The New York State Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities and the Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities co-sponsored the annual Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day (LDAD) on May 12, 2008 in Albany. Frank Pennisi, co-founder and program services coordinator of the Southern Tier Independence Center, Inc. and founder and chair of the Americans Demanding Access Committee of New York, was presented with the annual “Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr.” Advocacy Award, which honors individuals in the name of this legendary activist and supporter of disability rights.

Furthermore, 14 students from Assemblyman Michael Cusick’s district were awarded for their perceptive and creative entries into our annual elementary school poster contest. Please see page four to learn more about this year’s exceptional contest. And as per our custom, over 50 organizations that serve the disability community displayed exhibits to provide information and demonstrate the services and opportunities that are available to people with disabilities.

Also, four seminars on disability issues were held on the following topics:

• The Barriers to Accessible Transportation and the Challenges Before Us

• An Update on Housing for People with Disabilities

• An Update on Key VESID Policies and Employment Options Under the NYS Civil Service 55 A, B & C Programs

• The Shortage of Child Psychiatrists

2008 LDAD Legislation Agenda

As part of LDAD tradition, the Assembly passed a package of legislation aimed at making the lives of people with disabilities easier. This year’s legislative package included:

• A.73 (Weisenberg) - Requires ATMs to use both audio and visual systems of relaying messages to its customers.

• A.244 (Cahill)/S.6311 (Larkin) - Requires polling places to be accessible to physically disabled voters.

• A.958 (Destito) - Requires counties to maintain a registry of residents with disabilities for the purpose of locating, evacuating and providing shelter for them during a disaster situation.

• A.5954 (Paulin)/S.3952 (Morahan) - Requires gas stations that provide both full and self service to provide full service to people with disabilities with a valid New York state handicapped parking permit at the self-service price between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

• A.6303 (Paulin)/S.7020 (Lanza) - Clarifies the scope of protections against discrimination on the basis of disability in services provided by public entities.

• A.7103 (Titus) - Provides that polling places, whenever practicable, be designated directly on a public transportation route.

• A.7105 (Titus)/S.3801 (Leibell) - Establishes emergency evacuation plans for individuals with disabilities within high-rise buildings; and establishes a $500 fine for failure to comply.

• A.7106 (Titus)/S.692 (Flanagan) - Requires public officers and bodies to provide interpreters for the hearing impaired at public hearings under certain conditions.

• A.7107 (Titus)/S.3957 (Morahan) - Authorizes the commissioner of DHCR to maintain a housing registry of accessible or adaptable housing for people with disabilities to be called “Access-New York.”

• A.7109 (Titus) - Authorizes savings from the Nursing Facility Transition and Diversion waiver program to be reinvested in housing subsidies for certain participants.

• A.7110 (Titus)/S.3955 (Morahan) - Requires access aisles of handicapped parking spaces to be marked with a sign and diagonal stripes to further prevent people from parking in such spaces.

• A.7111 (Titus)/S.3954 (Morahan) - Requires access aisles of handicapped-accessible parking places to be at least 8 feet wide to ensure that they are wide enough for people with disabilities to enter and exit their vehicles.

• A.7137 (Titus) - Requires the Department of Health to promulgate rules and regulations concerning hard-of-hearing patients and others.

• A.7138 (Titus)/S.3956 (Morahan) - Provides that programs or activities relating to housing that receive federal financial assistance shall comply with the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

• A.7196 (Koon) - Provides that ballots for all elections shall be available in Braille, upon the request of a blind or visually impaired voter.

• A.7244 (Bing)/S.1681 (Golden) - Simplifies the application process for the Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) program by providing for an income limit similar to that currently used for the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) program.

• A.7653 (Lifton)/S.6698 (Maziarz) - Waives the state’s sovereign immunity to liability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and certain other federal acts.

• A.10734 (Kellner)/S.7817 (Duane) - Establishes the Metropolitan Transportation Authority disabled riders’ council.

