Re-charting the Course: If Not Now, When?


THE SECOND REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE ON EMPLOYMENT OF
ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES.  PRESENTED TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES.


A Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.  Produced
pursuant to Executive Order No. 13078.  Printed November 1999.


Copies of this report are available from the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults
with Disabilities Web site http//www.dol.gov. The Task Force is located at 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW, Room S2220D, Washington, DC 20210; 202-693-4939 (V); 202-693-4290 (TTY);
and 202-693-4929 (Fax). Alternative formats of this report are also available by contacting the
Task Force.

Any modifications to the re port, or material contained in this report, must be specified clearly,
along with a description of the modification(s).  Notice of modification(s) must be displayed
prominently and must contain, if applicable, a notice that the modification(s) may compromise
the validity and reliability of the conclusions or data in this report.

This report is a product of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities.  Prepared with the assistance of Health Systems Research, Inc.  Report layout and
cover design by Leaird Designs.


On March 13, 1998, President William J. Clinton signed an Executive Order, which created the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.  The President named
Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman to Chair the Task Force, and appointed Tony Coelho,
Chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, as Vice
Chair.

The purpose of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and aggressive national policy to bring
adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to that of the
general adult population.  Task Force members include the Secretary of Education, the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of the Social
Security Administration, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, the Chair of
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Chair of the National Council on
Disability, and the Chair of the Federal Communications Commission.

The President urged Federal agencies to move swiftly in beginning the work outlined in the
Order.  Several interim reports are called for in the Executive Order, and the final report is due
July 26, 2002, the 10th anniversary of the initial implementation of the employment provisions of
the Americans with Disabilities Act.  This second report of the Presidential Task Force on
Employment of Adults with Disabilities has the unique opportunity to come at a time when we
are closing out a century and beginning the next millennium.  The opportunity is now to
substantively redirect the policies of our nation so that people with disabilities can work.  There
is tremendous demonstrated support from President Clinton and Vice President Gore, who
endorsed and acted on every recommendation made by the Task Force in its first report,
Re-charting the Course.  There is investment and support from 14 Cabinet members and other
agency leaders across the Federal Government, who are developing action plans to address policy
barriers and creating systemic change government-wide.  There is the expressed need of
employers across the nation, who are pleading for dedicated workers for their businesses at this
time of record-low unemployment.  And there is the demand from people with disabilities across
the nation who want to work, who want the benefits and choices that come with economic
independence, and who want to fully participate in their communities.  President Clinton and
Vice President Gore, the Task Force recognizes that change of the magnitude we are asking is
hard. But if we cannot address needed changes now, with expressed support and commitment
from so many sectors, when will it be possible?  If Not Now, When?  This second report of the
Task Force is intended to push forward the message to all stakeholders, including but not limited
to the Administration, Congress, Governors, State and local officials, people with disabilities and
other interested parties: The Time For Action Is Now.


Staff of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults With Disabilities: Rebecca L.
Ogle, Executive Director; William R. McKinnon, Ph.D., Senior Public Health Advisor, Special
Assistant to the Executive Director, Detailed from the Public Health Services, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services; Christopher Button, Ph.D., Senior Policy Advisor; Richard L.
Horne, Ed.D., Senior Policy Advisor; John R. Davey, Director of Operations, Detailed from the
Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense; Paul Bennett, Senior Advisor,
Detailed from the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration; Julie Clark,
J.D., Policy Analyst;
Randy Cooper, Policy Analyst, Detailed from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance
Programs, U.S. Department of Labor; Robert G. Goldstraw, Policy Analyst, Detailed from the
Office of Operations, Social Security Administration; Linda D. Kontnier, J.D., Policy Analyst,
Detailed from the Employment Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor; LaToya
Plater, Office Automation Assistant. 


"According to research, three-quarters of working-aged people with severe disabilities are not in
the labor force."


The following is a letter sent to Alexis M. Herman, by a parent with a disabled daughter who
voices her concerns about the inadequacies of vocational rehabilitation services and wants to
bring several issues to the attention of the Task Force:
"Dear Ms. Herman: I recently received notice of the Town Hall meeting on employment
opportunities for adults with disabilities.  When my daughter was 20, we moved to Forest Grove,
Oregon.  I have been going the rounds with school districts regarding transition and my
daughter's right to be with a peer group of her own age for some time, and in several States.  I
won a few battles, but generally lost that war.  Tamara is now 21, no longer in school, and we
pay a person over $900 per month to be with her during the day. Tamara has autism and is unable
to speak.  She communicates in a variety of ways, including typing with facilitation, using picture
s, etc.  She is a personable and happy person despite her challenges.

I recently took a teaching job at the high school to work with students with moderate to severe
disabilities, so that I might start a student-run business for students that would be integrated with
typical peers and provide the experiences that I had hoped my own daughter would be able to
receive.  What I have found is that vocational training for students with moderate to severe
disabilities is disjointed and uninspired.  Students are placed in stereotypical job training and
there is little coordination or collaboration between the high school and the vocational agencies
who will be serving the students when they leave the high school.  I explore the Task Force to
consider the notion of job development along the lines of student strengths and needs, to
strengthen VR evaluations so that students with moderate to severe challenges receive
appropriate VR services, and to ensure that services are provided to those with the most
significant challenges.  Despite a lot of theory and discussion of educational best practices and
despite talk of inclusion and equal opportunity, there is the reality that many of our young people
are sitting at home or in group homes doing close to nothing after they leave high school.  I'm
sure this is not new information to anyone who has been working with the system.  However,
what I would like to suggest is that we give real backing to the notion of using technology and
encouraging entrepreneurial development.

I recently submitted a grant for my daughter to start her own vending business.  We'll see if such
a venture can be funded, since it is not typical of most supported employment strategies.  Still it
is the best one I can think of for my own circumstances.  Likewise, I am encouraging my students
to develop ideas for our Dream Keeper business in the high school.  They are taking me up on
that challenge too, despite fighting a lot of bureaucracy!!  But where is the technological support
for our students with special needs in the schools???  I have worked in several districts across
several States and in each school there we re no computers and little technology offered for
special Ed.  Our own student-run business still has an old Macintosh Performa that I brought in
because the District has not allocated funds for technology to the special education department to
sufficiently serve the needs of those students.  We need to make sure that we put our money and
our expertise where our mouths are, and then make sure the money goes where it can benefit
students the most.  I'm sure there must be programs which can serve as good models, but I am
also certain that there are a lot of promotion and hype when the reality is that needs are not being
met by a myriad of agencies whose purpose is to be serving adults with disabilities.  There is an
untapped potential out here, just waiting for an opportunity ... I hope whatever policy can be
assembled that it recognizes the vast need for action and commitment beyond mere words."

Letter submitted by Gaye Avery-Grubbs, Tamara Earle, and Dream Keepers Staff.

The Letter of Transmittal, addressed to William Jefferson Clinton,  acknowledged and signed by
Alexis M. Herman and Tony Coelho, Chair and Vice Chair respectively, The Presidential Task
Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, reads as follows:

"Dear Mr. President: On behalf of the Task Force members, we respectfully and proudly submit
to you our report, Re-charting the Course: If Not Now, When?  The Second Report from the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, as mandated by Executive
Order 13078.  The work documented in this report, the second in a series of four reports, is a
direct result of cooperation and collaboration among all our Federal partners - as mandated by the
Executive Order.  It represents a tremendous amount of work by dedicated members of the Task
Force and Federal agency representatives.

When you signed Executive Order 13078 on March 13, 1998, you assigned the Task Force an
enormous responsibility.  With unemployment at a 30-year low, and employers' demands for
more workers continuing to rise, fulfilling the objectives of the Executive Order is more critical
than ever.  As you have often stated in reference to adults with disabilities, "The last group of
people in this country who could keep the economy going for all of us, with low-inflation, are
Americans with disabilities - - who want to work, who can work, and who are not in the
workforce.  Every American citizen should have a selfish interest in the pursuit of this goal in the
most aggressive possible way." 

This report summarizes Task Force accomplishments over the past year, and provides
recommendations that will further enhance the employment of adults with disabilities.  We
believe that the work of Task Force members' departments and agencies, illustrated throughout
the pages of this second report, demonstrates that an aggressive national policy is beginning to
take shape that will lead to the eventual elimination of barriers to employment for adults with
disabilities. 

Individuals with disabilities recognize and demand the right to economic independence.  They
will no longer tolerate the pervasive systemic barriers that prevent their achieving this goal. 
Nowhere is this more evident than in their coordination of the campaign, backed by key members
of Congress and the Administration, to pass the Work Incentives Improvement Act.  Your
leadership, and that of Vice President Gore in this effort proved invaluable.  It is through this
type of demonstrated leadership that we are "re-charting the course," not only in the Federal
Government, but throughout the nation.  

On behalf of the Task Force members and staff, we applaud your sincere commitment to, and
actions on behalf of, persons with disabilities.  Because of your vision, as we enter the 21st
century, we are advancing a progressive agenda which will ensure a place for those with
disabilities as productive members of America's labor force.  We thank you for your ongoing
support."




This Report is dedicated to all working-aged Americans with disabilities, whose relentless
pursuit of equality, justice, and the basic right to work, continue to inspire the work of the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.


The Presidential Task Force members and staff acknowledge the invaluable leadership of each of
the Chairs and Co-Chairs of the Committees and Subcommittee, as well as the input from all of
the participants on each Committee.  The Task Force is also indebted to the numerous
participants during the Town Hall meetings conducted across the nation.  We appreciate
everyone's input, and look forward to building upon the foundation that has been laid toward the
development of a coordinated and aggressive national policy strategy to address the persistent
barriers to unemployment and underemployment of people with disabilities in the United States.

We are indebted for the time, energy and support from the National Economic Council, the
Domestic Policy Council, and the Office of Management and Budget in the Executive Office of
the President and Office of the Vice President.  Your support and guidance is critical to the
success of the overall mission of the Task Force.

Finally, there have been others, too numerous to mention, that have contributed to the overall
mission, vision and daily work of the Task Force.  While it is not possible to list each and every
individual and group ... to all - we thank you.


