How-To

1. How-To “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Meade Robbie Kopp, Able SC Webinar Presented 5/1/2014 Share your excitement on social media with #SCAdvocacyDayand #AccessAndIndependence

2. South Carolina’s first civil rights rally for people with disabilities Ties South Carolina into the Disability Rights Movement Supported by 21 organizations who want greater independence for people with disabilities Funded by the State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) for three years Is about equality and access. It is NOT about funding any individual program

3. What is Advocacy?

4. Self-Advocacy Individual Advocacy Systemic Advocacy

5. Why Systems Advocacy? We can attempt to affect change individually. We might be able to fix things for one or two. Or… We can influence change by identifying barriers that are common to all, and we can confront them as a united force. It is necessary to ensure inclusion. We can change the world (and have fun doing it)!

6. Why us? We have a voice while others may not have found theirs yet. We have real-life experience with barriers to independence and equality. If we don’t speak for ourselves, someone will speak for us. We identify barriers common to our consumers. We can remove barriers to help everyone. People with disabilities are the experts on disability issues within all systems. All people have a voice in independence and civil rights!

7. Pitchfork Judicial Process Legislative Advocacy Public Education/Media Executive/Administrative Direct Action

8. Pitchfork Judicial Process Legislative Advocacy Public Education/Media Executive/Administrative Direct Action

9. Using the Pitchfork Identify the issue(s) Set goals Devise a strategy Know when you’ve won Know how to celebrate

10. Using the Pitchfork • Identify the issue • Good Issues match most of the following: Result in real improvement Give people a sense of their own power Alter the relations of power Are winnable Are worthwhile Are widely and deeply felt Are easy to understand Have a clear target Have a clear time frame Are non-divisive Build leadership Lay groundwork for next campaign Are consistent with your values

11. Issue 1: ADA Coordinators State agencies do not provide required accommodations for individuals with disabilities attempting to access their services. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires any state agency with 50 or more employees to have an ADA Coordinator. In South Carolina, many state agencies do not have an ADA Coordinator or have one that is not adequately trained to ensure services are accessible to all individuals.

12. Issue 2: Community Living South Carolina’s Home Again Program through SCDHHS is part of a national program to keep individuals out of institutions and help them transition into stable community placement, but the program is lagging behind our neighboring states of GA and NC in producing results.

13. Issue 3: Education Quality transition services are not being provided to middle and high school students. Too often teacher expectations for the student are minimal, creating a situation where a child may be on a certificate track instead of diploma track and have zero employment options upon graduation. Students with disabilities are twice as likely to drop out of high school.

14. Issue 4: Emergency Preparedness Local communities do not consider the needs of individuals with disabilities when planning for disasters. Emergency communication is not in formats accessible to everyone, evacuation procedures do not account transportation needs of individuals with disabilities, and shelters often do not have the personnel training, assistive technology, or physical setup to accommodate disability needs.

15. Issue 5: Employment Individuals in sub-minimum wage settings may make as little as 22 cents per hour. Sub-minimum wage laws reinforce false perceptions to employers that individuals with disabilities are not valuable employees, making it harder for individuals to find real jobs for real pay. Thus, they remain on Social Security benefits and government healthcare and never become self-sustaining. There are only four states with a lower employment rate than South Carolina for individuals with disabilities.

16. Issue 6: Health Care Many individuals with disabilities are still uninsured. They are forced to receive their basic care in costly emergency room settings that are taxpayer funded. Additionally, healthcare facilities should have accessible exam tables, scales, mammogram machines, and other equipment so that individuals with disabilities can receive the comprehensive medical care with dignity and accuracy. Currently accepted practices are not compliant with ADA standards and do not afford individuals with disabilities equal access to health care.

17. Issue 7: Parenting Parents and prospective parents with a disability are facing discrimination in areas relating to foster care, adoption, and child protective services. Children are being removed from homes based on misperceptions of their parent’s disability and a lack of understanding of modified parenting techniques. Quality parents are not offered the same opportunities to adopt and foster because social workers make assumptions about how their disability will impact their parenting. Children should not be waiting for stable homes when there are individuals with disabilities who would make great parents willing to provide for them.

18. Issue 8: Transportation People with disabilities are twice as likely to have inadequate transportation, making it difficult to find and maintain work. While the public transportation systems are making efforts to be fully accessible, it will not make much of an impact if our sidewalks and roads are poorly maintained or do not have curb cuts, accessible pedestrian symbols, or easy-to-read road signs. Individuals need to be able to travel along the roads and sidewalks from their homes to the bus stop and from the bus stop to their destinations. In rural areas where there is no public transportation system, the likelihood of employment for someone with a disability is alarmingly low.

19. Issue 9: Voting Voting is such an important right, yet a lack of accessible entrances, walkways, and restrooms are often barriers for individuals with physical disabilities at their polling places. Polling workers are not adequately trained on accommodating individuals with disabilities. The facility may not have a working accessible machine available, resulting in the voter being forced to rely on a poll worker to cast their ballot or “oversee” the process, which infringes upon the right to vote privately.

