DBTAC- Northeast ADA Technical Bulletin: February 2007

The DBTAC- Northeast ADA Center at Cornell University provides training,
technical assistance and materials on the ADA and accessible information
technology throughout New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. This monthly technical bulletin is part of our dissemination
efforts and if you do not want to receive this document or would like others
from your organization added to our list, please call 1-800-949-4232 or
reply to this message. Thank you.

Mental Health Parity Bill: Finally on the Way to Becoming Law

For the past 15 years, the Mental Health Parity Bill, guaranteeing that
mental health disabilities receive the same medical insurance coverage as
any other health problem, has languished in Congress. Recently, however,
the Mental Health Parity Bill was put on the fast track to passage in the
new Congress. It is expected that the Bill will be signed early this year.
For more information, go to
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/01/09/mental-health-parity-bill/

New website that brings together employers and people with disabilities
seeking employment
(excerpt from press release from Access Solutions)

SIOUX FALLS, SD, January 8, 2007­Access Solutions, LLC has announced the
launch of DisabilityWORK.com, a service that brings employers and people
with disabilities together. Employers can expect to reach an untapped pool
of qualified workers, while people with disabilities have a new venue in
which to showcase their talents. DisabilityWORK.com consists of several
different services for both employers and people with disabilities.
Employers can search a database of resumes to find prospective candidates to
fill needed positions. They can also post their job openings on the website
and utilize DisabilityWORK.com's headhunting services. People with
disabilities can not only post their resumes on the website, but they can
also use an array of services ranging from resume-writing and career
coaching to job placement and job coaching. For more information, please
go to http://www.disabilitywork.com//default.aspx
.

Windows Vista Offers Greater Accessibility
Vista, the new Microsoft operating system, includes a variety of new
features and functions that enhance accessibility. The new Ease of Access
Center in Vista is where users can set up the accessibility features that
are beneficial to them, such as the new speech recognition feature which
allows users to interact with their computer by voice.
Read more about Microsoft's approach to accessibility with Vista in the
following article in The Register:
Vista's accessible attitude:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/19/vista_accessibility/
.

Accessibility in Windows Vista:
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/products/windowsvista/

HUGE! $100M boost opens doors to Section 8

New York Daily News -

100M boost opens doors to Section 8
BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

For the first time in more than a decade, the city will be accepting new applications for Section 8 vouchers - with 22,000 families getting the coveted housing subsidy."This really is a very big deal in the housing business," Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday at an applications office in Corona, Queens.

A huge boost in federal funding - up to $100 million nationwide - is behind the largess that's opening up the waiting list for the first time since 1994.

Applications will be accepted for three months starting Feb. 12.

Officials said 12,000 vouchers will be available this year and an additional 10,000 next year. The city will set aside 3,000 for households at risk of becoming homeless.

With a Section 8 voucher, families pay 30% of their income for rent, and the New York City Housing Authority, the largest provider of public housing in the country, pays the remainder directly to the landlord.

The current waiting list has 127,000 families - but time has rendered most of the names obsolete. Of the 75,000 people the city already has contacted, about 60,000 no longer want the vouchers, are no longer eligible or can't be found.

Janet Perry, 48, who has been living in a Brooklyn homeless shelter for nearly a year, was elated to hear she might be in line to get her own apartment.

"I'm very happy," said Perry, a former groundskeeper for the city's Parks Department.

"I called already and the line's been busy, busy, busy at the Section 8 office," Perry said. "I'm going to keep calling, though, until I get someone."

Mary Brosnahan Sullivan, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, said she's concerned these vouchers won't reach those with the "most urgent need."

Over the years, the Bloomberg administration has steered homeless people away from Section 8 and toward the "highly flawed" Housing Stability Plus program, which makes it difficult for families to get permanent housing, she said.

But Bloomberg spokesman Jason Post said under the mayor's administration, far more New Yorkers receive rental assistance than before.

"We want to ensure as many households as possible - homeless or otherwise - can benefit," Post said.



First steps toward housing subsidy

Here's how to apply:


Applicants can pick up forms at any of the New York City Housing Authority's borough applications offices or management offices. For a list of addresses, go to www.nyc.gov/nycha or call 311.




Individuals who earn less than $24,800 a year or a family of four making less than $35,000 a year may qualify for the subsidy.


Applications must be postmarked no later than May 14.


Mail completed applications to New York City Housing Authority, P.O. Box 445, Church St. Station, New York, N.Y. 10008-0445.


If you think you're already on the current waiting list, contact the New York City Housing Authority or call 311.

Visit Blog:
http://cunycoalition.blogspot.com/

Microtel Earns Kudos from Disability Community

Microtel Earns Kudos from Disability Community
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) presented its ninth annual Eagle Award to Microtel Inns & Suites in recognition for excellence in providing accessible lodging for travelers with disabilities and for making a significant contribution to the advancement of people with disabilities.

DRA also cited Microtel for adopting the Opening Doors® program, which provides all staff with training in disability awareness and customer service. W.C. Duke Associates of Woodford, Virginia, developed the training program.

Microtel Inns & Suites offers three ADA-room designs and a variety of services. In order to better serve travelers with disabilities, Microtel now provides “Access Microtel” pamphlets, “Accessible Fitness” bags for guests to use in their room, and Upper Body Ergometers.