Table of Contents
Executive Order -   Page 6
Introduction - Page 9
Overview -     Page 11
1999: The Year-at-a-Glance -  Page 22
Chapter One: 1999 Recommendations to the President from the Presidential Task Force on
Employment of Adults with Disabilities -     Page 32
Chapter Two: A Status Report on the 1998-1999 Task Force Recommendations - Page 38
Chapter Three: Supreme Court & the Americans with Disabilities Act - the View from 1999 -
     Page 43
Chapter Four Highlights of the Task Force Committee Report s: Goals, Actions, and
Recommendations -   Page 48
APPENDIX -     Page 65-92
Appendix A: Disability Employment Policies & Practices in U.S. Federal Government Agencies
-    Page 65
Appendix B: Report from the Employment Rate Measurement Methodology Work Group
(Statistics Committee) - Page 77
Appendix C: Research Activities of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities - Page 81
Appendix D: Disability-Related Initiatives - Page 85


Executive Order
EXECUTIVE ORDER 13078
INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OF ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States
of America, and in order to increase the employment of adults with disabilities to a rate that is as
close as possible to the employment rate of the general adult population and to support the goals
articulated in the findings and purpose section of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, it
is hereby ordered as follows:
     Section 1. Establishment of National Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities.
     (a) There is established the "National Task Force on Employment of Adults with
Disabilities" ("Task Force"). The Task Force shall comprise the Secretary of Labor, Secretary of
Education, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Commissioner of Social Security, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary
of Transportation, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, Administrator of the Small
Business Administration, the Chair of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, the Chairperson of the National Council on Disability, the Chair of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, and such other senior
executive branch officials as may be determined by the Chair of the Task Force.
     (b) The Secretary of Labor shall be the Chair of the Task Force; the Chair of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities shall be the Vice Chair of the
Task Force.
       The purpose of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and aggressive national policy
to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to
that of the general adult population. The Task Force shall develop and recommend to the
President, through the Chair of the Task Force, a coordinated Federal policy to reduce
employment barriers for persons with disabilities.  Policy recommendations may cover such areas
as discrimination, reasonable accommodations, inadequate access to health care, lack of
consumer-driven, long-term supports and services, transportation, accessible and integrated
housing, telecommunications, assistive technology, community services, child care, education,
vocational rehabilitation, training services, job retention, on-the-job supports, and economic
incentives to work.  Specifically, the Task Force shall:
     (1) analyze the existing programs and policies of Task Force member agencies to
determine what changes, modifications, and innovations may be necessary to remove barriers to
work faced by people with disabilities;
     (2) develop and recommend options to address health insurance coverage as a barrier to
employment for people with disabilities;
     (3) subject to the availability of appropriations, analyze State and private disability
systems (e.g., workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, private insurance, and State
mental health and mental retardation systems) and their effect on Federal programs and
employment of adults with disabilities;
     (4) consider statistical and data analysis, cost data, research, and policy studies on public
subsidies, employment, employment discrimination, and rates of return-to-work for individuals
with disabilities;
     (5) evaluate and, where appropriate, coordinate and collaborate on, research and
demonstration priorities of Task Force member agencies related to employment of adults with
disabilities;
     (6) evaluate whether Federal studies related to employment and training can, and should,
include a statistically significant sample of adults with disabilities;
     (7) subject to the availability of appropriations, analyze youth programs related to
employment (e.g., Employment and Training Administration programs, special education,
vocational rehabilitation, school-to-work transition, vocational education, and Social Security
Administration work incentives and other programs, as may be determined by the Chair and Vice
Chair of the Task Force) and the outcomes of those programs for young people with disabilities;
     (8) evaluate whether a single governmental entity or program should be established to
provide computer and electronic accommodations for Federal employees with disabilities;
     (9) consult with the President's Committee on Mental Retardation on policies to increase
the employment of people with mental retardation and cognitive disabilities; and
     (10) recommend to the President any additional steps that can be taken to advance the
employment of adults with disabilities, including legislative proposals, regulatory changes, and
program and budget initiatives.
     (d) (1) The members of the Task Force shall make the activities and initiatives set forth in
this order a high priority within their respective agencies within the levels provided in the
President's budget.
     (2) The Task Force shall issue its first report to the President by November 15, 1998. The
Task Force shall issue a report to the President on November 15, 1999, November 15, 2000, and
a final report on July 26, 2002, the 10th anniversary of the initial implementation of the
employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The reports shall
describe the actions taken by, and progress of, each member of the Task Force in carrying out
this order. The Task Force shall terminate 30 days after submitting its final report.
     (e) As used herein, an adult with a disability is a person with a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits at least one major life activity.
     Sec. 2. Specific activities by Task Force members and other agencies.
     (a) To ensure that the Federal Government is a model employer of adults with disabilities,
by November 15, 1998, the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Labor, and the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall submit to the Task Force a review of Federal
Government personnel laws, regulations, and policies and, as appropriate, shall recommend or
implement changes necessary to improve Federal employment policy for adults with disabilities.
This review shall include personnel practices and actions such as: hiring, promotion, benefits,
retirement, workers' compensation, retention, accessible facilities, job accommodations, layoffs,
and reductions in force.
     (b) The Departments of Justice, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services shall
report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their work with the States and others to
ensure that the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act is carried out
in accordance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, so that individuals with disabilities and their families
can realize the full promise of welfare reform by having an equal opportunity for employment.
  The Departments of Education, Labor, Commerce, and Health and Human Services, the Small
Business Administration, and the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities shall work together and report to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their
work to develop small business and entrepreneurial opportunities for adults with disabilities and
strategies for assisting low-income adults, including those with disabilities to create small
businesses and micro - enterprises. These same agencies, in consultation with the Committee for
Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely
Disabled, shall assess the impact of the Randolph-Sheppard Act vending program and the
Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act on employment and small business opportunities for people with
disabilities.
     (d) The Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development shall report
to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their examination of their programs to see if they
can be used to create new work incentives and to remove barriers to work for adults with
disabilities.
     (e) The Departments of Justice, Education, and Labor, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, and the Social Security Administration shall work together and report
to the Task Force by November 15, 1998, on their work to propose remedies to the prevention of
people with disabilities from successfully exercising their employment rights under the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 because of the receipt of monetary benefits based on
their disability and lack of gainful employment.
     (f) The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor and the Census Bureau of
the Department of Commerce, in cooperation with the Departments of Education and Health and
Human Services, the National Council on Disability, and the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities shall design and implement a statistically reliable and
accurate method to measure the employment rate of adults with disabilities as soon as possible,
but no later than the date of termination of the Task Force. Data derived from this methodology
shall be published on as frequent a basis as possible.
     (g) All executive agencies that are not members of the Task Force shall: (1) coordinate
and cooperate with the Task Force; and (2) review their programs and policies to ensure that they
are being conducted and delivered in a manner that facilitates and promotes the employment of
adults with disabilities.  Each agency shall file a report with the Task Force on the results of its
review on November 15, 1998.
     Sec. 3. Cooperation. All efforts taken by executive departments and agencies under
sections 1 and 2 of this order shall, as appropriate, further partnerships and cooperation with
public and private sector employers, organizations that represent people with disabilities,
organized labor, veteran service organizations, and State and local governments whenever such
partnerships and cooperation are possible and would promote the employment and gainful
economic activities of individuals with disabilities.
     Sec. 4. Judicial Review. This order does not create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers, or
any person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 13, 1998.


Introduction
On March 13, 1998, President Clinton signed Executive Order 13078, establishing the
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities.  This Task Force has the
mandate to examine programs and policies related to employment of adults with disabilities to
"determine what changes, modifications and innovations may be necessary to remove barriers to
work faced by adults with disabilities" and to recommend options for such changes.  The
mandate is extremely broad - the examination and proposal of actions that sweep across national
policies.  Areas for Task Force activity touch the jurisdiction of virtually all governing agencies. 
The ultimate mission of the Task Force is to create a coordinated and aggressive national policy
to bring adults with disabilities into gainful employment at a rate that is as close as possible to
that of the general adult population.  That strategy should be in place by July 26, 2002, the tenth
anniversary of the initial implementation of the employment provisions of the Americans with
Disabilities Act of 1990.

Re-charting the Course: The first report of the Task Force issued on November 15, 1998,
outlined multiple barriers to employment and economic independence encountered by adults with
disabilities.  The primary barriers identified include: access to health care; complexity of existing
work incentives; lack of choice and control in selection of providers, services, and supports;
inadequate work opportunities; erroneous and prejudicial attitudes about youth and adults with
disabilities; and access to technology.  The first report called on President Clinton and Vice
President Gore to take immediate action to address these barriers and provided multiple initial
recommendations toward this goal.

The prompt action of President Clinton and Vice President Gore in response to these first-year
recommendations of the Task Force speaks volumes to their support of a progressive disability
agenda.  This action included provisions in the Administration's Fiscal Year 2000 budget request
for full funding of the Work Incentives Improvement Act; a substantial investment of $35 million
in assistive technology; a $1,000 tax credit for work-related expenses; and a $50 million
investment in work incentives grants.  Their initiatives also included: developing a plan to make
the Federal Government a "model employer"; raising the substantial gainful activity level in
Social Security programs; eliminating the stricter standard applied in Federal Government hiring
practices for individuals with psychiatric disabilities; developing and implementing an intensive
outreach campaign by the Small Business Administration to help individuals with disabilities
start their own businesses; and making a commitment to the passage of a strong Patients Bill of
Rights. Chapter Two includes a full status report on 1998-99 Task Force recommendations.

A progressive disability policy agenda is being elevated to new heights through the work of the
Clinton-Gore Administration, bringing about the necessary involvement of multiple stakeholders
that is required to reduce the barriers to employment for adults with disabilities.  The principles
of independence, empowerment, and inclusion have guided the Administration's effort to shape
national policy for Americans with disabilities.  From the
State of the Union Address challenging Congress to pass the Work Incentives Improvement Act,
to a Presidential Radio Address announcing the adoption of Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for
Employment for People with Disabilities in the Federal Government, developed by the Office of
Personnel Management, to the White House Conference on Mental Health, this Administration
has put disability issues at the forefront of the American public agenda.  Its initiatives will
permanently change not only Federal Government practices but also the private sector's approach
to employment of individuals with disabilities.  1999: Year-at-a-Glance includes
disability-related highlights from Task Force member departments and agencies.

As its second term comes to an end, the Clinton-Gore Administration can rightfully lay claim to a
legacy of steadfast commitment to advancing the rights of people with disabilities as full
participants in all aspects of society.  The Administration's record on cases involving the rights
and protections of individuals with disabilities has stayed the course, continually demonstrating
strong support for providing equal and meaningful opportunity for all people.  Supreme Court
decisions have been mixed, but this Administration has stood firmly grounded in preserving the
spirit and intent of the ADA.  As Tony Coelho, Vice Chair of the Task Force and Chair of the
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities noted in remarks made
directly after the decisions, " . . .As the initial sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act in
the House of Representatives, I found this spring's Supreme Court decisions very disappointing. 
We must continue to stick together and fight all efforts to cut back on Congress's original design. 
We must continue to speak truth to power - even a power as mighty as the Supreme Court." 
Chapter Three provides a more detailed report on Supreme Court decisions.

Equally important, Task Force members joined President Clinton and Vice President Gore in
using the power and visibility of their positions to show the nation and the world that people with
disabilities are valued contributors at all levels of our government and in every part of our
society, in this way responding to the call for action outlined in Re-charting the Course. 
Speaking at the National Conference of State Legislatures about the Supreme Court Olmstead
decision in July, Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala stated that " ... no
individual should have to live in a nursing home or State institution if that individual can live in a
community..."  Secretary Rodney Slater, announcing multiple transportation access action items
for the Department of Transportation, stated on July 26th that "... transportation is about more
than concrete, asphalt and steel.  It is the means by which people get to where they need to go: to
jobs, to schools, to markets."

Secretary of Labor Alexis M. Herman, Chair of the Presidential Task Force, joined by
Commissioner of Social Security Administration Kenneth Apfel, spoke at a joint meeting of the
National Council on Independent Living and the National Association of Protection and
Advocacy Systems in June.  Representing Task Force members, Secretary Herman said, "... the
time for excuses is over... we are taking on the challenge of a coordinated national employment
agenda for people with disabilities.  It is time for action."  The Task Force Committees are
ensuring that policies are coordinated and that agencies keep working together to knock down
obstacles to employment - whether the barriers relate to job training, transportation, health care,
technology, or any other challenge.  Chapter Four provides highlights of Task Force Committee
work to date.  

