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Speeches
Tony Coelho
Chairman
President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities
American Rehabilitation Counseling Association and National Career Development Association
March 24, 2000
Washington, DC
As we begin the new Millennium, I think we can look back and be
pleased with the progress people with disabilities have made in recent
years.
People with disabilities now enjoy unprecedented rights, access,
and opportunity.
Many of the barriers to employment have been toppled.
A good education is now available to more children with
disabilities.
More architects, engineers, and manufacturers have embraced the
principle of universal design.
Retail outlets are competing for the disability community's
business.
Assistive technology offers people who are blind, deaf, or
otherwise disabled the tools to do work that was once impossible for
them.
All over America, doors that were once closed to people with
disabilities are beginning to open.
Employment, of course, is the key to continued progress and
independence for people with disabilities. So I'm happy to say that
never in history has the job outlook been brighter.
Thanks as much as anything to the truly unprecedented era of
prosperity we have experienced during the past seven years, qualified
people with disabilities, along with other Americans, now enjoy better
prospects for employment than ever before.
During the last seven years, 19 million new jobs have been
created--A rate of growth more than twice that of the previous
decade. Some companies that once wouldn't give people with
disabilities a second look now romance them and actively recruit
them.
Yes, people with disabilities have made progress since the passage
of the ADA.
When I was young, I was so desperate for a job that I went into
politics! I can laugh about it now, but it wasn't funny back
then. When doctors discovered I had epilepsy, I was expelled from the
Jesuit Seminary where I was studying to become a priest. The state of
California revoked my driver's license, and my insurance company
canceled my health coverage.
I felt like a lost soul, rejected everywhere I turned. I became one
of the millions of other Americans with disabilities who were
unemployed. Here I was -- a young man with an education, a strong work
ethic and a desire to succeed. Yet, because of the stigma attached to
my disability, every door to the future seemed closed.
Eventually, with the guidance and support of others, I went on to
find success in business and politics. Despite this success, I never
forgot those times or the hopelessness I felt. Today, I wear the scars
of my struggle as badges of honor and pride in who I am: a person with
a disability.
Today, with the ADA and changes in societal attitudes, Americans
with disabilities have opportunities that previous generations could
only dream about. As more and more people with disabilities enter the
workforce, thanks in part to the civil rights we gained with the
passage of the ADA, supervisors and co-workers are recognizing the
valuable contributions that we are making.
Yet, we still have a long way to go.
It will take the considered involvement and work of everyone to
solve the unemployment problems facing people with
disabilities. Federal, State and Local agencies, Congress, and people
with disabilities themselves must get involved. That's why this
conference is so critical.
Our legal accomplishments will mean little unless we continue to
change attitudes in both the disabled and non-disabled communities, as
well as change the underlying goals and assumptions of government
programs.
The ADA was only the first, momentous step. In it, Congress laid
out the nation's goals regarding individuals with disabilities:
equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and
economic self-sufficiency.
But now it's time, really it's past time, to design a strategy to
make equality of opportunity, full participation, inclusion, and
economic self-sufficiency realities.
The frontier we crossed in 1990, outlawing discrimination against
people with disabilities, was only the beginning of the paradigm
shift. The next vista is changing attitudes and the often well-
intended, but fatally flawed, disability programs and policies that
keep people with disabilities dependent on government handouts.
There are still too many people in our country who think workers
with disabilities can't cut it, who think we are to be pitted and
patronized. They couldn't be more wrong, morally or economically. And,
the scary truth is that many government programs have been designed
and based on these same insulting and patronizing attitudes.
Thankfully, this is beginning to change.
Yet, when we realize that 74 percent of Americans with severe
disabilities are still unemployed, it becomes clear that the ADA
merely paved the way for inclusion; we still have many steps to take
before people with disabilities have full access to the American
dream.
Government programs - instead of empowering capable, motivated and
skilled people who yearn to be productive citizens - give them money
to stay home. And for those who rely upon Medicare or Medicaid, until
now, we give them no choice but to stay home.
Eight million individuals with severe disabilities currently
receive Supplemental Security Income or Social Security Disability
Income, costing the federal government $72 billion annually. With
Medicaid and Medicare expenditures factored in, the price tag exceeds
$110 billion a year. And the price becomes a truly astounding figure
of $300 billion a year when other direct costs of unemployment are
considered (such as housing supports, welfare and worker's
compensation), and indirect costs of unemployment are factored in
(such as lost taxes and productivity).
