DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT -- DEAF WORKERS WEEKLY BULLETIN -- March 11, 2000 Greetings, It's a sad thing to witness a number of prominent disabled activists becomming homeless in the recent months. David Howell of the California branch of the ADAPT organization suddenly had problems with his landlord and is now hopping around hotels and is unable to function as a leader at this time. Starting Nonday another California disability activist Michael Pachovas will be facing the same situation. Richard Roehm ---- SENATE CHIEF BLOCKS DAVIS SELECTION Capitol; Fellow Democrats Burton refuses to set reappointment hearing for chief of Board of Prison Terms. Burton says the board violates human rights. By JENNIFER WARREN, Times Staff Writer SACRAMENTO-Dealing a rare setback to a governor used to getting his way, a powerful state senator is blocking Gray Davis' attempt to reappoint the controversial chairman of the state Board of Prison Terms, Democrat John Burton of San Francisco, the Senate's president pro tem says he won’t "validate the leadership" of James W. Nielsen by clearing him for a new four-year term as head off the state parole board. As chairman Of the Senate Rules Committee, Burton has the power to convene confirmation hearings for the governor's appointees to the parole baud and other state panels and commissions. Nielson's current Term expires next week, and on Thursday, Burton said no hearing will beheld for him. A spokesman for Davis said the governor wants Nielsen, a Republican, reappointed because he has "confidence in his abilities.” "The governor believes he's the man for the job," said spokesman Michael Bustunante. "He is entitled to have a hearing set on his confirmation." Burton disagrees, Of particular concern to him is a December ruling by a federal judge, who found that the parole board routinely violates the basic rights of disabled convicts at their parole hearings, thus denying them fair treatment, "Some prisoners who use wheelchairs have had to crawl up stairs to get to their hearings," U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland wrote as part of an order requiring the board to make sweeping changes. "Hearing impaired prisoners who normally express themselves by using sign language had their hands shackled at their hearings. Burton calls such conduct “outrageous” and believes responsibility for much of it should be laid at the chairman’ feet. It gives one pause as to whether you want to give that person another tour years." The senator added that he was appalled that the Davis administration has appealed the judge's order and asked for a stay of her injunction requiring the parole board to remedy all discrimination. "They fought that lawsuit all the way," Burton said. And even though the judge called the evidence brought by the plaintiffs "overwhelming" arid “uncontradicted” they "still won't admit what they did was wrong." Donald Specter, a lawyer who brought the lawsuit on behalf of several thousand disabled inmates and parolees is equally perturbed by the appeal. "Whatever your position on criminal justice, this is a basic human rights issue," said Specter, director of the Prison Law Office. The stand off between a Democratic Governor and a leader of a Democratic Senate is highly unusual. SOURCE - LOS ANGELES TIMES MARCH 10 2000 ---- HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE ASKED TO INCREASE FUNDING FOR NEWBORN HEARING SCREENEING AND BALANCE CLINICAL RESEARCH ROCKVILLE, Md., March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- In testimony presented today to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies in the U.S. House of Representatives, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) asked that funding for the Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Act be funded at its fully authorized level of $15 million for FY2001. ASHA President Jeri Logemann, PhD, CCC-SLP, who presented the testimony, praised Chairman John Porter (R-IL) and the members of the committee for their leadership on the newborn hearing screening legislation. "Through the subcommittee's efforts and a surge of new state laws to expand coverage for early hearing screening and intervention services, our country is on the path to eradicating delayed detection for hearing loss within the next five years," said Logemann. The new law, which was supported by more than twenty national audiological, medical and related consumer organizations, enables up to three years of federal funding for state grants to develop infant hearing screening and intervention programs through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Specifically, the law directs HRSA, CDC, and the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) to work together to develop and expand statewide screening programs, link screening programs with community-based intervention efforts, monitor the impact of early detection and intervention activities, and provide technical assistance on data management and applied research. Funding level for the state grants through HRSA and CDC is $7 million for FY2000. "We have learned that more than 40 applications from States have been received for the HRSA grants alone," said Logemann. "Only about half of these applications will be awarded under the current funding level. The CDC is also expected to receive more grants than they can fund. "If the number of states passing newborn hearing screening legislation continues to increase and we can fund the Walsh provision at its fully authorized level of $15 million next year, we can give infants with hearing loss the opportunity to develop on par with their hearing peers by school age," Logemann stated. Logemann also commended committee members for their efforts in securing a 15 percent increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "ASHA supports the Subcommittee's commitment to double NIH's budget by 2003," said Logemann, "and we are particularly supportive of efforts to increase the investment of research across all institutes involved with communication sciences and disorders." Since its authorization in 1988, NIDCD has been the focal point for conducting research to improve the understanding of the normal mechanism and disorders associated with hearing, voice, speech, language, and balance. "The public's growing demand for evidence-based treatment options