LTP News Sharing:
Washington, D.C. — Today, leaders with Able Americans, a project of the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), released “Able to Succeed: A Policy Reform Agenda for Americans with Disabilities.” This special report provides 45 policy solutions to address significant problems Americans with disabilities face under current policies.
Rachel Barkley
In a meeting on Thursday, August 15, Able Americans Director Rachel Barkley led a discussion with disability policy leaders from Capitol Hill, academia and non-profit think tanks to announce today’s launch of the “Able to Succeed” policy agenda. Simultaneously, Barkley announced an accompanying website, Project Access, the first resource of its kind that provides a transparent, comprehensive guide to federal agency resources. That discussion introduced Able Americans’ findings and launched a robust effort to build a coalition of leaders to address the pressing issues facing Americans with disabilities.
Rachel Barkley says, “‘Able to Succeed’ is the first-of-its-kind policy report that examines the most pressing problems facing people with disabilities. It provides actionable solutions to remove barriers to independence, provide equality under the law, and increase access to healthcare. It is unacceptable that 25% of Americans with disabilities live in poverty — more than twice the rate of nondisabled people. One hundred million Americans with disabilities and their caretakers have been underserved by poor outcomes from government policies and programs for far too long.”
One in four adults in America live with a disability — that’s 61 million people — making it the largest minority group in the world and a voting bloc that should be given attention. Furthermore, including caregivers combined is 100 million Americans.
The number of people with disabilities is likely to increase with an aging population in the coming years. According to Pew Research Center, “Some 46% of Americans ages 75 and older and 24% of those ages 65 to 74 report having a disability.”
Mark Mostert, Ph.D.
Senior researcher Mark Mostert, Ph.D., who led the research for Project Access, says “We are excited about the launch of Project Access, which addresses the significant frustration Americans with disabilities experience interacting with federal agencies. Relevant and important information is very difficult or impossible to find on agencies’ websites. The initial phase of Project Access has documented policies, programs, resources, services and research literature within the Department of Health and Human Services (including Medicare and Medicaid) linked to 22 disability categories. For the first time, people with disabilities and other consumers can click on a disability category and be connected with relevant HHS information related to that disability category. The Project Access website delivers transparent, targeted information that people with disabilities can use to empower themselves by quickly accessing the programs and services they deserve.”
Given the number of people affected, the vast web of systems and government policies that impact the lives of these individuals should be examined to ensure that they are living up to the principles underpinning the American dream and standards of human dignity and equality.
About
The National Center’s Able Americans program is designed to positively impact the lives of people with disabilities of all kinds – including those with special physical needs, chronic mental and developmental health challenges and substance abuse problems – by removing the barriers created by government programs and advancing free-market solutions that lead to better outcomes.
The National Center for Public Policy Research, founded in 1982, is a non-partisan, free-market, independent conservative think-tank. Ninety-four percent of its support comes from individuals, less than four percent from foundations and less than two percent from corporations. It receives over 350,000 individual contributions a year from over 60,000 active recent contributors. Contributions
are tax-deductible and may be earmarked for any NCPPR projects. Sign up for email updates at https://nationalcenter.org/ subscribe/.Follow us on Twitter at @NationalCenter for general announcements. To be alerted to upcoming media appearances by National Center staff, follow our media appearances Twitter account at @NCPPRMedia.
Author: The National Center