This country's health care crisis continues to ensnare Americans
with disabilities who desperately want to leave the rolls of SSI and
SSDI. Unfortunately, for too many people with disabilities, the system
has become a trap.
In order to have sufficient economic incentive to leave the federal
dole, individuals must be able to earn enough money to rise above the
poverty level.
It just does not make sense that the federal government is spending
40 times more money to trap people with disabilities in a life of
dependent poverty, that it spends to help them find employment. But
that's what it's been doing!
It is encouraging, I think, to note that the government has faced
up to the fact that many of its own policies and practices actually
hinder the employment of people with disabilities.
Two years ago, President Clinton created the Presidential Task
Force on Employment of Adults with Disabilities. Its mandate is to
increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
The Secretary of Labor is the chair of this task force, and I am
proud to serve as co-chair. Simply stated, the function of the task
force is to create a coordinated and aggressive national policy on
disability employment.
The goal is to bring adults with disabilities into gainful
employment at a rate as close as possible to the employment rate of
the general adult population. A major focus is to look at what needs
to be done to address the unemployment of persons with severe
disabilities, particularly the 8 million on the Social Security
roles.
The Task Force is looking at four main areas:
- How the lack of health care availability creates a disincentive
to employment and what to do about it.
- What economic incentives are needed to get people off Social
Security and onto a payroll.
- What can be done about existing barriers to work, such as lack
of transportation in rural areas, lack of job-site accommodations, and
the need for access to personal assistance services and information
technology.
- What needs to be done to improve education, job training, and
rehabilitation programs to qualify people with disabilities for
today's and tomorrow's jobs.
This is no easy assignment. But we are already seeing progress. One
of our immediate tasks has been to examine agency policies and to
eliminate barriers to employment.
Central to the initiative is the idea of making it easier to remain
in the Medicaid and Medicare programs even after people with
disabilities begin to earn an income. Under this law, states may
choose to let workers with disabilities buy Medicaid insurance even if
their incomes ordinarily would make them ineligible for the health
insurance program for the poor. This goes directly to the main fear
and principal deterrent to work: the fear of losing your health
insurance.
The second part of this legislation, the Ticket to Work part, gives
people with disabilities a choice. A choice in who they want to assist
them in reaching their employment goals.
Rehabilitation professionals, I thank you for embracing the Ticket
to Work option. I know just by looking at your Web site, that your
organization closely followed this legislation and supported it. It's
important for you to continue empowering people with disabilities, by
encouraging them to make their own employment decisions.
Another legislation issue that the Task Force is following is the
Minimum Wage and the Fair Labor Standards Act. For far too long, it
has been acceptable to pay people with disabilities for less than
minimum wage. I submit to you that it is time, past time, for people
with severe disabilities to get paid real money for real jobs. Part of
this new disability paradigm must include just wages.
Furthermore, the long-term potential of the new information economy
on the job outlook for people with disabilities cannot be
understated. Neither can the qualifications that will be required. It
has been estimated that 95 percent of all the jobs in the U.S. will
require computer and information-processing skills. Pick up any
newspaper anywhere in the country and you'll find page after page of
want ads for anyone who can program or work a computer.
The rapid development of new technologies in computer hardware,
software and telecommunications services is a two-edged sword,
however; it threatens not only the security of many workers lacking
the necessary skills but the very existence of many of the companies
they work for. For some, technology means instant riches. For others,
it means instant obsolescence.
For people with disabilities, technology may hold the promise of
better paying jobs. Or it could mean further set backs for people with
disabilities. We all need to be aware of the potential pitfalls of the
digital divide.
In this new workplace, brains, not brawn, are the measure of a
worker's value. It's your mind that matters... not how much you can
lift or how fast you can load a truck, but how much you know and how
fast you can think. Knowledge is power and those that have it can
write their own ticket... but if people with disabilities can't access
the Internet or the latest technology, they will be back in the Dark
Ages.
Technology is good news for qualified people with disabilities. It
offers the chance to show how well they can compete and how much they
can contribute. If people are smart, willing to learn and willing to
work hard, there are jobs for them somewhere, whatever their
limitations.
Hard-pressed employers are learning to "Think Ability" and to put
first things first.
And as more and more people with disabilities enter the workplace,
employers are seeing for themselves and hearing from others how
productive they can be. Every time someone proves his or her ability
on the job, it makes it that much easier for others to
follow. Prejudice crumbles in the face of performance, and one success
leads to another.
