Greetings... More news! This is a great time for you to meet your representatives as they are on a 3 week break. Give them a call, card, visit and tell them that rolling our civil rights protections like H.R. 3206 and ammending the H.R. 2400 to benefit Greyhound Bus is not the right thing to do. In the past week I have been receiving a good number of emails from people asking me to delete their email addresses from my mailing list and those addresses are not even on my mailing list. I am aware that a good number of my subscribers are mailing lists themselves and carry my posts to members of their lists. Just to make sure I know which accounts on my mailing list are mailing lists themselves, I would like a note from these subscribers so I can transfer these accounts to a special group so my posts can be adjusted for these accounts. I really need this information soon to make adjustments so to avoid any problems. The Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- First, a word from the sponsor of this broadcast. Just IN-TIME FOR SUMMER ----------------------- 2 - RV Spaces available with an onsite ASL interpreter. RV's up to 45' welcome. 70 miles east of Carlsbad Caverns New Mexico. It is off Hwy. 62-180 East in Hobbs, New Mexico. Rates are $25/night. Water-Sewer-Elactric furnished. The lots are fenced, easy on and off access to highway 62/180 East. Close to laundry, shopping center, and fuel retailers. For Information, Please call or fax (505) 393-2839 TDD or send e-mail to Mute@carlsbadnm.com for availability &/or reservations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am furious that David H. Winston, Christine L. Olson, and Rea S. Hederman who created the Congressional Ranking Book have excluded disabled people from their research. Congressional Ranking Book is a guide that is consulted by members of congress for demographic composition of the districts they represent. This can be found at http://www.heritage.org/heritage/cd_ranking/i-cdrank.html The conservative organization, The Heritage Foundation, is continuing one of the popular conservative traditions which is the EXCLUSION OF DISABLED PEOPLE. They said they got their information from the Census Bureau but they missed out on Census Bureau Data on Disability information which can be located at this location : http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disable.html The exclusion of disabled people in their research is solid proof that the conservatives think we are nothing, nobody, and non-persons. This is one thing we all should remember when we go to the voting booth this comming June and November. Richard Roehm Deaf@activist.com Deaf Watch Newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ HON. JIM BUNNING in the House of Representatives WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1998 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. Speaker, today, on behalf of myself and Barbara Kennelly, I am introducing the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Act of 1998. This legislation helps Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability recipients return to a life of economic security and self-sufficiency. Social Security programs are vital to all Americans. The disability program is particularly important because it protects workers and their families against severe financial hardship that occurs when workers sustain severe illnesses or disabling conditions that prevent them from working. Due to advances in medicine, technology, and the field of rehabilitation, there are people who, despite serious disabilities, want to work and who could work if they were provided the kind of rehabilitation services they need. The disability program is like a big black hole--once people fall into the program they never seem to make their way out. In fact, less than 1 percent of disabled recipients ever leave the rolls because of work. Our legislation is very simple. We remove many of the barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from climbing out of that hole. The consumer--the recipient with a disability--is number one. They choose the services they want from the providers they want. Generally, the provider of those services is paid for outcomes and long-term results. The payment process is designed to ensure that as many providers as possible are available to serve the consumer. One of the primary obstacles facing disabled recipients who attempt to leave the Social Security rolls to work is the fear of losing health care. To help alleviate that fear, our bill will extend Medicare coverage for 2 additional years. This means that recipients would have Medicare coverage for a total of 6 years from the time they first make an attempt to work. Due to the nature of their disability, many individuals incur extraordinary costs in trying to get a job and maintaining that Job. This legislation creates a tax credit of 50 percent of impairment-related work expenses up to $10,000 per year. To better help consumers transition into work, the bill includes a requirement that SSA test a gradual offset of SSDI cash benefits by reducing monthly benefits $1 for every $2 in earnings over a determined level. Through this legislation we are asking the Social Security Administration to become more than just a disability program administrator, we want them to be an ability program administrator. The Commissioner benefits from the counsel of an advisory panel, made up of consumers, providers, and employer representatives. And the program will be gradually phased in, closely monitored, and thoroughly evaluated over time. I am excited about the possibilities this bill creates for individuals with disabilities. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in suporting this effort. ------------------------- California School of Professional Psychology Receives $2.5 Million Dollars From the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to Expand Research and Services for the Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened SAN DIEGO, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The California School of Professional Psychology-San Diego (CSPP-SD) received a 2.5 million dollar five-year renewal grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to expand activities at its federally-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC), which focuses on research and services for the hard of hearing (HOH) and late deafened (L-D). The renewal grant, which provides funding through September 30, 2002, stipulates a focus on addressing personal adjustment issues and the maintenance of employment status for people whose sense of hearing becomes impaired later in life. The new funding, awarded in September 1997 by the DOE's National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, supports a program that broadens the RRTC's mandate from its former primary focus on mental health issues to an emphasis on employment issues. Some of the funds will be used to involve businesses, corporations, and trade, professional, and consumer organizations in collecting research data and providing information and services that can help the hard of hearing and late deafened employees adjust to new circumstances and remain in their jobs. "More than 22 million people struggle with being hard-of-hearing, and an additional 1.5 million people experience late onset deafness, according to the National Center for Health Statistics," said Brenda Battat, Deputy Executive Director of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. (SHHH), a Washington DC-based consumer organization and a major subcontractor on the grant. "Because it plans to work with and through employers, human resource organizations, counseling organizations, and consumer organizations like ours, the RRTC will make a real-life difference to the very large numbers of persons who are hard of hearing." Directing the project is Raymond Trybus, Ph.D., professor of psychology and Chancellor of CSPP's San Diego campus. Research and services development activities will be conducted by a combination of staff from the RRTC at CSPP-San Diego, and key partners at other institutions and organizations across the country. In addition to SHHH, the Association of Late Deafened Adults (ALDA) and the SayWhatClub will assist with data collection and information dissemination. Two studies that will contribute data about ethnically diverse populations have been incorporated into the study. Howard University Hospital, which serves a Hispanic/Central American population in Washington, will study those who come in for hearing-related services, and the Veteran's Administration in Portland, Oregon will contribute data collected from its sizable hearing rehabilitation center for veterans. A national advisory board comprised of key leaders in business, government and research has been assembled to oversee the progress of the RRTC. Among those who have agreed to join the Board is Robert Ross, MD, Director of the Department of Health Services for the County of San Diego, who calls the RRTC's approach "exactly right for this era. Government alone cannot be expected to address all social and public health problems. It takes the entire community, through its businesses, corporations, trade and professional associations, and the like, to make life better for our citizens, including those with hearing losses." Attorney Jerry Monroe also serves on the RRTC national advisory board. As a former Board of Director for the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, chairman of its Health Care Committee, and hard of hearing himself, he applauds the goals of the RRTC. "Hearing loss is a pervasive but little recognized health problem in our society. This program will make new and important inroads in both understanding and methods for coping with it." Other organizations participating in aspects of the funded work include the American Indian Health Center in Tucson, Arizona; the San Diego Unified School District, the California School for the Deaf at Riverside, California State University at Northridge, and Gallaudet University. "The San Diego Chamber of Commerce has given us a letter of support, and has agreed to collaborate by bringing in some of the larger local organizations," said Trybus. "This phase of the grant will emphasize training. We're going to make sure that counselors, human resource professionals, physicians, mental health providers, and other service providers understand how to assist this special population." Editors interested in a set of charts that could lend themselves to a feature article on how to live with hearing loss, or assist someone facing hearing loss, are welcome to contact Meryl Ginsberg, CSPP Director of Communications, at 415-346-4500, or visit the following website: http://www.cspp.edu/news/rrtc.htm. (From NJ-L News) ------------------------- MEDIA RELEASE 98/185 DEMOCRATS' PRESSURE BRINGS CAPTIONING TO DIGITAL TV The Australian Democrats are claiming the first victory in bringing captioning to the mainstream broadcasting debate, the Australian Democrats' Deputy Leader, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja. The Government has announced digital TV will require broadcasters to provide closed captioning for prime time viewing and for the news and current affairs outside prime time. This closely follows the launch of Australian Democrats moves to introduce the Captioning for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bill 1998 which would require captioning for all broadcasts by 1 July 2010. "This is a welcome recognition by the Government and further evidence the Democrats are out in front on captioning," said Senator Stott Despoja. "It is absolutely vital that broadcasting include as many sectors of the community as possible. Captioning is a vital connection for this section of the community. "The deaf and hard of hearing are not the only beneficiaries of this proposal. Those learning languages and their educators will have an important new tool. "The deaf and hard of hearing community have been overlooked for too long, so this is a good sign that the Government has taken their concerns seriously. "The Government's commitment to captioning is a great start and we look forward to their support for captioning for all broadcasting, and the