There are currently 297 Microtel hotels open or under construction worldwide. For more information visit www.microtelinn.com, which includes an entire section dedicated to ADA accommodations, featuring room dimensions, ADA specific amenities, common area accessibility information, and a virtual tour.

new site

Do Web Sites Need to Be Accessible to the Blind?

Carla J. Rozycki and David K. Haase
Special to Law.com

January 10, 2007

An advocacy group has sued Target Corp., claiming that Target's Web site
is incompatible with software used by the blind and that such
incompatibility is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA).

In National Federation for the Blind v. Target Corp. (__ Supp.2d __, 2006
WL 2578282 [N.D. Cal. Sept. 6, 2006]), the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of California refused to dismiss those claims, leaving
many questions unanswered for entities operating Web sites. TITLE III OF
THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

In 1990, Congress enacted the ADA to establish a comprehensive prohibition
of discrimination on the basis of disability and, in certain
circumstances, to require affirmative efforts to accommodate individuals
with disabilities. Title III of the ADA provides for accessibility of
places of public accommodation.

The ADA defines a "place of public accommodation" as a facility, operated
by a private entity, whose operations affect commerce and fall within at
least one of 12 specified categories. 42 U.S.C. §12181(7).

The statute and implementing regulations were enacted before the Internet
became an everyday tool and do not expressly state whether the Internet is
a place of public accommodation. The Department of Justice has
consistently taken the position that it is -- for example, through the
filing of amicus briefs.

Courts have split on the issue. The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 6th and
9th Circuits and a district court in Florida have held that a public place
of accommodation must be a physical location. (See, for example, Parker v.
Metro. Life Ins. Co., 121 F.3d 1006 (6th Cir. 1997); Weyer v. Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corp., 198 F.3d 1104, 1114 (9th Cir. 2000); Access Now,
Inc. v. Southwest Airlines Co., 227 F.Supp.2d 1312 (S.D. Fla. 2002),
appeal denied, 385 F.3d 1324 [11th Cir. 2004].)

In contrast, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has stated that Title
III of the ADA is not limited to purely physical structures, although that
court did not address the Internet specifically. (Carparts v. Automotive
Wholesaler's Ass'n., 37 F.3d 12, 22-23 (1st Cir. 1994.) The 7th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals, in dicta, has stated that a Web site can be a
place of public accommodation. (Doe v. Mutual of Omaha Ins. Co., 179 F.3d
557, 559 (7th Cir. 1999.)

Similarly, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held that an automated
method of selecting television show contestants was an intangible barrier
to a physical location in Rendon v. Valleycrest Productions, 294 F.3d 1279
(11th Cir. 2002).

In 2002, the United States District Court of the Northern District of
Georgia granted a preliminary injunction against the Atlanta public
transit agency in favor of several individuals who alleged violations of
the ADA, including nonaccessible information technology. (Martin v.
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, 225 F. Supp. 2d 1362 (N.D.
Ga. 2002.) However, the Martin case involved Title II of the ADA dealing
with "public agencies" as opposed to Title III, which deals with "public
accommodations."

Link To Complete Article:
http://www.law.com/jsp/llf/index.js

New Year Resolutions ...

My most precious wish is to see peoples hearts fullfiled with joy and harmony around the world. Unknowingly, here we are in the computer communiting our thoughts and hopes throutout the most powerful tool, the Internet which opens up an a window for us to interact equally. This year, I have met so many wonderful people from all over the world and there is one thing that I can be said: We are basically the same ... simply, we are people full of love, hopes, and dreams; as human, we don't like to be alone.
In the United States, we are celebrating New Year Eve which means for us a new beginning for the year 2007; as we commonly say, "Lets through out the old and lets start with the new". My internet friends; symbolically, lets raise our glasses for us to have a toast together and lets wish for World Peace!

Love,
Maddy

SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES

MIUSA is currently accepting applications from young people with disabilities to take part in an international exchange program June 20 - July 5, 2007 to Costa Rica, entitled the US/Costa Rica: Youth Leadership and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Disability Rights Exchange Program. If you are a young person with a disability - or know someone who is - between the ages of 18-24, from a culturally diverse background and are an inexperienced international traveler we encourage you to apply! Travel with 12 other young people with disabilities, live with a host family, take part in a service learning project and practice Spanish through immersion!

Since 1981, MIUSA has been pioneering short-term international exchange programs for people with and without disabilities from over 90 countries. As a non-profit organization, MIUSA is dedicated to promoting opportunities for people with disabilities in international exchange, leadership development and service learning.

MIUSA exchange programs are inclusive of people with all types of disabilities, including people who are Deaf and hard of hearing, or have cognitive, visual, physical, psychiatric, systemic, non-apparent, or other types of disabilities. MIUSA will provide appropriate accommodations to each qualified participant with a disability, including ASL interpretation and alternative formats.


Application materials can be found at www.miusa.org/exchange, or requested by e-mail at: exchange@miusa.org, or by Tel/TTY at: 541-343-1284. Generous scholarships are available. Application deadline is March 2, 2007. Late applications will be accepted as space permits. Application materials are available in alternative formats upon request.

APPLY NOW! TRAVEL TO COSTA RICA


Contact Information:
Jena Price, Program Specialist
Mobility International USA
132 E. Broadway, Suite 343
Eugene, OR 97401
Tel/TTY: 541-343-1284
Fax: 541-343-6812
E-mail: exchange@miusa.org
Website: http://www.miusa.org/