DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT -- DEAF WORKERS WEEKLY BULLETIN -- March 6, 1999 Greetings, Assemblyman Lou Correa has told me yesterday that Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal law and he cant write a state bill to try enforce it. However he is very interested in a bill that will force insurers and HMO's to pay for sign language interpreter costs. State Senator Joe Dunn will soon be hearing about this idea as well. So many things happening this week, from Stone Deaf and UAW websites to positive communications with state legislators. Everything's starting to get busy once again. After years of neglect by then-Governor Pete Wilson, California Education finally hits the bottom. As of last Thursday, California ranked second to last in reading scores. ADA enforcement remains a hot issue. What should be our chief enforcers of this law is now a bureaucratic labyrinth. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has failed us once again as enforcers of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Republican led congress and senate are to blame for not authorizing additional funding for ADA enforcement, they were more interested in advancing their brand of sexual McCarthyism last year. Richard Roehm ---- UNITED AUTO WORKERS (UAW) LOCAL 594 ESTABLISHES WEBSITE FOR DEAF WORKERS This week marks the first week UAW Local 594 has established a website for their members with hearing disabilities. This is an important step any union can do to provide information and resources to their members with hearing disabilities as well as non-members. http://www.uawlocal594.com/hi/index.htm ---- TEXAS BASED STONE DEAF CLUB LAUNCHES WEBSITE Stone Deaf Club is located in Waco, Texas and they organize huge parties for Deaf people. There is presently 2 parties listed on their website. http://www.angelfire.com/tx2/stonedeaf/ ---- DEAFWATCH.COM SITE ADDITIONS Site visitors will notice some changes on the website. 1) 3 new pages: - Deaf Spectrum Resources for Deaf people who want to explore alternative lifestyles. - Cochlear Implant Resources Both sides of this hot issue! - Deaf Parent Resources An excellent resource for Deaf parents especially when society considers them unfit parents and take their children away. 2) Essential resources have been clearly marked on website with small blue triangle for easier identification. 3) Banner advertising changes. We have decided to end the free banner ad system due to the continuous need for resources to support several project that will guide the Deaf community into the 21st century toward the promised land of fairness, equality, and justice. ---- ROEHM'S RESOLUTIONS APPROVED BY CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL (CDC) 2 resolutions designed to benefit people with disabilities were submitted by Richard Roehm and approved by the CDC. (Resolution #1 to ask that California withdraws from it's support of ADA threatening L.C. v Olmstead case) DEMOCRATS OF NORTH ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA A PROPOSED RESOLUTION for consideration by the CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL regarding L.C. v. Olmstead, 1998 WL 163707 WHEREAS people with disabilities have been incarcerated in institutions against their wishes for many years, and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the provision of public services by state and local governments; and WHEREAS Section 12132 provides that "no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of their disability, be excluded from participation in, or be denied, the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity;" and WHEREAS on April 8, 1998, The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a ruling in a case of first impression, in which patients challenged their continued confinement in psychiatric facilities in Georgia. The Court held that: 1) The ADA and the Department of Justice's integration regulation prohibit the state from confining people with disabilities in a state run institution when that individual could be more appropriately treated in a more integrated community setting. 2) The continued confinement of patients in state psychiatric hospitals, in segregated environments, violated the ADA, despite the state's claim that it did not have funds available to fund alternatives; and WHEREAS the State of California under the Republican leadership of Gov. Pete Wilson and then-Attorney General Dan Lungren filed a brief supporting Olmstead's appeal of the The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling on the L.C. v. Olmstead, and Olmstead's appeal stated that the effect this ruling will would be cost burdensome to institutions, the Civil Rights Commission's reported on October 2, 1998, they have made it clear the cost of compliance is not an appropriate argument for refusing to enforce the laws Congress has passed. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL continue to affirm the rights of people with disabilities and ask Governor Gray Davis and Attorney General revoke and withdraw the State of California's support of Olmstead's appeal. THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL ask that Governor Gray Davis and Attorney General Lockyer notify Olmsetad that they will withdraw the State of California's brief in support of Olmstead's position. **** (Resolution #2 to ask the Orange County Transportation Authority NOT to raise the bus fares of disabled and senior citizen riders) DEMOCRATS OF NORTH ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA A PROPOSED RESOLUTION for consideration by the CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL regarding ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY FARE CHANGES WHEREAS most senior citizens and people with disabilities live on fixed incomes; and, WHEREAS the National Organization on Disability in their Landmark Harris Survey released on July 23, 1998, shows that Americans with disabilities still face gaps in securing jobs, education, accessible public transportation and in many areas of daily life; and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, in their 1998 Chartbook on Work and Disability in the United States, finds that people with a disability are less likely to have a job or business than people with no disability; and, WHEREAS the planned fare changes present an increasing hardship on senior citizens and people with disabilities. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL urgently demand that the fare rates for senior citizens and people with disabilities remain unchanged. THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL notify the Orange County Transportation Authority how imperative it is that the fare for senior citizens and people with disabilities remain unchanged. ---- ORANGE COUNTY DEAF ADVOCACY CENTER FINDS CALIFORNIA COURT POLICY OUTRAGEOUS (Santa Ana - California) The Judicial Council Access and Fairness Advisory Committee has released a report on disability accessibility in California Courts. This completes an extensive study of the California court system through telephone and mail surveys, qualitative interviews, and public hearings in 1995. Findings include : 1) Most California courts and judges are not familiar with Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability rights laws. 2) California judges' attitudes as well as the attitudes of court staff toward people with disabilities have been less than positive. 3) This report also showed that people with disabilities were viewed less employable by California courts. 4) Effective communications such as interpreters have been poorly utilized in California courts. 5) Disabled people in the jury pools were more likely to be excused from jury duty service over people w/o disabilities. This is an outrage that California courts have been modeled to work against the disability community in almost every possible manner. Last year the American Bar Association says that only a small percentage of the cases people with disabilities bring to court work in their favor. It is reasonable to say there is no justice for Californians with disabilities. This is one of the reasons why Californians with disabilities continue to drain public resources than lead productive lives. Right now, there is absolutely nothing in the California judicial system to help safeguard our rights to lead productive lives and be fully included in every aspects of life. This report can be found in the world wide web at this location : http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/reference/summarydisabilities.htm Links to this report can be found at our website: http://www.deafadvocacy.com/facts.htm http://www.deafclubs.com/OCDAC/facts.htm The Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center calls for a major overhaul of the California judicial system. We need to make sure the courts give people with disabilities the same access to everyone else. The California courts and judges need to work on their attitudes toward people with disabilities. We're actually being handled like second class citizens by a system that is supposed to protect us. Reform is needed. Until then, there is no justice for Californians with disabilities! ---- NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY RELEASES PROGRESS REPORT ON DISABILITY STATUS WASHINGTON The National Council on Disability (NCD) today released its 1998 progress report on national public policy, stating that the country continues to move forward in expanding opportunities and inclusion for Americans with disabilities, but the pace is slow. NCD's report, National Disability Policy: A Progress Report, reviews federal policy activities, noting progress where it has occurred and making further recommendations to the President and Congress where necessary. According to NCD chairperson Marca Bristo, "The country continues to move forward, however the rate of progress is slower and less steady than many in the disability community had hoped when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990. Federal policy remains rife with inconsistent messages and unrealistic requirements for people with disabilities who rely on federal programs like Social Security disability benefits, vocational rehabilitation, Medicaid, Medicare, special education, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families." "In addition, the backlash against civil rights for children and adults with disabilities continues to motivate attempts to weaken laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and ADA," Bristo added. For more information, contact NCD general counsel Andrew J. Imparato at 2022722112 (4104675695 home) or public affairs specialist Mark S. Quigley at 2022722008 (3013900930 home), or visit NCD's Web page (http://www.ncd.gov) to obtain a copy of the report. ---- LOS ANGELES EXPECTED TO BE CHOSEN BY DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE TO HOST 2000 PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION! MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Talks between Los Angeles and the Democratic National Committee to put the party's 2000 presidential convention in California are in the final stages. Barring a last-minute glitch, the decision will soon be formal, party officials say. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino was told in a telephone call Wednesday from Joe Andrew, head of the party's site selection team, that the convention contract had been offered to Los Angeles, said Menino's spokeswoman, Jacque Goddard. Yet party officials said the deal was not quite sealed. ``The Democratic National Committee has not made a final decision on the city to host the 2000 Democratic National Convention,'' DNC spokeswoman Melissa Bonney Ratcliff said Wednesday night. ``Although we have intensified discussions with Los Angeles recently, nothing has been finalized,'' she said. A source close to the selection process, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Los Angeles officials had been given a draft contract for the convention. But party and city officials were still reviewing the document and settling final details, the official said. For weeks senior Democratic officials have said Los Angeles is all but certain to host the party's next convention. But they have maintained Boston and Denver as options in case the party in Los Angeles can't resolve differences on money and other amenities. ``The DNC hopes to make a formal, public announcement in early March,'' Ratcliff said. Other party officials said the announcement could come sooner. Vice President Al Gore, who is seeking the party's nomination and would make California a cornerstone of his campaign strategy, is tentatively scheduled to visit the state in the next week or two. Before receiving the phone call from Andrew, Menino had told a Boston press conference he was confident that the DNC was going with Los Angeles -- and the state's 54 electoral votes. ``It's not a secret anymore,'' he said. Steve Grossman, outgoing chairman of the DNC, said no final decision had been made. But he said Los Angeles is ``perhaps the clear front-runner.'' Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan said he was heartened by reports in the Boston media that Boston was out of contention. But both he and the city's chief negotiator said they have not been told of a decision. ``We continue to be optimistic,'' said Lucy McCoy, director of the Los Angeles host committee. ``We're negotiating, and the DNC is negotiating with Denver and Boston.'' Republicans decided last month to hold their 2000 convention in Philadelphia. Indianapolis, New Orleans, New York and San Antonio had also sought to host the GOP convention. ---- DEAF/ASL DEBATE COMMENCED Debate about educational standards is almost always a given feature in towns and cities across the nation. This debate also extends to the Deaf Community and educational programs that involve Deaf children, be it residential or mainstream. On March 1st, Dr. Roslyn "Roz" Rosen, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Gallaudet University (the worlds only liberal arts university serving deaf and hard of hearing students), will inaugurate the 1999 ASL/Deaf Culture Lecture Series at the University of Virginia by sharing her perspectives on "Deaf Education: Today and Tomorrow". Dr. Rosen, who has a BA and MA from Gallaudet, earned her doctorate in educational administration from Catholic University. Prior to becoming Gallaudets chief academic officer, she managed the PL 94-142 (Education of All Handicapped Children Act, the forerunner of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act "IDEA") and Special Schools of the Future programs at Gallaudet as well as serving as the Dean of the College for Continuing Education. Outside of Gallaudet, Dr. Rosen has served as a Board member (1980-1993) and President (1990-1993) of the National Association of the Deaf. She currently is a board member of the World Federation of the Deaf. The presentation will begin at 7 PM at McLeod Hall Auditorium at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. A small reception will follow each presentation. The presentations are free and open to the public. Voice interpretation will be provided for non-signers. The Annual ASL/Deaf Culture Lecture Series has become an eagerly awaited event.. This year's program is co-sponsored by: the UVA Office of the Vice President and Provost; the UVA American Sign Language Program; the Parents Program of the UVA Fund; the UVA Learning Needs and Evaluation Center; the UVA Women's Center; and the Student Cooperative Association of the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind-Staunton. For more information, contact Lisa J. Berke via email ljb9r@virginia.edu, TTY 804-295-8871 (Voice Relay 1-800-828-1140) or fax 804-982-2901. ---- UNITED STATES GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION DECLARE WAR ON DISABLED PEOPLE WASHINGTON, DC, February 19, 1999 -- The National Governor's Association has signed onto a lawsuit that will strip the rights of people with disabilities to live in the most integrated setting, saying that state government knows better than people themselves, where and how they should live their lives. ADAPT is meeting with leaders of the NGA today, at 9:30AM, at the Hall of the States, 444 N. Capitol Street. N.W. to demand that they withdraw their support of the lawsuit, promote MiCASSA, federal legislation that will give people with disabilities a REAL choice in long term services and support. With its decision to hear a Georgia lawsuit known as L.C. & E.W. v Olmstead on April 21st. the Supreme Court will consider putting back in place what former President George Bush called "the shameful wall of exclusion" separating people with disabilities from other Americans, leaders of national disability rights group ADAPT stated today. ADAPT blames governors for their support of Georgia's petition. In a friend of the court brief, the governors contend that the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require community placement if appropriate care can also be provided in an institution. "It's hard to believe that we're entering the next millennium and we still have governors deciding where people with disabilities live," stated ADAPT national organizer Mike Auberger, "Governors don't decide for African Americans, they don't decide for Hispanic, women, or any other minority yet they insist on eroding away our civil rights by signing onto a lawsuit like Olmstead." ADAPT has mounted a campaign to protect the ADA and the fundamental right of people with disabilities to live in the community, dubbed "Don't Tread on the ADA". While the Georgia lawsuit