WHAT ONE INDIVIDUAL CAN DO: MORE IDEAS THAT SHOW THE POLITICAL CLOUT OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY CREATE BUTTONS, BUMPER STICKERS, LABELS, HATS, etc. with messages such as "A Voting American With Disabilities" or "These Wheels Roll Into the Ballot Booth" or "My Kid is Disabled and I Vote". Hold a meeting to create snappy slogans, find a way to get them made and hand them out. INCLUDE A VOTING REMINDER on all envelopes, forms, flyers and handouts for information and referral services. Examples: -- "THIS AGENCY CAN HELP YOU REGISTER TO VOTE" -- "ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE?" -- "I CAN HELP YOU REGISTER TO VOTE" -- "VOTE IN THE NEXT ELECTION ON [insert date]" -- "EVERY VOTE COUNTS" HAVE VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS AVAILABLE AT EVERY MEETING, no matter how small it is. Set a goal of registering ONE PERSON A DAY or ONE PERSON AT EVERY MEETING. Don't underestimate the power of incremental action. PUT A REMINDER IN EVERY NEWSLETTER. Include the phone number and/or location of the election office or where to get voter registration forms such as "For questions and concerns about voting and elections call the Secretary of State at [insert the state's 800 number to the chief election office]". Include reminders such as "Don't forget to register to vote by [insert date] in order to be eligible to vote in the November 8, 1996 election." RECRUIT A "LET'S REGISTER EVERYONE TO VOTE" ('LRETV Team') and decide to register a specific number of persons by a certain date. RECRUIT A "GET OUT THE VOTE TEAM" ('GoVote Team') to assist with transportation and other special needs. Remember that candidates for office may be happy to provide vans and other vehicles to pick up voters. WRITE OPINION PIECES OR LETTERS TO EDITORS of local and regional papers about getting out the vote or about the difficulties persons with disabilities encounter and how they master them. Meet with editorial boards on voting problems, or successes, to get better coverage during elections. Photograph & publish inaccessible voting site images. REMIND NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER MEDIA OF THE NUMBER OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES, and the number of their family members and associates, in the community or in the state. Make sure candidates for office know these numbers too. POST A NOTICE ASKING FOR VOLUNTEER CAREGIVERS so parents, especially single parents, of children with disabilities, or parents with disabilities who have children, can get out of the house to vote. Coordinate this service for every election. TAKE VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS EVERYWHERE WITH YOU. Be a pain in the neck to your friends about voter registration until they are all registered. Then harangue them to see if they voted. INVITE THE CHIEF STATE ELECTION OFFICER or the local election official as the next speaker at your monthly support meeting. Ask him or her to talk about 'Motor Voter' implementation or for a report on how far they have advanced with accessibility for persons with disabilities at voting sites. Have registration forms handy. Mail them in the next day. TELL CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE TO INCLUDE PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES in the visual materials they utilize. Offer yourself or you and your child. ADVISE CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE ON THE DISABILITY ASPECT of any issue. In particular, encourage candidates to use words with dignity to promote equality for everyone. Advise them to eliminate words like abnormal, burden, deformed, differently abled, disfigured, incapacitated, imbecile, maimed, moron, palsied, pathetic, pitiful, deaf-mute, crazy/insane, fits, slow, afflicted with, cripple, invalid, spastic, stricken with, suffer from, tragedy, etc. from their speeches and materials. Help them learn preferred terminology such as blind, deaf, profoundly deaf, hearing impaired, visually impaired, hemiplegia, paraplegia, quadriplegia, etc. If necessary offer to conduct a disability etiquette session for campaign or party staff on what 'people first' language is all about. VOLUNTEER AT LOCAL POLLING SITES. Not only will you be able to make sure they are accessible but also may be able to assist voters with disabilities and to check out the number of 'handicapped' parking spaces available. HOLD A CANDIDATES' FORUM. Discuss their positions and knowledge of disability-related information afterwards. Register voters. Mail them in the next day. SURVEY CANDIDATES FOR OFFICE ON ADA [P.L. 101-336, the Americans with Disabilities Act]. Ask them "If the Americans With Disabilities Act were proposed as legislation today, how would you vote?" Ask them "Do they support the right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) for children with disabilities under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)?". Publicize the results of this 'snapshot survey', even vague and non-committal answers tell volumes about a candidate's knowledge of