Ms. Heumann will be lecturing at the Maryville University auditorium on Friday, April 27, at  3:30pm on the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” (CRPD).  This exciting lecture is free and open to the public.

She will also be a featured guest at our Costas to the Max event at the Pageant on April 28th.  Doors open at 8:00pm.  For more information or to obtain tickets visit www.starkloff.org.

 Ms. Heumann is an internationally recognized leader in the disability community and a lifelong civil rights advocate for disadvantaged people. She currently serves as the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State. She previously served as the Director for the Department on Disability Services for the District of Columbia, where she was responsible for the Developmental Disability Administration and the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

For more than 30 years, she has been involved on the international front working with disabled people’s organizations and governments around the world to advance the human rights of disabled people.  She has been active with Disabled Peoples’ International, Rehabilitation International and numerous Independent Living Centers throughout the world. She co-founded the Center for Independent Living in Berkeley California and the World Institute on Disability in Oakland California.

She served in the Clinton Administration as the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education.  She was responsible for the implementation of legislation at the national level for programs in special education, disability research, vocational rehabilitation and independent living, serving more than 8 million youth and adults with disabilities.

Ms. Heumann graduated from Long Island University in 1969 and received her Masters in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley in 1975. She has received numerous awards including being the first recipient of the Henry B. Betts Award in recognition of efforts to significantly improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. She has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Long Island University in Brooklyn, an Honorary Doctorate of Public Administration from the University of Illinois, Champaign, and an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of Toledo, Ohio.  In 2010 she was a recipient of the JFGH S. Robert Cohen Award, and the Medtronic National Courage Award honoring outstanding individuals who have made a significant contribution to the health, welfare, rehabilitation or awareness of people with disabilities.  New Mobility magazine named her their 2010 person of the year.

Where & When

Maryville University Auditorium
Anheuser-Busch Academic Center
650 Maryville University Dr.
St Louis, MO, 63141

April 27, 2012
3:30PM-4:30PM

Pat Figueroa and the battle for Independent Living in New York

BY LEN TARRICONE

Pat Figueroa is sitting placidly at his kitchen table, elbows nestled comfortably on the arm-rests of his wheelchair, discussing a treasured project: the collaboration with his eight year-old daughter on an illustrated book for children tentatively titled “Melissa and the Magic Pen.” His serene hopefulness for the successful publication of the fairy tale belies the tumult of his early years, now a generation removed, when this street warrior/organization guru/firebrand extraordinary for the disability rights movement in New York was working on a plot much more dramatic.

The social unrest of the sixties had spilled into the seventies, and as an idealistic Brooklyn College student, Figueroa found himself thrust into the midst of the fray. Camouflaged by the anti-war, civil rights, and women’s rights movements was another battle, of similar intensity, waged by activists for people with disabilities. It was a time when reform legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act was a distant pipedream, and issues like the designation of parking spaces for people with disabilities, and the creation of curb cuts at busy comers, were timely causes.

“Revolt was the order of the day,” he recalls, “and there was a tremendous need for advocacy for people with disabilities. Organizations like the Muscular Dystrophy Association, United Cerebral Palsy, and the March of Dimes, while well-intentioned, were primarily curedriven, and not as prone to focus on policies and programs to help “in day-to-day life.”

President Nixon’s veto of the National Rehabilitation Act in 1972, a bill that proposed allocating resources to advance independent living, served as a touchstone for full-scale deployment of disability activists. In one memorable protest, a legion of wheel chaired demonstrators literally took over a block in midtown Manhattan at evening rush hour, causing mammoth traffic problems. Figueroa contributed to the fracas by hurtling himself into the path of a city bus.

As Executive Director of the Center for Independence of Disabled in New York (CIDNY) from 1978-1983, Patricio Figueroa oversaw the prototype for the state’s network of independent living centers. His spirited advocacy throughout the years is indicative of a determined battler who has been bucking the odds since birth, when he was diagnosed with Spina Bifida and given little chance of survival. He has never had use of his legs, which were folded beneath him through childhood, then amputated at age thirteen.

Born in the Puerto Rican town of Catano, Near San Juan, Pat was raised in the “El Barrio” section of Manhattan, the fourth of ten children. His physical limitations were often compounded by the ‘inaccessibility of housing, which in the late 1950′s was not architecturally wheelchair friendly. Most of his childhood was spent indoors and Pat was taught at home, by his parents and tutors, until he was twelve. He insists that the sounds of the neighborhood bustling below his window did not bring about any feelings of resentment or exclusion. “I wasn’t angry: I accepted what was given and concentrated on the things I could do, not thinking about those I couldn’t.”

