suggestions, input from lobbyists, and building out their “bill package” for next session. [continue reading…]

RespectAbility’s federal policy work is often done in coalition with other organizations, ensuring input from a wide cross-section of the disability community. Check out our latest advocacy highlights from working in partnership with the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), which is the largest coalition of national disability organizations that focus on policy, and the National Coalition on Accessible Voting (NCAV), which is a coalition of organizations dedicated to protecting, promoting, and expanding voting accessibility. [continue reading…]

Over the past month, two of RespectAbility’s major workforce initiatives, the Building Better Futures initiative (BBFI) and our Enabling Economic Independence to Work program (EIW), made great strides forward.

The BBFI program, which is made possible by the support of the James Irvine Foundation, is creating employment pipelines in the information technology and job coaching spaces for disabled people with multiple marginalized identities who don’t currently have college degrees. The program aims to establish partnerships between the disability community, educational institutions, industry, and government agencies in Southern California. Furthermore, the partners that RespectAbility has brought together are exploring the possibility of collaborating on larger statewide initiatives. We are excited about the program models that will emerge from these partnerships and hope they will be replicated throughout the country to bring about a meaningful and lasting change in disability employment nationwide. [continue reading…]

“Nothing about us without us.”

This iconic disability phrase takes on new significance in terms of health research, as the NIH recently designated people with disabilities as a population with health disparities.

Although this may sound like a disappointing development, this designation enables healthcare researchers to address the difficulties many people with disabilities face in receiving timely and comprehensive healthcare. It allows medical researchers to include disabled people as a subgroup within larger research studies. This allows researchers to understand the unintended effects a medication, procedure, treatment, or policy may have on people with disabilities specifically. It will also hopefully create a space for people to self-advocate for inclusion in trials and treatments from which they are currently excluded. [continue reading…]

What if you had to choose between paying your rent and marrying your significant other? People with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are faced with this decision every day. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act raises asset limits for SSI recipients and couples. This proposal, while simple, could have a significant impact on SSI recipients and their families. 

Individuals who receive SSI are each allowed to have $2,000 in assets (such as cash, stocks, and vehicles), but married couples are only allowed to have $3,000 in assets between the two spouses. The asset limit is less for couples than it would be if the two people chose not to marry. Furthermore, second cars (which most people take for granted) can easily put a married couple over the asset threshold. This policy results in many couples choosing to remain unmarried or even for married couples to get divorced in order to be allowed to own a second car or to save an additional $1,000 a month.

The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act partially addresses these issues by proposing that asset limits to qualify for SSI be raised from $2,000 to $10,000 for individuals, and from $3,000 to $20,000 for couples. This will be the first time that SSI asset limits have been raised since 1989 and aligns with projected inflation-adjusted asset limits. [continue reading…]

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) Spotlight  

Did you know that 44% of companies in the US don’t allow remote work? These companies are missing out on a reliable, skilled, and motivated talent pool, people with disabilities. Earlier this year, our Senior Policy Advisor, Matan Koch, moderated a webinar called Presenting the Business Case For Disability Inclusion Within Your Organization. This presentation highlighted the positive contributions that people with disabilities bring to an organization and is an excellent resource for companies looking to recruit from a diverse, underutilized talent pool. [continue reading…]

Since 1971, the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts has served as an institution for individuals with developmental disabilities. To help patents stop dangerous behaviors, the center uses aversive therapy, in which a patient experiences a form of discomfort given by a therapist if the patient engages in perceived inappropriate behaviors. The goal is for the patient to recognize that continued occurrences of such behaviors will result in further exposure to the discomfort given by the therapist, leading them to stop the behavior.

But the Judge Rotenberg center is the only one in the country that performs aversive therapy using a device known as the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED). The device is usually worn by a patient on their bodies and, if the patient is exhibiting behaviors the staff deems inappropriate, an electric shock is administered from the device to the patient via a remote control.

The center states the device is only used as a last resort if a patient continues to engage in “self-injurious or violent behavior” after prior attempts at prevention have failed. But several incidents at the center have come to light demonstrating that usage of the device is ineffective at reducing harmful behaviors, left lasting physical and psychological scars on patients, and has often been used as an initial form of treatment. [continue reading…]