Over the course of the last eight years, more than 19 million new jobs have been created in the
Clinton-Gore era.  Unemployment is at the lowest it has been in 29 years.  Still, almost 75
percent of the 30 million working-age adults with significant disabilities remain unemployed or
underemployed.  Employers across the country are struggling daily to find workers.  According to
the Wall Street Journal, November 22, 1999, the nation's pool of skilled, educated workers is
"running dry " and no quick end to the labor short age is in sight.  Employers are being "forced to
find less-traditional methods of staffing" to keep their businesses and enterprises afloat.  The
Task Force is ideally positioned to make recommendations that will eliminate the barriers to
employment for adults with disabilities and thus respond to employers' demands for qualified
workers.  Chapter One includes the Task Force's recommendations to President Clinton and Vice
President Gore.

As our country prepares to enter the next millennium, our shared goal, as the world's leading
democracy with the strongest economy, must be to dramatically increase employment
opportunities for people with disabilities.  The Task Force is uniquely empowered to ensure that
the Federal Government is leading the way in eliminating program and policy barriers that have
prevented adults with disabilities from achieving economic self-sufficiency.  Consistent with the
mandate of the Executive Order, we proudly submit this report to the President and the public
about the progress made by the Task Force to date.


Overview
The Courage to Question
Prejudicial treatment, individual and societal avoidance, segregation, isolation, poverty.
Relationships built on obligation and pity.  How do we change this history of treatment of people
with disabilities?  How do we create a different future?

The foundation for our nation's policy related to people with disabilities was solidified through
enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  But do public policies, in and of
themselves, create equal and meaningful opportunity for participation in all the benefits of
citizenship in the United States of America?

Questions prompt discussion.  They lead to examination of the status quo, which leads to more
questions, deeper examination, and identification of strategies for change.  When questions result
in controversy, the ensuing debate is ultimately healthy for our nation if we are serious about
change.

Legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the Rehabilitation Act, or the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) cannot change history and does not
automatically produce needed change.  Instead, public policy lays a framework for action. As we
look back over twenty-five years of the implementation of IDEA, and ten years after enactment
of the ADA, we must recognize that the responsibility for change does not rest solely with the
Federal Government.  Nor does it rest solely with the Presidential Task Force, although the Task
Force is charged with creating strategies and mobilizing action for change.  It does not rest solely
with Congress or with the Courts, although each has a critical role.  It does not rest solely with
Governors and other State and local leaders, although their role in implementing change is
crucial.  It does not rest solely on the shoulders of the media, although their power to shape,
change and influence national dialogue should not be underestimated.  And the responsibility
does not fall solely on people with disabilities or their families.  It will take all of us, working
together, to create a more just and equal society for all people.  All are responsible.

This year, through the exemplary leadership of President Clinton, Vice President Gore and senior
members of their Administration, the beginnings of a revolutionary strategy for eliminating
barriers to employment for adults with disabilities is emerging.  This strategy is based on the
belief that inclusion, economic independence, choice, and opportunities for meaningful
participation - and careers - must be afforded to all people in our nation. It is based on the
recognition that this has been denied to people with disabilities.  To change this fact requires that
we examine the depths of our own beliefs about people with disabilities as workers, as
colleagues, as business owners.  It requires that we ask the difficult questions, have the difficult
debates, recognize and act on the needed change.

If Not Now, When? documents that difficult questions are being raised, debates are ensuing and
strategies for change are emerging.  Task Force members are proud of what has been
accomplished in a short time, as reflected in this second report.  Each member recognizes that
eliminating barriers will require profound, systemic change, and is thinking strategically and
acting to bring about that change.

It is clear that only a massive and sustained effort, continuing into the next century and involving
all of us, will accomplish the task at hand.  It requires our willingness to raise difficult and
controversial questions about our priorities as a nation.  It requires the courage to question,
confront, challenge and change policies and practices, actions and beliefs.  It requires the
elimination of enormous disparities born of decades of erroneous societal thinking about, and
stereotypes of, people with disabilities.  It requires profound, top to bottom and side to side
change.  It requires thinking "outside the box " but not in isolation.  And it requires working
together and collaborating on a cross-disability, cross-agency, and cross-cultural basis.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force applauds your unquestionable and
unwavering dedication to this mission, your willingness to lead this debate, and your
determination to lead our nation into the next millennium with this critical charge.

The Urgency of Time
We must not lose the opportunity that faces us as we enter the 21st Century.  Our nation is
under-going a sweeping transformation that is impacting all parts of society.  The increasing
diversity of our population, the impact of technology on our lives, the globalization of our
economy - these and other changes are dramatically shifting the organization of our systems and
how we participate as workers in our world.

This transformation is resulting in monumental change in how our Government operates.  Gone
are the days that Congress or the Federal Government mandates a far-reaching change without
State and local cooperation and, most of all, financial resources attached.  Much of public policy
and its implementation is devolving to States, providing an increase in control and power to State
and local government over its design and implementation.  This is not bad, but it is a change -
and one that must be lived with and within as we continue to fulfill the mandate of the Executive
Order to bring employment of adults with disabilities as close as possible to that of the general
population.
As part of this transformation our nation is experiencing the strongest economy in a generation. 
There are new and expanded opportunities for employment and economic prosperity as scientific
and technological advances result in industries and occupations unheard of only a few decades
ago.  Unemployment is at an all time low.  Employers across the nation are struggling daily to
find qualified workers.  Yet, people with disabilities remain unemployed at stunning levels.

Opportunity is on our side.  We must leverage this transformation to open the door to economic
independence and employment for people with disabilities.  For example, The Workforce
Investment Act (WIA), passed by Congress in 1998, is a salient example of fundamentally
changing how we view workforce development policy in a way that is good for workers and good
for business.  This law codifies many of the reforms that States and local communities had
already begun to enact.  WIA is meant to streamline, to cut red tape, and to provide services that
are truly customized.  The foundation of WIA workforce reform rests on four cornerstones:
choice; integration; accountability; and a local focus.  The intent is that all people, including
people with disabilities, are customers of this new system.  The bottom line?  An outcome-driven
system, responsive both to employers and people seeking jobs, empowering people with
information and control, and resulting in employment.

The implementation of WIA is currently underway, and all States must have their workforce
system in place by July 1, 2000.  It is critically important that the One-Stop Career Center system
have the capacity to serve all of its customers.  This system will be the foundation for workforce
services during the early decades of the 21st Century, and there is dramatic potential for
increasing employment for people with disabilities as the system is put into place.  But there is
also great danger that patterns and practices of the past will be repeated - and that the needs of
people with disabilities will be an afterthought.

The Department of Labor in consultation with other Federal partners, particularly the
Rehabilitation Services Administration, has been working intensively to promulgate regulations
and other policy guidance regarding workforce development and people with disabilities. 
President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force values your leadership in securing
$20 million of the $27 million requested in the Administration's FY 2000 budget for Work
Incentives Grants to foster interdisciplinary consortia and service integration at the State and
local level - and thus promote coordination and integration of employment related services for
people with disabilities through One-Stop Career Center Systems.  The Task Force agencies and
department members are eager to begin work on this critical project, and look forward to
providing updates on our progress.

The foundation of choice, integration, accountability, and local focus is equally relevant to the
recently passed legislation, the Ticket-To-Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (WIIA)
of 1999.  WIIA is intended to provide increased choice and control for Social Security Disability
Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries through the newly
created Ticket-to-Work and Self-Sufficiency program.  One-Stop Career Center Systems are
identified as potential members of the eligible provider networks for SSDI and SSI beneficiaries
seeking or returning to work under this program.

WIIA also allows States to offer a Medicaid "buy-in" for people receiving SSDI and SSI benefits
who are starting or returning to work and, by working, would lose their health care eligibility.  In
addition, WIIA extends premium-free Medicare coverage for SSDI recipients who return to work
for an additional four-and-a-half years beyond the three years provided under current law.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, these are critical health care options for people with
disabilities that will assist significantly in expanding employment possibilities, and your
invaluable leadership to champion this legislation to passage goes without question.  However,
these provisions do not, in and of themselves, solve the enormous barrier to securing health care
for people with disabilities seeking work.  States must elect to implement these provisions, and
we must ensure that they do so.  We have a decisive and timely opportunity, right now, to ensure
that they do so through the continued efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services to
provide technical assistance and advice to States in implementing the WIIA.  Equally important
are the provisions within WIIA that include $150 million infrastructure grants for States, as well
as the five-year, $250 million demonstration program that allows participating States to provide
Medicaid-equivalent services to workers with disabilities that, without health care access, would
become significant enough to qualify them for SSDI or SSI.  It is imperative that these funds be
made available as soon as possible to maximize implementation of WIIA across the country.

The Social Security Administration has taken the lead in coordinating with the Departments of
Health and Human Services, Education and Labor and the Task Force to host a series of public
forums to provide information and opportunity for discussion on the following topics: SSA
customer service and work incentives initiatives; State health care systems and models;
employment initiatives of the Departments of Education, Labor and Health and Human Services;
and an update on the Administration's plans for implementation of WIIA.  These forums are yet
another example of government operating with a new focus - the customers.  They are also
indicative of the recognition by Task Force members that individuals with disabilities are
essential partners in ensuring successful implementation of the Ticket-to-Work and Work
Incentives Improvement Act and the Work force Investment Act.

These policy shifts and other opportunities are forcing us to re-organize how we do business
across the nation.  The mainstream infrastructure of our communities are where the future of
services and supports must rest.  People with disabilities across the nation are asking for
inclusion in these mainstream services and systems, which lay the foundation for their
community participation.  The program and service structures of the past which categorized and
separated children, young people and adults with disabilities, although with good intention, must
partner with these mainstream services, and in that process refashion a new way of working for
themselves.

The Opportunity to Lead
As previously outlined, our nation is undergoing dramatic shifts in how it operates as we enter
the next millennium.  The sweeping legislative agendas of the past are the past.  Gone are the
days that the Congress or the Federal Government mandates a far-reaching change without State
and local cooperation and, most of all, financial resources attached.  Big government spending
days are over and fiscal responsibility and accountability are primary themes driving
development and delivery of policy and services.  This is not bad, but it is a change.  It is a
change that must be lived with and within as we continue to fulfill the mandate of the Executive
Order to bring employment of adults with disabilities as close as possible to that of the general
population.  Recognizing this, the Federal Government can lead the way by modeling exemplary
practice in recruitment and hiring, accommodating and promoting people with the full range of
disabilities.  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force commends the recent
release of Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the
Federal Government by the Office of Personnel Management in October.  This action plan will
ensure that more people with disabilities are recruited for positions at all levels of government;
provide opportunities for students with disabilities; collect and maintain data to monitor the
success of people with disabilities in the Federal workforce; and provide reasonable
accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.  The successful implementation
and enforcement of Accessing Opportunity will provide the private sector an example to follow.

