Statewide Independent LivingCouncil of Illinois
Statewide Independent LivingJuly 9, 1998
Dear Editor,
The Public Relations Committee of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois is distributing the following print media packet:
Celebrating the ADA and its Impact on Independent Living
We encourage your paper to print all or parts of the enclosed releases and supporting informational materials, and if you have any questions feel free to contact our office or the Center for Independent Living in your area.
Thank you in advance for helping the Statewide Independent Living Council share this information in your community on the eighth anniversary of the historic Americans with Disabilities Act.
Best Regards,
(Signed)
John M. Eckert, Executive Director
For the SILC Public Relations Committee:
Elizabeth Langen, Chair
Joy Duling
Robert Fleming
Roy Miller
Odell Price, Jr.
Daniel Wrigley
Enclosures.
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Title: Celebrating the ADA and its Impact on Independent Living
Communities like yours, throughout Illinois will soon be celebrating the eighth anniversary of the signing of the historic Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). When former President Bush, in July, 1990 signed the bill making the ADA he called it "the world's first comprehensive declaration of equality for people with disabilities."
In a nutshell, the ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services, and telecommunications.
Unfortunately, many recent media stories have only shown abuses and the negative impact of the ADA, while the positive impact on persons with disabilities, their families and friends, the workplace, and our communities have gone unnoticed. For example, a recent study has shown that the typical cost of making a "reasonable accommodation" for a person with a disability in the workplace is only $200. In fact, a 1995 poll noted that 87% of businesses who had hired persons with disabilities would encourage other businesses to do the same. And, according to a Louis Harris and Associates Survey, 70% of executives surveyed supported the ADA and did not favor weakening the law in any way. Retailers and other business owners have benefited from the passage of the ADA by tapping an enormous new market of consumers by taking such simple steps as widening their isles or installing an automatic door opener.
From a personal standpoint, a Center for Independent Living consumer stated that since the passage of the ADA, many restaurants have taken steps to make seating areas more accessible for walkers and wheelchairs and offering their menus in Braille or large print. And another consumer noted that the ADA was responsible for making the local "911" emergency response system accessible to persons who are deaf or speech impaired through the TTY system connected to their telephone. The National Council on Disability, at a town meeting gathering feedback on what the ADA has meant to Illinois, noted that the ADA has been "extremely positive" regarding issues of employment, recreation, public accommodation, and transportation. For example, it was noted that the ADA had been responsible for assisting one woman's daughter with a spinal cord injury to achieve employment success with minor workplace adaptations, and that during the past two years "her work record is excellent." Another woman discussed how her daughter with muscular dystrophy had benefited from newly accessible playgrounds, and that the family had been able to use the campgrounds at a state park as a result of the ADA. These are just a few examples of how the ADA has benefited many of our friends and neighbors, and should be celebrated.
Please join in the celebrations, whether it's a back yard barbecue, or a regional celebration like [EDITOR: SEE ENCLOSED BROCHURE NOTING 19 REGIONAL EVENTS], and participate in the recognition of this historic Act. [EDITOR: IF ONLY RUNNING ONE PIECE, ADD FOLLOWING, OR ADD ANOTHER PIECE] For more information about the ADA or for information about an ADA celebration in your area, contact your local or regional Center for Independent Living or the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois at 217/744-7777.
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While the entire Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive document, the following is an overview of the five titles that make up the ADA.
Employers must make decisions about applicants and employees based on the individual abilities, not disability labels: employers may not discriminate on the basis of disability. Title I requires employers to make reasonable accommodations, providing protections during the application and hiring process, job training, advancement, wages, and other related issues. Reasonable accommodations include job restructuring, work site modifications, and ensuring access to all employment-related functions and benefits.
All state and local governments must conduct a self-evaluation and most must have a transition plan ensuring access and reasonable accommodations for persons with physical, sensory and psychiatric disabilities to public services, programs and activities as well as public transportation systems. New facilities and equipment must meet accessibility standards. Reasonable accommodations include access for persons with mobility impairments, interpreters, telecommunication devices for the deaf (TTYs), emergence phone services, Braille/alternate formats, reader services, and other equipment and services. Rail, bus and other commuter facilities and services must be available and accessible to people with disabilities. Comparable para-transit hours/services must be provided to people who cannot use existing fixed route systems.
All private entities providing public services must remove physical barriers, where readily achievable, for all new construction and building modifications, unless it is for a non-public activity of a private club of religious organization. Included are entities that: serve food and drinks, provide lodging, education, entertainment, exhibits, recreation, fitness programs, or other public services. This includes legal and public gathering places, grocers, bakeries, retail stores, gas stations, day care, social service centers, medical offices and facilities, banks, hotels, libraries, museums, parks, privately owned public transportation systems, schools, and any other private business or program which offers a service the general public.
Telephone companies must provide 24 hour/day telephone relay services for people with hearing and speech impairments. Businesses offering telephone services to the general public must accommodate people who use telecommunication devices for the deaf (TTYs). Businesses covered include: legal and medical services, financial institutions, insurance companies, and the like. In addition, closed-captioning for all public service announcements funded with federal monies is required.
The following seven issues are outlined: (1) broader protection of the rights of people with disabilities where existing legislation is stronger than the ADA, (2) prohibits state immunity, (3) requires the development of minimum accessibility design requirements, (4) authorizes ADA technical assistance programs, (5) authorizes an accessibility study of the National Wildlife Preserve system, (6) explains amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and (7) identifies limits of the ADA.
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Leading the way in the successful implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as an avenue for persons with disabilities achieving independent living, are Illinois' twenty-two Centers for Independent Living. Following, are brief descriptions of what "independent living" means to a person with a disability, and what are Centers for Independent Living.
What is independent living? To a person with a disability, it means many things. First and foremost, it means that persons with disabilities have the same opportunities to make decisions that effect their own lives. Independent living means that they have the right and opportunity to participate as full and equal members of their neighborhoods, communities and our society as a whole. In addition, even persons with disabilities requiring personal care assistance and other assistance (such as a wheelchair), have the right and opportunity to choose who will assist them or what type of assistive devises or technology they prefer to use in achieving their personal level of independent living. Having control over decisions affecting one's personal level of independent living represents an empowering aspect for an individual with a disability. And many persons with disabilities are empowered to achieve their highest degree of independent living by utilizing their local or regional Center for Independent Living.
Centers for Independent Living are non-residential, community based non-profit organizations for persons with all types of disabilities. Centers for Independent Living are governed by and operated by a mandated majority of persons with disabilities representing cross-disabilities. This cross-disability representation includes people with physical, sensory, psychiatric, cognitive, and multiple disabilities. Centers are required by law to offer the following four core services in their community or region: (1) information and referral, (2) independent living skills training, (3) peer counseling, (4) individual and systems advocacy, and other services designed to meet the needs of a particular community or region. Centers for Independent Living have taken a leadership role in assisting persons with disabilities in achieving employment or volunteer opportunities, assisting families in understanding the rights of school age children with disabilities, and in assisting persons with disabilities as they move from nursing homes into the community.
In addition, Centers for Independent Living have taken a further leadership role in their communities and regions by ensuring that the ADA is being effectively implemented. Centers have helped educate individuals and groups about the significance of this empowering law. Many Centers have served as accessibility surveyors for local governments, developers and builders, and local businesses. For more information about the Americans with Disabilities Act and Centers for Independent Living, contact the Center in your community or region, or the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois at 122 S. 4th, Springfield IL 62701.
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