1. During his time as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, Mr. Perez has shown exceptional leadership enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision.

These efforts have given thousands of people with disabilities better opportunity to live in their own homes and communities, and to contribute as full members of society. Olmstead enforcement has resulted in a much-needed acceleration of efforts in a number of states to expand access to cost-effective community-based services and supports under the Medicaid program.

2. The next Secretary of Labor is an appointment that is critically important to the Independent Living and disability communities.

As the nation continues to recover from the economic downturn, strong leadership at the Department of Labor is critical to people with disabilities, who have experienced disproportionate unemployment rates historically and who have been hit especially hard by the recession.

3. Tom Perez has demonstrated his commitment to Independent Living and the disability community by delivering the keynote address at the 2010 Annual Conference on Independent Living. In 2011, NCIL presented him with the President’s Award for his work in the field of civil rights.  [Read more…]

Update: this hearing has been rescheduled for May 16, 2013; 9:15 a.m.

Tomorrow, May 8, 2013, a mark-up hearing will take place on the confirmation of Tom Perez to be the next Secretary of Labor. NCIL has been very supportive of Mr. Perez’s nomination, and would like to see another significant turnout from the disability community at this hearing. We are encouraging any advocate who can attend to be there in person.

If you cannot be there, we strongly encourage you to contact Senators on the HELP Committee and let them know that you support his confirmation. Tom Perez is a champion of civil rights and a dear friend of the disability community. His confirmation stands for progress, and we cannot leave this vote to chance.

• When: Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 4:00 PM Eastern
• Where: 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building

If you have any questions, please contact NCIL Policy Analyst Austin Walker at [email protected].

Join the LEAD Center on Wednesday to discover opportunities for individuals with disabilities to increase income through the use of Social Security (SSDI and SSI) work incentives, including work incentives that support savings above the $2,000 SSI asset limit. This webinar will offer an overview of the two Social Security disability benefit programs while exploring the different work incentive options available that encourage savings and economic advancement for people with disabilities.

• Register for this webinar
• When: Wednesday, April 24, 2013; 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.  Eastern Time
• Target Audience: Workforce professionals, individuals with disabilities and related stakeholders

*Please note: This webinar will be captioned and a link to download the presentation will be sent to registrants prior to the webinar. To request any other reasonable accommodations, please contact Brittany Taylor at [email protected] within 48 hours of the webinar.

Strengthening the capacity of the workforce investment system to maximize services to jobseekers with disabilities while promoting self-advocacy for people with disabilities to better use the American Job Center Network is a core goal of the LEAD Center. The LEAD Center’s partnership with the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is central to achieving this goal.

The LEAD Center has entered into Memordanda of Understanding (MOUs) with five Centers for Independent Living (CILs) located in urban and rural settings across the country to implement the innovative CIL Demonstration to expand employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities through linkages with the public workforce system represented by American Job Centers (AJCs). The selected CILs include:

• Disability Rights and Resources, Birmingham, AL
• Paraquad, St. Louis, MO
• IndependenceFirst, Milwaukee, WI
• Montana Independent Living Project (MILP), Helena, MT
• Community Resources for Independent Living (CRIL), Hayward, CA [Read more…]

Are you a person with a disability looking for a career opportunity or internship? This Virtual Career Fair is free for students and alumni with disabilities to attend. Participants will interact with employers via chat sessions.

Virtual Career Fair Date: February 27, 2013  [Read more…]

Learn about the goals and planned activities of the brand-new National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD) in this inaugural webinar. Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) and led by National Disability Institute, the LEAD Center is a collaborative of disability, workforce and economic empowerment organizations dedicated to a common goal – improving employment and economic advancement opportunities for people with disabilities and supporting their full inclusion in integrated community employment.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013; 3:00pm – 4:30pm

With direct leadership from the disability community and other key stakeholders, the LEAD Center will identify and share best practices and policy solutions designed to improve the lives and low workforce participation rates of individuals with disabilities. The LEAD Center will also provide training and technical assistance to the myriad of systems in both the public and private sectors to create sustainable systems change to fully integrate people with disabilities into the workforce.  [Read more…]

NCIL is proud to be a partner in the new LEAD Center, a collaborative of disability, workforce and economic empowerment organizations led by National Disability Institute with funding from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office on Disability Employment Policy dedicated to advancing sustainable individual and systems level change to improve competitive, integrated employment and economic self-sufficiency for adults across the spectrum of disabilities.

Known formally as the National Center on Leadership for the Employment and Economic Advancement of People with Disabilities (LEAD), the LEAD Center, which began operations in October 2012, will share best practices and policy solutions that can improve the lives and low workforce participation rates of people with disabilities. Learn more about the LEAD Center, its goals, projects and partners in its first e-newsletter, featuring a welcome from Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy Kathleen Martinez. We look forward to keeping you updated with NCIL’s work with the LEAD Center.

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is releasing this statement to strongly condemn The Washington Times for printing an editorial on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 entitled “Holder’s ‘severe mental deficiency’”. NCIL not only condemns The Washington Times for printing the extreme and hateful rant of an obvious bigot, but also demands an apology to their readers in addition to the over 56 million people with disabilities across the United States. This editorial is more than offensive to Americans with disabilities, it is a shame and a disgrace that a news organization in 2012 would see it fit to publish such uninformed hatemongering.  [Read more…]

Advocates, you are making a difference, but there is still much work left to do!

We have new evidence that your efforts are working, and reason to fight harder than ever to prevent the national shutdown of WIPA and PABSS. The new Senate Appropriations Labor HHS Bill has report language that strongly encourages the Commissioner of Social Security to continue these programs, and to use his authority to extend WIPA and PABSS grants as soon as possible for up to 1 year. Here is a direct excerpt from the Committee Report:

“Work Incentives Planning and Assistance [WIPA] and Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security [PABSS].—The WIPA and PABSS programs provide valuable services to disabled beneficiaries, particularly in helping them return to work. However, because of a delay in the reauthorization process, WIPA grantees have been told they will have to shut down at the end of June 2012 and PABSS grantees at the end of September 2012. The Committee strongly encourages SSA to use fiscal year 2012 funds, and the broad authority provided in annual appropriations language, to continue these programs. Specifically, the Committee encourages SSA to extend current WIPA and PABSS grants as soon as possible for a short period of time, up to 1 year, to prevent any disruption in services. If there are subsequent changes to the programs, through reauthorization or otherwise, this would give the Agency ample time to run a new competition and make new awards without unnecessarily creating a gap in services. In addition, the Committee recommendation for fiscal year 2013 includes $23,000,000 for WIPA and $7,000,000 for PABSS.”  [Read more…]

Request that President Obama, Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue, and key members of Congress lead now to support American workers with disabilities!

Take Action Today: All the tools you need, including email contact information, bulleted talking points, and a sample letter are all supplied below.

Crisis Statement: Many Social Security Disability Beneficiaries want jobs now. The current do-nothing Congress and Social Security’s top leadership are failing Social Security disability beneficiaries who work or want to work.  [Read more…]