Introduction

Many of the 54 million Americans with disabilities are deprived of their independence due to needless barriers. On February 1, 2001, President Bush announced his New Freedom Initiative to promote the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of society by increasing access to assistive and universally designed technologies, expanding educational and employment opportunities, and promoting full access to community life. This report details the progress the Administration has made to implement the New Freedom Initiative goal – to ensure full integration of people with disabilities in American society.

The President promised full implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires that all Federal government electronic and information technologies be accessible to individuals with disabilities. In response, the Administration:

• Expedited Section 508 implementation; and

• Produced extensive technical guidance and training materials that will be helpful not only to Federal agencies in complying with Section 508, but also to others interested in accessible technologies, such as private businesses, state and local governments, manufacturers and vendors, and individuals with disabilities.

The President secured $65 million for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002 for the Department of Education to:

• Jumpstart research in the area of assistive and universally designed technologies at centers that conduct advanced research in the field; and

• Support the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research in its work to coordinate Federal disability research programs, to assist small businesses in the development and transfer of new technologies, and to award matching grants to states to help persons with disabilities purchase assistive technologies through low interest loans and other means.

The President is determined to ensure that children with disabilities receive appropriate educational opportunities and that youth receive support to transition from school to employment. To achieve these objectives, the President:

• Requested the largest increases of any President in history for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B State Grants program in his FY 2002 and FY 2003 budgets;
• Signed legislation increasing funding for the IDEA Part B State Grants program by $1.2 billion in FY 2002;
• Established a comprehensive reading program for students, including those with disabilities, as well as programs to ensure that children with the most severe reading disabilities learn to read; and

• Created a Presidential Commission on Excellence in Special Education.

To break down barriers to employment for individuals with disabilities, the President has:

• Promoted swift implementation of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, which provides incentives to work for more than 7.5 million Americans receiving benefits under Federal disability programs;

• Obtained $20 million for matching grants to states to help people with disabilities buy equipment necessary for telecommuting to work;

• Supported measures that would provide tax incentives for company purchases of equipment that allow an employee to work from home;

• Continued his commitment to vigorous enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and

• Requested an increase of $165 million in funding and performance-based incentive grants for the Vocational Rehabilitation Program in the FY 2003 budget.

To increase homeownership rates for people with disabilities, the President supported a

program that permits people with disabilities to use Section 8 rent subsidy vouchers to make mortgage payments to buy their own homes. To increase the availability of accessible and affordable housing for individuals with disabilities, the Administration has:

• Recently awarded a major national education and outreach grant to help communities ensure that more apartments and condominiums are built to be accessible to people with disabilities; and

• Launched a program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide training and technical assistance to the building industry on the Fair Housing Act’s accessible design and construction requirements.

To facilitate community living for people with disabilities, the President issued an Executive Order directing key Federal agencies to evaluate and recommend ways to expand community-based services for qualified individuals with disabilities. In response, the Administration has:

• Conducted the first comprehensive Federal review of barriers that prevent people with disabilities from living in the community and identified over 400 potential solutions to remove impediments to community-based living; and

• Announced a series of grants totaling $119 million that the Department of Health and Human Services will award to states for the design and implementation of reforms to promote community living.

Recognizing that quality mental health services are critical to increasing community participation for people with psychiatric disabilities, the President announced the formation of his New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. The Commission will study and make recommendations for improving America’s mental health service delivery system.

The President’s FY 2003 budget contains many increases in disability programs that promote community living, housing, transportation, education, and employment. The Administration will work with Congress to see that the budget proposals are enacted.

On February 1, 2001, within two weeks of taking office, President Bush announced his New Freedom Initiative and laid out a bold plan to tear down the stubborn barriers to equality that confront many of the 54 million Americans with disabilities. He did so with the knowledge that:

• Students with disabilities graduate at far lower rates than other students. Early access to support services and an accessible and appropriate education can give America’s more than 6 million students with disabilities an equal chance to succeed and a path to greater independence.

• Employment remains one of the greatest barriers for people with disabilities. Of the 7.5 million people with disabilities on the Social Security rolls, fewer than 1 percent ever leave those rolls to return to work. People with disabilities deserve the chance to engage in meaningful work and to contribute to America’s economy.

• Inaccessible transportation continues to inhibit the ability of people with disabilities to take advantage of job training, employment, and recreational opportunities. The Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) reports that more than 100 million low-income, older Americans and people with disabilities are at risk of being unable to provide or afford their own transportation. They are also more likely to be dependent upon others for their mobility. CTAA also notes that almost 40 percent of rural counties throughout the U.S. have no public transportation.

• Safe, stable, and accessible housing is necessary before people with disabilities can enjoy neighborhood activities or explore job options. However, according to a 2001 report issued by the Technical Assistance Collaborative and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Task Force, over 3 million non-elderly people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income cannot afford decent housing in the U.S. without government housing assistance.

• Under Olmstead v. L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999), the Supreme Court required states to place qualified individuals with mental disabilities in community settings, rather than in institutions, whenever treatment professionals determine that such placement is appropriate, the affected persons do not oppose such placement, and the state can reasonably accommodate the placement, taking into account the resources available to the state and the needs of others with disabilities. However, far too many people with disabilities who would exercise the choice to live in the community are forced to remain in institutions because of a lack of community-based services available in their states and hometowns.

The New Freedom Initiative is a commitment to address these barriers and others through programs and proposals that increase development of and access to assistive and universally designed technologies, expand educational opportunities, further integrate Americans with disabilities into the workforce, and help remove barriers to full participation in community life.

In the past 15 months, the Administration has taken many steps toward fulfillment of New Freedom Initiative goals. The President secured funding for many of the New Freedom Initiative’s important programs in the FY 2002 budget process.

Among the highlights is the President’s Executive Order 13217, Community-based Alternatives for Individuals with Disabilities, directing his agencies to swiftly implement the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision. The Executive Order charged six agencies - the Departments of Justice, Health and Human Services, Education, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, and the Social Security Administration - with evaluating their agency policies and programs to determine whether any should be revised to improve the availability of community-based services for qualified individuals with disabilities.

In December 2001, these agencies, joined by the Departments of Transportation and Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management, presented a preliminary report, "Delivering on the Promise."The agencies released the complete reports in March 2002, outlining over 400 solutions in areas such as housing, education, personal attendant services, employment, health care structure and financing, caregiver support, and technology to make community living possible.

Following the February 2001 New Freedom Initiative announcement, numerous Cabinet members and agency heads embraced the New Freedom Initiative mission, introducing additional activities that helped to advance the objectives of the Initiative. For example, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced a series of grants to promote community living. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao established a Youth Advisory Committee to improve employment for youth with disabilities. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta and Project Action hosted a dialogue with transit industry executives and disability leaders to increase accessible transportation. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Cari Dominguez created a series of workshops to assist small businesses in recruiting and hiring people with disabilities. When the President voiced his strong support of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which requires that electronic and information technology purchased by the government be usable by people with disabilities, many agencies quickly formalized plans to institute the standards and expedite implementation.

More work remains to be done. Breaking down persistent barriers in employment, transportation, housing, and community access requires sustained, aggressive, coordinated measures – nothing short of, in the President’s words, a "revolution of independence." With the commitment and resources of the Cabinet, and through new agency and private sector partnerships, the President will continue the campaign to advance the full and equal participation of people with disabilities.