The majority of legislation related to disabilities passed the Assembly in honor of Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day. Other measures of importance to people with disabilities that passed this session include:

• A.5291 (Perry)/S.5397 (Morahan) - Requires health maintenance organizations to provide access to their facilities and medical diagnostic equipment for people with disabilities.

• A.7102 (Titus)/S.2164 (Robach) - Directs the establishment and administration of a statewide program for telephone access for all New Yorkers, including the hearing and visually impaired.

• A.7277 (Destito)/S.7337 (Griffo) - Enables individuals with disabilities to have the right to choose and receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate for the needs of the individual and to ensure that state agencies promote such integration through a plan and annual report.

• A.10848 (John)/S.8206 (Robach) - Relates to the confidentiality of unemployment insurance information. (signed Chapter 551 of the Laws of 2008)

Throughout 2008, the Task Force on People with Disabilities co-sponsored three different public hearings that focused on the various issues revolving around improving employment for New Yorkers with disabilities. The unemployment rate of New York’s disability community is unacceptable, and because of that fact, the Task Force plans to focus heavily on the problems that are contributing towards it until people with disabilities who are able and willing to work can do so without the discriminating factors that they currently face.

On June 2, 2008, the Task Force and the Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities held a hearing in Albany on workforce issues and people with disabilities. This hearing was held to determine if current laws, regulations and programs adequately protect and support people with disabilities in regard to employment.

On September 15, 2008, the Task Force and the Committee on Health sponsored a public hearing in New York City on New York State’s Medicaid Buy-In program for people with disabilities to learn how effectively the Medicaid Buy-In program in New York is working. This hearing uncovered what we had suspected all along, that there are some fundamental ways in which the program needs to be improved. Most significantly, it became abundantly clear that too many people with disabilities do not know enough about this program, and, more importantly, that many local DSS workers, the very individuals who are responsible for enrolling people into the Buy-In, are very uninformed about the program.

Furthermore, on November 19, 2008, the Task Force, in conjunction with the Assembly Committees on Veterans Affairs, Labor and Governmental Employees, the Commission on Skills Development and Career Education and the Subcommittee on Women Veterans, held a public hearing on Veteran Employment in New York State to examine the various state programs providing assistance to veterans and disabled veterans.

And on a separate topic, the Task Force also co-sponsored a roundtable on durable medical equipment prior approval, delivery and payment practices within the Medicaid program with the Assembly Committees on Health and Oversight, Analysis and Investigation.

For more information on any of these hearings, please contact the Task Force office at 518-455-4592.

This year, we decided to expand upon our annual elementary school poster contest for Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day because of the phenomenal response to last year’s contest. This year, we honored 14 individuals who accurately depicted some of the many issues that people with disabilities face daily. We were thrilled at both the level of participation we received from many of the schools in Assemblyman Cusick’s district and the quality of each of the entries. This year’s winners were:

First Place

• Matthew Susi, Pre-K, Blessed Sacrament School

• Katie Sullivan, Kindergarten, Our Lady Queen of Peace

• Jennifer Gatto, First Grade, Notre Dame Academy

• Michael Gianino, Second Grade, P.S. 55

• Marianna Chance, Third Grade, St. Clare School

• Kerrin Woll, Fourth Grade, P.S. 6

• Hannah Gumb, Fifth Grade, St. Clare School

Second Place

• Joseph Arpaia, Pre-K, Blessed Sacrament School

• Christopher DiMonda, Kindergarten, Our Lady Queen of Peace

• Philip Healy, First Grade, Our Lady Queen of Peace

• Makenna Athanassiou, Second Grade, Notre Dame Academy

• Christina Giordano, Third Grade, P.S. 55

• Sunny Chen, Fourth Grade, P.S. 6

• Jillian O’Brien, Fifth Grade, Our Lady Queen of Peace

We would like to thank each of the students, teachers and schools who helped make this year’s contest such a success. We feel that this contest has become an important part of LDAD because teaching today’s children both about the challenges that people with disabilities face and the contributions they make to society will make tomorrow’s leaders much less tolerant of discrimination.