strengthens our conviction that more multi-centered, patient-oriented clinical research must be supported," Logemann stated, "and we are deeply concerned about the decline in funding for this type of research versus basis research at NIDCD, especially with respect to multi-center clinical trials." Multi-center, patient-oriented clinical research represents a crucial phase in the conversion of basic research findings into effective prevention strategies, diagnostic procedures, and treatment methods resulting in improved communication for individuals. In her testimony, Logemann outlined recommendations to enhance programs in the areas of research and research training in hearing, voice, speech, language, and balance. The recommendations are to 1) Increase support for studies addressing the identification of hearing loss in newborns, infants, and children; 2) Increase support of mechanisms that enhance the training of clinical researchers; 3) Increase support of interdisciplinary research; and 4) Examine the extramural grant portfolio at NIDCD to ensure that it demonstrates a balance of basic and clinical research. ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 97,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists are hearing health care professionals who specialize in preventing, identifying, and assessing hearing disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists are health care professionals who identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. SOURCE American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Web Site: http://www.asha.org ---- MARYLAND SETTLES CRITICAL ADA CASE Disability Advocates Call Decision to Settle ADA Case `A Huge Victory for People with Disabilities' BALTIMORE, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The State of Maryland has settled a crucial case that will help secure the rights of persons with disabilities living in the state of Maryland. The case, Amos v. Maryland Dept. of Public Safety and Correctional Services, et al. was settled today -- days before the case was scheduled to be argued before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. According to Phil Fornaci, a spokesperson for the Marylanders for Civil Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a coalition of disability rights advocates, "We applaud the settlement today and feel it is a huge victory for persons with disabilities. In earlier written arguments in the case, the State of Maryland had taken the position that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is unconstitutional as applied to the states. He adds, "If these arguments had been successful in the highly conservative Fourth Circuit, the Amos case could have resulted in a disaster for people with disabilities, releasing state and local governments from a wide range of anti-discrimination and access requirements." Fornaci adds, "We recognized the potential for a disastrous outcome of this case, so over the last week Marylanders for Civil Rights of Persons with Disabilities organized people with disabilities and their allies in Maryland and across the country to apply pressure on the State to settle the case. Consistent with his past support for the ADA, Governor Glendening appears to have intervened and created the opportunity for a settlement." Marylanders for Civil Rights of Persons with Disabilities is a statewide coalition of 14 disability advocacy organizations, organized by the Maryland Disability Law Center. The coalition is committed to securing and expanding rights of Marylanders with disabilities. SOURCE Maryland Disability Law Center ---- EEOC ISSUES PROPOSED RULE ON APPLICATION OF THE ADA TO THE FEDERAL SECTOR WORKFORCE WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to clarify the application of the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to federal government workers. The text of the NPRM is scheduled for publication in today's Federal Register and is also available on the Commission's web site at www.eeoc.gov. "This proposed rule will assure that federal employees have the same rights as all other employees to be free of disability discrimination," said EEOC Chairwoman Ida L. Castro. "This represents another step in our ongoing effort to improve the federal sector EEO complaint system and make it a model for employers nationwide." When Title I of the ADA (employment provisions) was enacted, some of the legal requirements of the ADA differed from the Rehabilitation Act, even though the two laws shared the same purpose: ending employment discrimination based on disability. In 1992, Congress made the laws the same by amending the Rehabilitation Act to apply the ADA standards to federal employment. This NPRM proposes to update the EEOC's Rehabilitation Act regulation to incorporate this change. It is responsive to feedback from federal stakeholders seeking clarification, especially on the topic of reassignment. The proposed regulation would highlight changes in the law, for example: The ADA provides that reassignment is a reasonable accommodation subject only to the limit of undue hardship. The regulatory limits on reassignment of federal employees with disabilities, formerly included in 29 C.F.R. § 1614.203(g), have been deleted. The ADA defines the term "direct threat," providing that an employer may disqualify an individual from employment based on health or safety concerns only if the employer can demonstrate that the person poses "a significant risk of substantial harm" to self or others, even with reasonable accommodation. Under the old Section 501 regulation, the individual was required to prove that he/she could safely perform his/her job, as part of establishing that he/she was a "qualified individual with a disability." The application of the ADA's nondiscrimination standards has no impact on federal affirmative action obligations or programs. "We are eager for federal agencies and individuals with disabilities to review this proposed rule and offer constructive comments in accordance with the rulemaking process," said Chairwoman Castro. "We will carefully review and give serious consideration to all public comments as a final rule is drafted." Public comments must be submitted by May 1, 2000, to the Executive Secretariat, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1801 L Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20507. Title I of the ADA prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms and conditions of employment. Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits employment discrimination against employees and applicants with disabilities in the federal sector. In addition to the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, the EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits discrimination against individuals 40 years of age or older; sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991; and the Equal Pay Act. Further information about EEOC is available on the agency's web site (www.eeoc.gov). ---- WYNDTELL'S SPRING PROMOTION Greetings from Wynd! Announcing Wynd's Spring Promotion--a great time to get a great deal on the leading wireless communications service for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Sign up for WyndTell by April 30, 2000 and get UNLIMITED monthly WyndTell service for just $49.95/month, which includes unlimited email and TTY messaging. You save $10/month -- $120 per year! Plus, the popular model 950 pager is just $299, a savings of $60 from the regular price of $359. As an added bonus, if you purchase and activate by April 30, 2000, you will receive a $100 coupon for even more savings on another WyndTell pager. (Offer expires 4/30/00). The award-winning WyndTell service brings you all these important features: * A company dedicated to serving people who are deaf or hard of hearing. * Communication Freedom -- with anyone through e-mail, TTY, voice, paging, and even fax! * AAA Emergency Roadside Service -- Wynd has partnered with the largest roadside assistance provider in the U.S.! If you're an AAA member, you have instant access to AAA Emergency Roadside Service directly and exclusively from WyndTell. * Tripod Captioned Film Information -- Receive weekly updates of captioned films in your area for FREE from Tripod Captioned Films-another WyndTell exclusive! * WyndTell Usage Tracker --This unique FREE service puts you in control of your monthly service costs by letting you monitor your WyndTell usage throughout the month. * Most Affordable Service -- With service starting at just $24.95 per month (LESS THAN $1 PER DAY!) and UNLIMITED E-mail and TTY messaging for just $49.95/month on a qualified plan, WyndTell freedom is very affordable! Remember, the Model 950 is just $299 (save $60!). Sign up for WyndTell service today! All the latest specials are on our web site at http://www.wynd.com/specials.cfm. Remember--the Spring promotional offer is good for a limited time only. So contact a WyndTell Sales Representative or WyndTell Authorized Dealer today and get connected now. You will wonder, "How did I ever manage without it?" Reply to this email, or contact us at one of these numbers: TTY: 800-549-2800 Voice: 800-549-9800 Fax: 805-781-6001 Website: http://www.wynd.com P.S. If you do not wish to receive any future email updates about Wynd products and/or services, please reply to this message and type "Remove" in the subject line. Pricing and availability subject to change without notice. $49.95 Unlimited Email/TTY Messaging Offer requires 1 year contract and must be activated by 4/30/00. Dealer pricing and participation may vary. ---- OCDAC TO HAVE A GARAGE SALE TO RAISE MONEY FOR COLORING BOOKS Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center now has "Just Be Safe" coloring books for children with hearing disabilities. These will be distributed free at schools that have students with hearing disabilities. A distribution schedule is now being developed and invitations are welcome. Because children with hearing disabilities can not always be in the company of adults, they are sometimes faced with threats to their safety. The 13 page coloring book is designed to be a fun way to teach children with or without hearing disabilities some basic safety rules. A few community representations will be included in the coloring book such as: Children wearing different hearing aids including a cochlear implant, hearing dog, door signal light, tdds and telephone signal light, and snap-on telephone amplifier. One of our sponsors is Spoons California Grill, and part of the funding comes from garage sales activities. Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center is a non-profit 501(C)3 dedicated to helping people with hearing disabilities live a safe, healthy, and productive lifestyles. Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center has been in active service to people in Orange County since November 1998 and have responded to thousands inquiries and requests for information, support, resources, and referrals. ---- OCDAC HAS A 2 DAY GARAGE SALE Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center will host a 2 day garage sale at 1004 North French Street March 11-12 8am - 5pm. Similar to our swapmeet sale but all proceeds will go to the costs printing the OCDAC's "Just Be Safe" coloring books for children with hearing disabilities. ---- OCDAC WEBSTORE SUPPORTS THE DEAF COMMUNITY OCDAC WebStore is packed with items for use by people with hearing disabilities and a few extras. OCDAC WebStore can be found at: Http://www.deafadvocacy.com/webstore.htm ---------------------- Dear Richard Roehm, As a Jew who is also hard-of-hearing I hope that you will consider very carefully the possible involvement of Al Sharpton. Besides making a lot of noise and self promotion, what has he actually ever done for anyone? People like Jessie Jackson, who have actually done (often very quiet and) effective things to really help people -- all people, regardless of race or religion -- are much more trustworthy as our friends. All too often, those who make anti-semetic remarks are no friends of the disabled either -- is seems to come in the same package. Respectfully yours, Don Belding ============================================================== DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY Orange County, California Richard Roehm President Internet : Deaf@activist.com Deaf_Workers_OC@usa.net Website Nesmuth@worldnet.att.net Http://www.i-sphere.com/eyedeaf/dwoc.htm =============================================================== Feel free to redistribute this newsletter in it's entirety and if you are planning to add a mailing list as a subscriber then let me know for my records. 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