20. Using the Pitchfork Identify the issue(s) Set goals (unlocking barriers) Devise a strategy Know when you’ve won Know how to celebrate

21. Issue 1: ADA Coordinators Unlocking the Barrier:The SC General Assembly needs to create accountability standards for state agencies in designating and training ADA Coordinators. Quality assurance measures should be in place to ensure periodic checks for compliance.

22. Issue 2: Community Living Unlocking the Barrier: The general assembly should conduct an in-depth examination of the program and its results relative to other states to ensure the money is being used in the most effective way. Feedback from the disability community and other interested stakeholders should be a part of the review.

23. Issue 3: Education Unlocking the Barrier: Credentials with input from stakeholders should be adopted that require transition specialists to receive training on how to empower students with disabilities to reach their maximum potential, how to train parents and teachers to do the same, and how to utilize assistive technology that will allow the student to be more successful. Transition specialists also need to educate parents and students on the future impact of choosing a certificate track versus a diploma track.

24. Issue 4: Emergency Preparedness Unlocking the Barrier: SC needs specific regulations about accessibility standards for evacuation shelters and training requirements for shelter staff. Guidelines should be developed to help community planners utilize best practices in creating a plan that is inclusive of all individuals and considers factors such as accessible formats for evacuation instructions, eliminations of barriers on evacuation routes, logistics for those who require home-delivered meals, and the electricity needs for individuals who use electronic devices when making community emergency plans.

25. Issue 5: Employment Unlocking the Barrier: SC needs to enact legislation to remove subminimum wage for Individuals with disabilities.

26. Issue 6: Health Care Unlocking the Barrier: If the state is not going to expand the Medicaid program, it needs to devise a realistic alternative for individuals whose income is too low to qualify for a tax credit when purchasing insurance via the Affordable Care Act, due to the fact that the law intended for them to be covered through the expansion. Access to preventive care is vital to bringing down health care costs for all taxpayers. The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services should begin a statewide initiative to promote awareness of effective, inclusive healthcare practices among medical facilities.

27. Issue 7: Parenting Unlocking the Barrier: Department of Social Services (DSS) regulations could be revised to require that social service workers are trained on disability sensitivity and modified parenting techniques. SC must eliminate disability from the statues as grounds for termination of parental rights and enact legislation that ensures the rights of parents with disabilities.

28. Issue 8: Transportation Unlocking the Barrier: Any investment in infrastructure must consider accessible design at the heart of its planning. Additionally, investment in public transportation, particularly in rural areas is a must for promoting employment.

29. Issue 9: Voting Unlocking the Barrier: Regulations should specify disability training requirements for poll workers and the state should take steps to replace current voting machines with ones that are all inclusive. Voting machines being developed by Clemson University, “Prime III” take accessibility into account and are actually cheaper than the current machines.

30. Using the Pitchfork Identify the issue(s) Set goals (unlocking barriers) Devise a strategy Know when you’ve won Know how to celebrate

32. 9:00 - 9:30 Registration/Sign Making for Rally 9:30 - 9:35 Welcome: Kimberly Tissot, Able SC 9:35 - 9:50 Briefing: What Needs to Change 9:50 - 10:10 Featured Speaker: Liz Persaud, Pass It On Center 10:10 - 10:20 Steve Benjamin, Mayor of Columbia 10:20 - 10:45 SC State Legislators 10:45 - 10:55 Governor Nikki Haley 10:55 - 11:00 John Payne, Dept. of Education 11:00 - 12:30 Voices from the Disability Community 12:30 - Until Individual Meetings with Law-Makers

33. Legislative Process • People who are elected by us, enter office and write bills that they think will benefit the people they represent (constituents) • “I’m just a bill” School House Rock Link • Bill written • Committee Process • Debate • Sent to other house • In South Carolina, our Senators and Representatives are part-time and only earn about $10,000 per year for their service • They NEED expertise from others on many issues

34. Legislative Influence Since lawmakers are elected by us, they work for us. We want them to make the best decisions, we have to inform, and they have to be open to receive it. Lawmakers can be met with in their offices in Columbia, or you can call their staff-person in Columbia to set up a meeting in your district because they live there. Lawmakers can be contacted just like anyone else by e-mail, letter, or phone. Some are even on social media like facebook and twitter.

35. Ten Tips for Effective Communication Be polite. Our message can get lost when poorly shared. Find common ground. There is always something we can all agree on! Build a relationship. They probably live close to you and have similar interests. Effective advocacy comes from a relationship. Make your case. You are meeting for a reason, you may have to refocus the conversation. Be firm and fair. You are not here for a picture. You are here to advocate for your rights.

36. Ten Tips for Effective Communication Be personal. Share your personal experience with barriers to access and independence. Be prepared. Knowing what your want to say before you say it keeps the message focused and makes you believable. Stick to what you know. It is easier to talk about what we are passionate about and it may show that we can be an expert when lawmakers think about the laws they make in the future. Be open. Often lawmakers do not have all the information. And sometimes we do not either. Be gracious. Time is valuable for us and for law makers. Thank them for it in person and in writing after the meeting.

37. Preparing for Advocacy Day for Access and Independence Register Now! Schedule appointments with your Representative, Senator, or both. Review the Advocacy Guide and get comfortable with the issue areas. Tell your friends to be there May 8th! Post about how excited you are and use #SCAdvocacyDayand #AccessAndIndependence

38. Questions? “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Meade