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Related Federal Disability Laws

There are dozens of federal statutes establishing programs or containing
provisions that pertain specifically to individuals with disabilities.  The
Department of Education in August, 1988 published Summary of Existing
Legislation Affecting Persons with Disabilities, a booklet which describes
many federal laws and programs that affect people with disabilities.  The
Department is updating this publication and expects to have it ready for
publication in the spring of 1992.  Copies can at that time be obtained by
contacting the Clearinghouse on Disability Information, U.S. Department of
Education, Room 3132 Switzer Building, Washington, D.C. 20202-2524, at (202)
732-1241 or [phone] (both are voice and TDD numbers).

Following are descriptions of selected federal disability statutes that are
relevant to promoting the purposes of ADA's employment, public services, and
public accommodations provisions.

In addition to these programs, there are several tax code provisions that
provide businesses with financial incentives  to hire people with
disabilities or make employment and access-enhancing expenditures required
by, or consistent with the purposes of, the ADA.  For descriptions of these
provisions, see Appendix item G, Disability Related Tax Provisions
Applicable to Businesses.

I.  Rehabilitation Act of 1973

          Rehabilitation Services Administration and National Institute on
Disability and
     Rehabilitation Research, Department of Education

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is the principal federal legislation
establishing programs aimed at promoting the employment and independent
living of people with disabilities.  Programs authorized under this Act are
administered within the U.S. Department of Education by the Rehabilitation
Services Administration and the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research.  Following are selected programs established under
this Act to promote these purposes.

A. Programs administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration

The Rehabilitation Services Administration administers the principal federal
service programs designed to promtote the rehabilitatation, employment, and
independent living of people with disabilities.

1) Centers for Independent Living (Title VII, Part B of the Act)

Centers for Independent Living are community based, nonresidential centers
that provide independent living services to enable individuals with
disabilities to live and function independently.

Services provided to individuals with severe disabilities include
independent living skills training, counseling and personal advocacy
services on income benefits and legal rights, information and referral, peer
counseling, education and training necessary for living in the community and
participation in community activities, housing assistance, transportation,
equipment and adaptive aid loans, and personal care attendant training and
referral.

Other services provided are outreach/community education, technical
assistance to other community agencies, transitional services to assist
youth in making the transition from school to the community, intake and
assessment, service coordination, emergency intervention, social and
recreation, and vocational/educational/employment services.

Independent living centers are often an excellent source of advice on an
array of accessibility, attitudinal, and other issues of concern to people
with disabilities.  There are 202 centers for independent living across the
country.  For the location and/or telephone number of one nearest you
contact either the Independent Living Research Utilization Center at 2323
South Shephard Street, Suite 1000, Houston, Texas 77019, telephone (713)
520-0232 (voice) or [phone] (TDD) or the National Council on
Independent Living at Troy Atrium, Fourth Street and Broadway, Troy, New
York 12180, telephone [phone] (voice) or [phone] (TDD).

2) State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (Title I of the Act)

Eighty-four State vocational rehabilitation agencies are funded by the
Federal Government. These agencies operate in each State, territory, and the
District of Columbia to provide vocational rehabilitation services to
individuals with physical or mental disabilities.  Separate agencies service
individuals who are blind or visually impaired in several States.

Services are provided based upon eligibility criteria that include the
presence of a physical or mental disability; evidence that the disability
results in a substantial handicap to employment; and the reasonable
expectation that vocational rehabilitation services can benefit the
individual in terms of employability.

State vocational rehabilitation agencies provide assessment and evaluation
services, counseling, guidance and referral services, vocational training,
physical and mental restoration services, job development and job placement
services, among other types of services to assist individuals with
disabilities to become gainfully employed.

State vocational rehabilitation agencies can assist employers by assessing
the accommodations that may be necessary for an employee with a disability,
provide technical assistance on the nature and functional limitation of a
disability, and make referrals to appropriate resources for rehabilitation
technology services.

State agencies administer several types of supported employment programs,
including the Supported Employment State Formula Grant program,
Community-Based Supported Employment Projects, and Supported Employment
State-Change Grants.  Supported employment is competitive work in an
integrated setting for individuals with severe disabilities for whom
competitive work has not traditionally occurred and who, because of their
disability, need on-going support services to perform such work.

