Fw: (NOEWAIT) Winning the Future for People with Disabilities

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Got this from someone in Colorado...obviously pertinent anywhere...

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

----- Original Message -----

Winning the Future for People with Disabilities

Having emerged from the worst recession in generations, the President has put

forward a plan to rebuild our economy and win the future by out-innovating,

out-educating, and out-building our global competitors and creating the jobs and

industries of tomorrow. But we cannot rebuild our economy and win the future if

we pass on a mountain of debt to our children and grandchildren. We must restore

fiscal responsibility, and reform our government to make it more effective,

efficient, and open to the American people. The President’s 2012 Budget is a

responsible approach that puts the nation on a path to live within our means so

we can invest in our future – by cutting wasteful spending and making tough

choices on some things we cannot afford, while keeping the investments we need

to grow the economy and create jobs. It targets scarce federal resources to the

areas critical to winning the future: education, innovation, clean energy, and

infrastructure. And it proposes to reform how Washington does business, putting

more federal funding up for competition, cutting waste, and reorganizing

government so that it better serves the American people.

To win the future for people with disabilities, the Budget will:

Increase Funding for the Education of Children with Disabilities. The Budget

provides a $200 million increase for the Individuals with Disabilities Education

Act (IDEA) State Grants to provide a high quality education and help offset

State and local education costs for children with disabilities. The Budget also

provides a $50 million (11 percent) increase for the IDEA Infants and Families

Program to provide the youngest children a good start. In addition, a new $30

million joint pilot, Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE), will

develop and evaluate innovative approaches to improving outcomes of children

receiving Supplemental Security Income and their families.

Encourage Workforce Innovation. The Budget provides almost $380 million to the

Departments of Education and Labor, for a Workforce Innovation Fund to support

reforms of the workforce system, including projects that improve education and

employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The Vocational

Rehabilitation program will contribute $30 million, and use its expertise to

help ensure that the Fund invests in innovative programs and evidence-based

practices to provide high-quality employment services to individuals with

disabilities, including those with significant disabilities.

Support Workers with Disabilities. The Budget provides $24 million to the

Department of Labor for the Disability Employment Initiative, which awards

grants to build the capacity of One-Stop Career Centers to serve individuals

with disabilities. The Budget also proposes a new Disability Insurance Work

Incentives Simplification Pilot to make the Social Security work rules more

straightforward and allow beneficiaries more flexibility to try to work without

fear of losing their benefits.

Reduce Social Security Claims Backlog. Disability programs are at the forefront

of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) operations. The Budget funds

SSA to lower the initial claims backlog to 650,000 by processing over three

million claims. By hearing approximately 822,500 cases in 2012, the wait time

for a decision will fall below a year for the first time in a decade. In

addition, the Administration will establish a Disability Research Center through

SSA’s research office. This Center will work across agencies and in

collaboration with outside researchers to improve the quality of disability

research.

Expand Disability Research. The Budget provides $120 million for the National

Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), including $10

million to support a new cloud computing initiative that uses the internet

infrastructure to improve technology access through the development,

implementation, and delivery of mechanisms that will provide on-demand

accessibility for everyone who faces technology accessibility barriers. NIDRR

conducts comprehensive and coordinated programs of research and related

activities to maximize the full inclusion, social integration, employment, and

independent living of individuals with disabilities of all ages.

Strengthen Independent Living. The Budget includes more than $103 million for

Grants for Independent Living program that would provide formula grants to

States to support the provision of independent living services through centers

for independent living. The Budget also provides an additional $34 million for

independent living services for older individuals who are blind. In addition,

the President’s six-year, $556 billion surface transportation reauthorization

proposal supports investments to provide individuals, including the elderly and

the disabled, with access to more transportation options, making our communities

more livable. That proposal will include an unprecedented funding commitment

for transit programs.

Assist Programs for Youth with Disabilities. The 2012 Budget maintains funding

for the Special Olympics at $8 million through the Department of Education. The

Budget also provides $5 million for a new program: Mentoring for Individuals

with Intellectual Disabilities. Both programs would support activities to

increase the participation of people with intellectual disabilities in social

relationships and other aspects of community life, including recreation,

education, and employment.

Strengthen Anti-Discrimination Enforcement. Even in tough budget times, the

substantial investments that have been made by the Administration to strengthen

civil rights enforcement against racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, disability,

religious, and gender discrimination continue in the 2012 Budget. The Budget

proposes an increase for the Community Relations Service in the Department of

Justice to fight hate crimes and provides an $18 million, a 5 percent increase

over the 2010 enacted level, for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

(EEOC), which is responsible for enforcing Federal laws that make it illegal to

discriminate against a job applicant or an employee. This investment will allow

EEOC to add additional staff to reduce the agency’s backlog of private-sector

discrimination charges.

Provide Housing for Persons with Disabilities. Because difficult choices had to

be made in order to invest in programs that would yield the highest returns, the

Budget provides a total of $196 million for the Housing for Persons with

Disabilities Program, which is a $104 million cut relative to the 2010 enacted

level. The majority of the overall reduction reflects a shift in funding to the

Tenant-Based Rental Assistance account to support Mainstream Vouchers for

persons with disabilities. The Budget includes $85 million to support existing

units and $111 million for new construction and expansion activities. The

Administration is committed to working with Congress to update and reform these

programs so that project sponsors can maximize use of the funding for new

construction by effectively leveraging and targeting investments based on need

and by providing residents access to key services required to live

independently.

Expand Research into Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The Budget continues to

expand research, detection, treatment, and other activities related to improving

the lives of individuals and families affected by ASD through increasing funding

for programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

NIH will pursue comprehensive and innovative approaches to defining the genetic

and environmental factors that contribute to ASD, investigate epigenomic changes

in the brain, and accelerate clinical trials of novel pharmacological and

behavioral interventions by 2016. NIH will continue to investigate environmental

factors, early detection, and novel treatments to transform our understanding of

ASD.

Help Families Care for Aging and Relatives with Disabilities. The Budget

includes $96 million for the Administration's Caregiver Initiative, an effort to

expand help to families and seniors so that caregivers can better manage their

multiple responsibilities and seniors can live in the community for as long as

possible. Without creating new programs, this initiative provides new resources

to support the network of agencies in local communities across the country that

already provide critical help to seniors and caregivers.

Support for Employment of People with Disabilities in the Federal Workforce. In

July 2010, the President signed an Executive Order to increase Federal

employment of individuals with disabilities and the Budget provides funds to the

Office of Personnel Management to implement that Executive Order.

Expand Passenger Rail Options. The President’s surface transportation

reauthorization proposal includes funding to eliminate the longstanding ADA gap

at intercity passenger rail stations. Overall, the Administration’s

reauthorization provides $53 billion over six years for intercity passenger

rail, putting the country on track toward a system that gives 80 percent of

Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years – and would provide many

citizens with disabilities access to an additional, convenient transportation

option.