County
of Santa Cruz
The Commission on Disabilities is an advisory body to the Board of Supervisors on issues concerning persons with disabilities. The Commission was established to (a) Review existing County policies that affect persons with disabilities and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding proposed changes; (b) Review Sections 503 and 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its implementing regulations and advise the Board of Supervisors on any actions necessary to bring the county into compliance with the federal requirements and to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities; (c) Review the provision of access for persons with disabilities to public places within the County and recommend improvements where needed; (d) Review the County’s Affirmative Action Plan and policies and recommend to the Board of Supervisors and Affirmative Action Commission any revisions which may be necessary to eliminate employment discrimination against persons with disabilities; (e) Review the County’s Personnel rules and job descriptions and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors and to the Civil Service Commission, as necessary, to assure that any unnecessary barriers to employment opportunities for persons with disabilities are removed; (f) Advise the Board of Supervisors on any other appropriate programs and actions which would increase employment opportunities for persons with disabilities; (g) Evaluate services provided to persons with disabilities in the County and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors based on their conclusions; (h) Review requests by persons with disabilities or organizations for County assistance and advise the Board of Supervisors; (I) Investigate citizen complaints related to concerns of persons with disabilities and make appropriate recommendations for action to the Board of Supervisors; (j) Review Federal and State Legislation of interest to persons with disabilities and advise the Board of Supervisors of their recommendations; and (k) Exercise other responsisbilities related to the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities in the County.
The
Commission meets the second Friday of each month from 12:00 noon to 2:00 P.M.
at 1400 Emeline Street, Building K, Room 206. The mailing address is 701 Ocean
Street, Room 30, Santa Cruz, CA 95060.
The
Commission on Disabilities is comprised of ten members representing five
districts. The Board of Supervisors appoints two Commissioners for each
district. The Chair and/ or Vice-Chair who are elected every January
facilitates commission meetings. This year the Chair was John Daugherty (2nd
District) and the Vice-Chair was Cynthia Adams (5th District) and
James Lewis (2nd District).
The
Commission members, as of December 31, 2000 are:
|
District |
Commissioners |
|
1st
District |
Robert
McGaw, Robert Freiler |
|
2nd
District |
James
Lewis, vacant |
|
3rd
District |
Rebecca
Northcutt, Victor Everlove |
|
4th
District |
Pat
Spence, vacant |
|
5th
District |
Tom
Ferr, Peter McLean |
The
following Commissioners either completed their terms, resigned, or were
replaced in the last year: Pat Green, Cynthia Adams, and John Daugherty.
The
Commission is supported by a twenty hour per week staff person – the Commission
Coordinator. The Coordinator takes minutes, prepares correspondence, and
represents the Commission in some of the Commission activities. Andrea Smith
served as the Commission Coordinator for the year 2000.
V.
Attendance
|
Name |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
Robert
Freiler |
A |
X |
X |
X |
A |
X |
|
X |
X |
A |
X |
A |
|
Robert
McGaw |
A |
A |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
John
Daugherty |
X |
X |
X |
X |
A |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
- |
- |
|
James
Lewis |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Rebecca
Northcutt |
A |
A |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Victor
Everlove |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
A |
|
Pat
Green |
A |
A |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Tom
Ferr |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
A |
X |
X |
A |
|
Cynthia
Adams |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
- |
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Patricia
Spence |
- |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
X |
X |
X |
A |
X |
|
Peter
McLean |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
- |
X |
X |
X |
X= present A=
excused absence dash (-) =not
on commission
The goals of the
Commission are set annually and are developed utilizing the Commission mandate,
emerging needs as expressed by the community and identified by Commissioners, and the following philosophy:
Disability is a
natural part of the human experience. At some point in our lives all of us will
experience some sort of disability or condition that limits our independence.
For this reason - accessibility issues are society's issues. The responsibility
lies upon all of us to insure equal access for everyone to participate fully in
all aspects of life.
In 2000 the Commission’s efforts were concentrated
on the following goals and activities:
1.
Develop and implement a plan to solve the County- wide problem of
non-conforming accessibility at facilities serving the public.
Throughout the year the Commission received and
reviewed more concerns than we could ever respond to from the public regarding
access issues within the County. The following are some of the accomplishments
that lend toward a more accessible Santa Cruz:
·
The
Commission developed a template Access Courtesy Letter to send to businesses
that may not be in compliance with Federal, State, and local regulations
regarding access. The template was designed to streamline the process of
notifying businesses when we receive complaints from the public or
Commissioners.
·
The
Commission recommended the prohibition of rolled curbs in Santa Cruz County.
Although they may be aesthetically pleasing, they fail to define the path of
travel thereby causing problems for persons with disabilities. Without the
defining edge automobiles tend to park on the sidewalks and persons with sight
impairments may not be able to distinguish where the sidewalk and the street
separate. The Division of the State Architect has also deemed rolled curbs as
unacceptable.
·
The Commission has been working with the Director
of General Services and the ADA Officer regarding access problems with the County
courthouse jury staging area. We are working together to correcting access
barriers to the bathroom and other services.