We must recognize that our existing laws prohibiting discrimination, such as the ADA and
Sections 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, will be our foundation for creating change in
both the public and private sector.  We must leverage the existence of these laws, combined with
the leadership of our Federal Government, to create change.  For example, Federal contractors
employ approximately 26 million people, or nearly 22 percent of the total civilian workforce. 
This is a critical area for leveraging the influence of the Federal Government for increasing
employment and changing practices about employment of people with disabilities.  More
information on Section 503 compliance and best practices is needed to inform Federal
contractors about effective hiring strategies.

The enforcement agencies also should explore methods to strengthen their investigation
processes.  For example, the Department of Labor, through the Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP), should utilize compliance evaluation procedures that allow the
agency to focus on systemic barriers to the employment of individuals with disabilities.  The
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), in coordination with the Department of
Justice and the Department of Labor, should explore enhancing data collection efforts with
respect to the employment and the availability of persons with disabilities in the workforce,
possibly through new regulations.  Consistent with their complementary responsibilities for
enforcement, the EEOC and OFCCP should explore joint enforcement strategies.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force recommends that the Department of
Justice, Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission be provided
increased resources to collaborate in exploring methods for strengthening enforcement of
employment-related nondiscrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act.  All efforts shall provide a clear and unequivocal message that expanded
employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities are a high priority of the
Administration.  The efforts of the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission should include providing increased technical assistance to employers, strengthening
compliance evaluations, and enhancing data collection as appropriate.

There are multiple additional ways that we can reach our desired goal for increasing employment. 
The February 2000 release of standards governing Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act provides
a critical opportunity that can be leveraged both for procuring accessible technology and
equipment, and for increasing employment of adults with disabilities through the availability of
such equipment.  As the largest purchaser of technology and equipment, the Federal
Government's procurement practices must be leveraged to promote development of technology
that is accessible to and useable by people with disabilities.  In addition, the recently promulgated
regulations governing Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act include provisions to
influence development of communication technologies for the future that are accessible to people
with disabilities. These regulations, providing for an information highway infrastructure that is
accessible, create opportunities for expanded employment for people with disabilities.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, as a nation we must make a significant investment of
our resources targeted specifically to ensuring access to accessible and affordable information,
communication and assistive technology for people with disabilities.  As we enter a new century,
we must ensure through our actions today that the workers of tomorrow are prepared with skills
and training, and equipped with the tools necessary to succeed.

The year 2000 marks the Tenth Anniversary of enactment of the ADA.  As we prepare to
celebrate the anniversary of this landmark civil rights law, we must leverage the leadership of the
Federal Government through vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and oversight of critical
regulatory requirements.  The Federal Government can also demonstrate, through its own
exemplary practice, effective strategies as a model employer.

The Power and Responsibility to Participate
Ours is a government of the people, for the people, by the people - individual voices shaping our
collective future as a nation.  Each person has the power - and the responsibility - to participate. 
Our democracy affords each person a voice.  More and more people with disabilities are using
their personal power in this participatory democracy - making their voices heard - there by
influencing the ways that programs and policies are designed and delivered.

Every day in communities across the nation there are new opportunities to take part in the
democratic process, to create change that will open the door to employment and full participation
for people with disabilities.  The Clinton-Gore administration has taken the lead in reinventing
government and much of the impetus for this change came from the voices of the people.  One
example of reinventing government services is the "Access America for Seniors," an Internet site
providing information on a wide range of government services.  Vice President Gore described
this as..."an excellent example of our efforts to reinvent government to provide services that
American people need and care about."

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force commends the steadfast commitment
of the Administration to ensure that opportunities of the Information Age are available to all
Americans, and especially to children who are our future.  The Task Force respectfully requests
consideration of additional resources to establish a new Web site specifically addressing Federal
Government programs and policies for people with disabilities.  Access America for People with
Disabilities will link persons with disabilities and other interested individuals with
comprehensive information so that they can effectively navigate their worlds and ultimately more
effectively participate in their communities and the workforce.

The Task Force, led by Secretary of Labor and Chair Alexis M. Herman and Vice Chair Tony
Coelho, is taking the lead in reshaping Federal employment policies for people with disabilities
by actively reaching out to key stakeholders across the nation to involve them in the debate about
change.  During this year, numerous Town Hall meetings were held to provide a forum for
interested persons to discuss their thoughts, concerns and experiences about employment for
people with disabilities.  The first Town Hall meeting, held in Los Angeles on June 3, 1999,
focused on two key areas - expanding employment opportunities for young people with
disabilities and expanding self-employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

At this first Town Hall meeting individuals with disabilities, parents, educators and other
interested people provided in-depth testimony about issues, specifically relating to young people,
such as transition from school to work.  The overwhelming majority of voices implored Task
Force members to make young people with disabilities a priority when developing future projects
and examining public policy.  Task Force members heard first hand accounts from young people
about the lack of options available for employment and economic independence.  These young
people with disabilities very eloquently outlined multiple barriers that they face while in school
and as they attempt to transition into the workplace.  Some of these barriers included the
following: lack of adequate educational accomplishment; low expectation by their family, the
education system, service providers and societal expectation in general; their own low
self-esteem; and confusing governmental programs with baffling eligibility criteria and goals.

Each year, about 40,000 eighteen-year-olds are subject to an eligibility review for SSI benefits,
but only 25,000 are determined eligible for such assistance.  On average, the young adults
determined eligible will remain on SSI for 27 years, while those not determined eligible are
likely to live in poverty.  As we prepare to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the
most comprehensive civil rights laws for young people with disabilities, the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, it is imperative that aggressive efforts be taken to examine the
disconnect that seems to be occurring in the lives of young people with disabilities.  President
Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force recommends that the Departments of The
Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities 10 Labor, Education, Health
and Human Services, the Social Security Administration and other appropriate Task Force
member agencies construct, coordinate and implement a Youth-to-Work Initiative to address this
critical area of need.

At this first Town Hall meeting Task Force members also learned from participants about their
growing interest in and concerns about entrepreneurial opportunities and provision of personal
assistance services.  People with disabilities at the meeting said they often call for, but seldom
receive, consumer-driven personal assistance - that is, the ability to manage, direct and, in many
cases, hire their own personal assistants through some sort of voucher payment.  Providing
personal assistance to an estimated seven to ten million Americans with disabilities with a variety
of every-day living tasks is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar "growth" industry.  Moreover, it is
one financed primarily through Federal Medicaid and Medicare payments.  Between three and six
billion dollars in Federal and State dollars are estimated to be spent on such services annually.

Additionally, the Task Force learned that recent research indicates that, on average, agency
personal assistance providers cost nearly twice as much as individual providers ($10.20 versus
$5.25 per hour).  More than half of this difference is not the result of paying individual providers
less, but the administrative costs built into the home health care business.  The Federal
Government, therefore, has a strong human and economic interest in helping to generate
competition in this field.  The resounding message from this Town Hall meeting was the need to
explore initiatives to spur the development of small businesses and micro enterprises owned and
controlled by individuals with disabilities in the delivery of personal assistance services.

The second Town Hall meeting, held in Birmingham, Alabama, on October 25, 1999, focused on
civil rights laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act.  The testimony from women and minority participants at this meeting was of
particular interest to Task Force members, and proved to be an invaluable resource for further
development of initiatives to eliminate barriers to employment for adults with disabilities.  The
major themes garnered from the many individuals who provided eloquent testimony concerned
the barriers that lack of transportation and housing create for people with disabilities, especially
those living in rural areas.

Task Force members heard over and over again that lack of available public transportation is a
major employment barrier for persons with disabilities.  According to the Department of
Transportation's report to the Task Force in November 1998, "Persons with disabilities tend to be
more dependent on transit service than the general public, and the prevailing transportation
patterns in the U.S. - dominated by sprawling development patterns and highly dependent on
highways and private automobiles - put all dependent populations at a disadvantage."

Individuals testifying at the Town Hall meeting expressed frustration with the lack of planning
and coordination of public and human service transportation providers.  Many living in rural
areas said that lack of adequate transportation has been a long-standing problem, and they did not
hold much hope for a brighter future.  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force
recommends that immediate steps be taken to develop a comprehensive plan of action to address
the lack of transportation services and systems for persons with disabilities, especially those
living in rural areas.

The Task Force would be remiss if this report failed to document the need for immediate action
in the area of housing for individuals with disabilities.  Many participants at the Town Hall
meeting shared with Task Force members the direct relationship of restrictive housing eligibility
criteria and the ability to find and keep meaningful work.  In addition to concerns about
maintaining health care, people with disabilities are increasingly worried that if they go to work
they will lose their eligibility for housing subsidies.  The need to explore avenues for increasing
home ownership by people with disabilities is also paramount.

Despite the Department of Housing and Urban Development's support for increasing services
available to low income and special needs populations and passage of the "Quality Housing and
Work Responsibility Act of 1998," testimony provided at this meeting showed that much more
needs to be done.  Participants pointed out to Task Force members that many benefits of the 1998
Act are not available to them because they are not part of a public housing authority program.  As
of October 1, 1999, a provision within the new Act establishes a mandatory disregard of 100
percent of earned income for a period of 12 months.  This is followed by a rent increase of only
50 percent of the amount it otherwise would have been increased without the disregard. 
President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force recommends that the Department of
Housing and Urban Development explore steps needed to establish an earned income disregard
for tenants with disabilities living in other-than-PHA housing who return to work; and a
provision which exempts any disability related expenses incurred when a tenant goes to work
from the countable income used to determine rents.

As previously stated, ours is a government of the people, for the people, by the people -individual
voices shaping our collective future as a nation.  Each person has the power - and the
responsibility - to participate.  People with disabilities, parents of individuals with disabilities
and other interested persons embraced these principles and provided the Task Force with
invaluable input into the overall mission to eliminate the barriers to employment for adults with
disabilities.  The Task Force appreciates the willingness of each participant to share their
opinions and expertise and hopes that each will see that it was not in vain.  More Town Hall
meetings are planned throughout the year 2000.

The Task Force also convened numerous meetings throughout the year, including summits on
welfare-to-work, youth leadership, and ongoing State and local systems change initiatives, as
well as outreach to groups who experience particularly high unemployment, such as Native
Americans.  A Research Roundtable brought together Federal agencies conducting research to
begin to identify gaps and needed areas for future focus of Federal discretionary dollars.  The
goal of these meetings was to identify specific policy-related actions for Task Force
consideration.

These meetings began what will be an ongoing process for ensuring access to cutting-edge,
real-world, policy-related information and recommendations by the Task Force and its staff. 
They reflect our determination to ensure that the debate about change is open to all.  Combined
with communication through technology established through the Task Force Web site, no one is
left out of the dialogue.

Despite the efforts from the Task Force to reach out to all stakeholders across the nation to
involve them in the debate about change needed to eliminate the barriers to employment, one
voice has remained less than front and center where it is desperately needed.  President Clinton
and Vice President Gore, the Task Force requests your assistance in forging an alliance with
business leaders in the public and private sectors.  The Task Force recommends that there be a
White House conference on employment of adults with disabilities that will include
representatives from the Administration, Congress, elected officials from State and local
governments, small and large businesses, the disability community and other related entities
regarding employment of people with disabilities.