For further information, including information on how to contact the
vocational rehabilitation office nearest you, contact the Rehabilitation
Services Administration, Mary E. Switzer Building, Room 3028, 330 C Street,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20202, telephone [phone] (voice) or (202)
732-1330 (TDD).

3) Projects with Industry (PWI) (Title VI of the Act)

PWI is a Federal Government/private industry initiative, involving
corporations, labor organizations, trade associations, foundations, and
voluntary agencies, that operate through a partnership with the
rehabilitation community.  The program creates, as well as expands, job
opportunities for people with disabilities in the competitive labor market.
As part of this program, training is provided for jobs in realistic work
settings, generally within commercial or industrial establishments, coupled
with supportive services to enhance pre- and post-employment success of
people with disabilities in the marketplace.

There are one hundred and twenty-five federally funded PWI's, affiliated
with more than 4,000 private corporations.  Each project is required by law
to have a Business Advisory Council that provides the mechanism for private
sector business participation in policy-making for the project.  This
affords business and industry the opportunity to provide input into the
design and character of training programs that are geared to existing job
openings.  PWI's can be a good starting point for meeting other business
people in your locality who have experience in hiring, and a commitment to
hiring, people with disabilities.  To locate the closest PWI, contact the
Inter-National Association of Business, Industry and Rehabilitation
(I-NABIR) at P.O. Box 15242, Washington, D.C. 20003, telephone (202)
543-6353 (voice only), or the Rehabilitation Services Administration, Mary
E. Switzer Building, Room 3028, 330 C Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202,
[phone] (voice) or [phone] (TDD).

B. Programs administered by the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation                Research

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research administers
the principal federal disability research programs, the Technology Related
Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act, regional ADA technical
assistance centers, and certain other ADA related activities described
below.

Existing Programs

1) National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC)

NARIC is an information center and library on disability and rehabilitation.
It collects and disseminates the results of federally funded research
projects.  Its collection includes commercially published books, journal
articles, and audiovisual materials.  It currently has more than 30,000
documents.

NARIC has information specialists who will perform searches for the
inquirer.  Information may be requested by calling [phone] (voice or
TDD) or [phone] (voice or TDD) between the hours of 8 A.M. and 6 P.M.
Eastern Standard Time on Monday through Friday.  NARIC's address is National
Rehabilitation Information Center, 8455 Colesville Road, Suite 935, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20910.

2) Research and Training Centers

NIDRR funds 39 research and training centers specialized by subject matter
and dispersed throughout the country.  The R&T centers conduct applied
research directed towards producing new knowledge in the disability and
rehabilitation field that will improve rehabilitation services and promote
the independent living of people with disabilities.  Centers also develop
and conduct related teaching and training programs to disseminate and speed
the utilization of key findings.

Many of the centers focus on issues pertaining to particular disabilities.
Other centers whose specialty areas may be of particular interest to the
reader are:

Center on Enhancing Employability of Individuals with Handicaps

Center for Access to Rehabilitation and Economic Opportunity

Center on Rural Rehabilitation Services

Independent Living Research Utilization center

Center on Improving Supported Employment Outcomes for Individuals with
Developmental and Other Severe Disabilities

Center on New Directions for Rehabilitation Facilities

Information on other R&T centers, as well as how to contact those listed
above, may be obtained from the National Institute on Disability and
Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW, Washington, D.C. 20202-2572  [phone] (voice) or [phone]
(TDD).

3) Technology Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act

NIDRR is funding the development of State programs and projects to provide
technology-related assistance to persons with disabilities and to train
service providers and people with disabilities in the application of
assistive technology.

More information about these programs and projects may be obtained by
contacting NIDRR at the address listed above or at [phone] (voice)
or [phone] (TDD).

Proposed Programs Facilitating the Implementation of the ADA

Congress provided funds to NIDRR in 1991 to develop a technical assistance
program to facilitate the implementation of the ADA.  These funds will be
used for the following three major programs, conducted under grants from
NIDRR over a 5-year period, beginning in the fall of 1991;

4) Regional Disability and Business Accommodation Centers (RDBACs)

Ten regional centers will be established to provide a broad range of
information, technical assistance, and training on the ADA to employers and
other covered entities, people with disabilities, and other segments of the
community.  Technical assistance will focus on facilitating the effective
implementation of the ADA, successful employment outcomes for individuals
with disabilities, and greater accessibility in public accommodations.

