Conference touts measures taken to help disabled people integrate into society

KAILUA-KONA — It’s important for everyone to feel a part of everyday society.

And governmental support to bring people with disabilities into American life has led to numerous improvements in recent years, several speakers highlighted at the West Hawaii Disability Legislative Forum on Friday at Kealakehe High School.

That includes voting, said Anthony Akamine of the Office of Elections, which is vital for everyone.

“Especially for those of us with disabilities,” he said.

Which is why changes to help voters over the years vote at locations, like equipment to make voting easier, and early voting options makes it easier for all people to cast a ballot.

But there are a lot of measures that the conference touted, such as four recent changes to federal laws intended to help disabled people live as part of the larger body of citizenry.

Those four different pieces of disability-related legislation are: the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the new Medicare/Medicaid final rule on home and community based settings.

The WIOA restructures the public workforce system, the public-private network of training and education started in 1933.

The Department of Labor says the law will “help get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.”

Jesse Floyd, a program specialist at the state Developmental Disability Division, phrased it as ensuring people will have a chance to “work with your fellow citizens.”

It also ensures there are opportunities for education and training on par with other citizens, he said.

“The new (WIOA) regulations strengthen accountability and transparency; increase access to work-based learning tools, such as apprenticeships; improve relationships with employers, including through sector partnerships; and foster more cohesive planning within economic regions,” the Labor Department wrote in a press release. “They also improve access to education and workforce services for individuals with significant barriers to employment – individuals with disabilities, certain veterans, disconnected youth and other populations – to help them find good work.”

It also requires that agencies providing services to these people “have to show that they are giving you the best services,” he said.

Another part of the integration movement is changes to how adult day health programs interact with Medicaid and Medicare.

The goal is to ensure the locations are productive and not just a place to hang out, Bartoldus said.

“It has to be a meaningful place for people,” she said, and serve as “a stepping stone to employment.”

The federal guidelines dictate the changes need to be made by March 2019. Hawaii is seeking to make the changes by July 2017.

This is not an attempt to close down these programs, she said, a rumor that gained traction on Oahu.

Additional integration comes from a tax change as well, termed the ABLE Act.

It allows for “accounts (that) allow the families of disabled young people to set aside money for their care in a way that earns special tax benefits,” according to TurboTax.

TurboTax lists that an account can have up to $14,000 placed into it each year, which can be spent on “qualified disability expenses,” including medical treatment, job training, housing, transportation and other expenses.

Additionally, up to $100,000 in the account is not counted for personal assets, allowing people to qualify for Medicaid, housing aid and other forms of federal assistance.

The change will allow people to save money for their loved ones without risking government support, said Daintry Bartoldus, a social worker with the state Developmental Disabilities Division.

Changes to the ADA also seek to improve integration.