involves people with mental disabilities, ADAPT points out that the Supreme Court decision will have a far reaching impact on the lives of all people with disabilities. This will be the defining moment for the ADA," explains Philadelphia attorney Steve Gold. "If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Georgia, the ADA will become a mere shell of what it is intended to be, stripping away its major civil rights provision--integration." In 1995, the Supreme Court declined to hear Gold's similar Pennsylvania lawsuit, known as Helen L v. DiDario on appeal, letting the lower court's decision stand and freeing a Pennsylvania woman from unnecessary institutionalization. Both Georgia's lawsuit and the Helen L. ruling are based on the ADA's "integration" mandate, which says, "a public entity must administer services, programs, and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with a disabilities." Authorized in 1990, the ADA is the most sweeping civil rights legislation protecting people with disabilities. Upon signing the law at a packed White House lawn ceremony, President Bush declared, "And now I sign legislation which takes a sledgehammer to another wall, one which has, for too many generations, separated Americans with disabilities from the freedom they could glimpse, but not grasp." Georgia's appeal to the Supreme Court has outraged ADAPT and the entire disability community. All people want the choice to live in the community, and Georgia's lawsuit challenges this, stating "the fundamental issue of whether Congress intended for institutional care to constitute discrimination...can and should be decided first.". ADAPT recognizes that being forced into an institution constitutes discrimination, and does not want to see this important civil right stripped from the ADA. Integration NOT Segregation. -- FOR MORE INFORMATION on (ADAPT) please visit our website at http://www.adapt.org/ Jennifer Burnett: (202) 289-5959 Hotel in DC Janine Bertram-Kemp: (202) 253-9384 cell phone (202) 342-9439 Joe Ehman: (303) 487-9587 or Email adaptpr@adapt.org ---- NEZ'S CYBER MALL SUPPORTS THE DEAF COMMUNITY Nez's Cyber Mall is a fundraiser project that will help support the newly created Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. This mall has been designed with accessibility in mind. All commissions generated by sales activity within this mall will be used to support the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. Nez's Cyber Mall can be found at: Http://www.i-sphere.com/eyedeaf/deafmall.htm ---- DEAF STUDENTS PROTEST INTERPRETER SHORTAGE By SOLOMON MOORE, Times Staff Writer NORTHRIDGE--When Jessica Guarino learned about Cal State Northridge and its famed National Center on Deafness, she knew it was the place for her.      As the only deaf student in her New Orleans high school, she longed for an environment where she could meet other deaf students and live where her needs would be understood. She got her camaraderie at CSUN, but it has come at a price.      "I graduated [high school] with a 3.6 grade point average," she said, signing through an interpreter. "But last semester I made a 2.5 because I couldn't get an interpreter that I could understand."      Frustrated over long delays, rigid schedules and poorly trained interpreters, Guarino and about 80 other deaf and hard-of-hearing students protested the shortage of sign-language interpreters Friday afternoon on the main quadrangle.      One by one, students stood on a bench and described humiliations, missed opportunities and dashed expectations.      "I came here from Colorado because I heard about all these great interpreters they had," said Trudy Marie Sluyter, 23, a liberal studies major. "I had an interpreter for two years, and then the third year my interpreter was gone and I just sat there in math for months. They wanted me to go to a different class with all deaf students--that meant I couldn't follow my own schedule."      As a result, Sluyter said, she will graduate a semester late.      Damion Brown, 25, arrived at CSUN last month from Boston with the expectation that he would have no problem finding an interpreter to help him through his finance classes. After three weeks, he's still on the waiting list, he said.      Some complained about sign-language interpreters who abandoned students if they were late to class. Others complained of interpreters who were late.      Herb Larson, who will retire next month from his position as director of the National Center on Deafness, said he understood the students' frustration, but was unable to offer a quick solution.      "Absolutely there's a shortage," he said. "But it's not just us here facing this problem. This is affecting all post-secondary programs--there's just not enough interpreters going through interpreter-training programs.      "It's not a budget problem," he added. "Money isn't an issue."      Larson said 256 deaf and hard-of-hearing students attend CSUN, but that the center only employs about 100 interpreters--about 90% of whom work part time. In all, interpreters are needed at 424 classes.      Interpreters are paid between $10.84 and $29.93 an hour, plus benefits.      Students complained that interpreters, who need to be highly skilled to translate academic subjects, should be paid more and given full-time jobs more often to encourage them to stay. Larson said wages and hiring practices were out of his control and were a labor matter to be negotiated by the Cal State system and its unions.      Still, some students said they felt duped by the much-touted National Center on Deafness, noting that recruitment materials sent out by the center do not mention the shortages.      