Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities - July 9, 2021
Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities Regular Meeting of the Mayor''s Committee for People with Disabilities - MCPD Regular Meeting via videoconference Friday July 9, 2021
Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (MCPD) Meeting July 9, 2021 MCPD to be held Friday, July 9, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance by Thursday, July 8, 2021 by 12:00pm noon. All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the July 9, 2021 MCPD Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at (512)-974-3203 or jonathan.babiak@austintexas.gov no later than noon, Thursday, July 8, 2021. The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. •Once a request to speak has been made to the board liaison, the information to call on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start time in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to jonathan.babiak@austintexas.gov by Noon on Thursday, July 8, 2021. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If the meeting is broadcast live, it may be viewed here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch- atxn-live Reunión del Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (MCPD) FECHA de la reunion (07/09/2021) La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (07/08/2021 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de la junta en (512)-974-3203 y jonathan.babiak@austintexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión). Se requiere la siguiente información: nombre del orador, número (s) de artículo sobre el que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutral, dirección de correo electrónico (opcional) y un número de teléfono (debe ser el número que se utilizará para llamar ). • Una vez que se haya realizado una solicitud para hablar con el enlace de la junta, la información …
Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (MCPD) Regular Meeting Minutes June 11, 2021 Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities Regular MEETING MINUTES (June 11, 2021) The City of Austin, Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities convened in a regular meeting via video conference on June 11, 2021 with a live broadcast on ATXN. CALL TO ORDER: With quorum present Chair Jonathan Franks called the June 11, 2021 meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities to order at 5:36 pm. Committee Members in Attendance: Chair Jonathan Franks, Vice Chair Emily Shryock, Kathryn Broadwater, Taurean Burt, Joey Gidseg, Diane Kearns-Osterweil, Robin Orlowski, Deborah Trejo ABSENT: Commissioners: Diana Anzaldua, Maria Villarreal Staff in Attendance: Jonathan Babiak, Office of Civil Rights in person. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: No citizen communication took place during the June 11, 2021 MCPD Regular Meeting. 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Commissioner Taurean Burt made a motion to approve the minutes from the May 14, 2021 MCPD Regular Meeting. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Emily Shryock. The motion passed 8-0. To view this item please visit https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/120918?ts=96 and view item APPROVAL OF MINUTES. 2. NEW BUSINESS: 2A. Discussion and possible action regarding community access and participation for people with disabilities during City Council meetings. The Committee discussed this item together with Item 2B. Commissioner Taurean Burt made a motion to submit a recommendation to the City on a future agenda item that the City provide deaf translation services at every Council event, announcements including COVID-19 announcements, and videos. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Orlowski. The motion passed 8-0. To view this agenda item please visit https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/122743 and view item 2A. 2B. Discussion and possible action regarding American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation services during COVID-19 announcements. The Committee discussed this item together with Item 2A. Commissioner Taurean Burt made a motion to submit a recommendation to the City on a future agenda item that the City provide deaf translation services at every Council event, announcements including COVID-19 announcements, and videos. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Orlowski. The motion passed 8-0. To view this agenda item please visit https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/122743 and view item 2B. 2C. Update, discussion, and possible action on Project Connect Community Advisory Committee. Zenobia Joseph addressed the Committee as a Citizen and answered questions. Commissioner Broadwater updated the Committee. The Committee discussed this item. No action was taken. To view this agenda item please visit https://austintx.new.swagit.com/videos/122743 and …