The Next Millennium: Equity, Responsibility, Freedom, Justice and Employment for All
The Task Force is looking into the next millennium recognizing the crucial and timely nature of
its charge to develop a coordinated and aggressive national strategy.  This year it became clear
that additional Task Force members are needed in order to ensure that all policies and practices
are viewed from a disability perspective.  The Task Force requested the addition of the Federal
Communications Commission, Chaired by William E. Kennard, to the Task Force.  This was
accomplished in April 1999.  The Task Force will request that the Attorney General of the
Department of Justice, and the Secretaries of the Departments of Housing and Urban
Development, Agriculture and the Interior be added for Fiscal Year 2000, so that their important
jurisdictions can become a part of the overall mission and actions undertaken through Task Force
activities.

Meanwhile, the Task Force has identified the need for a major realignment of resources and
programs to ensure that a strategy for eliminating barriers to employment for adults with
disabilities is a theme of the next millennium.  The structures and practices of our public systems
have taken decades to evolve, have become cemented in their way of doing business, have
become very familiar and comfort able to many people both inside the Federal Government and
outside.  Altering these structures in a deep, substantive way will be difficult, and long-term
success will require a continuing mandate for change in order to prevent the patterns and
practices of the past from persisting.

President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task Force respectfully recommends the
establishment of an Office for disability employment policy to be headed by an Assistant
Secretary at the Department of Labor.  The purpose of the proposed new office will not be to
replicate service delivery systems currently provided through other parts of the department or
Federal Government, but to provide the programmatic infrastructure for needed employment
policy direction, best practice leadership, information dissemination and technical assistance. 
The Office will ensure the ongoing efforts to integrate people with disabilities into the
mainstream employment and training programs of the Department of Labor as they are
implemented across the nation.  It is a critical next step to implement the strategy being
developed by the Task Force.

As the Task Force continues its work toward the goals set forth in Executive Order 13078, the
foundation of our redesign must be based on increased choice and control for all people in
getting the services and supports they need to participate in a meaningful and effective way in
their communities and the workforce.  Federal dollars must be used as investments in the lives of
people with disabilities so that they can get the supports they need to live, meaning fully
participate in and contribute to their community.  This redesign will require examining how the
resources of existing Federal funding streams are used.  It will most likely necessitate modifying
those policies that promote dependence and segregation so that people with even significant
disabilities have not only the opportunity to get a job, but to achieve economic independence, and
control over their lives.

Recognizing the urgency of attacking this critical issue, the Task Force will convene a Summit in
January 2000 called "Beyond Theory and Discussion: Supported Employment Strategies for the
21st Century."  This venue will provide an opportunity to probe multiple issues, including those
relating to increasing wages, community-based employment, choice and control, among others. 
"Despite a lot of theory and discussion about educational best practices, despite talk of inclusion
and equal opportunity, there is the reality that many of our young people are sitting at home or in
group homes doing close to nothing after they leave high school... There is an untapped potential
out here, just waiting for the opportunity," said Mrs. Gaye Avery-Grubbs, parent of Tamara who
has significant disabilities.  The Task Force is committed to tapping into the potential of every
person with a disability.

Finally, it is alarming that, as we move toward the 21st Century, the persistence of negative and
erroneous stereotypes and attitudinal barriers remain one of the most difficult barriers to address. 
Decades of erroneous societal thinking about disability have demonstrated that they will not be
eliminated overnight.  An understanding that disability is a natural part of life, an appreciation of
the benefits of people with disabilities as employers, employees, neighbors and friends, and the
awareness that presence of a disability does not define the person must be created in the
American public.  Only through such awareness can we hope to make eliminating barriers to
employment for people with disabilities the mainstream policy interest that it deserves.

The need for immediate leadership in this area is essential to the success of any strategy to
increase employment and economic independence for people with disabilities.  President Clinton
and Vice President Gore, there is an immediate need to launch a massive public awareness
campaign, in partnership with the disability community, businesses and other influential entities,
to eliminate the erroneous beliefs, the stigma that permeates all parts of American society
regarding disability.

The Task Force is committed to the challenges outlined in this second report, and knows that as
challenges are confronted there will naturally be conflict and controversy - born of fear, of lack
of information, of lack of understanding.  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, the Task
Force believes this debate is past due, and must occur.  Task Force members recognize that there
will be doubters; there will be cynics.  But it is an established fact that with the continued support
of the Clinton-Gore administration and members of Congress, this debate can result in systemic
redesign of our policies so that no one is left behind in the next millennium.

The Task Force acknowledges that there has never before been such a mandate - or opportunity -
for change as the one created through Executive Order 13078.  The Task Force will constantly
push for bold, courageous strategies for change that reach to the roots of our policies.  The
choices are ours as a nation.  We must not be afraid of new ideas.  The debate that has begun
must continue, and it must be elevated.  As we close the
20th century and look to the future, the challenges that remain require our willingness to raise
difficult and sometimes controversial questions about existing social policies, practices and
attitudes.  They require a raging debate that results in deep, substantive change.  The time for
action is now.  If Not Now, When?


The Year at a Glance
White House, Executive Agencies and Task Force Disability-Related Activities in 1999

JANUARY
January 4  President Clinton and Vice President Gore unveil the Administration's long-term
health care initiative: a $1,000 tax credit for caregivers and individuals with long-term care
needs; a National Family Caregivers Support Program offering services such as respite and home
care; a national campaign to educate Medicare beneficiaries about coverage and care options; and
a proposal to offer private long-term care insurance to Federal employees.
January 12  Vice President Gore convenes the Lifelong Learning Summit, 21st Century Skills for
21st Century Jobs, in Washington, D.C., and announces the following initiatives: tax incentives
to encourage more employers to provide worker scholarships; $60 million to train workers for
high-skill jobs in industries that face serious skill short-ages; the "21st Century High-Skills
Community Award," celebrating communities that build the economy by investing in people; and
the Department of Labor's new online resource for training and education opportunities in their
communities, America's Learning Exchange.
January 13  President Clinton and Vice President Gore, speaking at a disability event in the East
Room of the White House, endorse all remaining Re-Charting the Course recommendations in
the Administration's FY 2000 budget initiative with a proposed investment of approximately $2
billion over five years.  The initiative includes the following: full funding of the Work Incentives
Improvement Act, a $1,000 tax credit to cover work-related costs, $35 million to expand
information and communication technologies, and $50 million for Work Incentives Grants.
January 14  Tipper Gore announces the Administration's endorsement of the Task Force
recommendation to direct the Office of Personnel Management to explore ways of eliminating
the stricter standards applied to Federal job applicants with psychiatric disabilities.  Additionally,
Mrs. Gore announces increased mental health funding for States, and White House plans to hold
a conference on mental health later this year.
January 19  President Clinton delivers the State of the Union Address, urging Congress to pass
and fully fund the Work Incentives Improvement Act to remove barriers to work for people with
disabilities, and announces that the White House will hold a conference on mental health issues
later this year headed by Tipper Gore.
January 27  The White House holds a Roundtable on the Future of Social Security and Medicare.
January 28  The Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, (S. 331) is introduced in the Senate
by Senators James Jeffords (R-VT), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), William Roth (R-DE), and D.
Patrick Moynihan (D-NY).

FEBRUARY
February 1  The Department of Labor begins a series of regional meetings on implementation of
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
February 10-13  The Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental Disabilities
convenes its Annual Commissioner's Forum.
February 12  Vice President Gore, joined by Secretary of Labor and Task Force Chair Alexis M.
Herman and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Andrew Cuomo, host an event in
Albany, New York with disability leaders.  Vice President Gore announces new regulations
proposing an increase in the Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) amount, from $500 to $700 per
month, affecting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) recipients who want to work and still receive critical cash and medical benefits.
February 17  The National Council on Disability publishes National Disability Policy: A Progress
Report, evaluating progress made in the previous year in public policy for people with disabilities
and making recommendations to Congress and President Clinton.
February 17  The Department of Transportation issues a notice of proposed rulemaking,
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in Air Travel: Compensation for Damage to
Wheelchairs and Other Assistive Devices, amending the Air Carrier Access Act by lifting the
existing cap on the amount of compensation airlines must pay to passengers for loss or damage to
wheelchairs and other assistive devices.
February 23  The National Council on Disability hosts a dialogue on disability media and
communications strategies in Louisville, Kentucky, bringing together local leaders to discuss the
10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 25th anniversary of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act in the year 2000.

MARCH
March 1  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission releases policy guidance, Reasonable
Accommodation and Undue Hardship Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, addressing the
duty of employers, including Federal agencies, to provide "reasonable accommodations" to
applicants and employees with disabilities under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act,
and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
March 1  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities announces the
1999 Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities, a new resource to
help businesses recruit employees with disabilities.  The program is cosponsored with the
Department of Defense.
March 2  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, with funding
from the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
host a leadership conference for minorities with disabilities.
March 3  The United States Supreme Court rules, in Cedar Rapids Community School District v.
Garret F., that school districts must pay for professional nurses to accompany some students with
disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and that school districts must
fund such related services to help guarantee that students like Garret are integrated into the public
schools.  Judith E. Heumann, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services, issues a statement: "[W]e believe students like Garret should receive the
services necessary to ensure access to an appropriate education.  That's what the law guarantees,
and now the courts have made that clear."
March 11-12  The Department of Health and Human Service Center for Mental Health Services
cosponsors Developing a State Vision for Employment Services for Persons with Psychiatric
Disabilities.
March 12  The Department of Education issues final regulations implementing the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act of 1997.
March 15  The Federal Communications Commission establishes a "one-stop shopping" e-mail
address for the disability community (access@fcc.gov).
March 18  The National Council on Disability releases report on the Air Carrier Access Act,
Enforcing the Civil Rights of Air Travelers with Disabilities, and makes recommendations on
improving enforcement of the Act, including statutory changes and other Department of
Transportation policy improvements.
March 18  The Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, (H.R. 1180) is introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives by Representatives Rick Lazio (R-NY), Tom Bliley (R- VA), Henry
Waxman (D-CA), and John Dingell (D-MI).
March 22  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in response to a Presidential
directive issued at the July 29, 1998, Task Force event, announces a small business initiative
expanding public education about Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
March 23  The Task Force, Rehabilitation Services Administration, National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Department of Labor, and Department of Housing and Urban Development, hold
an interagency meeting on research related to disability and employment to: discuss activities that
are underway in the Federal government, identify gaps and emerging issues that may require new
research efforts, and identify areas and strategies for further interagency collaboration and
coordination.
March 23  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities announces
Project Employ, an initiative to expand employment for persons with mental retardation, to
encourage employers nationwide to hire people with cognitive disabilities for positions in office
settings, and to use job training resources provided by local disability agencies and organizations.

APRIL
April 22-23  The Administration on Developmental Disabilities convenes a National Policy
Forum on Improving the Education and Employment of TANF (Temporary and Needy Family)
Mothers and the Low Wage Labor Market with Special Learning Needs.
April 24  The President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities' National
Business Leadership Network holds an employment fair at the Washington, D.C. Convention
Center with recruiters from a range of companies and government agencies who are seeking job
candidates.
April 28  William Kennard, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is appointed
to the Task Force.
April  The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the Small Business Administration
release the first 15,000 copies of the pamphlet ADA Guide for Small Businesses, covering the
Americans with Disabilities Act and accommodations, architectural barriers, tax credits, polices
and procedures, and information sources.  In addition, they make plans to do a second printing in
Spanish.

