Agenda - Council - 03/13/1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I i I I I, I I I ! I I I I i I Page 2 of ~ Pa~es City Councils and County Boards tend to value highly the volunteer committees 'service to local government and the cost of supplies and staff support is usually quite minimal. As most of us know, input from people with "experience" (i.e. the disabled) can save the government some money. Without this input in government, the result is usually more costly, done incorrectly, with subsequent costs to make it right. That is one of the reasons the 504 regulations require the involvement of the disabled or organizations for the disabled in its development and implementation process. Laws and regulations on the books are nothing more than ink on paper, relying and waiting on local implementation or enforcement is not times wasteful. The 504 regulations are several years old. By October 17, 1984 state, county or city governments were required to examine and evaluate their program services and employment practices providing they received $25,000.00 or more in revenue sharing funds. The purpose of this requirement J.~ ~o bring about the intent and regulations of the Federal Mandate (504) the "civil rights of the handicapped" Now we have the American Disabilities Act (ADA) to assist us in the implementation and enforcement of these rights. NSCAH Board of Directors will consist of members appointed by the mayors with the approval of the City Councils and the Anoka County Board of Commissioners. Each city would appoint two persons, the county would appoint two persons, township would appoint one person. Members can be drawn from government, social and civic organizations, social service agencies or concerned parents and friends. A simple majority would be persons with a disability or parents of a person w~th a disability. NSCAH's mission is that persons with disabilities be given equal opportunity to become full participating r~t~ens in all segments of society by advocating removal of environmental, attitudin~£ and communication barriers in the Metro North Sub- urban Area, particularly, Anoka Countv. A handicapped person means any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activity. A major life activity means functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, or working. There are over 36 'million mentally or physically disabled'people in the United States, over 500,000 in the state of Minnesota. Anoka County has over 20,000 persons with a disability. Persons with disabilities are on the increase for the following reasons: 1. Our countries population is becoming older, 40% of Americans over the age of 65 have some form of disability. 2. The results of excessive abuse of drugs and alcohol, and accidents have resulted in an increased number of persons with disabilities. NSCAH is involved with many activities. Some specific examples are listed below: 1. Information Referral Service · 2. Support group for persons with a physical disability ' 3. Conduction surveys to ascertain the needs of persons with a 'disability 4. .Scholarships for graduating High School disabled students 5. Social and Recreational Activities 6. Promotion of The Decade of Disabled Persons 1983-1992 7. Encourage involvement of persons with a disability to become full par- ticipating members of their community e.g. 504 compliance monitoring