March 12th, 2010
This article addresses the cost (i.e., loss of parking revenues) of illegal use of disability tags and abuse of accessible parking spaces (which the article consistently labels “disabled spaces”) in Wisconsin. The proposal for revision of state law covering the enforcement of and penalties for illegal parking in accessible spaces is discussed. Apparently, most places in Wisconsin allow free parking in accessible spaces and that apparently creates an incentive for fraudulent use of disability tags. [see article at: http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=28427] According to Steve Pribbenow, who formed a local committee in Madison, WI, to assist in policing of accessible spaces, police estimate a single disabled tag can cost a city $2,000 a year in lost parking revenue. He states, “You can start doing the math and you’re talking big money.” The article continues, “Madison estimates it subsidizes disabled parkers — both legitimate and illegitimate — to the tune of $800,000 each year. ‘For any group that has special privileges, other people pay for that,’ says Bill Putnam, Madison parking engineer. ‘There is a cost to the general population.’”
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The Americans with Disabilities Act specifies percentages (number of spaces per parking lot) and design standards for accessible parking spaces (http://www.ada.gov/reg3a.html#Anchor-13240 – see 4.1.2(5)(a); and http://www.ada.gov/reg3a.html#Anchor-16919), but it does not require accessible parking to be free. The ADA does not have perecntage requirements for on-street-parking. Even the U.S. Access Board’s Draft Guidelines (i.e., not enforceable standards) for Public Rights-of-way, are indefinite in percentages and number of spaces for accessible on-street-parking (http://access-board.gov/prowac/guide/PROWGuide.htm#3_8_1 ).
The Americans with Disabilities Act is meant to provide civil rights, not special privileges, for people with disabilities.
Suggestion: remove at least one incentive for abuse, where other spaces are metered, meter accessible spaces, too. Equal does not mean free.
Tags: accessible parking, on-street-parking, parking, public rights-of-way, U.S. Access Board
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March 11th, 2010
Aging in Place and Visitability in Single-Family Homes
As our population ages, the need for homes of all types with at least a minimal amount of access will significantly increase. These factors obviously have a significant impact on the quality of life. In addition, allowing people to remain in their homes as they age, and providing group home environments for those who need this type of care, is much less expensive than nursing home care. This is an opportunity for designers and developers to move into a market that will have increased demand, as well as do good for their community.
Single-family homes and most townhouses are exempt from all accessibility provisions under the International Building Code (IBC) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
A special A117.1 subcommittee has put forward a proposal for a new ‘Type C’ dwelling unit. While the proposal includes only technical criteria and not scoping, the intent is that the application of limited access, aging-in-place or visitability, is based on widespread application to dwellings not covered by other federal laws (e.g., single-family homes, townhouses).
For the entire artical see: http://bsj.iccsafe.org/february/features/accesshousing.html
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March 10th, 2010
The U.S. Business Leadership Network has announced the launch of the Disability Supplier Diversity Program. This program offers businesses that are owned by an individual(s) with a disability, including service disabled veterans, an opportunity to increase their access to potential contracting opportunities with corporations, government agencies, and one another. The USBLN Disability Supplier Diversity Program is a certification program for businesses owned by individual(s) with disabilities. Businesses that obtain certification as a Disability-Owned Business Enterprise are eligible for increased contracting opportunities with USBLN DSDP Corporate Partners. Additionally, the DSDP will also provide opportunities for certified DOBEs to meet face-to-face with potential clients at USBLN DSDP events. This initiative was piloted in 2009 and, following its official launch, will focus on certification, supplier education, and facilitating buyer/supplier relationships.
For more information, visit the USBLN site.
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March 10th, 2010
A national marketing campaign, Think Beyond the Label, launched at the end of January 2010. The campaign is the result of a collaborative effort by more than 30 Medicaid Infrastructure Grant projects and is managed by Health & Disability Advocates, parent organization of the National Consortium for Health Systems Development.
Think Beyond the Label targets small and mid-sized businesses and is designed to make the business case for employers to hire people with disabilities by providing them:
- information needed to hire people with disabilities;
- tools necessary to integrate people with disabilities into the workforce; and
- local resources to help them access this segment of the labor pool.
The campaign includes television and print advertising as well as internet marketing. It has generated interest from the business community and garnered local and national attention from a broad range of disability employment stakeholders as well as media. For more information, visit the Think Beyond the Label website.
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March 10th, 2010
The Interim Final Rules under the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 were published in the Federal Register on February 2. This legislation requires parity between mental health or substance use disorder benefits and medical/surgical benefits with respect to financial requirements and treatment limitations (such as aggregate lifetime and annual dollar limits for benefits) under group health plans and health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan. These interim final regulations are effective on April 5, 2010 and comments are due on or before May 3, 2010.
For more information, visit the Federal Register notice.
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March 10th, 2010
Consumers can now file complaints directly with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), thanks to new closed captioning complaint rules by the FCC effective February 19, 2010. These new closed captioning rules, requested by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and consumer groups in 2004, make it easier for consumers to report closed caption problems. When you see a television program that has no captions, missing captions, delayed captions, captions that are garbled, displayed too fast, or unreadable, please file a complaint with the FCC.
For more information, visit the NAD website.
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March 10th, 2010
The DBTAC: Southeast ADA Center has a new feature on its website—People with Disabilities in the Workforce. This feature presents a real-life outlook on employees with disabilities in the workplace. Facts and figures about employees with disabilities — tell only one part of the story. Every month an employee profile provides a real-life outlook on employees with disabilities in the workplace — their reliability, their skills, and the low-cost of reasonable accommodations.
The Southeast DBTAC wants your employment story! If you would like to be interviewed for an employment profile to be highlighted on their website, please submit your name, phone number including area code, e-mail address, and a short summary of your story to sedbtacproject@law.syr.edu.
Facts and figures about employees with disabilities — their reliability, their skills, the low-cost of reasonable accommodations — tell only one part of the story. With a profile of a different employee featured every month, we tell the “rest of the story.”
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March 10th, 2010
On April 26, 2010, ODEP and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) are sponsoring an historic day-long, invitation only Federal Hiring Event for People with Disabilities. Unlike a hiring fair, representatives from many agencies will be reviewing resumes prior to the event, and inviting prospective candidates for interviews. To be eligible for consideration, candidates must meet the criteria for the special hiring authority for People with Disabilities, or the appointing authority for 30% or More Disabled Veterans.
For more details, visit USAJobs.
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February 28th, 2010
A lawsuit filed by a disabled gamer against Sony has been dismissed by a California Court.
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98715-Disabled-Gamers-Suit-Against-Sony-Dismissed
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February 18th, 2010
PEPNet has just uploaded new Frequently Asked Questions, covering a broad variety of topics in higher education arenas and communication issues. All FAQs are accessible in multiple formats: signed, captioned, voiced, and printable. Most FAQs also provide resources that offer additional topic-related information. The newest FAQs address captioning of educational materials, including classroom videos, media presentations, and internet video clips. The FAQs discuss captioning methods, and the legal and copyright considerations of adding captioning to existing video materials. Others discuss providing amplified stethoscopes for students in health science programs and the provision interpreting services for students in study abroad programs and non-course related university sponsored events.
Please visit the website to find FAQs posted http://www.pepnet.org/faq.asp
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