What Now for NJ DDS?

By Ed Heaton

Recently, I was reading the biography of George Steinbrenner, by Bill Madden. The more I read, the more familiar the character of Mr. Steinbrenner seemed to me. The ego, the incessant demands, the never admitting of a mistake, blaming either his manager, general manager or players on the field for his failures. George Steinbrenner actually fired someone once because it was raining.

After reading the book, I realized why Mr. Steinbrenner seemed so familiar to me. I had the unfortunate experience of working for the George Steinbrenner of NJDDS: Joseph Amoroso.

I would have probably never written this column except for the action of Mr. William Ditto, recently retired director of the Division of Disability Services. Mr. Ditto named Mr. Amoroso Acting Director of the Division. In so doing, he took a cold and turned it into influenza.

Besides Mr. Amoroso’s questionable people skills, there are questions surrounding him concerning figures and facts. According to a document written by Mr. Ditto in December 2008, DDS’s Information and Referral Area (led by Mr. Amoroso) receives 1,700 calls per month. What Mr. Ditto did not state was what types of calls are being received. How many of the 1,700 calls are new requests for information, repeat calls, or follow-up calls?  Both Mr. Ditto and Mr. Amoroso like to point to the amount of calls received as an indicator of the success of the I & R Area. Without outcomes attached to the calls, the number of calls received is not a true indicator of the effectiveness of the I & R Area. In fact, without a report of outcomes, an evaluation of the I & R Area’s effectiveness in assisting consumers cannot even be determined.

While interpretation of data can be debated, facts cannot. In my June column, I noted that Mr. Amoroso was found guilty of a discrimination complaint by the Chief of Staff of the Department of Human Services. Since then, I have discovered that the Merit System Board denied Mr. Amoroso’s appeal of that complaint. The thing is, if Mr. Amoroso had admitted he was wrong and just accepted his punishment, I would have never found out about the complaint. Instead, by always needing to be right, Mr. Amoroso filed an appeal, which became a matter of public record. It also bothers me that a person found guilty of a discrimination complaint, not once, but twice (because of the review), was named Acting Director.  Given this, wasn’t there anyone better qualified?

A search committee has been formed to find Mr. Ditto’s replacement. In his final column in the Able Newspaper of August 6. 2010, Mr. Ditto states, “We have recruited several people from outside of state government to serve on the committee to make it as fair and impartial as possible.” What Mr. Ditto does not mention, by limiting his comment to “state government”, is that all members of the committee that I know of are directly connected to government in one way or another: either county, academic, or retired state government employees. There is no one from the disabled community or the non-profit provider community to assist this committee in making their choices. My recommendation would be to name a CIL director (Eileen Goff) and a person from an advocacy organization (Lowell Ayre), to the committee to expand its outreach.  It is my sincere hope that a replacement for Mr. Ditto is named quickly.

The people I feel most sorry for are the current employees of DDS. I have served my time in hell. Theirs is just beginning.

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ROLLING PROUD by Andrew Levinson

Budget Cuts Threaten the Livelihood of All Nassau County Residents

April 12th, 2010. Sadly, it could be a day to remember.

On that date, Able-Ride, the MTA-administered paratransit bus service for disabled residents of suburban New York’s Nassau County, is set to basically disappear. People will lose their freedom to go to work, to see their doctor, to obtain an education, to engage in leisure activities, and to visit friends and family. This is personal for me, I might add, as I am talking about my neighbors who cannot drive or do not have access to a vehicle of their own, due to a disability or financial constraints. 

 The MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority in long form), which runs bus and train service for New Yorkers in the New York City metro region, is ending door-to-door parantransit service in the suburbs and is only keeping Able-Ride in existence as a connector to the fixed route bus line.  The MTA is citing large costs, as its weak excuse for the cuts.

There are those who would say that the MTA is experiencing budget crisis. They would ask why is it not the case that such people can effectively use their local fixed bus routes to stay employed and involved in their community? Firstly, fixed-routes simply do not exist in certain communities such as Syosset and Bayville, meaning that there would be no transit service at all for some county residents. Secondly, even if fixed-routes do exist, the passenger cannot live more than three-quarters of a mile away from the nearest bus route, in order to get transported to that route via Able-Ride. Lastly, even if someone is lucky enough to already be living within the appropriate radius to still have some Able-Ride service, inclement weather can be especially hazardous to the health of someone with a medical condition. 

All right, Andrew, I have a solution. Try your nearby subway. Subway use is not only a good logistical option, but it’s also environmentally-friendly.

Unfortunately, in Nassau County, there is no subway nearby. If only my neighbors had ended up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and not New York City…

After all, the Metrorail system exists in many areas outside of Washington,  it’s wheelchair accessible, and it protects against the elements outside with its underground location. Perhaps, this is why similar concerns among Washington-area policymakers, about the cost of paratransit, do not cause as much concern among local disability advocates. It’s not the end of the world in suburban Washington without paratransit service, and maybe it’s even for the best after all of the snow that piled up this winter.

I wonder what the MTA would think about extending subway service via new stops in the suburbs. Unfortunately, I think it’s safe to say that the discussion of any expensive ideas are for a later date. All I can say now is that Able-Ride is too essential to the well-being of all Nassau County residents to be cut, even in a budget crisis. Let’s remember that currently employed people would lose their jobs and everyone else could see further budget cuts due to a smaller tax base. In other words, this cut has broader-reaching effects than just those that concern Able-Ride passengers.

