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Perspectives on Parenting©
by Nancy Lambert Davenport
Nancy Davenport's Column:
For Richardson News 11-05-00
Copyright Nancy Lambert Davenport 2000
"President's actions on disabilities will matter"
We are down to the wire with just a few days left before the election. Day by day the presidential candidates are defining their issues more clearly and their philosophies are becoming more evident.
To me that is good. It not only helps the voters, but I believe it also helps the candidates themselves better understand their own beliefs on the issues.
One issue has not had significant publicity but is dear to the hearts of many people who read this column. That is disabilities. Here is where the two major candidates stand.
George W Bush supports:
- Federal legislation to support options for adults to choose their own support services, vocational programs and rehabilitation services.
- Tripling of funding for assistive technology in business.
- Providing tax incentives for businesses to provide home offices for people with disabilities who desire it.
- Allowing people with disabilities to maintain their health benefits when they return to work, as well as extending Medicare coverage and expanding Medicaid eligibility
- Increased funding for special education, while fulfilling the obligation of funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
- Implementation of an early detection initiative in public schools to get necessary help early for students, thus eliminating some needs for special education services down the line.
- Implementation of the Supreme Court decision for Olmstead v. L.C. of 1999, which requires people with mental disabilities be placed in a community setting whenever possible. He emphasized this strongly.
- The decision of families who care for a loved one with disabilities at home.
Al Gore emphasizes:
- Commitment to the goal of the federal government contributing 40 percent of IDEA funding.
- State managed funding pools for the education of the relatively few children who require high cost services to attend local schools.
- Doubling the administration's budget to $50 million to increase funding for Parent Training and Information Centers.
- Challenging the private sector to increase hiring of people with disabilities through a partnership with businesses and non-profits.
- More funding to people for work through non-profit technology resource centers and businesses to provide the assistive technology that students need.
- Doubling the federal government's hiring of people with disabilities while enacting a $1,000 tax credit for work related expenses.
- Proposing new and expanded state loan programs to make assistive technology more affordable.
- Enforcing ADA, IDEA, and the Fair Housing Act.
- Strengthening hate crime laws to include people with disabilities.
- Supporting the Supreme Court decision, Olmstead v. L.C.
- Proposing funds to ensure individuals have a choice where they live, and services to allow it.
- Proposing that Medicaid reimburse for home and community-based care be at the same level as nursing homes without receiving a federal waiver.
- Increasing funds for Independent Living Centers which provide personal assistance and support to live independently.
If you have not yet decided on your candidate, maybe this will help you. Voters also should consider the general character of the candidates. Consider their records on value-of-life at its various stages, as well as the records of people with whom they have associated through the years.
This may help you to know if they will actually carry out their promises. If you have already voted, then this is certainly a list to watch in the next four years.
Information for this article was mainly from Exceptional Parent, October 2000.
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Nancy Lambert Davenport
EMAIL: nancdave@swbell.net
URL: http://www.nancyldavenport.com