Office of Disability Rights Provides Testimony at the Agency Performance Oversight Hearing on February 23, 2009 - Releases

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Office of Disability Rights

Testimony of
Derek K. Orr
Acting Director
Office of Disability Rights

Council of the District of Columbia
Committee on Government Operations and the Environment

Annual Performance Hearing

February 23, 2009
3 pm

John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

Good afternoon Councilmember Cheh and other distinguished members of the Committee. I am Derek Orr, Acting Director of the District of Columbia Office of Disability Rights. Thank you for the opportunity and privilege to appear before you today representing the Office of Disability Rights.

The Office of Disability Rights began operation in mid-November 2007 with a mission to ensure that the programs, services, benefits, activities and facilities operated or funded by the District of Columbia are fully accessible to, and useable by, people with disabilities. ODR is responsible for ensuring that District government is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and other federal and District disability rights laws. To accomplish this mission, we provide training, technical assistance, policy recommendations, expertise and informal dispute resolution to District agencies and the disability community – with a vision for the District of Columbia to be a national model city of accessibility for people with disabilities.

The Office of Disability Rights has approached the successful accomplishment of our performance goals and objectives by placing emphasis on partnerships and collaboration with District Government Agencies, community service providers, consumers, advocates and caregivers. By thinking, planning, and working together, the individuals and groups that comprise the disability community are aware that we can accomplish goals that neither could achieve alone. This foundation has allowed for implementing and promoting comprehensive approaches to the ensuring full integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of the District community.

Of the approximately 280 million people in the United States, census data reveals that about one in five has some type of disability and that one in ten has a “severe” disability. Of those over 65 years old, more than half have a disability. There are approximately 116,000 residents with disabilities serving and living in the community – roughly 20% of the population of the District of Columbia. Based on the 2007 American Community Survey conducted by Cornell University, the unemployment rate of working-age District residents with disabilities between ages 21 and 64 is sixty-seven percent (67%). The percentage of residents with disabilities who are actively seeking work but are not currently working is approximately eleven percent (11%). In addition, twenty-eight percent (28%) of the working-age residents with disabilities attain a high school diploma or the equivalent – that is approximately 32,500 individuals with disabilities in the District. As a result, the poverty rate among this population is staggering at thirty-eight percent (38%) or approximately 44,000 District residents with disabilities living at or below the poverty line.

Though our office is not presenting a pleasant picture for the Council, ODR holds dear to the belief that we can become a “Model City” for all District residents, with and without disabilities. I believe that the District Government has made tremendous progress with improving the overall quality and accessibility of services, programs, and activities provided to residents with disabilities under ODR’s leadership, guidance, and partnership with critical stakeholders over the past 15 months.

The Office of Disability Rights has eleven FTE staff positions. Presently, six ODR staff identify as having a disability. There are currently two vacant positions – that of Agency Director and a Sign Language Interpreter – recruitment is active for both of these positions. In Fiscal Years 2008 and Year-to-Date 2009, the Office of Disability Rights has accomplished the following:

• Increased Understanding and Relevance of the ADA. We trained 324 DC Government employees and contractors on the ADA Title I (Employment), Title II (Programs, Services, & Activities), and Disability Sensitivity and Awareness. We developed guidance materials on TTYs and Telecommunications Relay Services for the Deaf, Accessible Meetings, and the Requirements of Title II of the ADA.
• ADA Compliance Program. 42 ADA Coordinators were identified from Government Agencies and serve as points of contact and ambassadors for ODR throughout District Government. The ADA Coordinators are provided on-going training on the ADA Title I, ADA Title II, Disability Awareness and Reasonable Accommodations. Site visits are conducted to provide technical assistance and to familiarize ODR staff with the accessibility, programs and services of each Agency. In addition, ODR developed a mechanism to receive disability-related complaints and technical assistance requests and to resolve disability-related disputes informally and effectively.
• Effective dispute resolution and technical assistance program. ODR provides a centralized means of resolving disability rights related complaints, requests for technical assistance from District Agencies as well as information and referral services. In FY ’08 234 requests for assistance were successfully managed, resolved or referred to the appropriate District or Federal Agency. To date in FY ’09 ODR has received 139 requests for assistance.
• Effective Communication. ODR developed a District-wide policy on effective communication with individuals with sensory disabilities, requiring provision of sign language interpreters, video captioning, and alternative format materials. We also implemented a centralized funding and dispatch system for sign language interpreters, which is considered a “best practice” nationally.
• Accessible Homeless Shelters. Responsible for the development and implementation of the Shelter Program training curriculum for District officials and contractors to achieve ADA compliance.
• Fair Housing Act Technical Assistance. ODR provides technical assistance to the District Government on the disability related provisions of the Fair Housing Act including reasonable accommodation procedures.
• Disability Awareness Conference. ODR coordinated the District’s 2008 Disability Awareness Conference in October, which brought together over 200 members of the disability community and DC government officials to develop strategies to improve services in the areas of employment, housing, assistive technologies, and personal care supports.
• Disability Mentoring Days. Thirty-one District agencies and four City Council members hosted individuals with disabilities for a day of job-shadowing and mentoring throughout October.
• DC Commission on People with Disabilities. This newly formed Mayoral Commission is housed within the Office of Disability Rights. A full-time ODR staff member functions as the “Special Assistant” to the Commission providing support and coordination of the Commission’s efforts and activities.
• Development of the Manual for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities. This resource provides the ADA requirements for reasonable accommodation of employees with disabilities. The purpose of the D.C. Government Manual for Accommodating Employees with Disabilities is to provide guidance on how to reasonably accommodate District employees and applicants for positions within the District government. This Manual outlines a uniform approach to providing reasonable accommodations consistent with federal and District laws and establishing grievance procedures regarding disability and employment-related complaints. The Manual explains the obligations of both the District agencies and individuals with disabilities, and it answers some of the questions about reasonable accommodations facing District agencies.

