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Community VITA Grant Assistance Program
gets Funding Boost by Senate for FY2011; VITA Act of 2010 Forthcoming
After receiving a letter signed by 23 Senators supporting a significant
increase in the federal funding stream for the Community Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance (VITA) Grant program, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a
$14 million appropriation to the program in Fiscal Year 2011 (FY2011) through
passage of the FY2011 Appropriations Act for Financial Services & General
Government Operations on July 29, 2010 by a vote of 18-12. This amount represents a $2 million
increase over FY2010 and a $6 million increase over the President's FY2011
budgetary request. In its
Committee report, the Senate Appropriations Committee reiterated a strong
directive to the Internal Revenue Service to continue to prioritize grant
applications that possess a strong emphasis on reaching taxpayers with
disabilities:
"The Committee strongly
urges the IRS to make every effort to expand the quantity and funding level of
VITA grants focused on serving persons with disabilities proportional to the
growing disability population requiring tax assistance......The Committee
understands that entities that are currently increasing their outreach efforts
to better serve the needs of the disability population have experienced
difficulty in applying for Federal grant assistance due to a lack of resources
at the local level needed to complete the application. The Committee urges the
IRS to allow national coalitions responsible for the coordination of local
community partnerships focused specifically on the expanded provision of tax
services for individuals with disabilities to compete in future VITA community
matching grant processes."
The House Appropriations Committee has yet to mark up its version of the
appropriations legislation, but is predicted to follow suit with the Senate's
recommended funding level. This is
a tremendous victory for the volunteer tax preparation community, especially in
light of the current fiscal crisis the government is facing. On the heels of this positive news, efforts continue to move forward in
preparation for the introduction of the VITA Act of 2010. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is working
to solidify a Republican counterpart to cosponsor the legislation in the
Senate, and NDI is working with the National Community Tax Coalition and United
Way to solidify champions in the House of Representatives to introduce a
companion bill. Introduction is
expected in mid-September.
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U.S. Department of Labor releases
Solicitation for Applications for $22 million Disability Employment Initiative
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a solicitation for grant
applications for approximately $22 million to fund programs that will improve
educational, training and employment opportunities for individuals with
disabilities. This grant
solicitation is a direct result of Congress appropriating $22 million in FY2010
to continue and further the promising practices implemented by disability
program navigators over the previous eight years. The redesigned Disability Employment initiative is a joint project of
the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration and its Office of
Disability Employment Policy. Programs will serve eligible individuals who are unemployed or
underemployed, including those receiving Social Security disability benefits. Funds
will be awarded to state workforce agencies, which will collaborate with
workforce investment boards and local areas. Grant awards will range from $1.5 to $6 million each to be
spent over a three-year period. Cooperative agreements will be used to foster
service delivery through the public workforce investment system for job seekers
with disabilities. Programs will
build upon the Labor Department's Disability Program Navigator initiative and
other model service delivery strategies. In its official solicitation for applications, the U.S. Department of
Labor reiterated its commitment to workers with disabilities: "These grants
align with the department's goal of helping workers in low-wage jobs, or those
out of the labor market, find pathways into the middle class. Improvements in
employment services for people with disabilities through these grants will help
combat the unacceptably low employment rates experienced by this group." The complete solicitation for grant applications is available at http://www.doleta.gov/grants. Additionally, the Senate Appropriations
Committee recently passed its FY2011 appropriations legislation for the U.S.
Department of Labor, and awarded an additional $34 million ($17 million at ETA
and $17 million at ODEP) to continue the program in FY2011. In its Committee report, the Senate
Appropriations Committee reasserts its expectations that the funds are to be
used to continue the promising practices implemented by disability program navigators,
including the effective deployment of staff in selected States to "improve
coordination among employment, training, and asset development programs carried
out at the State and local level such as the Ticket to Work program; and build
effective community partnerships that leverage public and private resources to
improve services and employment outcomes for individuals with
disabilities". The Committee also
directs ETA and ODEP to develop appropriate objectives and performance measures
by which the Disability Employment initiative will be evaluated. |
NIDRR Also Receives Strong Support in
FY2011 Senate Appropriations Process
A $2.7 million funding increase for NIDRR (from $109,241,000 in FY 2010
to $111,919,000 in FY 2011) is included in the FY 2011 appropriations bill for
the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related
agencies (S. 3686). In addition, the report accompanying the bill has favorable
language, which reaffirms NIDRR's focus on employment, health and function, and
participation and community living. The report also directs the Interagency
Committee on Disability Research to develop a comprehensive disability and
rehabilitation strategic plan by April 1, 2011. Excerpts from the Senate Appropriations Committee report is below:
The Committee strongly supports the
mission of NIDRR, which includes research in the interrelated domains of health
and function, employment, and participation and community living. NIDRR's
resources should focus on each of these statutory research priorities to ensure
the advancement of economic and social self-sufficiency and full community inclusion
and participation. Future Rehabilitation Research Training Centers' priorities
should advance knowledge of effective strategies to reduce the impact of
poverty, promote affordable housing and independent living with improved access
to long-term supports, and facilitate greater individual choice and control of
individualized plans under the Rehabilitation and Social Security Laws.