Democrats' Captioning Bill. "The issue of requiring TV sets that can decode the captioning signals has not been addressed. I hope the Government will take the opportunity now to make this technology standard for all TV sets. This will be good for captioning, but also a range of other closed captioning services, such as news updates. "If this is good enough for digital I expect the Government to implement similar provisions for free to air," concluded Senator Stott Despoja. ------------------------- Justice For All jfa@mailbot.com Dart on Work Incentives Improvement Act Remarks by Justin Dart, at press conference announcing the Work Incentives Improvement Act. Also speaking were former Senator Bob Dole, Senators Jim Jeffords and Ted Kennedy, Capitol building, Washington, D.C., March 25, 1998. I am honored to be here today with great American heroes of free enterprise democracy like Bob Dole, Jim Jeffords and Ted Kennedy. I speak on behalf of hundreds of thousands of disabled and other Americans who are discouraged, actually prevented, from working by the present social security system. If they become employed, they will lose cash and medical benefits which are necessary to maintain even a subminimum standard of personal security. Too many potentially productive citizens are condemned to permanent poverty in institutions, backrooms, and prisons of obsolete perception - at enormous expense to our society. This is an unconscionable waste of money and humanity. I call on the Congress, the President, and the nation to translate the rhetoric of free enterprise into action. I urge passage of the strongest possible version of the Work Incentives Improvement Act. And beyond that I urge aggressive action to enable all Americans to fulfill their God given potential for productivity and independence. Members of Congress, Mr. President, fellow Americans let us unite in action to keep the sacred pledge: One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Justice for all means real opportunity for all to participate in our magnificent free enterprise system. Fred Fay jfa@mailbot.com Justice For All Moderator http://www.mailbot.com/justice ------------------------- NEWS RELEASE MARCH 24, 1998 Consumers Score Big Win in Battle with MCI! People who use the Massachusetts relay service have scored a major victory in a 22-month battle against MCI. A settlement agreement has been filed with the Department of Telecommunications and Energy (DTE) to resolve a complaint by 230 relasy users and four disability-rights groups that alleged tha MCI failed to meet mandated quality standards in delivering service. "This settlement represents a precedent-setting win for relay users, it is a big gain that shows that the little guy can have a say against a telecommunications giant," said Tom Driscoll, a relay-using businessman and member of the Cape Organization for Rights of the Disabled (CORD), one of the four complainant groups. The Massachusetts relay service connects hearing people with those who rely on TTYs (telextext phone), typically deaf, hard of hearing, and speech-disabled people. MCI relays the voice conversation via TTY to the TTY user and vice versa. The MCI relay center in Holyoke handles approximately 2,000 to 3,000 calls every day. Consumers allege that since MCI took over operation of the relay in June 1996, service has been substandard, citing frequent problems because messages have been incorrectly relayed, protocol has been violated (including breaches in confidentiality), and relay time has been exceedingly slow. "People missed appointments because of wrong messages, families and friends couldn't communicate during a crisis, the problems were many, some people simply gave up on relay," Driscoll said. "It's 1998--it's impossible to be in the mainstream, especially for business, without rapid, trustworthy phone communication." The settlement agreement includes these terms and conditions: 1. An outside monitor will be designated to performa 200 live relay test calls per month to assess performance standards. 2. Monetary sanctions will be imposed in MCI fails to meet the standards. 3. MCI's contract length will be reduced by one year so as to terminate in April 1999. 4. The quality standards to which MCI agrees will be incorporated in the next contract for whichever company runs the relay. "We received outstanding assistance from Attorney General Harshbarger and his staff in obtaining a settlement that should improve service and hold MCI to the fire if they don't; these are the strongest set of sanctions we've heard of in the country," Driscoll said. Attorney General staff working on the complaint included Assistant AG Stan Eichner, Director of the Disability Rights Project; Assistant AG Dan Mitchell of the Regulated Industries Division; Assistant AG Suzanne Glick Gilfix of the Civil Rights Division; and paralegal Patrick Faherty of the Disability Rights Project. "We also recieved strong support in arguing our points from our elected officials," Driscoll added. "Congressman Bill Delahunt, Senators Henri Rauschenbach and Therese Murray and Representatives Tom Cahir, Shirley Gomes, John Klimm, and Ruth Provost advocated regularly on the behalf of CORD." Relay users filed their formal complaint with the DTE (then the Department of Public Utilities) in December 1996 after nearly six months of meetings with MCI, complaint letters, and two protests failed to gaim improvements in the service. The Attorney General intervened in June 1997 on behalf of the consumers. Besides CORD, other consumer groups included the Stavros Center for Independent Living in Amherst, the Northeast Independent Living Program in Lawrence, and the Western Massachusetts Association for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired (Springfield). For more information contact: Bill Henning at CORD at508-775-8300 or home at 508-420-3708 Tom Driscoll, 617-355-7538 (TTY) or home at 508-430-2475 (TTY) or E-mail at driscoll@cape.com (home) or driscoll_t@a1.tch.harvard.edu ------------------------- On April 3, 1998, working women will have hearned what men earned during 1997. The Fair Pay act would require that jobs held primarily