• Website Accessibility. ODR worked closely with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) to increase the accessibility of the DC.gov website to people with hearing and vision disabilities. The number of text equivalents for non-text items (pictures and graphics) on high-use DC agency websites has increased substantially, allowing ODR to meet and exceed the FY08 performance indicator by ten percent to fifty percent
• Olmstead Planning. It should come as a surprise to no one that being part of the community and living independently are among the most important values and goals shared by all people – including people with disabilities. Having access to, and living in, a home of one’s own – whether that home is rented or owned -is probably considered by most to be the cornerstone of the shared goal of independent living. Beginning in May 2008, an Olmstead Planning Council was recruited comprised of a broad spectrum of stakeholders from the disability community and DC Government agencies to draft a comprehensive plan that looks to expand community-based alternatives and decrease the need for institutional care, by providing the most appropriate, least restrictive level of care. The key elements of the plan look to allocate resources to targeted populations with the most need and who lack other options; strengthen and promote prevention; use data to reorganize, reprioritize, reduce or eliminate services based on priorities and performance measures identified in the Olmstead Plan, referred to as “DC – One Community for All.”
• Voting Accessibility: The American Association of People with Disabilities estimates that over 14 million people with disabilities voted in the 2000 election but that more than 21 million people with disabilities of voting age did not vote. To ensure that this disparity is not accepted or maintained and in keeping with the vision of the District of Columbia being a model city of accessibility for people with disabilities, ODR has partnered with the Board of Ethics and Elections in the provision of technical assistance and funding to expand and ensure polling place access and accessible voting technology.
• Transportation Accessibility: ODR, in collaboration with the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT), DC Mass Transit, Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is developing and designing a survey tool to conduct accessibility surveys of sidewalks and curb cuts around transportation stops and buildings housing DC government services.

2009 Performance Plan Section
As ODR seeks to meet the targets and outcomes as described in its 2009 Performance Plan, the office has four primary objectives:
1. Be a model city of accessibility for people with disabilities;
2. Respond to the needs of people with disabilities;
3. Increase employment of people with disabilities in DC Government, and;
4. Expand opportunities for people with disabilities to live in integrated community settings.

With these objectives in mind, ODR has been focusing its energies and resources on the following priorities throughout this current fiscal year:

Improving physical access to District-owned and leased facilities, with particular emphasis on police facilities, homeless shelters, sidewalks, polling places, public libraries, public recreation facilities, and schools.
Increasing the accessibility of services and information offered through the DC.gov website by collaborating with the Office of the Chief Technology Officer during the implementation process of the new Content Management System, and develop mechanisms for ensuring that online applications, video and audio materials, and government software applications are accessible to people using screen reading software.
Implementing city-wide reasonable modification and effective communication policies and funding mechanisms to ensure that people with disabilities can fully participate in DC programs, services, and activities.
Developing and implementing ADA Compliance Plans involving 40 District agencies with the purpose of improving accessibility for Government employees as well as consumers and residents with disabilities accessing government programs and services.
Assessing District agencies and employees with disabilities with the purpose of knowing the current reasonable accommodations and recruitment practices utilized. ODR will issue two surveys in early 2009. The first will survey District agencies about their outreach efforts, hiring practices, accommodation policies, and other disability issues. The second will establish an initial baseline of the number of District employees with disabilities and survey their experiences and needs.
Developing and implementing the DC Olmstead Community Integration Plan with the intention of moving people with disabilities out of institutions and into community based settings.

The lessons learned by the Office of Disability Rights have aided to the overall growth and development of the Office of Disability Rights since its establishment in November 2007:

1. Emphasis on partnerships and collaboration with District agencies, community service providers, consumers, advocates and caregivers is absolutely essential to: a) Improving the overall quality and accessibility of services provided to the community; and b) the advancement of ODR’s mission and initiatives, including the Olmstead “Community for All” Plan and the development of agencies’ ADA Compliance Plans.

2. The need for ODR to continue strengthening and defining our role and responsibilities the establishment of Memorandums of Understanding and Administrative Issuances regarding city-wide planning efforts to ensure that people with disabilities have comprehensive accessibility and program access to all government services and activities.

The ODR staff and I value and understand the importance of these lessons as we move forward with FY09 and beyond with our planned activities, initiatives, and outcomes. In addition, ODR is anticipating the United States Congress will pass the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 in this legislative session, expanding the definition of disability and reasonable accommodations. ODR will monitor this legislative process and make all necessary modifications to our programs and services to reflect this advancement of people with disabilities’ civil rights and liberties.

In conclusion, on behalf of the staff of the Office of Disability Rights we thank the Council and Community partners for their support and commitment to the mission, vision and values of the Agency.

This concludes my formal testimony. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.