GUEST ARTICLE: New Year Brings ADA25 Celebration to Atlanta
by Mark Johnson
Since the last edition of Making a Difference, Phase One of the ADA Legacy Tour was completed. In 2014, the Tour made stops in 18 states and traveled almost 12,000 miles. Wrapped in disability rights photos, the ADA Bus and Legacy Tour pays tribute to the cross-disability efforts that led to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The bus was originally procured for the 2006-2007 Road to Freedom Tour, which sought to engage the nation in the story of the ADA and the need for amendments to further the law's impact.
Both the Road to Freedom and the ADA Legacy Tours were inspired by the historic 50-state journey taken by the husband-and-wife team of Justin and Yoshiko Dart in 1988 to garner grassroots support for the yet-to-be-passed ADA.
The Tour includes not only the bus, but also a mobile museum that has a four-panel display on the history of self-advocacy, courtesy of the Museum of disABILITY History; disability history quilts; an archive of disability history milestones, locally and nationally; displays on the history of the Road to Freedom Tour; and information about The ADA Legacy Project and the ADA.
Local disability groups plan most of the programming around the stops. Youth Organizing! Disabled & Proud, based in CA, participated in San Jose in November 2014. Staff encouraged attendees to fill out cards on what the ADA means to them. One response: "Because of the ADA, I'm no longer someone who can be put in the back and ignored. I'm no longer shunned. I'm not invisible anymore."
The Tour is homage to the grassroots movements that started it all. Local ADA25 groups will be planning and implementing 25th Anniversary activities. As many as 250 celebrations are expected to commemorate this landmark legislation.
In March, the ADA Legacy Tour will officially start Phase Two in Austin, TX. And in Georgia, the project is partnering with GCDD for its Disability Day on the Capitol on March 5 at Liberty Plaza, across from the Gold Dome. GCDD's Disability Day theme, Fulfilling the Promise of the ADA, will salute the ADA and also join a commemoration that will preserve, educate and celebrate the spirit of the law. (Please click here for information about Disability Day.)
In keeping with the project's theme of "educate," The ADA Legacy Project will also be partnering with the Six by '15 Campaign to promote its goals. Six by '15 is honoring the 25th anniversary of the ADA and 40 years of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The campaign is working to achieve six national goals by the end of 2015 in the following areas:
Employment
In March of 2014, almost five million people with disabilities participated in the labor force. That means less than 20% of people with disabilities are working or looking for work, compared to 68% of people without disabilities. By the end of 2015, the campaign would like to see that number reach six million.
Community Living
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a new Medicaid option for states called Community First Choice (CFC). States that take up the option can provide home and community-based services without a waiver or waiting list and receive increased federal financial support for the services. By the end of 2015, the campaign would like to see four more states implement the CFC and address the institutional bias in their Medicaid programs.
Education
In the 2010-2011 school year, 22 states graduated over 60% of their students with disabilities with a regular diploma. Some graduated as low as 23%. The campaign would like to see at least six more states reach the goal of graduating 60% or more of their students with disabilities with regular diplomas by the end of 2015.
Transition
From 2004 to 2006, an average of 8% of youth with disabilities applied for vocational rehabilitation services. Of those who applied, only 56% actually received services. The goal is for at least six states to commit to supporting internships, scholarships and other evidence-based services to help youth with disabilities transition from high school to higher education and employment.
Healthy Living
In 2009, the New York State Department of Health Center for Community Health adopted a policy that all public health programs must explicitly include children and adults with disabilities and their families as a target population in health promotion efforts. All programs must discuss the importance of people with disabilities in the project and all applicants for grant funding must describe how they will include people with disabilities in their programs. New York is the first state to take on such a policy of deliberate inclusion of people with disabilities. The campaign hopes that by the end of 2015, six more states will take this step to build a more inclusive public health system.
Early Childhood
An estimated 17% of children in the US have a developmental or behavioral disability like intellectual disability or autism, but less than half of these children are identified before starting school. Early identification connects children with disabilities to services so they can start school ready to learn. The campaign hopes that by the end of 2015, six states will have increased their current rate of developmental screening for children from birth to three by 15% and at least six states will commit to improving the cross-system information exchange that supports access to services for children identified by screening.
The celebration is not just about honoring what has been done; it's about inspiring the community to get more done. As we start counting down to July 26, 2015, share your stories, come to Disability Day, or tell us how the ADA changed your life. The ADA, like Disability Day and other grassroots movements, started with a voice wanting to make a difference. As we kick off 2015 to honor the legacy of the past, we must remember to create a platform for the future.
For information about local activities, visit www.adalegacy.com/get-involved
Find the ADA Legacy Tour information, including stops in Georgia, at www.adalegacy.com
Mark Johnson is the director of advocacy for the Shepherd Center, the top spinal cord & brain injury rehabilitation hospital in the nation. Johnson also serves as the council chair for The ADA Legacy Project.
Making a Difference will feature five guest columns by Johnson on the legacy of the ADA and how national and state groups are commemorating the anniversary. This is the second installment.