disability. Educate candidates on the Act's importance where it is clear there is lack of knowledge. SURVEY MEDICAID AND VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SUPPLIERS AND CONTRACTEES, such as durable medical equipment sellers and state contracted providers of rehabilitation services. Questions could include "Do you know if your sales or program staff are influenced by disability issues in their state, Congressional or Presidential voting?" ASK THE GOVERNOR TO PROCLAIM A DISABLED AND ABLE TO VOTE DAY to launch a statewide campaign to increase voter registration and to mobilize persons with disabilities to exercise their fundamental constitutional rights and responsibilities. Include elderly advocacy organizations if appropriate. RAISE DISABILITY FUNDS FOR A CANDIDATE. Hold a fundraiser for a candidate that is especially sensitive to disability issues. Check with local, state and federal election offices about the rules for holding such events as this is a PARTISAN activity. FORM A STATE LEVEL COALITION that includes persons from Vocational Rehabilitation, the Social Security Administration, the Special Education office, the Medicaid and Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities and other disability specific bureaucracies. The mission would be to assess what needs to be done to ensure Motor Voter implementation and to find ways to achieve the goals. Either meet in person or hold a teleconference. Follow up with letters to hold officials to their word. EXPAND YOUR SOCIAL LIFE. Get active in a political campaign. Get active in a political party. Assist with fundraising for a candidate. RUN FOR OFFICE or as a party delegate (call their offices). Find out how to run for local office, raise some change, hire persons with disabilities to manage your own campaign, or do it yourself. If you lose, run again. "It is generally recognized that a mere block of 20,000 votes can greatly affect the outcome of most races" ©1996 United Cerebral Palsy ---------- DISABILITY LITMUS TEST Questions to ask candidates for Congressional offices (U.S. Senators and Representatives) in any upcoming elections BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS Domestic spending across the board has been significantly challenged in this Congress. 1. What will you do to guarantee that disability-related programs do not suffer additional losses during the spending debates of the 104th Congress? EDUCATION The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires educational placement decisions for students with disabilities begin first with a general education classroom. However, most students with significant disabilities continue to be separated from their peers without disabilities. The media pays much attention to airing the concerns of those who do not believe that children with severe disabilities can be included, with necessary supports, in regular education classrooms. 2. Do you believe children with all kinds of disabilities belong in the regular classroom with their peers? How would you respond to these concerns? How would you promote expansion of opportunities for students with disabilities? Strong and unrelenting criticism of students with disabilities continues. They are said to be perpetrators of violence or the cause of other difficulties in schools. These charges are unfounded, but provide fodder for weakening protections for students with disabilities and their families. 3. What will you do to preserve the rights of students with disabilities? EMPLOYMENT Contributing to society as a worker is central to the American dream. 4. Do you believe that people with severe disabilities can work in competitive jobs? 5. Have you ever hired an employee with a significant disability? 6. What will you do as a member of Congress to actively seek qualified staff with disabilities? The Targeted Jobs Tax Credit provides a tax credit to employers who hire individuals with disabilities and other designated groups of people and is an important tool for employment for workers with disabilities. The authorization on the credit expired on December 31, 1994 and is ensnared in debates over the tax provisions in reconciling the budget. 7. Will you promote permanent extension of this important tax credit early in 1997? Numerous existing employment programs are being consolidated into one employment system as a block grant to the states. People with disabilities experience an overall 67 percent unemployment rate and are the largest unemployed group in the nation. 8. What will you do to ensure people with disabilities are included in employment and jobs programs developed in this state? 9. Will you support safeguards in federal legislation to ensure people with disabilities effective and equal access to such programs as they are implemented? CIVIL RIGHTS A strong backlash against disability rights continues with unfounded attacks on disability rights laws. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been misrepresented as including impossible requirements on businesses and other entities in the communities, despite carefully written protections against the levy of "undue hardships" that are found in both the law and the regulations. 