Dennis Fitzgibbons
The Americans with Disabilities Act celebrated its 20th anniversary on July 26, 2010, and there is much to celebrate. In the 20 years since the ADA was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush, we have witnessed a transformation in how people living with disabilities have been welcomed into society.
We have seen new and old buildings designed, constructed and renovated to accommodate individuals living with physical disabilities, more availability of communication access with sign language interpreters and CART services, and increased access to technology such as computers, cell phones and the internet, to name but a few.
Certainly there is more work to do. Employment for people living with disabilities remains only a dream for most. Likewise, the institutionalization of far too many people living with disabilities continues unnecessarily. Perhaps the biggest achievement of the ADA was the Supreme Court’s Olmstead Decision, in which the Court upheld the rights of people living with disabilities to live in the community rather than an institutional setting if the necessary support services could be delivered as effectively in the community. What could be more basic a right than to be able to decide where you will live and with whom?
As a result, there is an ever-growing array of home and community-based services developing around the nation to offer home based personal assistance services to people living with disabilities.
A stable workforce that is ready and willing to provide these individuals with direct care is required to ensure that people are able to remain active in their communities. As such, we must work to ensure that the direct care workforce is valued and respected by offering a livable wage, training, and benefits to these men and women. This way, people living with disabilities will be able to live in the community of their choice and be able to pursue their dreams like all Americans. The right of people living with disabilities to remain independent in their chosen community is entwined with the rights of workers to fair pay and benefits. These are two constituencies that were made for each other.
That is why Alpha One supports The Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act and I urge you to do the same.
Well said Dennis.