This Tuesday, it was announced that the President intends to nominate Julie Hocker to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor (Disability Employment Policy). Hocker currently serves as both the Commissioner of the Administration on Disabilities (AOD) and the Director of the Independent Living Administration (ILA) at the Administration for Community Living (ACL).
Hocker became the Director of the ILA this past summer with ACL’s reorganization. NCIL previously expressed concern with the reorganization. We were very concerned because ILA needs a full-time Director; not someone splitting their time with another role. Further, the Rehabilitation Act requires that the Director of the ILA must be an individual with “substantial knowledge of independent living services”.
We sincerely hope ACL will take this opportunity to once again separate these two positions, and that the HHS Secretary will appoint someone with a strong background in Independent Living to serve as the Director of the ILA.