10. What will you do to ensure your own understanding of the law, and to protect 49 million Americans with disabilities from the isolation and discrimination they experienced prior to ADA? Too often people with disabilities are an afterthought in development of laws and regulations. 11. Will you make a commitment to see through a "disability lens" in all public policy areas? Will you actively promote inclusion of amendments in legislation or regulatory changes to ensure that programs and services are accessible to and useable by people with disabilities? HEALTH CARE/LONG TERM SERVICES Medicaid, or publicly funded health care, is often the only available health care for American children and adults with disabilities who often have been denied coverage by the private sector. 12. Will you support a federal requirement in Medicaid for persons with disabilities as states are given more flexibility by Washington? 13. Do you support long term care that does not require people to impoverish themselves to be eligible, which is the case under current Medicaid rules? Private health insurance and managed health care systems often are not responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities and their families. 14. Do you support removal of pre-existing condition clauses from insurance policies so that persons with disabilities have the same freedom to change jobs as others do? 15. Do you support removal of lifetime caps in health care policies? 16. Do you support limits on out-of-pocket expenses? 17. Do you support public accountability for managed health care providers and others? 18. Do you support expansion and development of home and community based long term services, including personal assistance services? 19. Do you support a long term care program for all ages, all disabilities, and all incomes? HOUSING The Fair Housing Amendments Act (FHAA) included people with disabilities as a protected class. 20. Do you support vigorous enforcement of the FHAA to help ensure that people with disabilities have access to all housing options in the community just like those without disabilities? According to the U.S. Office of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), people with disabilities and families with children have the worst case housing needs. 21. Do you support additional funding for housing for people with disabilities in their communities? Many people still only think of people with disabilities as living in group homes or larger type congregate facilities. However, people with disabilities, just like everyone else, want to be able to have real choice in where they live. 22. How would you support increasing home ownership for persons with disabilities at the local level? TELECOMMUNICATIONS The recently enacted Telecommunications Act of 1996 swept away many of the regulatory barriers for communications industry stakeholders. The law included little-publicized provisions that require all telecommunications equipment makers and service providers to make their equipment and services accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities so that they do not have to pay for expensive specialized and add-on equipment? 23. Will you support the Federal Communications Commission's efforts to enforce these provisions? The new Telecommunications law also includes provisions about redefining what universal service. 24. Will you support efforts at state public utility commissions to address the needs of persons with hearing, speech and vision disabilities as the definition of universal service changes? TRANSPORTATION The federal commitment to mass transit has greatly diminished. Public transportation systems and associated paratransit networks for persons with disabilities are often the only means of getting to a job interview or to the job itself for persons with disabilities. 25. What will you do to ensure that the gains made to ensure access to transportation for people with disabilities through the ADA and other legislation are not diminished by state and local fiscal constraints and the outcry against so-called "unfunded mandates?" UNFUNDED MANDATES Programs and laws of importance to individuals with disabilities have been attacked as "unfunded mandates" imposed by Washington on states and local governments. This 'unfunded mandates' debate focuses exclusively on cost with no consideration given to the social benefits of a federally funded program, or its effectiveness in educating or bringing people with disabilities into the workforce. 26. What will you do to ensure better understanding of many of these programs as either voluntary in nature, i.e. compliance with federal law is required only if the state takes federal money earmarked for the specific program being regulated or are issues of constitutional rights? A recent draft report by a federal Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations makes a sneak attack on the disability community. They recommend taking away a child's right to sue under IDEA, taking away an adult's right to sue under ADA and that state and local government workers can't take Family Medical Leave. The ACIR lists these three laws as unfunded mandates. 