The Committee believes the Interagency
Committee on Disability Research, currently led by NIDRR, needs to more
effectively carry out its mission, including coordinating research and
assessing research gaps as well as meeting required reporting requirements in a
timely manner. Therefore, the Committee urges the administration, through the
Interagency Committee on Disability Research [ICDR], to facilitate the
development and implementation of a comprehensive Government-wide long-term
strategic plan for disability and rehabilitation research by the spring of
2011. The strategic plan should reflect the active involvement of disability
senior policy advisors, program directors and other staff from NIDRR and the
Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with stakeholders
conducting disability and rehabilitation research. The plan should be submitted
to the Committee by April 1, 2011. The Committee further requests that the
annual report prepared by ICDR should include an accounting of the progress
made in implementing the long-term strategic plan.
The Committee notes that the Americans
with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 and related regulations will
require sustained training and technical resources from the disability and
business technical assistance center program. The Committee believes the
additional funds it provides will help meet the information and training needs
related to the legislation.
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Savings & Tax Legislative
Objectives Face Grim Outlook in Remainder of 2010
With only four weeks of official business remaining in the 2010
Congressional schedule, the chances of several critical legislative priorities
aimed at improving the financial stability of low- and moderate-income families
moving through the legislative process are looking dim. Much ambiguity exists on how the
Congressional Democratic leadership plans to handle the Bush tax credits (which
include both tax credits for America's wealthiest 2% of the population to
several tax credits which low- and moderate-income taxpayers rely heavily,
including the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit), which are all up
for expiration. If the tax credits
targeted at low and moderate income workers and families are not extended at
post-ARRA levels, taxpayers with disabilities will face a tremendous increase
in their tax liability for 2011. Additionally, despite having 197 cosponsors in the House of Representatives
and 23 cosponsors in the Senate, the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE
Act) still faces several hurdles in terms of moving through the legislative
process in 2010. House Ways & Means Committee staff are reluctant to move
on any additional legislation that could add to the deficit, although
disability advocacy organizations have been working with Congressional
champions of the ABLE Act to identify possible pay-fors. A rigorous, intensive advocacy campaign
across multiple national disability organizations is being launched in the
following weeks during the Congressional recess. For more information on how to engage in these efforts,
please continue to check the National Disability Institute's website for
ongoing updates at www.realeconomicimpact.org.
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National Council on Disability Hosts
Disability Summit
On July 27th, the National Council on Disability and its partners hosted the first-ever National
Summit on Disability Policy. The event marked the 20th anniversary of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) becoming law.
Senior government
officials and more than 500 disability leaders from across the country gathered
in Washington DC to discuss the history of the ADA, and the future of
disability policy at the Federal, state and local level. The event's theme was Living, Learning and Earning, and
focused on the development of new strategies for enhancing collaboration and
coordination among various government and non-governmental entities to improve
the advancement of citizens with disabilities.
Featured
speakers included: -
Chairman Jonathan
Young, National Council on Disability
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Secretary Ray
LaHood, Department of Transportation
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General Norton A.
Schwartz, Chief of Staff, USAF
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Assistant
Attorney General Tom Perez, Department of Justice
-
Administrator
Craig Fugate, FEMA
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Under Secretary
Martha Kanter, Department of Education
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Commissioner
Michael Astrue, Social Security Administration
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Assistant
Secretary Kathy Martinez, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Dept of
Labor
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Kareem Dale,
Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy
As well
as key leadership from the following agencies:
U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission
U.S. Office of
Personnel Management
U.S. Department
of Labor
U.S. Department
of Education
U.S. Federal
Communications Commission
U.S. Health and
Human Services
U.S. State
Department
U.S. Department of Justice
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Collaboration to Promote
Self-Determination Hosts Congressional Briefing on Innovative Strategies for
Fostering Integrated Employment Opportunities for Citizens with Significant Disabilities
NDI joined TASH and fourteen other partners of the
Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination in sponsoring an educational
briefing on July 29th for Congressional leaders and staff entitled, "Promoting Employment First: Innovations in Policy & Practice to
Achieve Integrated Employment for Citizens with Significant Disabilities." The
purpose of the Congressional briefing was to educate Congressional leaders and
staff about what is possible In terms of innovative approaches that are leading
to successful placements of citizens with significant disabilities into
integrated employment settings at livable wages. Additionally, the briefing will include a discussion of
various public policy strategies aimed at bringing these innovative practices
to scale and to improving the federal government's response to the desires of
citizens with significant disabilities to work in integrated settings at
minimum and prevailing wages.
