This week our nation celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disability advocates, employers, state and local officials, and policymakers are reflecting on how they have worked together and joined forces during the last two decades to make major changes in housing, in transportation, and in health and social service.
In an online video entitled, “We Came Together: Wisconsin Reflects on the ADA’s 20th Anniversary,” one Wisconsin disability rights advocate, Dick Pomo, observes that “disability today is simply a fact of life – not a way of life.” This statement is testament to the hard work of millions of Americans who have come together over the last several decades, and who have journeyed to state capitals and Washington, D.C. to deliver the message that they wanted to participate fully in society. Simply put, they did not take “no” for an answer.
There are many other concrete, visible gains: kneeling buses, sidewalks and driveways with curb cuts, crosswalks with traffic lights that make audible noises to signal when it is safe to walk, and elevators and ramps that have been artfully worked into the structure of new buildings and even many historic ones. For all this and much more, I salute the tirelessness and tenacity of disability advocates across the country who have joined forces to make American society far more open and accessible to all.
As chairman of the Special Committee on Aging, I know that many of these changes will also be of enormous benefit to our now-rapidly aging society. Equally important are a series of changes that are transforming the way health and social services are delivered to those with lifelong disabilities, as well as to older Americans whose disabilities are age-related.
One such key program, known as “Money Follows the Person,” is a Medicaid demonstration initiative in which Wisconsin has participated since 2003. This program allows states to transition beneficiaries in nursing homes to community-based living situations if they wish to do so.
Another program that has been central to Wisconsin’s growing success in making long-term services both more available and more focused on each person’s individual needs is its Aging and Disability Resource Center initiative. State officials started ADRCs in 1998 in eight of the state’s 72 counties, and they have been gradually spreading and opening in new counties ever since. The goal is to have a statewide network of ADRCs in place by 2012, operated either by county government or nonprofit organizations.
At the ADA’s 20-year mark, it is clear that while we have accomplished a great deal, much change still lies ahead. I will continue to monitor implementation of health care reform initiatives that are designed to improve the quality of life for older adults, and will examine and explore new “best practices” and other efforts that can create better services, housing, and employment opportunities for the millions of Americans with disabilities.
Sincerely,