MAY
May 2  The Department of Labor Women's Bureau participates in Global Strategies to Increase
Employment of Women with Disabilities, a joint initiative of the Social Security Administration
and the Department of Education.
May 2  The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research project directors meet in
Washington, D.C., and announce six new employment-focused rehabilitation research and
training centers.
May 10-12  The Welfare-to-Work Forum brings together people with a wide range of views and
experiences to discuss disability and welfare issues, implementation of the Workforce Investment
Act, and ways that Federal and State agencies can address disability-related issues and concerns. 
Sponsors include: the Task Force; the Department of Labor Welfare-to-Work Office; the
Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services and Office of
Vocational and Adult Education; the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration
for Children and Families and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;
the President's Committee on Mental Retardation; the Social Security Administration; the
National Council on Disability; and the National Institute on Literacy.
May 17  The Department of Health and Human Services awards "nursing home transition" grants
to Wisconsin, Vermont, New Hampshire, and New Jersey, to promote home and
community-based options for people living in nursing homes.
May 20  The Federal Communications Commission establishes an electronic listserve for the
disability community so that individuals can receive updates on FCC's disability-related actions
and events (ditfinfo@info.fcc.gov).
May 24  The United States Supreme Court upholds the Administration's position by unanimously
ruling in Cleveland v. Policy Management Systems Corporation that individuals who apply for
and receive Social Security Disability Insurance benefits are not precluded from pursuing a claim
of employment discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
May 27  The Justice Department announces an agreement with Avis Rent-a-Car, the nation's
second largest rental car company, to improve access to airport shuttle systems for people with
disabilities at all of its airport locations in the United States.
May 28-June 2  The Task Force cosponsors the VSA Art Careers 2000 and Art and Soul events,
an international celebration of arts, disability, culture, and careers.

JUNE
June 3  The Presidential Task Force holds a Town Hall Meeting in Los Angeles, California,
focusing on expanding employment opportunities for young people with disabilities and
expanding entrepreneurial and self-employment opportunities for adults with disabilities.
June 4  President Clinton signs Executive Order 13124 amending civil service rules relating to
Federal employees with psychiatric disabilities.
June 4  President Clinton and the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities present The President's Award - America's highest honor for achievement in
furthering the employment and empowerment of people with disabilities - to Laura Hershey,
Joyce Bender, and James Click, Jr. at a White House ceremony.
June 7  Tipper Gore chairs the White House Conference on Mental Health that brings together
people with mental illness and their families, members of Congress and the Administration,
mental health providers, advocates, community and State representatives, private sector entities,
and foundations from around the nation.  President Clinton and Mrs. Clinton, and Vice President
Gore and Mrs. Gore, announce new proposals to provide parity, improve treatment, bolster
research, and expand community responses to help those with mental illnesses. Breakout sessions
are led by Secretary of Labor and Task Force Chair Alexis M. Herman and these Task Force
Members: Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala; Secretary of Education
Richard Riley; Secretary of Veterans Affairs Togo D. West, Jr.; Office of Personnel Management
Director Janice Lachance; and Social Security Administration Commissioner Kenneth Apfel.
June 14  The Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs holds its annual
project directors meeting of the secondary education, transition, postsecondary, and
school-to-work projects, discussing effective transition strategies and determining research
directions.
June 22  The United States Supreme Court rules on four important Americans with Disabilities
Act cases that profoundly affect people with disabilities: Olmstead v. L.C.;
Sutton v. United Air Lines, Inc.; Albertsons, Inc. v. Kirkingburg; and Murphy v. United Parcel
Service, Inc.
June 22  Task Force staff join the Mental Health Association of New York in leading a
discussion on the way people with mental illness are portrayed by the media.  Participants are
major news media, including: the Wall Street Journal; Time Magazine; the New York Times; the
New York Daily News; Psychiatric News; Employee Benefit News; and Business Week.
June 23-25  The National Council on Disability, with Task Force support, hosts the Youth
Leadership Conference.  Chair of the President's Committee on Employment of
People with Disabilities and Vice Chair of the Task Force Tony Coelho delivers keynote address.
June 23  Secretary of Labor and Task Force Chair Alexis M. Herman, joined by Social Security
Administration Commissioner Kenneth Apfel, deliver keynote addresses to a joint meeting of the
Youth Leadership Conference, the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Programs,
and the National Council on Independent Living in Washington, D.C.

JULY
July 1  The Social Security Administration officially increases the Substantial Gainful Activity
(SGA) monthly amount from $500 to $700 for people receiving Social Security
Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.
July 1  The Federal Communications Commission asks for White Papers on Technology Issues
on Access for Persons with Disabilities to be submitted to the Technology Advisory Council.
July 8-9  The Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental
Disabilities convenes a National Policy Forum on Improving Education and Employment of
TANF Mothers and the Low Wage Labor Market with Special Needs.
July 14  The Federal Communications Commission meets and (1) adopts a study on making
Internet telephony and future technology accessible to people with disabilities; (2) proposes
standards for closed captioning on digital television so that people will be able to have more
choices regarding captioning (e.g., font, size, language); and (3) holds a telecommunications
accessibility fair and demonstration on captioning capabilities in digital television.
July 19  The National Council on Disability announces the establishment of the National
Disability Fellowship Program - to be administered by the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities - to help identify and develop new leaders with
disabilities through a paid one-year policy fellowship in Washington, D.C., beginning in January
2000.
July 21  The Task Force, Department of Education, National Council on Disability and the Social
Security Administration convene a policy roundtable discussion on transitioning youth with
disabilities to employment and post-secondary education and formulate policy recommendations
for President Clinton and Congress.
July 22  The Social Security Administration and the National Institute for Disability and
Rehabilitation Research, with Task Force support, hold their annual meeting Youth with
Disabilities and Employment.
July 26  The Ninth Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act:
1. The White House, the National Council on Disability, and the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights convene a forum on disability and cultural diversity to celebrate the anniversary of the
ADA, focusing on improving outcomes in education, employment, and civil rights enforcement
for people with disabilities from diverse cultural backgrounds.
2. The National Council on Disability releases its new report, Lift Every Voice: Modernizing
Disability Policies and Programs to Serve a Diverse Nation.
3. Vice President Gore commemorates the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by
speaking at Technology Access Appreciation Day in Nashville, Tennessee.
4. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater holds an ADA Celebration, announcing new
departmental policy on accessibility as well as departmental actions to help ensure access to
transportation for people with disabilities.
July 29  Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala addresses the National Council
on State Legislatures regarding the Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, stating that "no
individual should have to live in a nursing home or State institution if that individual can live in a
community."

AUGUST
August  The Social Security Administration establishes a new executive Office of Employment
Support Programs to improve service to people with disabilities who want to work
(www.ssa.gov/work).
August  The Social Security Administration holds a training seminar, Entrepreneurs with
Disabilities: Challenges and Solutions, on ways they can assist beneficiaries who want to enter or
re-enter the workforce through self-employment or small business start-ups.
August  The Small Business Administration and Department of Education produce a program
featuring a successful, self-employed entrepreneur with a disability for the Public
Broadcasting System's Small Business 2000 series.  The show airs on more than 200 public
television stations and copies are distributed to every SBA district office.
August 4-7  The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Disease Control and
Prevention sponsors a conference in Houston, Texas, Promoting the Health and Wellness of
Women With Disabilities.
August 8  The Federal Communications Commission presents Congress with its Draft Strategic
Plan for the FCC for the 21st Century, highlighting access for people with disabilities.
August 11  The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General
publishes a report, Employment Programs for People with Developmental Disabilities,
describing promising approaches and barriers to employment programs for people with
developmental disabilities.
August 12  The Department of Labor and the Rehabilitation Services Administration hold a
meeting on implementing the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and disability issues in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

SEPTEMBER
September  The Task Force, Small Business Administration, and the President's Committee on
Employment of People with Disabilities, enter into a Memorandum of
Understanding to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for people with disabilities by
developing local networks of Federal, State, and local agencies and private sector entities
involved in promoting and financing small businesses and those serving people with disabilities.
September 1  The Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Developmental
Disabilities awards (1) over $4 million to 22 States for Family Support
Systems Change Grants to develop comprehensive systems of family support for families of
children with disabilities; and (2) over $5 million in grants to increase the independence,
productivity inclusion, and integration of people with disabilities into the community.
September 2  The Department of Labor releases a new report, Futurework: Trends and
Challenges for Work in the 21st Century, citing people with disabilities throughout.
September 8  President Clinton holds a health care event at the White House, and urges Congress
to work with him to pass critical health care initiatives, including the Work Incentives
Improvement Act, a strong Patients' Bill of Rights, and Medicare reforms that strengthen and
modernize the program.
September 12-14  The Department of Education and the Department of Labor's School- to-Work
Offices, with the Task Force, cosponsor the National Forum on Youth with Disabilities in
School-to-Work Systems.
September 15  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission begins work on developing an
interim method for measuring the employment rate of adults with disabilities.
September 16  The Department of Justice announces an agreement with the MGM Grand Hotel,
Casino, and Theme Park in Las Vegas - the world's largest hotel and casino complex - to make
their facility fully accessible.
September 16-17  The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Mental Health
Services cosponsors a meeting in Washington, D.C., Employment and Vocational Rehabilitation
for Homeless Persons with Serious Mental Illnesses.
September 17  The Task Force cosponsors the Family Forum, an annual event of the American
Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine to address the challenges and
opportunities facing young people with disabilities and their families.
September 18  The Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human
Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration sign an
Interagency Agreement for continued support of the State Partnership Initiative to decrease
barriers to employment for people with disabilities.
September 21-25  The International Independent Living Summit begins in Washington, D.C.,
sponsored by the Task Force, the Department of Education, the Department of Transportation,
the Social Security Administration, and the United States Agency for International Development.
September 22  The Task Force sponsors the State Partnership Systems Change Initiatives
Symposium: Overcoming Barriers to Employment of People with Disabilities -Implications for
Federal Policies and Programs, inviting individuals working on State systems change initiatives,
funded by the Social Security Administration, the Department of Labor, the Rehabilitation
Services Administration, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 
Participants develop recommendations on changes to Federal policies for consideration by Task
Force Members and Task Force Committees.
September 22  The National Council on Disability hosts a Town Meeting on enforcement of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act with about 100 participants from around the country.
September 22  The Federal Communications Commission holds its second meeting of the
Technology Advisory Committee, with presentations on access to technology by persons with
disabilities.
September 27  Task Force holds a roundtable discussion on Native Americans with disabilities
and related employment issues.  The Health, Wellness, and Disability for Native
Americans Conference begins in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
September 29  The Department of Housing and Urban Development host the first meeting of the
Interagency Group on Mental Health and Housing, with the Task Force as a member.
September 29  The Department of Labor awards a Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional
Occupations WANTO Grant to the Women's Resource Center and Abilities of Florida in Largo,
Florida to promote the mainstream employment of women with disabilities in nontraditional
occupations.
September 29  The Federal Communications Commission releases the final rule requiring that
telecommunications services and equipment (e.g., telephones, cell phones, pagers, call-waiting,
and operator services) are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities when "readily
achievable."
September 30  The Department of Justice announces an out-of-court agreement with Greyhound
Lines, Inc. to improve the availability and quality of accessible bus service for persons with
disabilities.
September 30  President Clinton proclaims October 1999, as National Disability Employment
Awareness Month, calling upon government officials, educators, labor leaders, employers, and
American citizens to "observe this month with appropriate programs and activities that reaffirm
our determination to fulfill both the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