The Commission conducted
a survey of 70 parking lots in the unincorporated areas of the County for
compliance with the ADA and Title 24 Regulations. Our survey revealed
that 67 or 96% of the parking lots were out of compliance (see chart attached to report)
In an effort to address this widespread problem,
the Commission recommended that a permit be required for all parking lot alterations
to regulate accessibility. Business owners and contractors are often unaware of
the required access regulation upgrades and only perform the resurfacing
upgrade. This
results in many parking lots remaining out of compliance and leaving some
persons with disabilities at best, inconvenienced, and at worst, unable to
independently patronize the facilities supported by the parking lot.
2.
Review employment issues for persons with disabilities including
County-hiring procedures.
The Commission formed a subcommittee
on County Hiring Procedures to review County hiring methods. The subcommittee
met with County and community representatives to develop recommendations to
promote employment for persons with disabilities and help meet the County’s
goal of 4.4%. The Commission is currently working with Personnel on the
recommendations and will produce a final report in the first part of 2001. One
of the recommendations includes the formation of a standing committee comprised
of representatives from County Personnel, the Commission, organizations that
provide employment services to persons with disabilities, and persons with
disabilities employed at the County. The Committee will be charged with
reviewing methods to promote employment of persons with disabilities from
outreach and hiring to retention.
In support of promoting
employment for persons with disabilities, the Commission also participated in
the following:
·
The
Commission tended a table at the County’s Access Job Fair at the Coconut Grove.
The event was well attended and provided opportunity to network with other
services offering support to persons with disabilities trying to get into the
job market.
·
Working
with the ADA Officer, the Commission coordinator designed an employment
outreach brochure for persons with disabilities. The brochure is designed to
demystify the process of securing employment in public service – outlining the
process and providing tips for success. The brochure will be distributed to
organizations providing employment services to persons with disabilities in the
County. Some of those organizations include: Regional Occupation Program,
Workability II, Shoreline Occupational Services, Community Options and Cabrillo
College Disabled Students Services.
3.
Plan a celebration for the Americans with Disabilities Tenth
Anniversary.
July 26, 2000 marked the tenth anniversary of the signing of the
Americans with Disabilities Act. In recognition of this event the Commission
distributed a press packet that featured quotes from local activists and advocates
commenting on how the ADA has impacted their lives. Coverage spanned from
television and radio to the print media.
The Commission also sponsored an ADA Anniversary
Collaborative Display on the Community Wall at the County building. Including
the Commission on Disabilities, thirteen organizations submitted boards for the
display. Organizations participating included Project Scout, Elderday, the County’s Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, Mental Health Client Action Network, Central
Coast Center for Independent Living, the Cabrillo Stroke Center, Lift Line/Food
and Nutrition Services, the County Planning Department, AARP Foundation,
Central Coast Alliance on Health, Shared Adventures, and the Santa Cruz AIDS
Project. Organizations have requested that this become an
annual event.
4.
Identify and
define the Commission’s authority and purpose.
In an effort to be
more effective, the Commission reviewed their authority and purpose based on
past practices and concluded that they could best continue to serve disabled
people of the County by working within the existing framework. Items brought to
the Commission will be referred to committee, should they require further
research. Correspondence from the Commission to businesses regarding access
problems will remain non-judgmental and informational in nature.
5.
Work to use local
media for disability awareness and Commission activities.
·
To create a more visible presence and expand
our outreach, the Commission brochure was published in Spanish this year and the
Commission website was revised and expanded.
·
The
Commission Chair was interviewed on the radio station KUSP. He spoke on the
Commission’s activities, accessibility, disability awareness, and transit
issues. The interview had to be conducted over the telephone due to KUSP’s
inaccessibility.
· Words are very powerful in shaping the attitudes and perception of the public and portraying people with disabilities in this negative manner lends to stereotyping and discrimination. The Commission requested that the term “handicap” no longer be used to describe persons with disabilities in County language and that all County materials produced reflect this correction. We recommended that the term “disability” be used when referring to people, and that “accessible” be used when referring to parking, bathrooms, and buildings.
·
Using Guidelines for Reporting and
Writing about People with Disabilities developed by the University of
Kansas and the Associated Press and approved by over thirty disability
organizations, the Commission is working to enroll the local media into
adopting in-house policies to use appropriate language when writing about
persons with disabilities.
·
Commissioners
tended a booth at the Ability Awareness Fair sponsored by Shared Adventures at
the Louden Nelson Community Center. The event was well attended and provided an
opportunity to share the Commission’s work with the community.
·
The Commission’s advocacy extends beyond the
County boundaries. The Coordinator testified at a public hearing in November 2000 in support of
the formation of a Commission on Disabilities in Monterey County. The Santa
Cruz County Commission was offered as an informational resource to Monterey
County while they explore the feasibility of forming their Commission.
6.
Monitor Volunteer
Accessible Parking Enforcement Program through implementation.