I want to tell you about some of the innovative projects we have at
the President's Committee on Employment of People with
Disabilities. Projects that will lead to success for people with
disabilities.
Our newest project, Project EARN, will address this problem. Right
now, Project EARN is in its development stage. But I want to share the
concept behind Project EARN with you. The idea is to give employers a
national, toll-free number to call. The people answering the calls
will then determine the best local resource for the employer to call,
and put the employer in touch with the service provider.
This approach will take the guess work away from the employer. They
will only need to make one initial contact. The employers we've talked
to are thrilled about the idea of EARN. Based on the comments I hear
from employers, I would encourage service providers to continue
building relationships with local employers.
At the President's Committee we are building relationships -- or
partnerships -- with employers.
Take the Business Leadership Network -- on this initiative we have
partnered with the US Chamber of Commerce. Tom Donohue, CEO of the
Chamber, also serves as the head of this program. The BLN's, as we
refer to them, work to enhance the employment opportunities for people
with disabilities. For this project, I can't think of a better partner
than the Chamber.
We have active BLN's in 21 States. It might interest you that in
several of these states Vocational Rehabilitation Departments work
side by side with our business partners.
Another President's Committee undertaking is Project Employ. The
Society for Human Resource Managers (SHRM), and their CEO, Michael
Losey, partner with us on this effort.
Project Employ is about expanding employment opportunities for
people with cognitive disabilities. Project Employ's focus is on
abandoning outdated stereotypes and seeking opportunities to educate,
train, and place people with cognitive disabilities into a wide range
of occupations. Occupations that pay higher than minimum wage, offer
benefits, promotion opportunities, and meet the labor needs of
business.
On another front, the small business front, we are working with the
Presidential Task Force, SBA, and others to provide people with
disabilities the tools they need to start their own
businesses. Beginning in April, a team will travel to communities
throughout the country, connecting people with disabilities to the
local resources they need to start a business.
Hard-pressed people with disabilities are learning to "Think
Ability" and to put first things first.
In the new knowledge-based economy we can expect things to get
still better for those who are smart enough, ambitious enough, and
determined enough to succeed. People with disabilities who develop
their skills will have the same chance as anyone else to get
ahead.
The credit for that goes to all of you in this room for helping us
to breach the barriers and begin to end discrimination.
The four task force goals must become the goals of our nation's
other laws and programs related to the employment of people with
disabilities. Adopting these goals will require a profound
philosophical shift -- from the presumption that people with
disabilities are either incapable or less capable of work -- to a
presumption that all individuals, even people with severe
disabilities, are capable of work.
People with disabilities have the right to work, a right to
contribute to the economy, and a right to contribute to the political
process. We also have a responsibility to do so.
Changing the attitudinal barriers that form the core of structural
barriers to employment won't be easy. But we have a responsibility to
ourselves and to our nation to do so. We can't afford to continue
wasting millions of lives and billions of dollars each year.
We need to continue to reach out and show employers how practices
and policies to attract, hire, retain, and advance people with
disabilities can improve the bottom line. That's what counts in the
final analysis.
We should expect businesspeople and entrepreneurs to base their
decisions not on sentiment but on what's good for their companies. The
biggest word in the vocabulary of every CEO I know is "results," and
that's as it should be.
Our job is to get the word out that hiring workers with
disabilities is a good investment that will pay off in productivity
and profitability. It's a message we need to broadcast to small
business as well as big business and to rural al well as metropolitan
areas.
I particularly like the phrase "Think Ability," which is the theme
of our educational program. We need to shift the focus from disability
and get business leaders to "Think Ability." To consider the potential
of people with disabilities instead of their limitations.
But nobody said it would be easy. Despite all the evidence to the
contrary, too many top managers and CEO's still worry about the cost
of accommodation. Others are deterred by myths, misinformation or
stereotypes.
They need to know that 90 percent of first-time employers of
workers with disabilities are so pleased with their performance that
they look for more. They need to know that 87 percent of CEO's and top
managers who have hired people with disabilities said they would
encourage others to do so.
We need to make it easy for employers to "Think Ability." We need
to encourage people with disabilities to develop the skills needed to
succeed in the workplace. We need to assist employers in finding
qualified people with disabilities. And we need to continue partnering
with others to make this happen.
Thank You.
Speeches
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