Public Accommodations Built Before the ADA Must Make Readily Achievable Access Improvements

Posted on July 22, 2010

By Kyle Glozier

The twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is July 26, 2010.  But even 20 years after passage of our landmark civil rights law, some businesses and building owners still say that “we are ‘grandfathered in’ so we don’t have to do anything to make our buildings accessible.”  They are mistaken.  They may do less than what’s required for a newly constructed or significantly renovated building, but they are still required to do something.   Read more

Introducing CDR’s Newest Advocacy Intern

Posted on July 1, 2010

By Kyle Glozier, Advocacy Intern

Hello my name is Kyle J. Glozier.  I’m a senior at California University of Pennsylvania in California, PA.  I have been involved with disability rights since I was eight years old   when I visited Atlantis Community, a center for independent living in Denver.    I knew from that time that my driving force was disability rights.

I was always included in regular education from the time I was a five-year-old all the way through high school.  I graduated in 2004 and then enrolled in Cal U where I am a political science major with concentration in pre-law.  As I was in school, I saw my peer group with disabilities get behind as I excelled.   Read more

Senate Passes Critical Disability Legislation

Posted on June 18, 2010

By Leah Farrell, Policy Analyst

The NYS Senate has been very busy these past few days.  No, I’m not referring to the weekly budget extenders – although both houses have been busy here.  I am referring to the list of disability legislation that will impact each and every one of us!

On Thursday, June 10, CDR joined several other Independent Living Centers from around the State at the Capitol to watch this important package of bills pass and show our support for the Senators who voted “aye.” Read more

Assistive Technology as a Reasonable Accommodation

Posted on February 22, 2010

By: Sara Furguson

The most commonly requested accommodation in the workplace is assistive technology such as adapted computers, hearing aids, wheelchair ramps, speech communication devices, Braille note taking computers, etc. In general, requests for assistive technology are seen as reasonable if no undue burden is involved. This means that unless an accommodation would incur unreasonably large expenses, an employer must make an effort to meet the needs of an employee with a disability.

Since 1990, assistive technology (AT) has improved opportunities for successful implementation of the ADA’s equal employment provisions. Unfortunately, employers may decide to not hire a disabled applicant simply because they lack knowledge about the use of assistive technology. Read more

They Still Don’t Get It: My Vote Story

Posted on November 6, 2009

By Anita Cameron, Systems Advocate

I got up Tuesday (November 3, 2009) bright and (not so) early so that I could make a quick stop at my polling place and vote before going to work. Thankfully, my polling site is down the street from my house at Andrews Terrace, one of those buildings whose residents are mostly seniors or folks with disabilities, so I didn’t have to worry about physical access.

I wondered if I would have the trouble that I had last year, where it took me almost two hours to vote because the machine had not been turned on, or would the machine be “broken” as it was claimed to be when I tried to vote on Primary Day this past September. Oddly, the machine had broken down a few minutes before I came, and they had called it in. I later learned that the Board of Elections had received no such call. Hmmm… Read more

Defying Injustice for All

Posted on August 31, 2009

By Sara Furguson

By now, I’m sure you have noticed that I’m one of CDR’s new bloggers. While I’m not one to openly express my personal life, I believe that it will help you, as a reader, understand the perspective of my future blogs.

At age three I had a spinal cord injury. My sister, brother, Mother, and I were struck head-on by another vehicle. With the inability to move and breath, I now had to embark on an unfamiliar life-long journey. This began what I now view as my opportunity to bring change for those with disabilities and diminish the never ending battle for equality. Instead of feeling distraught and incapable, I have conquered the discrimination that effects every day of my life. My disability has not been a prohibition, but rather, an experience that has made me a better person. Read more

Thoughts on CDPAS Voice Recognition

Posted on May 7, 2009

By Roger Strickland, Director of Information Technology

Monroe County is mandating that CDPAS services must use a new voice recognition phone system to clock in on a shift and clock out. They also will do random spot checks to see if a clocked in attendant is still at the consumer’s home. I see many problems with this secretly developed system that they are now quickly trying to jam down our consumer’s throats.

They said that they were developing this system for “consumer safety”.  If their main concern is consumer safety, why didn’t the business card say “Consumer Protective Specialist” instead of “Medical Antifraud Specialist”?  This is not a quality of care program.  The County is selectively targeting the disability community and CDPAS services in particular. Don’t try to slip us a three dollar bill.  This initiative isn’t for all home care services.  It is just focused on the service managed by people with disabilities.  Discrimination is discrimination no matter how big your smokescreen. Read more

It’s Not Just About Cultural Competence, It’s the Law!

Posted on May 6, 2009

By Terrie Lincoln, Systems Advocate

Yesterday I attended a meeting held by Monroe County DSS on what will be a mandatory component of Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Programs in Monroe County.

This new mandatory system is supposed to help cut down Medicaid fraud and increase consumer safety. Attendants will now have to use this Voice Recognition system to clock in and clock out.

At yesterday’s meeting a question was asked from the audience about this new system also being in Spanish for our Spanish speaking attendants. The representative from Monroe County DSS stated, “Well, I guess they are just going to have to learn English now!”  Read more

Thoughts on Privacy

Posted on September 26, 2008

By Peter Kline, Systems Administrator
Perhaps it is the mindset of a computer professional – ‘how can this data be used’ – that gets my thoughts running.  I think it takes a special mindset that comes from years of seeking out relationships and connections in data sets to understand just how powerful they can become.  You see, today I had to submit to a drug test.  It was nothing out of the ordinary – place a swab in your mouth and hold it there.  And it was for an innocuous reason.  But the form that accompanies it to the lab is what struck me as odd. Read more

Computing on less than a shoestring

Posted on July 4, 2008

by Roger Strickland, Director of Information/Technology

More often than not, people with disabilities live on a low fixed income and do not have the money to spend on computer software.  Microsoft Office 2007 Pro will cost you about $390, Windows Vista Home Premium will run around $200.  That’s a lot of extra cash that most of us do not have to spend.  The good news is that there are alternatives to expensive Microsoft products.

I would say the biggest money saver would be an office package replacement.  A free office suite that is very easy to use can be downloaded from http://www.openoffice.org/ .  You can open and save documents in Microsoft Word format with this office package.  Or if you wish, you can save your word document as a pdf.  You can also open or create Excel Spreadsheets, and open or create presentations using the Power Point replacement within the Open Office suite. Best of all, the price is right… free!  

The choice is up to you.  You can shell out $390 for the privilege of using Microsoft, or you can get the same functional programming for free and spend the money you saved on some of life’s other necessities, like food and shelter. Read more

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