27. Do you support the report by this Commission? 28. How will you do to seek a balance between the concerns of state, local and tribal governments and the needs of people with disabilities and their families in the unfunded mandate debate? ©United Cerebral Palsy 2/96 ---------- YOUR LETTERS COUNT Your letter is a permanent record of your position. In a letter writing campaign, ten, twenty or fifty letters can be perceived as a groundswell of support. Timing is important -- your organization will alert you. If you write too soon, you may not capture the attention of the legislator, and if you write too late, the decision may have already been made. Most legislators are conscientious about their mail and consider the views of their constituents when they deliberate an issue. How to write: Write your own letter. Use you own words to express your thoughts. Do not use post cards. Use personal stationery or business letterhead if possible. Typed letters are easier to read, but handwritten letters are acceptable if they are legible. Use computers to generate the same personal letter to more than one policymaker. State your reason for writing. Explain how the issue affects you and those around you. Remember the personal anecdote! Include a personal/family photo. Use the Bill number, author and title, if you are writing about legislation. Clearly state what action you are seeking -- support, oppose, authorize funding, etc. Refer to research, data, statistics, etc. Give your legislator good reasons to support your position. Be reasonable, specific and positive. Don't engage in threats or ask the impossible. Ask your legislator to state his/her position on the issue in a written reply. Thank your legislator for the time and attention, for the support, for the vote. Put your return address in your letter. Envelopes can be thrown away. Send copies of your letter and any responses your receive to your organization so that they can maintain a file of all correspondence. Write again. When you establish a record of correspondence you will develop clout on future issues. When time is short send your letter by FAX. 1995 Governmental Activities Department, United Cerebral Palsy ---------- FIVE EASY ACTION STEPS FOR A VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE Any individual, organization or affiliate advocacy committee can embark upon a non-partisan voter registration drive for the disability community and others. 1. Appoint a Coordinator: Appoint one person to oversee and coordinate voter registration activities. This person should ensure that the agency has an adequate supply of the state's mail-in voter registration forms at all times. Forms can be obtained from the local elections office. The same person or another should make sure all forms and notices in the agency are amended to state voter registration is now an activity conducted at the agency. 2. Amend Forms & Procedures Agency forms and procedures should be amended to include the question: "If you are not registered to vote where you now live, would you like to register here today?" If it is not possible to redesign intake forms, rubber stamps with this question are available for $5. Contact HumanSERVE, Tel: (212) 854-4053 or FAX your request (212) 854-8727 or write and send a check to them at HumanSERVE, 622 West 113th Street, Suite 410, New York, NY 10025. 3. Help Families & Persons With Disabilities Offer to help a person with a disability or family member with completing the voter registration form. This may include typing or writing the information clearly for a person with cerebral palsy whose handwriting is unclear. It may include clarifying what the questions mean. It may mean filling out the form for a person who is unable to write. It may mean checking to be sure the application is filled out properly. It could mean assisting with getting a birth or citizenship record. 4. Mail In The Registration Form You should offer to mail it to the appropriate elections office. Get the address in advance. Maintain a record of how many people register to vote through your agency so you can let elected officials know who are their voting constituents. 5. Be Knowledgeable Obtain answers to commonly asked questions from your local or state elections office. For example, people will ask: "How will I know if I am registered?" or "Where do I go to vote?" or "How do I get an absentee ballot?" or "Do I need an ID card when I vote?" or "Can I register to vote at age 17 if I will be 18 on election day?" or "How do I register if I am homeless or don't have a permanent address?" or "How do I know or prove if I am a U.S. citizen?" or "If I register, am I permanently registered?" or "Do I have to choose a political party when I register?" or "If I vote in a party's primary election do I have to vote for that party in the general election?" or "How do I switch parties?" VOTE EARLY! VOTE IN EVERY LOCAL, STATE, CONGRESSIONAL AND PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY! SHOW THE POWER OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY! United Cerebral Palsy, 1660 L Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036 Tels: (800) USA-5UCP or (202) 776-0406 Fax: (202) 776-0414 ---------- TEN STEPS TO GET YOUR MESSAGE TO MEDIA 1. Don't Wait until you have an issue. 