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From Disabled World National Council on Disability Bulletin for March 2009 By National Council on Disability
A Monthly Newsletter from the National Council on Disability (NCD) John R. Vaughn, Chairperson March 2009 NCD -- 30 Years of Disability Policy Leadership -- 1978-2008 NCD Releases Veterans' Paper On March 4, NCD released a report recommending changes in the continuum of health care provided to service members and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The report, Invisible Wounds: Serving Service Members and Veterans with PTSD and TBI (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2009/veterans.doc), addresses the experiences of service members and veterans at risk of developing PTSD and TBI, and makes 10 recommendations that should result in improvement. According to NCD Chairperson John R. Vaughn, "The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are resulting in injuries that are disabling many service members, and are potentially disabling for still more. These injuries are also putting unprecedented strain on families and relationships: strain that can contribute to the severity of the service member's disability over the course of time." "The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Veterans Administration (VA) have initiated a number of improvements in the delivery of health care for service members and veterans with PTSD and TBI. They are to be congratulated for these efforts, but more needs to be done," Vaughn concluded. Quarterly Meetings Update The NCD Spring quarterly meeting will be held March 30-April 1, 2009, at the Academy for Educational Development Conference Center, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. On Tuesday, March 31, NCD will hear from Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy, who will brief the Council on Administration policies regarding disability. Later that morning, from 10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., NCD will release a paper entitled Federal Employment of People with Disabilities, which examines the status of employment of people with disabilities in the Federal Government and makes recommendations for improving federal hiring and advancement of employees with disabilities. This paper follows on the heels of a similar Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report issued in 2008 which called attention to the problem and also raised alarm about the diminishing percentage of federal employees with disabilities over the past few years. On Tuesday afternoon, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., NCD will release its annual report to the President and Congress entitled National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, which is a congressionally-mandated snapshot of the current state of disability in the United States. Also on Tuesday afternoon, NCD will hear from congressional staff members about the latest news from Capitol Hill, and will host a reception at the meeting location beginning at 5:30 p.m. This is an opportunity to meet NCD members and staff and offer your comments during the public comment sessions. The agenda will also include sessions on emergency preparedness, healthcare, employment, housing, civil rights and several other subjects of interest to the disability community. Specific times are designated to receive public comment, supported by a toll-free call-in line, and input is encouraged and greatly appreciated. Individuals or organizations can also provide written comments by e-mail, fax, or mail. Public comment sessions will be held Monday, March 30 from 11:30 a.m. until noon (EDT), and on Tuesday, March 31 from 1:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. The toll-free call-in number is 888-790-6568, and the pass code is "NCD Meeting." Additional details about the meeting will be posted on the NCD Web site at www.ncd.gov as soon as they become available. The meeting agenda is also posted there. NCD's Summer quarterly meeting will be held July 20-22, 2009, at the Marriott City Center, 30 South 7th Street in Minneapolis, MN. The Fall meeting will be held October 26-28 in Nashville, TN. The next Winter quarterly meeting will be held in January 2010 in Houston, TX. Please visit http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/quarterly/quarterly.htm for additional details on all meetings. Current Issues NCD's current list of issues and projects for 2009 and beyond include studies and reports on: The Current State of Health Care for People with Disabilities Effective Homeland Security Practices for Use by Communities and People with Disabilities National Disability Policy: A Progress Report 2008 Housing Initiative Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act: Implementation Evaluation and Recommendations for Reauthorization Workforce Infrastructure in Support of People with Disabilities: Matching Human Resources to Service Needs Improving the Participation Rate of People with Disabilities in the Federal Workforce 2010 National Summit on Disability Policy Update NCD's 2010 National Summit on Disability Policy will take place July 26-27, 2010, in Washington, DC. The Summit will be a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990. We are anticipating that 300 people with disabilities and prominent stakeholders, including federal, community, and private sector disability experts, will be invited to participate and exchange ideas on significant themes for all people with disabilities and develop recommendations for the next decade. Issue papers are still being drafted to identify key factors surrounding important issues, and will become the basis of discussion for Summit delegates as they craft policy recommendations for the future. Topics include Civil Rights (including voting issues), Employment (including asset accumulation and finance), Disability Statistics and Data Education, Healthcare (including Mental Health Care, i.e. whole health), Homeland Security (including emergency preparedness), Housing, International, Telecommunications and Technology, and Transportation. NCD is currently seeking sponsors who may be interested in supporting this worthwhile endeavor. Interested parties should contact NCD Executive Director Mike Collins at ncd@ncd.gov. NCD's first disability policy summit took place in 1996. It resulted in a report entitled Achieving Independence: The Challenge for the 21st Century (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/1996/achieving.htm). A dedicated Summit Web page is nearing completion. Please visit http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2009/2010NationalSummit.html this Spring to find the link. NCD Launches Speakers Bureau NCD has launched a new Speakers Bureau to bring a more personal touch in disseminating and sharing information about NCD initiatives (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/current_issues.htm), papers, reports, and recommendations (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/index.htm). Through this education outreach effort, NCD Board Members are available to make presentations at conferences and meetings. Requests for NCD presentations at meetings or conferences should be directed to John R. Vaughn, Chairperson, National Council on Disability, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 850, Washington, DC 20004 or by email to ncd@ncd.gov. NCD Activities On March 24, NCD Vice Chairperson Pat Pound presented information from NCD's Keeping Track: National Disability Status and Program Performance Indicators (http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2008/Indicators_Report.html) report and current NCD activities at the American Network of Community Options and Resources' Management Practices Conference and Trade Show in San Francisco. NCD Board Members Victoria Carlson and Anne Rader attended the 2009 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Money Follows the Person Conference, which was held March 2-4 in Baltimore, Maryland. Gallaudet University Honored On March 23, Representative Lynn C. Woolsey (D-CA), introduced a concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 77) in the U.S. House of Representatives recognizing and honoring the signing of the legislation authorizing the establishment of collegiate programs at Gallaudet University (http://www.gallaudet.edu/) by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. The resolution also congratulates Gallaudet University for 145 years of unique and exceptional service to the deaf citizens of the United States and the world deaf community. Current NCD Board Member Robert R. Davila, Ph.D. is the university's President. About the NCD Bulletin The Bulletin, which is also available at NCD's Web site (http://www.ncd.gov), brings you the latest issues and news affecting people with disabilities. To subscribe to the NCD listserv, go to http://listserv.access.gpo.gov/, click on Online mailing list archives, select NCD-NEWS-L, click on Join or leave the list, then complete the short subscription form. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disabled World (www.disabled-world.com) provides a large range of worldwide health and disability information. Coming Events related to health and disability can be posted at http://disabilityevents.disabled-world.com Disabled World also operates a worldwide Disability Community at http://community.disabled-world.com © Copyright 2010 - Disabled World |