by women and/or people of color be paid the same as equivilant jobs in the same company held primarily by white men. It would also protect the right of employees to discuss wages. You can read the text of S 232/HR 1302 by searching under bill number at http://thomas.loc.gov/ Please ask your senators and representatives to support this bill. Regardless of which groups are named, any measure which increases fairness in the workplace will benefit people with disabilities (many of whom are also women and people of color). Thanks, Lois Morrison LMorriso@calc.vet.uga.edu ------------------------- Justice For All mslife@tsbbs02.tnet.com IDEA in Jeopardy On April 1, JFA advised advocates to take advantage of the April recess (April 2-20) to discuss the many issues that are pressing in Congress by visiting and making contacts with their Representative and both of their Senators. One such issue that is in major need of our assertive and tireless advocacy through phone calls, FAXs, e-mails, and personal visits is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Our colleagues with various parent and advocacy groups, such as NPND, TASH and The Arc, report that the IDEA is yet again under attack by the forces of retreat. Disturbingly, these forces have gained some crucial ground in their efforts to chip away at the rights of Americans with disabilities to an appropriate public education. Reliable reports are that Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is seriously considering backing off the compromise worked out in the IDEA Reauthorization last year and that an amendment to the IDEA will likely be considered in the Senate very soon after the recess which would permit local school districts to set discipline policies and deny educational services to whichever students they please. JFA is terrified over the prospect of giving school districts this authority. It was, after all, the failure of school districts across the nation to fulfill the education needs of children with disabilities which necessitated the enactment of federal mandates over two decades ago. Local control again opens the door to abuses which in years past resulted in the segregation, expulsion and exclusion of students with disabilities. Specifically, we need to voice our strong opposition to the measure which would enact this unwelcome change - the IDEA Flexibility Amendment. Reports indicate that this amendment will soon be offered by Senator Judd Gregg. Time is of the essence. Make your contacts soon and often. Demand that the integrity of the IDEA compromise be maintained and that the rights of our children be guaranteed now and forever. EDUCATION FOR ALL! JUSTICE FOR ALL!!! -- Mark Smith mslife@tsbbs02.tnet.com -- Fred Fay jfa@mailbot.com Justice For All Moderator http://www.mailbot.com/justice ------------------------- MEDIA ALERT April 7, 1998 FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Rev. James R. Uhey (408) 226-3700 - First Assembly of God Local Convoy Coordinator LOCAL CHURCHES, BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS UNITE TO BRING FOOD AND HOPE TO AS MANY AS 5000 PEOPLE IN SAN JOSE. WHAT: COMMUNITY OUTREACH, "CONVOY OF HOPE." Festival including free distribution of 35,000 pounds of food to provide meals to feed thousands of people throughout the San Jose area. Free grocery distribution begins with festival activities including music, inspirational messages, and a lively children's program. The activities will continue until all the food has been distributed. *****Interpretation for our deaf friends will be provided!!**** WHO: First Assembly of God in San Jose; Convoy of Hope based in Springfield, Missouri, along with several local churches andcommunity businesses have donated time and resources to host the Convoy of Hope. This all-volunteer event will include approximately 500 volunteers who will be on hand to unload the Convoy of Hope truck, distribute the food, conduct musical performances, and implement all of the event programs. WHERE: First Assembly of God at 801 Hellyer Ave between Highway 101 and Senter Road. San Jose, CA WHEN: Saturday, April 11, 1998 11:00am : First food distribution begins. Noon : Interview opportunity with invited city officials will be scheduled. WHY: Convoy of Hope is and event which seeks to unite and mobilize local churches across denominational, racial, and socioeconomic lines to help meet the needs of the people in their community. MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES Visual shots of thousands of local individuals waiting in line to receive free food. Interview and photo opportunities with Mayor Hammer, City Council Members and County Supervisors ; Rev Jim Uhey, local coordinator; or Rev. Dale Beck, event coordinator and spokesperson for Convoy of Hope. ON-SITE MEDIA REGISTRATION REQUIRED. PLEASE CHECK IN AT COMMAND CENTER, April 11. Media kit available at site or for pre-event stories available by calling First Assembly of God. ------------------------------------------------------------- - Chief Editor/Editor : Richard Roehm - Orange County, California - Internet : Deaf@activist.com - Nesmuth@bbs.hwsys.com - DEAF WATCH Http://www.deafwatch.com - Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/deaf.htm - Visit Http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/nez.htm ---------------------------------------------------------- - Education is the best gift that lasts a lifetime! - Help someone subscribe to The Deaf Watch Newsletter ---------------------------------------------------------- - Advertising on mid-month news releases and special - bulletins now accepted. For more information, send email - to Deaf@activist.com ------------------------------------------------------------- - Need to stay on the net? Try DeafWatch's own - "Keeping You Connected" sublink which is packed - with graphical links to FREE email providers. ------------------------------------------------------------- - Help us help the Disability community - Please visit: - http://home.hwsys.com/users/roehm/hlphand.htm - The freedom to be what you want to be is NOT free. -------------------------------------------------------------