OCTOBER
October  The Center for Mental Health Services awards funding to: the Employment Intervention
Demonstration Program, a five-year multi-site research initiative; and the
Consumer-Operated Services Program, a four-year, multi-site research initiative.
October 1  The National Council on Disability releases a new report entitled Implementation of
the National Voter Registration Act by State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies.
October 3  Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, in honor of Mental Health
Awareness Week, announces the new anti-stigma campaign by the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration.
October 8  The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research holds the Disability
Statistics and Policy Forum, in Washington, D.C.
October 16  President Clinton, in his weekly radio address to the nation, announces the release of
the Office of Personnel Management's "Accessing Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of
People with Disabilities in the Federal Government."  President Clinton directs all Federal
agencies to implement the plan immediately.
October 19  The White House, the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities, and National Council on Disability host Experience the Power: Art and Disability in
America, commemorating National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
October 20  Vice President Gore hosts a gathering of disability leaders at the White House
commemorating National Disability Employment Awareness Month and announces a
Memorandum of Understanding between the Social Security Administration and Small Business
Administration coordinating the efforts of SBA's " Welfare-to-Work" initiative and the SSA's
programs to help adults with disabilities find employment and/or become entrepreneurs.
October 21  The Administration on Developmental Disabilities holds a meeting on Projects of
National Significance, highlighting its new project with the Urban League addressing the needs
of African-Americans with disabilities.
October 21-23  The Task Force cosponsors the National Leadership Summit on Self
Determination, Consumer-Direction, and Control, bringing together key consumer, research,
policy, and government leaders of self-determination and consumer-directed initiatives in areas
of independent living, aging, developmental disabilities, mental health, and youth leadership.
October 25  The Presidential Task Force holds a Town Hall Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama,
focusing on civil rights.
October 27  The White House sponsors Disability Mentoring Day: Career Development for the
21st Century to promote employment opportunities in the Federal government for high school
and college students with disabilities.

NOVEMBER
November 5  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission receives the verdict in a
disability discrimination case against the Chuck E. Cheese pizza chain.  The jury awards $13
million in compensatory and punitive damages to an individual with cognitive disabilities, the
largest monetary relief awarded by a jury in a case brought under the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
November 8  The Federal Communications Commission establishes a new Enforcement Bureau,
Consumer Information Bureau, and Disabilities Rights Office to: protect consumers with
disabilities; provide technical assistance to consumers and entities on their rights and
responsibilities for disability accessibility provisions; and provide comprehensive policy analyses
on ensuring access to persons with disabilities.
November 8  The Department of Health and Human Services announces that the State of New
Jersey will begin enrolling elderly and young people with disabilities in a "cash and counseling"
demonstration program as an alternative method of providing long term services and supports to
Medicaid recipients with disabilities.  The Department also announces that the State of Florida
will begin enrolling individuals with disabilities in a similar program in January 2000, and
current HHS grantee, the State of Arkansas, celebrates its one-year anniversary of enrollment of
individuals with disabilities in their cash and counseling program.
November 16  Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) introduce the
Medicaid Community Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA), which would create a
national program of home and community-based services and encourage States to move away
from the institutional bias that now exists.
November 18  The Federal Communications Commission proposes that commercial television
broadcasters in the top 25 television markets, and the largest national video programming
distributors, introduce video descriptions in their transmissions to allow Americans with visual
disabilities to better follow the visual action in television programs.
November 22  The Federal Communications Commission posts a video clip of the movie
Casablanca on the Internet, demonstrating video description and captioning.

DECEMBER
December 1  The Social Security Administration hosts the first in a series of regional public
awareness forums, entitled Federal Policy - State Opportunities: Building an
Inclusive Workforce, with co-sponsorship by the Task Force, Maryland Governor's Committee
on the Employment of People with Disabilities, and the Department of Education, Department of
Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services.
December 7  The Social Security Administration, Department of Education, Department of
Health and Human Services, the Task Force, and the National Endowment for the Arts hold a
policy education meeting entitled Supplemental Security Income Issues for People with
Disabilities who have Careers in the Arts.
December 8-9  The Department of Health and Human Services Center for Mental Health
Services cosponsors meeting with the National Institute of Mental Health, Mental Illness and the
Workplace.
December 8  The Presidential Task Force holds a Town Hall Meeting in Chicago, Illinois,
focusing on individuals with significant disabilities.


CHAPTER 1
1999 Recommendations to the President from the Presidential Task Force on Employment of
Adults with Disabilities

The Task Force wishes to recognize the outstanding work by the Clinton-Gore Administration in
acting on the recommendations made to the President in last year's report - Re-charting the
Course: First Report of the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. 
Prompt action and strong support by the Administration on these recommendations has resulted
in significant achievements that are leading to increased employment opportunities for people
with disabilities.  See Chapter two for a complete review of the status of last years'
recommendations.

The Task Force also wishes to acknowledge the efforts of the Task Force Committee members,
particularly those who chaired the various committees established this past spring to guide and
focus the work of the Task Force.  The Task Force has received a report from each committee on
their activities in 1999, which largely have focused on putting in place plans for more specific
activity in 2000 and beyond.  The Task Force will be reviewing and using these reports as the
basis for future activities as appropriate.  We have included highlights of these reports in Chapter
Four.

The Task Force respectfully submits the following recommendations to the President of the
United States of America for immediate consideration; The Task Force recommends that:

1.  The President direct the Department of Labor to develop a proposal for consideration in the
FY 2001 budget process for an Office of Disability Policy, Evaluation and Technical Assistance
(ODPET) to be headed by an Assistant Secretary of Labor.  ODPET functions could include:
-Ensuring ongoing efforts to integrate people with disabilities into the Department of Labor's
mainstream employment and training programs.
-Establishing the National Disability Business Development Board to be comprised of the
membership of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities and to
serve as the advisory body to ODPET.
-Maintaining the principle functions of the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities.
-Assisting the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities in
implementing a coordinated and aggressive national employment strategy for people with
disabilities.

The Office of Disability Policy, Evaluation and Technical Assistance could provide a long-term,
permanent force to continue the work needed to ensure that persons with disabilities are
integrated into mainstream employment and training programs within the Labor Department. 
The Presidential Task Force would continue to be responsible in the short-term for developing,
refining, and monitoring the implementation of an aggressive, national employment strategy for
persons with disabilities.

2.  The President direct the Departments of Justice and Labor, and the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission to collaborate in exploring methods for strengthening enforcement of
employment-related nondiscrimination provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the
Rehabilitation Act.  All efforts shall provide a clear and unequivocal message that expanded
employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities are a high priority of the
Administration.  The efforts of the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission should include providing increased technical assistance to employers, strengthening
compliance evaluations, and enhancing data collection as appropriate.

Effective enforcement of employment-related, nondiscrimination requirements is crucial to
increasing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.  The agencies responsible
for enforcement must continue to explore new and more effective approaches for increasing
compliance with laws requiring equal opportunities for job applicants and employees with
disabilities.  The enforcement agencies should develop and disseminate technical assistance
guides to assist employers in understanding and implementing nondiscrimination requirements. 
These agencies should also develop educational tools to inform individuals with disabilities of
the full range of protections under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.  The enforcement
agencies also should explore methods to strengthen their investigation processes.  For example,
the Department of Labor, through the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, should
utilize compliance evaluation procedures that allow the agency to focus on systemic barriers to
the employment of individuals with disabilities.  The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, in coordination with the Departments of Justice and Labor, should explore
enhancing data collection efforts with respect to the employment and the availability of persons
with disabilities in the workforce, possibly through new regulations.  Consistent with their
complementary responsibilities for enforcement, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program should explore joint enforcement
strategies.

3.  The President direct the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services,
the Social Security Administration, the Office of Personnel Management, and other appropriate
Federal agencies to construct and coordinate, under the leadership of the Presidential Task Force
on Employment of Adults with Disabilities, a Youth-to-Work Initiative.

Barriers to employment for youth with disabilities include: low educational attainment; low
educational and employment expectations; and confusing governmental programs with
conflicting eligibility criteria and goals.  As a result, many youth with disabilities transition from
youth welfare to adult welfare without access to the education and training opportunities needed
to make a transition to work and achieve independence.  This Youth-to-Work Initiative would
test alternative approaches to helping youth with disabilities gain access needed to education and
training opportunities and overcome barriers to employment.

Each year, about 40,000 eighteen-year-olds are subject to a continuing disability review for
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, but only 25,000 are determined eligible for such
assistance.  On average, the young adults determined to still be eligible will remain on SSI for 27
years, while those found ineligible are likely to live in poverty.  Many youth with disabilities
spend a significant portion of their lives living in poverty, dependent upon public assistance
programs, and relegated to the margins of society.  In addition, compared to students without
disabilities, students with disabilities drop out of school much more frequently and enroll in
post-secondary education less frequently.

4.  The President direct the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a proposal to
allow the Maternal and Child Health Programs for Children with Special Needs to provide
Healthy and Ready to Work services to youth with disabilities who are under the age of 16.

The Maternal and Child Health Programs for Children with Special Needs (Title V of the Social
Security Act) provides Healthy and Ready to Work services to youth with disabilities that are
essential to preparing them for continued education and training, but are restricted to serving only
youth 16 years and older.  As a result, many youth with disabilities are ready to drop out of the
education stream just at a time when they become eligible to receive services that would enable
them to benefit from continued education.
There is a clear need to provide these services to youth with disabilities at an earlier age. 

5.  The President direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development to explore steps
needed to establish an earned income disregard for tenants with disabilities living in
other-than-Public Housing Authority housing who return to work, and to exempt any
disability-related expenses incurred when a tenant goes to work from the "countable" income
used to determine rents.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has promulgated rules under recently
enacted legislation aimed at providing additional incentives for low-income individuals in public
housing to go to work, or work additional hours.  Current rules, however, do not provide
sufficient incentives for employment of people with disabilities who are assisted by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidies, but do not live in Public Housing
Authority housing.  The Department should explore ways to extend similar incentives to all
HUD-subsidized tenants with disabilities.

6.  The President continue to work with Congress to secure adequate funding, proposed in the
Administration's FY 2000 budget, for their program to accelerate the development and adoption
of information and communication technologies that can be used by the 54 million Americans
with disabilities.

The President should continue to push for this initiative that would: (1) help make the Federal
Government a "model user" of accessible electronic and information technology through the
implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act; (2) support new and expanded State
loan programs making assistive technology more afford able for adults with disabilities; and (3)
invest in research, development, and technology transfer in areas such as "text to speech," speech
recognition, and eye tracking for people who cannot use a keyboard.

7.  The President continue to work with Congress to pass the tax credit proposed in the
Administration's FY 2000 budget, in order to assist adults with disabilities with expenses related
to work.

Working-age adults with disabilities are often discouraged from working because of the high cost
of personal attendant services and other services or technologies required for employment.  
Similarly, the cost to employers of hiring an individual requiring personal attendant services can
sometimes be prohibitive.  Tax credits provide a flexible way to assist people with disabilities in
defraying these expenses.

