Independent Living News & Policy from the National Council on Independent Living
With the 2012 election being just days away, the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) wants to encourage everyone to vote on November 6th. We want to provide our members with a few helpful tools for voting, along with some useful information about the candidates.
The NCIL 2012 Election Voter Guide is available in Word or PDF.
Email [email protected] for a plain text version.
Yesterday, the National Disability Rights Network, National Association of the Deaf, National Council on Independent Living, National Federation of the Blind, VetsFirst/United Spinal Association and other disability organizations met with the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Voting Section. Discussions included the Department’s plan and process for ensuring that all voters with any type of disability can cast a private and independent ballot on November 6. The following Press Release outlines DOJ’s Election-Day Plan.
Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Protecting the Right to Vote and Prosecuting Ballot Fraud
In anticipation of the upcoming election, the Justice Department today provided information about its efforts, through the Civil Rights and Criminal Divisions, to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted free of discrimination, intimidation or fraud in the election process. [Read more…]
If you love our work then tell the world! You have an opportunity to help us make even more of a difference in our community. Great Nonprofits, a nonprofit review site, is honoring highly reviewed nonprofits with their 2012 Top-Rated Awards. Won’t you help us raise visibility for our work by posting a review of your experience with us? All reviews will be visible to potential donors and volunteers. It’s easy and only takes a few minutes!
Help NCIL staff, volunteers, and advocates get recognized for the great work that they do! To honor our 30 years of advocacy, go to our profile on Great Nonprofits to leave a review! [Read more…]
The election is coming up in just a few weeks. What can you and your organization do to get voters with disabilities to the polls?
Join the conversation on the next Organizer’s Forum: Getting Out the Disability Vote. What tools can you use to get people with disabilities to vote? What challenges will you face and how can you address them? What can we learn from other movements?
Federal and state funders and private foundations are looking more favorably than ever on organizations with strong community partnerships because they know that a network of organizations can help their dollars reach farther and have a wider impact than one organization alone. You’ve done the hard work to create strong partnerships across aging and disability networks in your community. This training, hosted by ADRC-TAE will tell you how you can build on those partnerships to take advantage of new funding opportunities, expand funding from existing sources, and share resources with partners on grant writing and business development.
When: October 16, 2012; 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT [Read more…]
October is a month to honor multiple causes, including anti-bullying initiatives, Hispanic heritage, and awareness of disability employment, breast cancer, domestic violence, and learning disabilities.
Domestic violence: NCIL members are honoring National Domestic Violence Awareness month with a flurry of activity to educate the nation about how this issue affects people with disabilities.
NCIL’s Violence and Abuse Task Force has been actively involved in federal legislative work to achieve reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Task Force members assisted both House and Senate staff with writing language for the bills that includes increasing funding, as well as information on serving people with disabilities who are survivors of violence. Please continue your phone calls, emails and social media outreach on this issue. We hope to see some movement after the election, when Congress returns. [Read more…]
Helping people with disabilities find jobs and educational opportunities was a major focus of the 2012 National Forum on Disability Issues on Sept. 28 at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus, Ohio, which was sponsored by NCIL.
Neither President Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney attended the forum, but Ted Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) represented the candidates. John McCain appeared four years earlier via satellite at the first forum.
Each speaker discussed disability-related issues for 10-minutes before answering questions from the moderator, former CNN White House Correspondent Frank Sesno. [Read more…]
You can help the National Council on Disability (NCD) bring the new report “Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and their Children” to life by submitting a photograph of your family for the new “Family Faces of Disability” photo album to be shared on NCD’s Facebook page. Photo submissions should capture your family’s day-to-day life as a way to personalize the issues faced by parents with disabilities in the United States.
See the photos submitted so far, along with their descriptions. If you wish to participate, send your photos and descriptions to: [email protected].
Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, Jr., and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) are speaking on behalf of their respective parties at the National Forum on Disability Issues (NFDI) to present their campaign’s positions on matters relating to Americans with disabilities. The event takes place between 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 28, at the Hyatt Regency, Columbus, Ohio.
The non-partisan forum is the only national event that brings together representatives from President Barack Obama’s and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaigns and provides them with a platform to present their candidate’s policy positions on disability issues. Invitations have also been extended to candidates from both parties for the U.S. Senate from Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) and Republican nominee Treasurer Josh Mandel. Rep. Nancy Garland (D-New Albany) has confirmed her participation on behalf of Sen. Brown. [Read more…]
According to a recent study, people with disabilities are an important voting bloc, so why are the candidates not talking about disability issues?
The 2012 National Forum on Disability Issues (NFDI) is now only one and a half weeks away, but the candidates have still not confirmed their participation! We need your help to contact the campaigns. Tell them that people with disabilities and their families matter in this election. Tell them to show they care by coming to Columbus on September 28! [Read more…]
