What’s Happening in Washington?

2010 has been a stellar year for TASH’s federal government affairs program.  We’ve made tremendous milestones in advancing comprehensive public policy recommendations to promote safe, inclusive education and integrated employment for citizens with the most significant disabilities. During the 2010 TASH Conference here in Denver, we discussed policy efforts from the past year and looked ahead at what TASH is aiming for in 2011. With this in mind, let’s take a look at TASH’s 2011 Federal Policy Agenda. Specifically, TASH’s federal government affairs portfolio is focused on a four-point plank:

Protection from Abuse, Seclusion & Restraint for ALL Students in School

Bring Inclusive Education to Scale

Promoting Integrated Employment

Increase Community Living for Citizens with Disabilities

 Protection from Abuse, Seclusion & Restraint for ALL Students in School

 Since 2004, TASH has been leading the Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions and Seclusion, a national coalition of 22 national disability organizations committed to eliminating the use of restraint, seclusion and aversive interventions in educational settings.  TASH lead the advocacy movement to secure passage of the Keeping All Students Safe Act (H.R. 4247) within the U.S. House of Representatives in March of 2010.  Unfortunately, in an attempt to garner bipartisan support for the legislation in the U.S. Senate, negotiations went off-course in the Summer of 2010, resulting in the insertion of a provision in the Senate bill that would have allowed the use of seclusion and restraint to be written into a student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).  TASH and several of its partners within APRAIS opposed the provision, and argued that the provision would actually lead to an increased use of seclusion and restraint practices among students with significant disabilities while simultaneously removing any legal rights of parents and families to protest the use of the practices.

 After months of intense negotiations, TASH and APRAIS were able to develop alternate legislative language that removes the provision that would have allowed the inclusion of seclusion and restraint in a student’s IEP.  Unfortunately, the legislation will not move forward this year due to the timeline constraints of the Congressional calendar, but TASH is committed to pushing the introduction of the new legislative language in early 2011.

 Bring Inclusive Education to Scale

The Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA), formerly known as No Child Left Behind, is up for reauthorization, and TASH has already set the stage for a comprehensive review of the legislation in the areas of Accountability, Assessment, and Personnel Preparation.  A sample of TASH’s policy recommendations for ESEA authorization can be found by clicking here.

 Promoting Integrated Employment

With the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Rehabilitation Act up for reauthorization, TASH has focused a great deal of its energies advocating for inclusion of customized employment strategies to be defined as an eligible service for vocational rehabilitation and the generic workforce development system.  Additionally, TASH has joined many other partners to reinforce the need to review eligibility, order of selection, and time constraints placed on eligibility for services. 

 In addition to work on these reauthorization efforts, TASH has spearheaded the current discussion in Congress about reforming the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in an effort to phase out and eliminate the use of subminimum wage practices.

 Increase Community Living for Citizens with Disabilities

TASH has developed a strong dialogue with the Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to ensure that state Medicaid plans and Home & Community Based Service waiver options are greatly reformed to ensure that individuals are getting the supports they need to live fully integrated lives in the places they want to live in, working and pursuing meaningful community engagement.   This includes a frank discussion about steps the agency can take to ensure that all public supports from state Medicaid programs are directly related to getting people with disabilities into integrated communities, working in integrated settings, and living optimal lives of independence and full social engagement.

 Maximizing Resources through Strategic Direction & Vision

Despite this ambitious agenda, TASH has made significant strides in accomplishing its goals and positioning the organization’s public policy priorities for the upcoming new Congress.  TASH maximizes its resources in the federal policy arena through the following four key strategies:

Forge Key Relationships with Federal Agencies to Collaborate on Mutual Objectives:  TASH works closely with the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD), Centers for Medicare  and Medicaid Services (CMS), Department of Education, Department of Labor, and the Social Security Administration.

Solidify Policy Recommendations on Key Legislative Reauthorization Efforts.

Cultivate  Additional Congressional Champions:  TASH hosted an advocacy day in July of 2010 and brought half of its Board of Directors to Washington to educate approximately 30 Congressional offices on TASH’s federal policy priorities.  TASH also hosted two Congressional briefings on Capitol Hill in 2010, including one on Employment First and another on Cultural Diversity, Disability & Disparities.

Sustain Massive Influence in Federal Coalition Building & Alliance Development:  TASH invests heavily in its partnerships, and serves in leadership roles on APRAIS, the Coalition to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD), and the Justice For All Action Network (JFAAN)

 

LOOKING AHEAD INTO 2011 & BEYOND – WE WANT YOU TO HELP US TAKE OUR WORK TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

The success of TASH’s federal government relations program is dependent upon the organization’s abilities to cultivate a corps of advocates across the nation to help us carry our message and priorities to Congress and the federal government.  As such, we are embarking on an ambitious campaign to recruit 1,000 advocates in 2011!!!   There are several ways you can engage in our federal advocacy efforts beyond coming to Washington.  If you are interested in becoming a part of our federal advocacy work, please contact TASH at info@tash.org.