8.  The President continue to work with Congress to pass a strong, enforceable Patients' Bill of
Rights.

It is critically important to people with disabilities that we enact a strong, enforceable Patients'
Bill of Rights.  This legislation must include the following: guaranteed access to needed health
care specialists; access to emergency room services when and where the need arises; continuity
of care protections so that patients will not have an abrupt transition in care if their providers are
dropped; access to a fair, unbiased, and timely internal and independent external appeals process,
to address health plan grievances and to help govern decisions about medically necessary
treatments; an enforcement mechanism that ensures recourse for patients who have been harmed
as a result of a health plan's actions.

9.  The President convene a White House Conference on Employment of Adults with Disabilities
that will include representatives from the Administration, Congress, elected officials from State
and local governments, small and large businesses, the disability community and other
stakeholders.

A White House Conference would provide heightened visibility to the issue of employing
persons with disabilities and help build partnerships between public and private sectors.  It would
also provide the opportunity to showcase "best practices" and innovative strategies for
employment of people with disabilities, and highlight actions taken by Task Force member
agencies, departments, and other Federal agencies.  Finally, it could commemorate the 10th
anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 25th anniversary of Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, and the 35th anniversary of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission.

10.  The President direct the Task Force members' departments and agencies to collaborate on the
development and implementation of a multimedia, interagency public awareness campaign to
eliminate the negative and erroneous stereotypes about employment of people with disabilities.

This campaign would focus on the benefits of employing people with disabilities.  There is an
immediate need for leadership to address negative attitudes and prejudices against people with
disabilities.  An aggressive public awareness campaign, conducted in partnership with the
disability community, businesses, and other influential entities would help to eliminate erroneous
and prejudicial thinking about disability that results in limiting employment opportunities.

11.  The President direct the Social Security Administration and the Department of Labor to
create an "Access America for People with Disabilities" Web site that targets individuals with
disabilities.

In February, Vice President Gore announced "Access America for Seniors," a Web site providing
a wide range of services to older Americans - an example of his vision of "one-stop" Web access
to government services.  A new Web site, "Access America for People with Disabilities," would
likewise provide information and services offered by virtually every major Federal Government
agency, by linking to an abundance of helpful Federal agency sites, information, programs, and
services.

12.  The President direct the Department of Transportation to work with the Departments of
Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services, the Social Security Administration, and other
relevant Task Force members to develop a comprehensive plan of action to address the lack of
transportation services and systems for persons with disabilities.

The lack of available public transportation is a major employment barrier for persons with
disabilities.  This factor is cited by many individuals with disabilities, at recent Town Hall
meetings held by the Task Force and at other events, as being the major impediment to finding
and keeping jobs.  The Department of Transportation has been vigorous in addressing public and
private accessibility issues for people with disabilities.  This directive would be to concentrate
Federal efforts on developing an interagency action plan that addresses the lack of available
transportation.

13.  The President direct all Federal agencies with customer service call centers and other
appropriate services to explore ways to encourage hiring people with disabilities.

Cutting-edge telecommunications technology has recently made it possible for customer service
centers to send voice and data to home-based customer service representatives who work just as
if they we re in a call center.  Many agencies in the Federal Government operate significant
customer service call center activities.  This cutting-edge technology needs to be widely available
in the Federal Government, and used to increase the employment rate of individuals with
disabilities as much as possible.

Research has shown that the percentage of individuals with significant disabilities who are
employed is the lowest of disadvantaged groups in the nation.  It is critical that we seek out as
many strategies as possible to change this picture.

14.  The President direct the Social Security Administration to explore options for raising the
Earned Income Exclusion in the Supplemental Security Income program, for both adults and
students, in order to encourage work efforts.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a means-tested program, but beneficiaries are able to have
limited earnings without impact on their benefit amounts.  Allowing such earnings not only
increases overall income security, but also provides an incentive to work.  The earned income
exclusions for both adults and students, however, have not been raised since the early 1970's,
even though the SSI Federal Benefit Rate is indexed annually for inflation.  The Earned Income
Exclusion remains at $65 per month for adults and up to $400 per month for students for a
limited time period.  As a result, SSI beneficiaries with non-SSI income do not receive full
indexing of their benefits, and work effort is less rewarded than it was previously.


CHAPTER 2
A Status Report on the 1998-1999 Task Force Recommendations

Since the creation of the Task Force, both President Clinton and Vice President Gore have
consistently accepted and supported the recommendations of the Task Force.  This chapter
highlights the progress and current status of those action items recommended by the Task Force,
which the President and the Vice President of the United States have fully accepted and acted
upon.

WORK INCENTIVES
1.  The President announced that his FY 2000 budget would fully fund the Work Incentives
Improvement Act (WIIA) introduced by Senators Jeffords, Kennedy, Roth, and Moynihan.
STATUS: On January 28, 1999, S.331 was introduced in the Senate, and on March 18, H.R.1180
was introduced by Representatives Lazio, Bliley, Waxman, and Dingell.  On June 16, S.331 was
passed unanimously by the Senate, and on October 19, the House of Representatives passed
H.R.1180.  On November 18, the House of Representatives passed the conference report
accompanying H.R.1180, the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, by
a vote of 418-2. The Senate passed the conference report, by a vote of 95-1, on November 19,
1999.  The President has indicated that he will sign the legislation.  The bill contains the
following provisions:
- Access to health care coverage/Medicaid "buy-in" - two new State options to extend Medicaid
coverage to persons with disabilities who earn more than the limit of 250 percent of the Federal
poverty level - or approximately $21,000 - and meet the SSI definition of disability, and to
persons with disabilities who would otherwise lose their SSDI/SSI eligibility because of medical
improvement, but who still have a medically-severe impairment and are working.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Both options enacted allow States to set higher income, unearned
income, and resource limits.
- Building infrastructure to support Medicaid "buy-in" - $150 million in grants to encourage
States to take advantage of the above two Medicaid "buy-in"options.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Fully funded.
- Health care coverage demonstration - creation of a $300 million demonstration program
allowing States to extend Medicaid equivalent coverage to workers who have a disability that,
without health care access, would become severe enough to qualify them for SSDI or SSI.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Enacted as a $250 million demonstration.
- Continuing access to Medicare coverage - creation of a ten-year trial period allowing SSDI
beneficiaries who return to work to continue receiving subsidized Medicare coverage.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Enacted as a four-and-a-half year extension of Medicare coverage for
people in the disability insurance system who return to work.
- "Ticket to Work Program" - establishment of a new program to increase choice in employment
services, by allowing SSI and SSDI beneficiaries to deposit a "ticket" with the public or private
provider of their choice.
FINAL LEGISLATION: Enacted as a voucher-like system that permits recipients to purchase job
training and rehabilitation services to help them return to work.  Final legislation also changed
the title of the bill to "Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999."

2. The President announced that his FY 2000 budget provided for a new $1,000 tax credit to
cover work-related expenses for people with disabilities.
STATUS: There was no Congressional action on this initiative.

3. The President, in his FY 2000 budget, announced a $50 million "work incentives" grant
program in the Department of Labor.  Competitive grants would provide outreach to individuals
with disabilities and would foster systems change through, and service integration at, the State
and local levels within the One-Stop Career Center Systems mandated by the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998.
STATUS: The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 authorized
outreach grants in the Social Security Administration, rather than the Department of Labor.  The
appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and
related agencies provided $20 million of the $27 million requested for systems change grants in
the Department of Labor.

HEALTH CARE
1.  The President announced that he would continue to work with Congress to pass a "strong,
enforceable patients' bill of rights."
STATUS: The House passed a bill that includes enforceable protection for all Americans, while
the Senate passed a much more limited version.  The legislation is currently in conference.

2.  The Vice President announced that the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
would issue a new regulation increasing the Substantial Gainful Activity amount, i.e., the amount
of income that recipients of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability
Insurance can earn without losing critical cash and medical benefits under Social Security.
STATUS: On April 15, 1999, the Social Security Administration published final rules that raise,
from $500 to $700, the monthly earnings guidelines used to determine whether work done by
persons with disabilities (other than blindness) is "substantial gainful activity."  The rule became
effective on July 1, 1999.

3.  The President announced the release of a letter from the Health Care Financing
Administration to all State Medicaid directors clarifying the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) with respect to States offering appropriate community-based services.
STATUS: The Administration's position on the ADA's "integration mandate" was confirmed by
subsequent court rulings and upheld by the Supreme Court in its June 22, 1999, decision in
Olmstead v. L.C., holding that States must provide services to people with disabilities "in the
most integrated setting appropriate," when it would not result in a "fundamental alteration" to the
program or in excessive new costs.
Upon learning of the Supreme Court 's decision, the President issued a statement reaffirming his
Administration's commitment to "finding afford able ways to enable people who need long-term
services and support to remain in the community if they choose and are able to do so."  He added
that the best way to continue progress toward this goal is for State governments, the Federal
Government, and the affected communities to work together to develop cost-effective ways to
provide these services.  "We must ensure that the quality of these services is excellent and that
they are available to persons with disabilities of all age s," the President stated, "[therefore] I am
asking Secretary Shalala and Attorney General Reno to work with all interested parties to carry
out today's decision in a fair and effective manner."

4.  The President released an Executive Memorandum which directed the Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that Governors, State legislators, and State
Medicaid directors work with consumer organizations to increase public information about the
State "Medicaid buy-in," a new option that became available as a result of the Balanced Budget
Act of 1997.  Under Section 4733 of the Balanced Budget Act, States now have the option to
allow individuals with disabilities who start or return to work the ability to purchase Medicaid
coverage as their earnings increase, up to 250 percent of the poverty level.
STATUS: The Secretary of Health and Human Services wrote a letter to each Governor and each
State Medicaid director, informing them of the new option, and urging their serious consideration
of this " critical opportunity to provide real assistance to many people living with disabilities who
want to work."  The Secretary also reaffirmed that staff of the Health Care Financing
Administration would respond to States' inquiries and provide technical assistance on a
case-by-case basis.
Currently, the Health Care Financing Administration has received and approved amendments to
six State Medicaid Plans: South Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska, and
Mississippi.  These States have exercised the new option, choosing to extend Medicaid coverage
to eligible working individuals with disabilities.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AS A MODEL EMPLOYER
1.  The Vice President directed the Office of Personnel Management to develop a model plan to
increase the representation of adults with disabilities at all levels throughout the Federal
workforce.
STATUS: In a national radio address, President Clinton released the plan, "Accessing
Opportunity: The Plan for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal Government,"
along with a companion employment guide, also prepared by the Office of Personnel
Management.  These documents give Federal agencies detailed and practical information on
ways to do the following: recruit people with disabilities for positions at all levels of
Government; provide opportunities for students with disabilities; collect and maintain data to
monitor their success; and provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees
with disabilities.  The President directed all Federal agencies to implement the plan
"immediately."

2.  The President directed the Office of Personnel Management to explore ways to eliminate the
stricter standards applied to Federal job applicants who have psychiatric disabilities.
STATUS: On June 4, 1999, P resident Clinton signed Executive Order 13124, amending civil
service rules relating to Federal employees with "psychiatric disabilities."  Prio