2. Right now CALL your local paper, radio and television stations and find out who is the right person to cover issues around disability rights, access, education, etc. Is it the news assignment person at the TV stations or a specific reporter or editor working a specific beat - i.e.: lifestyle, business, education, etc.? 3. Then Start to educate your contacts in the media - Send them brochures on your organization, fact sheets on your issues, Action Alerts, etc. that impact your lives, your community. 4. Put numbers and statistics - (How many people affected/participating /etc.) dollars (costs, investments, returns, losses) together for media. Data creates news and your message has more credibility when you can show the quantitative news value. 5. Have good spokespersons available on issues- people who know issues and data. Make sure you have recommended resources and spokes people available for media to gather data from or interview. 6. Be persistent and consistent in getting information, news releases, etc. to these media contacts you develop. Even if it seems that they don't initially use your information, they start to build a file and get to know who they can count on as a regular resource on these issues. 7. Hold media accountable for stories that don't have your side objectively reported or when facts, language, representation are incorrect, biased and perpetuating myths and stereotypes. 8. Write your paper and TV station editors, reporters, news directors and advertisers to complain when things are wrong or biased. It is as important to give kudos when things are well done. For the most part, the media wants to "get it right" and will listen to your letters and calls. 9. Be proactive in writing letters to the editor and op-ed pieces. Space is there and they get printed. 10. Follow up, follow up, follow up, follow up with media on all these steps by phone, letter or in person. ©United Cerebral Palsy ---------- GUIDELINES FOR MEETINGS WITH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS One of the most effective ways to influence the decisions of a legislator is in face-to-face visits. Frequent contacts are necessary to associate your face and name with your cause. Whether you will meet one-on-one or with a group, plan the meeting and develop an agenda to cover all the points you wish to make. Pick just one or two issues to discuss. If it will be a first time meeting, select an issue about which he/she may be sympathetic --or at least open-minded. Here are some simple steps to follow: Make an appointment: If you drop by without an appointment, you may wait, or you may force him/her to postpone something else, thereby creating negative feelings before you begin. BE ON TIME. Always introduce yourself, even at a second or third meeting. Don't put the legislator or their staff member in the awkward position of having to grope for your name. Get down to business quickly. Begin on a positive note. State the Bill number, title and author, or state the issue, your position, and what you want him/her to do. Thank him/her for previous support. Legislators like to know that you know of their record. If you don't know the record, thank him for taking the time to meet with you. Be specific, be clear and be simple. Provide information about how this issue impacts his/her constituency and people throughout the state. Use fact sheets, charts, statistics, etc. Use personal stories or anecdotes. Remember, your job is to persuade ... and a personal story will leave an image that the legislator will remember when he/she votes on the issue. Ask what you can do. Ask if you can provide further information, arrange a tour of local services, or contact others. Leave brief written materials. Your legislator will file the materials and refer to them when questions come up later and/or when he/she votes on the issue. Thank him/her again. Send a written thank you, recapping the meeting, as soon as you return home. Even if you have a firm appointment, the demands on a legislator's time are unbelievable, and a last minute change in schedule may be unavoidable. If that happens, you will be referred to an aide. Treat the person with the same respect and courtesy you would extend to the Congressperson, as he or she is in a position to advance your cause. ©1995 United Cerebral Palsy ---------- KEY TO SUCCESSFUL MEETING PLANNING The purpose of a meeting with your Senator or Representative (or their staff) is to persuade him/her to support your issue, bill, cause, etc. Since the opportunity is an infrequent occurrence you will want to make every minute count. The following planning steps have been proven useful. Once you