The real passion for this youngster was art. Although he worked hard at scholastic achievements, it was his artistic ability that had the biggest impact upon his career aspirations. He was recommended by a number of grade school teachers for acceptance by the High School of Art and Design and became the only disabled student in the school. The logistical challenge of attendance was comparable to the course work demands, what with lugging supplies to and from class through frenzied hallways and city streets.

Nevertheless, his performance was exemplary. After graduation, he wanted to pursue the study of architecture in college, and was accepted by Pratt Institute (“The MIT of art in New York at that time, he recalls). His eager excitement in attending was dashed, however, when he was forced to withdraw due to the inaccessibility of that campus. He instead enrolled at the Parson’s School of Design, and then went on to Brooklyn College, where the formulation of Figueroa’s activism began to take shape.

Living with his sister in an apartment on the thirteenth floor of a building with a faulty elevator, Figueroa was searching for more accessible digs when he heard through the campus grapevine about a group called Disabled In Action (DIA). They helped him to find a suitable apartment and he willingly fell in With them, offering services to the cause.

“This was my first contact other disabled people,” he remembers. “Until grade school, I thought disability had been invented with me. Now, in my early twenties, my eyes were opening wide. He energized himself completely to the mission of independent living advancements, and showed a keen proficiency for organizing coalitions and bringing groups together to unify strength. From his involvement with DIA, he subsequently joined a City University of New York student based disability rights group with the acronym SO FED UP , and was rapidly appointed its vice president.

It was in this capacity that Figueroa began to bring the power of the political process to bear for positive results. Pat would trek to Washington and would participate in rallies there.

Brash confidence, merged with a well-directed and controlled anger, have made him in his own estimation “one of the most feared organizers in the city.” His “greatest triumph” as an activist leader ‘ helping to form a coalition to stifle New York’s Mayor Ed Koch’s 1982 gubernatorial bid. “I have no doubt that we were instrumental in the election of Mario Cuomo, who went on to become the first state politician to recognize the political clout of the disabled.”

” Struggling for disability advances has been akin to guerriIla warfare,” he explains, “and at times my tactics had some people labeling me the ‘Che Guevara’ of disability’.”

He may not have left a legacy as storied as that of the iconic Bolivian rebel leader, but his five years as CIDNY’s director saw prolific enhancements in resources and outreach to the disabled in New York City and across the state. What began as an office of three full-time workers laboring on a shoestring budget, has evolved into a staff of 21, operating with an annual budget of $4 million by the time Pat left. From this, the first state-funded living center, have blossomed 35 more throughout New York at present count.

The unceasing efforts for legislation, policies, programs, and funds for empowerment, equality, opportunity, and accessibility began to take their toll on Figueroa in the early eighties. He grew particularly weary of the political infighting and bureaucratic shenanigans inherent in his post, and also realized a compromising of his private life. After resigning his directorship, he moved north to Albany in 1984 and has held assorted state jobs, presently as a representative for the Office for the Aging.

Figueroa lives with his wife of 21 years, Denise, and their daughter Melissa, a charming and engaging eight-year-old upon whom some of Pat’s artistic ability has apparently rubbed off. As for Denise, she is a longtime, accomplished advocate for the disabled in her own right. In fact, the couple first met at a meeting of S.O.F.E.D.U.P. back in their Brooklyn College days. She is currently the Executive Director of the Independent Living Center of Hudson Valley.

Pat looks back with pride upon the accomplishments of the disability movement and realizes the job is never fully completed. “I would like to see is the government guaranteeing a job to every young disabled person in this country,” he says, and adds that he has formed an alliance called The New York State Institute on Disability for the purposes of exploring economic opportunities for the disabled.

And he would still like to make a career of his art. He dabbled a few years ago with designing greeting cards (“it never took hold”), and has high hopes for “Melissa and the Magic Pen” and subsequent illustrated endeavors. For now, his lasting contribution to the craft will remain an interpretive design that he created back in the mid-seventies that typified a movement, and a man. An alteration of the universal symbol for disability, it depicts the stick figure in the wheelchair…. raising a clenched fist.

The proposal could reshape hiring at roughly 200,000 companies that generate $700 billion a year in contracts with the federal government. They include defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp., aircraft maker Boeing Co. and firms across the health-care, construction and information-technology industries.

Under the Labor Department plan, most firms that contract or subcontract with the federal government would be asked to have disabled people make up 7% of their work force. While the department says it wouldn’t be an explicit requirement, companies that don’t hit the target could have their contracts canceled or could be barred from winning future contracts until they show they are trying to meet the target.

Read more here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204520204577251303726662194.html?mod=business_newsreel

Follow us on Twitter @SDI_Disability or #Starkloff

The Fontbonne University community is urged to be “agents for change” in helping the world to become more welcoming toward people with disabilities through taking a more positive approach.

Colleen Kelly Starkloff, co-director of The Starkloff Disability Institute, gave the commencement address Dec. 17 at Fontbonne and pushed for change in societal attitudes toward disabilities. “Your attitude toward an issue drives how you will approach it,” she said in her text, adding, “I don’t say that lightly — become an agent for change in the world.”

Fontbonne University’s fall dedicated semester topic was “The Disability Experience: Quest for Empowerment.” The topic, in part, was selected to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The World Bank and World Health Organization issued a report in June that estimated 15 percent of the world’s population has a disability — a billion people, Starkloff said. “We all have to care about the issue of disability and take a positive approach to creating a world that welcomes all people.”

Read more of this article in the St. Louis review:

http://stlouisreview.com/article/2011-12-26/change-attitudes

The Fontbonne University community is urged to be “agents for change” in helping the world to become more welcoming toward people with disabilities through taking a more positive approach.

Colleen Kelly Starkloff, co-director of The Starkloff Disability Institute, gave the commencement address Dec. 17 at Fontbonne and pushed for change in societal attitudes toward disabilities. “Your attitude toward an issue drives how you will approach it,” she said in her text, adding, “I don’t say that lightly — become an agent for change in the world.”

Fontbonne University’s fall dedicated semester topic was “The Disability Experience: Quest for Empowerment.” The topic, in part, was selected to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The World Bank and World Health Organization issued a report in June that estimated 15 percent of the world’s population has a disability — a billion people, Starkloff said. “We all have to care about the issue of disability and take a positive approach to creating a world that welcomes all people.”

Read more of this article in the St. Louis review:

http://stlouisreview.com/article/2011-12-26/change-attitudes

Colleen Kelly Starkloff served as guest speaker at Fontbonne University’s December commencement ceremony, which was held Saturday, Dec 17, at 10 a.m. in the Dunham Student Activity Center. The ceremony was broadcast LIVE via the University’s uStream portal.  View a captioned version of Colleen’s address below (Click the CC button on the player to view the closed captions in English or a variety of languages).

Don’t forget to like our Facebook page. For every like, up to 3,000 likes, we will receive a dollar from one of our generous donors.

 Click here to view a transcript of Colleen’s commencement address.

Don’t forget to like our Facebook page.  For every like, up to 3,000 likes, we will receive a dollar from one of our generous donors.

Click here to view a transcript of Colleen’s commencement address.

Fontbonne University released the following statement:

Distinguished Advocate for People with Disabilities

to Speak at Fontbonne December Commencement

ST. LOUIS – Colleen Kelly Starkloff, co-founder of Paraquad and the Starkloff Disability Institute, will serve as guest speaker at Fontbonne University’s December commencement ceremony. Starkloff will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the ceremony, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 17, at 10 a.m. in the Dunham Student Activity Center. Fontbonne will also honor Max Starkloff with a posthumous honorary doctorate of humane letters. 215 students are expected to receive their degrees.

Starkloff and her late husband, Max, quadriplegic due to a spinal cord injury, developed Paraquad, a community-based center for independent living that empowers people with disabilities to live independently in the world. They dedicated their lives to securing legislation and advocating for all people with disabilities. In 2003, they founded the Starkloff Disability Institute to create a world that welcomes all people with disabilities. Since Max’s death in 2010, Starkloff has continued to work as an impassioned advocate.

“We are honored to have Colleen Starkloff share her message with the December 2011 graduating class,” said Dennis C. Golden, president of Fontbonne. “This is a landmark occasion in our students’ lives, and Mrs. Starkloff’s powerful message will encourage them to continue living the Fontbonne mission to ‘think critically, act ethically and to assume responsibility as citizens and leaders long after graduation.”

Michael Horn, of south St. Louis County, will serve as the commencement student speaker. He will graduate summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Additionally, the Fontbonne Alumni Association will recognize Amy Caby, of St. Louis, with the Alumni Hood Award, given at each commencement ceremony to an outstanding graduating student who has the potential to be an outstanding member of the alumni association. Caby will graduate cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications from Fontbonne’s OPTIONS Program.

Fontbonne University is a Catholic coeducational institution of higher education offering liberal arts and professional programs, as well as accelerated formats for busy adults. Fontbonne was founded in 1923 and is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Disabled Americans, facing even higher hurdles than others finding jobs, would get a boost under an Obama administration plan to set new hiring procedures for government contractors.

The Labor Department proposed a rule Thursday that would require most companies with federal contracts to set goals of having disabled workers make up 7 percent of their workforce.

Labor officials hailed the plan as an economic game-changer at a time when a staggering eight of 10 working-age Americans with disabilities are out of the workforce entirely.

The government long has used the leverage of federal spending to promote affirmative action in the hiring of women and minorities. The new rule would, for the first time, give similar treatment to people with disabilities.

Some businesses have indicated concern about increased costs, including for record-keeping and other paperwork. And Republican lawmakers have complained frequently about the costs that new regulations impose on businesses. On Wednesday, the House passed a measure that would require congressional review of rules that have an effect on the economy of $100 million or more or adverse effects on employment and productivity.

The Labor Department will take comments on the rule for 60 days before it considers final approval next year.

“This is probably the greatest proposal for real substantive change since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act” in 1990, said Patricia Shiu, director of the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. “For nearly 40 years, the rules have said that contractors simply need to make a ‘good faith’ effort to recruit and hire people with disabilities. Clearly, that’s not working.”

The proposed rule is not a quota. It would require companies to devote more resources to recruiting efforts to hire disabled workers, improve training programs and update data collection.

Contractors would have to keep detailed records showing they were complying. The rule would require them to list job openings to increase their pool of qualified applicants.

Federal contractors and subcontractors account for nearly a quarter of the nation’s workforce. The proposal could have a ripple effect across the country and help bring down the 13 percent unemployment rate for disabled workers. The rate is 8.6 percent for all workers.

There are about 200,000 federal contractors taking in about $700 billion annually in contracts.

Disability advocates praised the proposed rule, saying employers would also benefit.

“Job seekers with disabilities will have access to more opportunities,” said Mark Perriello, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities. “Federal contractors will experience greater diversity in their workforces and benefit from the contributions that people with disabilities are qualified and eager to make.”

Businesses have had mixed reactions to the plan, which could prove easier for larger companies to put in place than smaller ones that face increased costs and paperwork.

“The agency issued a number of regulations that have dramatically expanded paperwork and record-keeping requirements with real costs to contractors,” said Michael Eastman, executive director for labor law policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

That organization has not taken a formal position on the proposed rule. Eastman said his group supports the goals of trying to bring more people with disabilities into the workforce, “but we have concerns whether the agency has proposed the right approach or not.”

Some businesses also are nervous about asking job applicants to identify themselves as disabled, fearing they may run afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act’s ban on discrimination, Eastman said.

The ADA defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. The definition also includes a history of impairment or being regarded as having a disability. The ADA was amended in 2009 to be construed more broadly, including impairments such as cancer, diabetes and epilepsy.

Seth Harris, deputy secretary of labor, said President Barack Obama has made a commitment to put the government in the lead when it comes to improving the lives of the disabled. Last year, Obama signed an executive order setting a goal for the federal government to increase its employment of people with disabilities by 100,000 over five years.

“The president recognizes that people with disabilities are eager to work; all they need is the opportunity,” Harris said.

The government has struggled over the years to increase job opportunities for disabled workers. Among working-age people with disabilities, 79 percent are outside the labor force altogether, compared with 30.5 percent for those without disabilities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The rule would apply to those contractors with at least 50 employees that have a minimum $50,000 in government contracts. That currently includes about 170,000 contractors.

By contrast, the ADA applies to employers with 15 or more workers. That law prohibits discrimination against the disabled, but does not require businesses to set a specific goal for hiring.

Labor officials would monitor compliance with the new rules through annual audits, which are currently performed on about 4,000 contractors each year.

Companies failing to comply could be ordered to make back payments to those denied employment or to change training policies and procedures. In rare cases, the agency could seek court orders to bar companies from bidding for federal contracts.

Source: AP

The JAN study has been on-going since 2004. JAN, in partnership with the University of Iowa’s Law, Health Policy, and Disability Center (LHPDC), interviewed 1,182 employers between January 2004 and December 2006.  In addition, JAN, in partnership with the West Virginia University School of Applied Social Sciences (SASS), interviewed 603 employers between June 28, 2008, and July 31, 2011.  Employers in the JAN study represented a range of industry sectors and sizes and contacted JAN for information about workplace accommodations, the ADA, or both. Approximately eight weeks after their initial contact, the employers were asked a series of questions about the situation they discussed with JAN and the quality of the services JAN provided.

Read more here