Said 25-year-old April Edwards, a recent CSUN graduate, who used the center's services: "They have a reputation that they don't live up to." ---- COMMUNITY COLLEGE HIKES PAY TO LURE IN MORE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS Community college district hikes pay of interpreters for the deaf `Emergency' action intended to meet big student demand Jeff Ristine STAFF WRITER The one thing San Diego Mesa College student Tamra Haarsager needs most for her education is often in the shortest supply: interpreters for the deaf. Haarsager, 31, depends on sign language to understand lessons in the history and math courses she is taking. If a course doesn't offer an interpreter, she said, "there's no way I can take it unless the teacher signs." It is this kind of imperative that led the San Diego Community College District, in what was described as an emergency measure, to boost hourly pay for interpreters by up to 42 percent. Lynn C. Neault, assistant chancellor for student services, said the district was meeting only 50 to 60 hours of the 100-hours-a-day demand for interpreters' services. One reason: The district's pay scale had fallen far behind that of other educational institutions in the county. The new scales, approved last week by the district's board of trustees, place it among the highest-paying institutions. "We know of interpreters that we've hired hourly that have called in sick to take better-paying jobs for the day," Neault said. "This is an emergency measure to see if we can curb the supply problem." The San Diego district, which includes City and Miramar colleges, has more deaf and hard-of-hearing students than San Diego State University, UC San Diego and other community college districts in the county. Each year about 150 of its students rely on sign-language interpreters. They include many adults in continuing education programs and others in challenging classes such as languages and chemistry. The new pay scale offers $15 an hour for entry-level interpreters, up from $10.50, and $25 for top-level positions, up from $18. The rates go into effect next month. The district has nine contract positions for interpreters, with four vacancies. The district books interpreters from private-sector agencies to fill some of its needs, but they can cost up to $35 an hour. Haarsager said the interpreters, whom she also has used in English, health education and other classes, do more than just make the instructor understandable. "I am able to participate (in class)," she said. "If I am not sure what the teacher meant, or need clarification, I can ask." Haarsager, who hopes to transfer to UCSD for its teaching program, said she has never been forced to drop a class for the lack of an interpreter, but she knows of other deaf students who have. Neault said the district sometimes can offer note-taking or closed-captioning when interpreters are not available, but students generally are not happy with such alternatives. "They feel almost betrayed by us," she said. ---------------------- Letters from readers: According to the latest report from the State of California Department of Education... * Only ONE deaf student at CSDF (California School for the Deaf, Fremont) is enrolled at 12th grade level, and that student is the ONLY deaf residential school deaf student in California who took the regular, hearing SAT this past year. * NONE of the students at CSDR (California School for the Deaf, Riverside) took the regular, hearing SAT test. None are enrolled at the 12th grade level of regular education. * The two residential schools for the deaf in California, CSDR and CSDF, are under the category of "Special Schools," and are NOT regular educational academic programs. * Gallaudet and NTID are also classified as "Special Institutions for Persons With Disabilities" by the US Department of Education, and they are NOT regular educational academic programs. * There are no more "Special Institutions" with classrooms for any other group of persons with disabilities in the United States, except for deaf students. Persons with mental retardation, blindness, and physical disabilities, are ALL mainstreamed now into regular academic school programs, all over the United States. * The only "Special Institution" left for blind people is the American Printing House for the Blind, which gives correspondence courses in Braille, and which prints materials for blind people. It is funded by the US Department of Education, but it is not a school, and it does not teach students directly -- it is a national support center for educational materials. [NOTE: Remember, the "Deaf SAT" used by Gallaudet and NTID, given by the CA Dept. of Rehabilitation, has a maximum score of EIGHTH GRADE level (11 year old level) for English and Math. The "Deaf SAT" merely certifies that a deaf student who passes the examination has English and Math levels equal to an 11 year old hearing child.] [IN COMPARISON: We have received a report from a French deaf student that approximately 3/4 of the deaf students in her "Special School" for the deaf in France pass the REGULAR, HEARING Baccalaureate exam for entrance into the regular Universities in France. The French baccalaureate examination is MUCH MORE DIFFICULT and much more intensive, and has more subjects to study, than the regular, hearing American SAT test. The French baccalaureate examination is all essays, and no "multiple-choice" questions, in many different subjects. ALL of the French deaf students who take the baccalaureate examination must take the SAME examination as the hearing students, outside of their "Special School for the Deaf," and it is scored by the regular Ministry of Education in France, at the same standards as for hearing students.] Paulette Caswell ============================================================== 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 =============================================================== Circulation Information Direct Email subscribers : 67 Indirect Email Subscribers : 39 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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