DISABILITY AND PUBLIC POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES

DISABILITY AND PUBLIC POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES Katherine D. Seelman, Ph.D. Associate Dean and Professor School of Health and Rehabilitation Science University of Pittsburgh, USA www.shrs.pitt.ed Kds31@pitt.edu Chinese Conference on Rehabilitation Medicine Beijing, PRC October 22-26, 2001 Greetings from the Faculty and Students University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Science to Chinese Colleagues Chinese Society of Rehabilitation Medicine and Engineering Purpose of Presentation  Identify stages in the development of Disability Policy in the United States in the 20th Century Introduce national government rehabilitation and disability agencies Explain the role of interest groups   Stages in U.S. Disability Policy  Stage I: Income and Health Benefits Policies Stage II: Education and Work Services Policy and Stage II-III: Research and Accessibility Policy Stage IV: Civil Rights/Human Rights Policy    Stage I: National and State Disability Income Benefits Policy Types of Programs: Programs for those injured at work or veterans Programs that pay benefits to persons who are disabled and poor General Disability Programs that that pay benefits to those who are enrolled in/insured by the program Stage I: Income Benefits Legislation    Social Security Act, 1935, benefits to retirees and blind people. Social Security Disability Insurance, 1956, benefits for people who could show they were disabled and who had paid into the system. Supplemental Security Income, 1974, benefits for disabled, blind and aged people who are poor. Stage I: Health Benefits Policy Overall authority for health care is divided between the private sector and federal, state and local governments.  Health care insurance is provided mainly by employers  Public insurance through Medicare or Medicaid  Stage I: Health Legislation-Medicaid  Social Security Act, 1965, Medicaid – Sets up a partnership between different levels of government – Aims at improving access and quality of health care for the poor. Stage I: Health Legislation— Medicaid (continued) – Mandatory benefits include hospital and physician services, screening and treatment of children for various sicknesses and impairments. – Optional benefits have been used to assist disabled with assistive technology and home aides Stage I: Health Legislation-Medicare (continued)  Social Security Act, 1965, Medicare – Beneficiaries: » those over 65 years old, » those disabled and receiving Social Security cash benefits » those suffering from end-stage renal disease Stage I: Health Legislation— Medicare (continued)  Medicare Structure – Part A: Hospital Insurance covers hospital expenses for specified periods – Part B: Voluntary, benefits covers a wide range of physician and outpatient services, surgical procedures, ambulance services; very limited long term care coverage Stage II: Beyond Income and Health Policy to Community Integration and Research:     Education Policy Employment and Work Policy Research Accessibility Stage II: Education and Work Policy and Legislation Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1975, requires participating states to furnish all children with disabilities a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive setting.  Rehabilitation Act, 1973, federal support for training and placing people with physical and mental disabilities into employment.  Stage II: Governmental Support for Rehabilitation and Disability Research  U.S. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/NIDR R U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs: http://www.vard.org/cent/centers.htm   National Science Foundation: http:// www.nsf.gov Stage II: Governmental Support for Rehabilitation and Disability Research (continued) National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (National Institutes of Health): http://www.nichd.nih.gov Stage II: National Government Support for Rehabilitation and Disability Research  Other agencies: – Access Board – Office of Disability, Aging and Long Term Care – Social Security Administration – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – U.S. Department of Transportation Stage II: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) Mission Research to support re-integration into society  New Paradigm of Disability: Disability is a relationship between impairment and the environment  Stage II: NIDRR Long Range Plan: Research Elements       Employment Outcomes Health and Function Technology for Access and Function Independent Living and Community Integration Information Dissemination Associated Areas: Disability Statistics, outcome measures, international Stage II: NIDRR Programs Rehabilitation Research Training Centers  Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers  Model Systems in Spinal Cord, Traumatic Brain Injury and Burn Rehabilitation  Stage II: NIDRR Programs (continued)  Advanced Rehabilitation Training Projects Americans with Disabilities Act Technical Assistance   Assistive Technology Act Stage II: NIDRR Research Structure Centers of Excellence Model  Competitive grants process  IRB  Peer Review  Program Review  Stage II: NIDRR Organization   Budget FYI 2001: $138 million Staff: 40  Government cooperation: Interagency Committee on Disability Research Stage II-Stage III: Accessibility Built Environment  Information Technology and Telecommunications  Transportation  Consumer Products  Stage II-Stage III: Accessibility Policy and Legislation Architectural Barriers Act, 1968: access to the built environment for wheelchair users and others  Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988, for hard of hearing access to telephone  Telecommunications Accessibility Enhancement Act, 1988 for deaf access to telephone   Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act 1988 (Assistive Technology Act, 1998) – to integrate assistive technology into lives of disabilities, at home, at school, at work and in the community – to support technical assistance, training, finance and information dissemination Stage II- Stage III: Accessibility Policy and Legislation Stage II—Stage III: Accessibility Policy and Legislation  Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, 1998, requires national government agencies to have their electronic and information technology accessible, including all electronic devices such as computers, xerox machines, telephones Stage II—Stage III: Accessibility Policy and Legislation Television Decoder Circuitry Act, 1990, universal design in televisions for closed captioning use by deaf and hard of hearing people and all people in noisy places  Telecommunications Act of 1996, main national law for regulating communications, requires equipment  Stage III: Civil Rights and Full Citizenship  Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 – Purpose: “Clear and comprehensive mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities” Stage III: Americans with Disabilities Act  Definition of disability: – Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities – A record of such an impairment – Being regarded as having such an impairment Stage III: Americans with Disabilities Act  Overview – Title I: Employment: bans discrimination against qualified individual with a disability because of disability in employment – Title II: Public Services: bans exclusion from participation or benefits of services, programs or activities of a public entity such as public transportation and public meetings Stage III: Americans with Disabilities Act (continued)  Overview – Title III-Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities: bans discrimination on the basis of disability by any person who owns or operates a place of public accommodation such as hotels, restaurants, health care providers – Title IV-Telecommunications; ensures that relay services are available to the extent possible for deaf and speech-impaired individuals Conclusions    Stages from Welfare to Citizenship Interventions and resources of the national government Type of interest groups – Stage I: – Stage II: Medicine and Social Work Educators, Counseling, Engineers, Architecture, Medicine, Consumers – Stage III: Consumer Advocates