Some of the nation's key thought leaders in the area
of integrated employment and disability policy presented on the need to foster
integrated work for people with disabilities, and the potential strategies for
policy makers to do so. The agenda
included the following presentations:
Breaking Down the Barriers toward
Integration for Citizens with Significant Disabilities
Barb
Trader, Executive Director, TASH
A Personal Quest for Real Work for Real
Wages in Real Community Settings - A Self-Advocate's Perspective
Nancy
Ward, Self-Advocate
What is Really Possible -An Overview of
Evidence Based Practices Resulting in Integrated Employment for Citizens with
Significant Disabilities
Michael
Callahan, Marc Gold & Associates
Promoting Universal Design in the
Recruitment and Hiring Process: An Employer's Perspective
Keith
Wiedenkeller, Senior Vice President of Human Resources & Chief People
Officer
AMC
Entertainment Inc.
Bringing Practice to Scale - Holding
the Government Accountable in Promoting Integrated Employment for Citizens with
Significant Disabilities
Curt
Decker, National Disability Rights Network
The briefing was well attended, with over 40
Congressional staff, federal employees and disability policy specialists participating.
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Mathematica Publishes USDOL-funded
Study Showing Positive Impacts of Generic Workforce Development Initiatives on
Citizens with Disabilities over Vocational Rehabilitation and Ticket to Work
Mathematica Policy Research Inc recently published a study funded by the
U.S. Dept. of Labor's Employment and Training Administration that provides an
in-depth evaluation of the workforce investment programs on individuals with
disabilities receiving SSI or SSDI.
The purpose of the study was to complete a quantitative evaluation of
the Disability Program Navigator (DPN) Initiative through the use of the One-Stop
Career Center system by SSI and SSDI beneficiaries. WIA and W-P data from four states who were early adopters of
the DPN initiative (including CO, IA, MD and OR) were used in the assessment to
look at the following four issues: -
Extent to which
One-Stop Career Centers are serving persons who are SSA disability
beneficiaries;
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Characteristics
of SSI/SSDI beneficiaries receiving services;
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Nature of the
services received; and
-
How services and
outcomes for beneficiaries compared with SSI/SSDI beneficiaries nationally.
The results of this study negate criticism about the lack of impact of
the generic workforce development system in helping individuals with
disabilities, and provide very timely data for use in the ongoing WIA
reauthorization efforts and in future federal disability employment policy initiatives. For example, the study confirms that
One Stop Career Centers are serving a very large share of persons receiving SSA
disability benefits and the public workforce system is providing important
support for SSA disability beneficiaries who want to work. Some key findings that are particularly
noteworthy include:
The numbers of
SSA disability beneficiaries receiving support through the public workforce
system greatly exceed participation levels of beneficiaries in other programs
including VR. When former SSA
beneficiaries are counted along with current SSA beneficiaries, the number and
% accessing WIA and W-P nearly doubled in each of the four states. Employment
retention rates ranged from 73-80% for three of the four states. Of SSA
beneficiaries who became employed after using One-Stop services, roughly 35-50%
had earnings above the equivalent of the SSA substantial gainful activity (SGA)
level. Additionally, during a
12-month period after exit, 11-24% of SSA cash benefits were reduced to zero
compared to the national average of 6%. While the study
determined that the completion of a rigorous quantitative evaluation of the DPN
initiative was impossible and thus non-conclusive, the research team did state
that "The steady and increasing trend....suggests that the DPN might have
facilitated the collection of disability information, possibly by raising awareness
of disability issues among staff and improving administrative
processes".
A summary of the report can be found here (pdf). |
U.S. DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT PROFILE
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STATISTIC
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WITH DISABILITY
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WITHOUT DISABILITY
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July 2010
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July 2009
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July 2010
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July 2009
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% of population in the labor force
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21.5%
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23.0%
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70.6%
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71.8%
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Unemployment rate
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16.4%
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15.1%
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9.5%
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9.5%
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Employment-population ratio
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18.0%
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19.6%
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63.9%
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65.0%
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As
reported by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table
A-6
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