National Ad Campaign Promotes Common Sense by Using Humor: My Take

Ever since I became an individual with a disability one thing is sure, I am being labeled daily.  By people I know and those that I don’t.  I am stared at by strangers and can hear their wheels turning.  Their brain is going at hyper-speed to put me in a box and slap a “Label” on it.  They see a man in a power wheelchair with a service dog.  Sometimes, they see me driving my specially equipped van from my wheelchair.  Then other times they spy me at work or going to a meeting, the truth is I am hard to miss.  More importantly, I do not want to be missed!  I go through life (hopefully) dispelling one myth or another about people with disabilities.  That is why am so excited by a national ad campaign called “Think Beyond the Label,” launched this month, by the Chicago-based organization Health & Disability Advocates with 30 state vocational agencies and State Medicaid Infrastructure Grantees.  The funny, edgy $4 million campaign designed is designed to challenge attitudes about people with disabilities in the workplace.  This campaign is exactly what we need to educate employers and others about the destructiveness of “Labels”.  Because, it not only points out “shortcomings” which everyone has, but exploits the ridiculousness of pointing each one out.  The campaign basically says, “if you are labeling me-then I will label you”.

I am of the mind that people cannot help labeling others; because it helps them to place who they are in a given situation.  We are thought to label people and things since the day of our birth.  We have it ingrained in our brains that we “must” put people into a context.  We are hardwired as human beings to judge others, on appearance, verbal skills, dress, and conduct just to name a few.  You might say it is in our DNA to label everyone and everything in our purview.

Here are some examples of “Labels” I have had slapped on my back (Box)

The “Hero”, this is not necessarily a bad label (if you saved kids from burning building) unless one takes into account the context.  If you think I am a hero because as a person with a disability, I wake-up, go to work, and live my life, then you are wrong.  Wrong label, Wrong box! Labels like “Hero” can be destructive, when they purport to treat me different, while I am trying to be like everybody else.  In the workplace, this label is “killer” and not in a good way.  If an employer hires someone on account of them being perceived as a “Hero”, things not go so well.  This new employee is going to eventually have to do the job, if they cannot it may close a door for someone else.   The perception by the employer in this instance can have a rippling effect.

The “non-believer” a person in need of heavenly salvation.  Why else would I be in a wheelchair?  If I believed more, prayed more, and asked to be saved I would “get-up and walk”.  Yes, I have had someone say that to me.  The religious label is hard on those who take it to heart; it could be devastating on those who believe it.

The “pitiful person”, someone that everyone should feel sorry for. This is especially true in instances where other cultures are involved.  Also, when I travel.

The “beggar”, someone in need of money just waiting for a dime to drop on his lap.  First time it happened in Times Square, NY, I was sitting outside, Duane Read pharmacy in my penny loafers, dress pants and tie.  Then, a middle age woman walks by a puts a dollar on my lap.  I was dumbfounded!  Five seconds later, a “well dressed” man drop three dimes on my lap.  Holy crap! I have been turned into my “Label”.  This happens almost every time I am in the city.  The first time I had enough for a cup of coffee-really.

The “unable” , a person who does not by their mere appearance look like they can contribute anything to anyone.

These are just a few examples of labels people like myself muddle through on a daily basis.  There are probably hundreds or thousands which are thrust upon us as we navigate the waters of employment, health care, relationships, and just plain living.   People with disabilities boil in a cauldron of myth, lies, and innuendo as society continues “the labeling game”.  In reality, everyone does it to one extent or another.  However, when those being labeled are affected economically and socially there is a problem.  Not at all dissimilar to the way racial, ethnic, or religious groups were labeled; in some cases literally.  The bottom line is that the lost of participation by people with disabilities in the workplace and other areas is detrimental to the Nation.  The increase in employment and decrease of State and Federal benefits by individuals with disabilities can only improve our economic standing.

The campaign to educate employers through the use of humor is ingenious in the age of political correctness. Because, “Think Beyond the Label”, is about more than realizing how silly our views about certain people can be.  It is about the limitless boundary to which anyone (disabled or not) could be labeled.  In the end it does not matter if you are “footwear fumbled”, “keister deficient” or “vocally enthusiastic”.  What matters is the ability of each and every one of us to see the potential in others, and recognize our own internal biases.

For more information on this campaign visit: thinkbeyondthelabel.com

Javier Robles

Do Politicians Take the Disabled Vote Seriously?

Part I
By Javier Robles

Am I invisible?  Is the group of people that I belong too a mere mirage?  Are we as people with disabilities only good for photo ops and feel-good stories?  How can it be that we do not seem to count when counting votes.  We as a group become non-existent.  So much so that when Barack Obama won the Presidency and mentioned people with disabilities in his speech; it caused a stir with people with disabilities. Amazing! Yet, not surprising.  Why?

Here is what I think.  There are two simultaneous issues going on between politicians and people with disabilities.  The first issue, concerns a historical struggle for survival by individuals who to this day are second class citizens.  The second issue,  surrounds political strategist and their clients (politicians) who are unable or unwilling to realize the potential of this group.  Let me explain.

Historically, the “struggle” has been about housing, institutionalization, discrimination, access and more recently jobs.  While this list is not exhaustive it offers a glimpse of some major struggles. The point is that we as a group are in a constant battle with society to maintain our independence. We push for laws to de-institutionalize (Olmstead) and laws for greater Access (Americans with Disabilities Act) and we fight for every dollar.  We are in an eternal state of chaos.  Fighting so hard to be free that we forgot all about the politicians we put in office.  Not that politicians have done nothing.  There has been progress in the last 100 years for people with disabilities.  However, as a group we progressed with  small victories, and many times specific to our particular disability. Like the Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1936 which was passed to allow blind vendors access to Federal buildings.  There have been numerous registry laws state to state on Autism, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, etc.  But at the end of the day we continue to be ignored on a global scale.  Our power is reduced to statistics which point to one thing; people with disabilities do not vote.  Therefore, their overall needs are unimportant during election time.  Or are they?

Part II Next Week