Date: July 26, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: HHS Press
Office, (202) 690-6343
Headline: STATEMENT BY
DONNA E. SHALALA
Secretary of Health and
Human Services
Regarding the 10th
Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Today, as we celebrate the
10th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, we
can be proud of the progress we have made toward fulfilling the principles and
meeting the goals of this monumental law. The ADA strengthens our nation
by making equal opportunity accessible to all.
Thanks to advances in the
law, health care, education and technology, more Americans with disabilities
than ever before are taking their rightful place making important contributions
to American life than ever before. Old stereotypes are beginning to
be shattered and barriers are slowly but surely coming down.
HHS plays a role in making
the promise of the ADA real in the lives of millions of people every day by:
Achieving the success of
these and other efforts has taken a great deal of time, creativity and
commitment from the professionals at HHS, in state and local governments and in
the disability community itself. Building on this level of dedication, I
feel certain that the second decade of the ADA will provide even greater
assurances of equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living,
and economic self-sufficiency for Americans with disabilities of all ages.
###
HHS FACT SHEET
July 26, 2000
Contact: HHS Press
Office, (202) 690-6343
HHS and the Americans with
Disabilities Act:
Accomplishments Since
Enactment of ADA
· Enabling people with
disabilities to live in their community. HHS is working with states to
uphold the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling to enable as many people with
disabilities as possible to live in their community. In the 1999 case, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that under the ADA, unjustifiable institutionalization of a
person with a disability who can live in the community is
discrimination. In January 2000, HHS sent guidance to state Medicaid
directors to encourage cooperative efforts with leaders in the disability
community to help states develop plans to enable people with disabilities to
live in the most integrated setting that is possible given
their state's
resources. Additional guidance is being sent to state Medicaid directors
this month providing further clarification on the flexibility states have to
provide services in integrated settings under the Medicaid program. These
efforts continue the progress made through the home and community-based Medicaid
waivers that enable many people with disabilities to receive
Medicaid-covered health care
assistance to help them live in their communities.
· Helping people with
disabilities become self-supporting without losing health coverage through
Medicaid. HHS is implementing the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives
Improvement Act of 1999. The department is working with state
Medicaid directors to enable people with disabilities who earn too much money
to qualify for Medicaid to buy into the program, or to enable states to extend
the income limits of Medicaid programs for people with disabilities. Beginning
in fiscal year 2001 and continuing for the next five years, HHS is offering
states federal Medicaid infrastructure grants of at least $625,000 to assist
states with designing and implementing expanded Medicaid eligibility options
for people with disabilities. The total award over five years will be $150
million.
· Enabling people with
disabilities to control their own health care and supporting services. In
1996, HHS and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced state grants to
support "Cash and Counseling" demonstration projects to provide
people with disabilities more control over the long-term care supports they
receive. These experiments now underway in Arkansas, New Jersey and
Florida offer cash allowances and supportive services to enable people with
disabilities to purchase the care services they feel will best meet their needs.
In addition, HHS is partnering with state agencies and consumer groups in the
Resource Network on Home and Community Based Services to drive the expansion of
quality, consumer-directed and cost-effective services in home and community
based settings.
· Targeting health goals for
Americans with disabilities. Healthy People 2010, which establishes
national goals to improve America's health, includes specific targets for
people with disabilities, including reducing the number of people with
disabilities who report feelings of depression that prevent them from being
active, and increasing the proportion of adults with disabilities who
participate in social activities. Healthy People 2010 also aims at preventing
disability.
· Supporting children with
special health care needs to achieve greater success in adulthood. In
1995, HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau began funding the "Healthy
and Ready to Work" program, designed to help children with special health
care needs to successfully make the transition to adult life in the
community. Some 6,000 youths with special health needs benefit from $2.5
million in program grants to help provide training and support in promoting
self-determination and leadership skills.
· Helping older Americans
with disabilities. Administration on Aging programs serve older Americans
with disabilities through state and area agencies on aging. In fiscal
year 2001, AoA is requesting $125 million to enable state and area agencies on
aging to help caregivers of older persons with disabilities by providing
support services such as support groups, respite and adult day care. This
year, AoA has awarded funds to the National Center for Senior Housing Research
to develop innovative solutions to address mobility and other housing issues
for older Americans with limitations in physical functioning. AoA also
administers the Alzheimer's Disease Demonstration Grant to States Program to
develop models for serving persons with Alzheimer's disease and their families.
· Providing assistance to
people with developmental disabilities. Administration on Developmental
Disabilities programs increase independence and provide community supports for
people with disabilities that begin early in life. ADD funds three
state-based grant programs that address issues such as diagnosis, early
intervention, prevention of secondary disabilities, assistive technology,
education, community supports, housing, transportation, self-determination and
employment.
· Special efforts to help
Americans with mental illness. HHS programs and initiatives focus on
greater diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. In 1999, Surgeon
General David Satcher issued the report, "Mental Health: A Report of the
Surgeon General," to provide an overview of the status of mental health
treatment and ways to improve the quality of mental health care in the United
States. In addition, HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
is focusing on improving the employment prospects of those living with
psychiatric disabilities. The agency is currently completing the largest
study ever conducted of programs to help people with mental illness to find and
keep jobs. The study, Employment Intervention Demonstration Program, will
be highlighted at the National Employment Summit next summer.
· Providing funding and
leadership in research. The National Institutes of Health support and conduct
research that lays the groundwork for understanding causes of disability and
for developing innovative new treatments or assistance for people with
disabilities. For example, in the past 10 years NIH-sponsored research
has discovered genes related to blindness caused by glaucoma and macular
degeneration and has demonstrated the first effective treatment to
significantly reduce the disability of patients shortly after a spinal cord
injury. In addition, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication
Disorders is collaborating with the Department of Veterans Affairs and with
NASA to support the development of better hearing aids.
Over the past decade, the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has conducted research to
help policymakers plan for meeting the health needs of people with disabilities
by examining their access to and use of health services, including Medicaid and
managed care. AHRQ has used this information to host workshops to educate
state health officials and to conduct outreach to people with disabilities to
provide them with the information they need to
make their own health care
coverage decisions.
The Office of Disability,
Aging and Long-Term Care Policy supports and conducts research and analysis of
HHS policies and programs that support the independence, health and long-term
care of people with disabilities. Over the past 10 years, the office has
been responsible for policy coordination and research related to nursing home
and community-based services, informal caregiving, the integration of acute and
long-term care, Medicare post-acute services and home care, managed care for
people with disabilities, long-term rehabilitation services, childhood
disability and the link between employment and health policies.
###
Note: For a Fact Sheet
on HHS and Disabilities and other HHS Press Releases and Facts pertaining to
the subject of this announcement, please visit: