We continue to encourage the use of "work-study" programs to expose handicapped people to the world of work and employers to the potential of handicapped people. The U.S. Civil Service Commission recently issued guidelines to all Federal agencies to encourage cooperative efforts with State rehab agencies to train handicapped people who are enrolled in rehabilitation programs. Our staff was involved in getting the necessary language in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to make this possible. We are convinced that proper training in shortage area jobs is the key to much of the unemployment of handicapped people. TRANSIT HEARINGS Mr. CONTE. During the Urban Mass Transit hearings, I was delighted to see emphasis on developing vehicles to accommodate the handicapped. What has been accomplished recently in other areas of transportation? I believe this has always been a problem that was overlooked-how to get the handicapped transported to his job. I am sure this aspect plays a large role in handicapped unemployment. Mr. RUSSELL. At the present time there is no legislation that requires vehicles and transportation facilities to be accessible to handicapped persons. We also were delighted to see UMTA publish proposed regulations which would mandate accessible transit wherever Federal funds are expended in public transportation systems. In our testimony at these hearings, however, we urged the Department of Transportation to synthesize its overall philosophy in relation to the transportation needs of handicapped persons. We do not discern a clear-cut philosophy throughout the Department on just how these needs should be treated. We believe that two solutions are necessary. There is a broad spectrum of abilities among disabled persons. Any casual observation substantiates this. Most disabled persons can and should be able to travel with the general public as commuters and passengers of mass transit, once the vehicles and other facilities are designed to accommodate their needs. There are some among the handicapped, however, whose capabil ities are so limited that the usual mass transit facilities, even though barrier free, will never be able to offer them independent travel. They will experience the right of travel only by reason of specialized buses and personalized transit vehicles where additional services can be made available. We believe the responsibility of the Department of Transportation, as the guardian of transportation rights of all people. is to encourage and support the development of these dual solutions-keeping the majority of handicapped in the mainstream, and offering a specialized service for the minority who need personalized attention. We feel quite certain that all new subway systems, following the advocacy efforts in San Francisco and the District of Columbia, will be barrier free. We are hopeful that the transbus program of UMTA, whereby three major bus manufacturers are in a design competition to develop our next generation of urban buses, will prove beneficial for handicapped workers who must use public transportation to get back and forth to work. We are involved as official advisers and consultants to UMTA in its small bus project. This research program is intended to gather specifications for an ideal small bus that can accommodate handicapped and elderly passengers. It will supplement the dial-a-ride and other personalized systems now in use, which I have already mentioned will probably always be necessary for the very severely handicapped. NEW AREAS AVAILABLE Mr. CONTE. Last year you advised of various new programs opening up to the handicapped in the Government and private industry. What new areas have since become available to the handicapped? Mr. RUSSELL. Opening of new areas for the employment of handicapped persons has slowed down somewhat. This is to be expected with the general economic slowdown. It is also expected in that new areas are not necessarily opening at any given rate or time. These openings occur as a result of many activities over a long period of time, although they appear to happen overnight. During this period of high unemployment handicapped persons have fared in about the same proportion with nonhandicapped persons as they did during periods of low unemployment. Mr. CONTE. I am sure the national economic situation has had an effect on the employment of the handicapped. Do you have any statistics in this regard? Mr. RUSSELL. No. Our study on the impact of unemployment on handicapped people found that the lack of statistics about handicapped people is one of the major problems in determining programs of assistance, training and other needs. There are no reliable statistics about the unemloyment rate of disabled people. The 1970 Census sampling found that only 42 percent of noninstitutionalized disabled adults were in the labor force. From all indications, we can only assume that unemployment has had a severe impact on handicapped people, particularly on most people who are trying to enter the job market. ACCESSIBILITY Mr. CONTE. What progress is being made to alter the access and egress to Federal, State and educational institutions to assure accessibility of the handicapped? Mr. RUSSELL. These appear to be times when we are moving with a more rapid pace toward a barrier free environment for all Americans. Both legislative activity and increased advocacy efforts have had a bearing on erasing architectural barriers. At the Federal level, the Architectural Barrier Act, Public Law 90-480, is beginning to have a marked effect on making all Federal buildings accessible to handicapped persons. It does need a better system for watchdogging its administration, however, and it needs the teeth of enforcement provisions. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, established in HEW by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, when it is fully operational, may be in a position to coordinate a stronger drive by the Federal agencies to make their facilities truly barrier free. We also expect that section 504 of that act, which prohibits discrimination against handicapped persons by any organization receiving Federal grants-whether a State government, a university, schools, institutions will have a profound effect on bringing about greater accessibility. This is because accessibility will be treated for the first time as a civil right. We are still waiting for the regulations to be published defining this provision. At the State level, all 50 States now have architectural barrier laws or codes. Many of them, however, are deficient in that they do not provide for an administrating agency, or contain no enforcement procedures, or no sanctions. Gradually, however, these State laws are being amended to tighten up loopholes and bring their provisions to a wider group of buildings and facilities. Not only publicly-funded buildings are included in amended legislation, but all those buildings which the public is expected to enter and use, such as restaurants, theaters, hotels, arenas, et cetera. I would like to submit a recent survey of State legislation to show what is happening to architectural barriers at the State level. With regard to educational institutions, we know from the inquiries and requests we receive for technical assistance that many more campuses around the country are being modified to allow for accessibility. An actual count is currently underway. A research firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts is under contract to the Office of Education to survey over 3,000 colleges and universities to see how many can accommodate handicapped students, and what programs and services they can offer handicapped students. The report of this survey should be available sometime this summer. In other areas, I am happy to report that progress continues in making airline terminals, train stations, and bus depots more accessible to handicapped travelers. Although rules have not yet been formalized by the FAA and CAB, I believe the major airlines are beginning to take a more responsible position with respect to the carriage of handicapped passengers and do not seem to be refusing them, as has hap pened in the past. A general conclusion is that much more needs to be done to make handicapped people more mobile. With the present constraints of our deteriorating rapid transit systems in urban areas, and the nonexisting transit systems in rural areas, this is a huge challenge. For the record. I would like to include State Reviews which address themselves to these areas. [The information follows:] Mr. FLOOD. Thank you, gentlemen. |