With the support of the Commission, the Sheriff’s
Department formed the County’s first volunteer parking enforcement team to
address increasing accessible parking violations. The Santa Cruz Team is
modeled after a program in Fremont that has been operating for years, however
the Santa Cruz citizen patrol performs additional services such as vacation
watch and vehicle abatement adjunct to their parking enforcement duties. The
first block of training, provided by both the Sheriff and the Highway Patrol,
was completed in August of 2000. The pilot program is stationed in Aptos with
the intent to grow Countywide. The team is outfitted in volunteer uniforms and
identification badges. To prevent potential problems with angry violators they
photograph all violations and leave the scene if it does not appear to be safe
to ticket at that time. They are also trained in verbal judo and patrol in
pairs. The front-end implementation of this program will involve a County- wide
education of the laws on accessible parking.
7.
Monitor the
Member Advocate Position services for efficacy.
Resulting from the
Commission’s 1998 investigation of Central Coast Alliance on Health (formerly
known as SCCHO), two positions were created to remedy problems with service
delivery to its members - the Members Advocate Position, which serves as an
objective party to assist persons with disabilities when confronted with
problems obtaining services through CCAH and the Disabilities Liaison position,
which works in-house to assist members with disabilities with any health care
issue they may have. The MAP is housed at the Legal aid of the Central Coast
and this year reported to the Commission on some of the cases that required their
services. The Commission will continue to monitor the MAP for necessity and
efficacy in 2001.
8.
Review local
issues and advocate for children with disabilities.
Our objective is to insure that there exists
equity in services for children with disabilities in our County so they can
grow up to live independently and free of unnecessary barriers. A recent report indicated
that 18% of the student population in public schools in North County (ages 3 to
22 years) has some type of disability. Although learning disabilities
account for a significant portion of this number, the
diagnosis for autism has risen by 214% in the last three years and services
have not been able to keep up with the demand. Early aggressive intervention
can determine a future of independence (or reduced dependence) for these
children. Over the past year the
Commission has monitored and lobbied the Proposition 10 Commission to allocate
funds to serve children with disabilities and their families. We recommended
the following:
·
Objective Family Advocacy
An
objective third-party agency or position would be a benefit not only to parents
trying to navigate through the maze of services but would also benefit the
service providers (agencies and schools) in providing the best quality of
services.
Many families are finding themselves without adequate medical coverage once their child has been diagnosed with autism. Until this can be dealt with directly through legislation, families need supplemental coverage so their children do not go without vital services.
A local resource center would provide valuable education and support to
parents as well as be a vehicle for interagency communication.
·
Service
Network
A formal network of
service providers would promote better collaboration between agencies that
provide services to children with disabilities and their families.
9.
Develop a resource list of businesses and
organization that sell products and perform services to bring businesses into compliance.
This goal was later expanded to include a Community Resource Directory that
provides disability-related information on services available to the public.
The Commission is working with the Santa Cruz Library, other
County departments and community organizations to develop a community resource
directory and disability resource website.
In January of 2002 the library will apply for a one or two year Library
Services and Construction Act (LSTA) grant to do the work required. The library
will hire and supervise the staff, working in coordination with the Commission
and County Health and Human Services staff. This coming year will be used to
plan, gather data, and identify continuing funding for the project.
10.
Review local Para transit issues.
The Commission
monitors County Para transit issues through participation on MASTF (Metro
Accessible Services Transit Forum). MASTF is an official advisory group to the
Metro Board of Directors and the ADA Para transit Program. Several of the
Commissioners attend and participate on MASTF on a regular basis.
11. Miscellaneous Activities
The Commission on
Disabilities holds a seat on the In-Home Support Services Advisory Committee.
Guest
speakers welcomed by the COD in 2000:
Cynthia
Adams, former Commissioner
Jonathan
Adler, Access Compliance Services
Don
Allegri, HSA Program Manager
Foster
Anderson, Shared Adventures
Michael
Bradshaw, Central Coast Center for Independent Living
Charles
Bruscino, Association for Injured Workers
Michael
Bush, community member
Jody
Cramer, Assisted Living Project
Judy
Cramer, Social Worker/Disability Liaison of CCAH
Janet
Edwards, community member
Iriss
Ferr, community member
Barbara
Flynn, Health Services Director of CCAH
Richard
Gallo, Central Coast Center for Independent Living
Joe
Hemingway, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Dept.
Barbara
Jackson, community member
Reyna
Juarez, Social Worker
Jackie
Kellum, Health Services Operations Manager
Suzanne
Koebler, Long Term Care Integration Project
Jeff
LeBlanc, MASTF
James
Lewis, community member
Toni
McKee, community member
Peter
McLean, community member
Angelique
Milhous, Senior Provider Relations of CCAH
Ajita
Patel, Santa Cruz County EEO
Randy
Ratto, community member
Laura
Spiegel, Grievance Coordinator
Ana
Ventura-Phares, Santa Cruz County EEO
Respectfully
Submitted,
Andrea
Smith
Commission
Coordinator
Approved
by the Commission on Disabilities on 01/12/01