5) National Peer Training Projects

These projects will be designed to enhance the capacity of persons with
disabilities and their organizations to facilitate the implementation of the
ADA.  One project will provide training for local capacity-building in
independent living centers providing services to individuals with
disabilities.  A second project will develop peer and family training
networks.



6) Materials Development Projects

This project will develop, test, and distribute technical assistance and
training materials to be used by individuals with disabilities, employers,
service providers, the regional centers, and others who need to know about
the ADA.

More information about these programs may be obtained by contacting the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Switzer Building, Washington, D.C.
20202-2601, [phone] (voice) or [phone] (TDD).


II.  Work Incentive Programs for People with Disabilities

      Social Security Administration, Department of Health and Human
Services

These programs are intended to provide individuals with disabilities who are
beneficiaries of two programs---the Social Security Disability Insurance
(SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs---supports they need
to move from benefit dependency to self sufficiency.  Work incentives are
intended to help beneficiaries enter or reenter the workforce by protecting
their entitlement to cash payments and/or Medicaid or Medicare protection
until they can support themselves.

     Among the work incentives available to either SSDI or SSI recipients,
or both, are:

          - impairment-related work expenses
          - trial work period
          - extended period of eligibility
          - continuation of Medicare coverage
          - Medicare for people with disabilities who work
          - earned income exclusion
          - student earned income exclusion
          - blind work expenses
          - plan for achieving self-support
          - property essential to self-support
          - section 1619 work incentives

For more information about these programs, contact the Program Management
Branch, Social Security Administration, 3R1 Operations Building, 6401
Security Boulevard, Baltimore, Maryland  21235 [phone] (voice only).


III. Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act

     Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Department of Health and
Human               Services

This legislation supports the development and coordination of programs and
services promoting the independence, productivity, community integration,
and protection of the rights of persons of
all ages with developmental disabilities.

A developmental disability is defined as a severe, chronic disability
attributable to a mental or physical impairment, or combination of both,
that is manifested before age 22; is likely to continue indefinitely;
results in substantial limitations in three or more of the following areas
of major life activity: self-care, receptive and expressive language,
learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, and
economic self-sufficiency; and results in the need for individually planned
and coordinated services lifelong or over an extended period of time.


One program authorized under the Act is the Protection and Advocacy Program,
which provides for the protection and advocacy of the individual rights of
all persons with developmental disabilities who are, or may be, eligible for
treatment, services or habilitation, or who are being considered for a
change in living arrangments.  The Protection and Advocacy agencies (P&A's)
are also extensively involved in training and education activities for
persons with developmental disabilities and their families, and in public
information and awareness efforts.  They will be involved in protecting the
rights of individuals with developmental disabilities covered under the
Americans with Disabilities Act.

For more information about Developmental Disabilities Act programs,
including how to locate the nearest P&A agency, contact the Administration
on Developmental Disabilities, Program Operations Division, 200 Independence
Avenue SW, Room 329D, Washington, D.C. 20201  [phone] (voice) or
[phone] (TDD).

IV. Job Training Partnership Act

Office of Employment and Training Programs, Department of Labor

The Job Training Partnership Act authorizes programs that train and place
"economically disadvantaged" persons in the work force through joint
public-private sector initiatives.  Each State has a State Job Training
Coordinating Council and one or more Private Industry Councils at the local
level which administer the program.  JTPA is the largest federal job
placement and training program.

The program is not targeted specifically to individuals with disabilities,
but individuals with disabilities who meet the income criteria are eligible
for services.  In addition, up to 10 percent of JTPA service recipients may
be individuals who are not economically disadvantaged within the meaning of
the statute but who have encountered barriers to employment; this group
includes "individuals with handicaps."  The Act defines a "handicapped
individual" as any individual who has a mental or physical disability that
contitutes or results in a substantial handicap to employment.

For the most part, JTPA funds benefiting persons with disabilities have been
used to place persons with mild and moderate disabilities in community jobs.


For more information on this program, contact the Office of Employment and
Training Programs, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room
N4709, Washington, D.C. 20210, [phone] (voice only).




























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