have decided who will attend the meeting with you, include them in a planning session to structure the agenda you will follow during the meeting. ATTITUDE: Think of you Member of Congress as an honest, intelligent person wanting to do the right thing. Try to understand that he or she has to make decisions about thousands of issues during a legislative session and has limited time to spend on any one issue. Consider yourself an information source about your critical issues. Try to "package" the information in a way that will be remembered; usually an anecdote about one individual will be more powerful than a page of faceless statistics. ISSUES: The Legislative Priorities and WFW articles provide background information. You will receive fact sheets on each of these issues. Decide how you will briefly introduce each of the issues during the meeting. WHO WILL SAY WHAT: Since there will be more than one or two representatives from your coalition, decide in advance who will say what. Consider one person being the lead spokesperson to keep the discussion moving. If you plan an article for you local newspaper or affiliate newsletter try to get a quote from your Senator or Representative. FACTS: You will not be able to include all your information. Decide in advance which facts/data/statistics you will use to make your points. Always tell at least one personal anecdote. QUESTIONS: Anticipate questions from the Member of Congress, or the staff member and have the answers ready. If you don't know the answer to any question, say "I don't know that answer, but I'm sure I can get the information for you." Follow-up later with the promised information. OPPOSITION: Recognize that there are at least two sides to every issue and be open and candid about what "the loyal opposition" might have said. State your views and the reasons for you position. WRITTEN MATERIAL: Decide what written material to leave with the staff person. Information about your coalition, newspaper clippings about individuals needing services, etc. could be added to your information sheets. ©1995 United Cerebral Palsy ---------- ONLINE ADVOCACY STRATEGIES: A BAKER'S DOZEN By Kathleen Gradel and Sharon Meek, 1996 Remember that online advocacy can include (but not necessarily be limited to): * Developing relationships; * Expanding your network to others who are facing common issues, who using similar or different advocacy strategies, who have tried something that you are considering doing, or who just want to share; * Getting and giving information; * Making person-to-person contact and publicly posting of messages and documents; * Leveraging multiple voices to be heard on an issue; and * Comparing notes, and learning about, services, perceptions, and options. NOTE: This listing is just the beginning of potential online advocacy strategies...add to this list, based on your own experience. 1. Get online on a service of your choice--commercial, freenet, local or state BBS. Get comfortable with the technical requirements, and your BBS' services. 2. DON'T think that any technical, resource, or access question is "stupid." DO use online helps, contact with Systems Operators, and other types of assistance to be efficient and effective online. Check out online "etiquette," and build it into your repertoire. Find local supports for technical assistance, set-up, and problem-solving. 3. Introduce yourself when you get online...let others know you, your personal experience with disability, your interests and priorities, and your information and networking needs. Convey your identity online. 4. Check out other people's suggestions and starting points as a first step to exploring online. 5. Use LISTSERVS and newsgroups as ways to (a) get information; (b) generate problem-solutions and strategies right before your eyes; (c) get different solutions to your challenges; (d) keep tabs on issues that other people are experiencing and raising; and (e) get familiar with the audience and major topics. 6. Build your own online address book of individuals, family members, organizations, and other "movers and shakers." 7. Use online e-mailboxes and public messaging to reach local, state, and national "movers and shakers" (e.g., legislators). 8. When online, (a) take notes; and (b) save disk copies of reference materials, contacts, and other information. 9. Forward key messages, documents, and other information onto key people. 10. As you get comfortable online, assess what your additional or different online needs are. Plan your next steps accordingly, to stick with one BBS or move to others. 11. Use different networks and boards for different information needs, access to different audiences, and to meet your personal preferences. 12. Connect other members of your family and friends, and fellow advocates to online resources. 13. Access learning and teaching opportunities (e.g., through online courses). ATFSCP - 1996 The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and no official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of the opinions expressed herein should be inferred