DRAFT Moving the Americans with Disabilities Act Program Into the Civil Rights Office WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act has already been passed and signed into law by the United States explicitly publically, and explicitly as a “civil rights act” for people with disabilities in respect to employment, housing, voting, education transportation and public accommodations access; WHEREAS, the City of Austin is a local government covered under Section II of the Americans with Disabilities Act; WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act fully and explicitly covers all people with disabilities inside the City of Austin including those who were never employed, cannot work, and/or do not wish to be employed by the City of Austin; WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act deliberately refers to a specific federal civil rights act with specific local responsibilities; WHEREAS, Americans with Disabilities Act coverage is not something which somebody must first earn or accrue in order to receive civil rights coverage from municipalities; WHEREAS the Americans with Disabilities Act Program is the only entity in the City of Austin authorized to evaluate and provide reasonable accommodation requests from all requesting people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act; WHERAS, all people with disabilities needing “reasonable accommodations” to successfully access and receive City of Austin programs, services, and events other than employment are still instructed to contact the Americans with Disabilities Act Program; WHEREAS, the accommodation process for Austin Texas residents with disabilities is already publically described on official City of Austin publications including City website and social media; WHEREAS, the Civil Rights Office was established in January 2021 specifically to provide a centralized location for all civil rights acts and this centralized location should also include a civil rights act which explicitly covers and protects the civil rights of people with disabilities; WHERAS, the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities was proactively and explicitly transferred to the Civil Rights Office April 2021 while the ADA Program remained behind in Human Resources; WHEREAS, the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities commissioners are not permitted to grant reasonable accommodations requests from individuals with disabilities seeking access to City services or resources and this Committee has no binding enforcement power regarding any provision of the Americans with Disabilities Act; WHEREAS a May 21st 2021 City of Austin town hall explicitly about the first person experiences of people with disabilities and policing had required that “reasonable accommodations” be …
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Commission on Immigrant Affairs Recommendation Number: 20210301‐2b: Funding for Healthcare Navigation and Liaison Programs Benefiting Austin’s Immigrant Communities WHEREAS, immigrant communities in the City of Austin report a need for healthcare access services that remove language barriers and help navigate administrative healthcare systems; and WHEREAS, targeted community health navigation programs provide access to city and local health and wellness resources through patient advocacy, health navigation education, self‐sufficiency resources, interpretation/translation support, referrals to local resources, and eligibility & application assistance; and WHEREAS, programs already exist including the Austin Asian Community Health Initiative and the Latino Healthcare Forum’s PromoSalud program, among others, providing these resources to local Spanish‐ speaking, Chinese, Burmese, Korean, Nepali, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Syrian, Iraqi, and other Arabic speaking communities; and WHEREAS, some of these programs, namely, the Arabic and Chinese programs, run through the Austin Asian Community Health Initiative, are presently funded by emergency grants that will expire; and WHEREAS, the community identified a need to maintain and continue all existing programs permanently, and to expand current services to additional communities and initiatives; and WHEREAS, the Commission recognizes the public health benefit of these services to the City’s immigrant communities and the community at large, particularly during the global pandemic; and WHEREAS, some of these programs are already receiving funding from Austin Public Health, demonstrating the City also values these services. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED the Commission on Immigrant Affairs recommends the City increase its funding to permanently maintain existing health navigation and liaison programs, and that Austin Public Health seek additional opportunities to fund these initiatives and partner with the local organizations providing these services. Date of Approval: March 1, 2021 Attest: Record of the vote: Unanimous on a 9‐0 vote with Samuel Adair and Glenn Rosales absent Staff Liaison
City of Austin Disability Quality of Life Study July 9, 2021 Agenda Introductions Project Updates Next Steps and Questions Contact information 3-4 5-7 8-9 10 www.publicconsultinggroup.com 2 Welcome and Introductions 3 Introductions – Who’s Here Today Brittani Trujillo Project Manager Heather Fladmark Project Management Support www.publicconsultinggroup.com 4 Quality of Life Study: Project Updates 5 • Contacted more than 70 agencies regarding the survey Focus Groups and focus groups • Scheduled 14 focus groups • 21 people attended • Themes from focus groups: • Transportation • Employment • Housing • Health care www.publicconsultinggroup.com Survey Design • Draft survey in process • Sent to City of Austin for initial review • Developing questions based on subject matter expertise and themes from focus groups www.publicconsultinggroup.com 7 Next Steps and Questions? Next Steps • Finalize survey questions • Enter survey into Qualtrics • Send survey announcement to City of Austin and other organizations • Tentative in-person engagement August 30-September 2 • Review initial survey results • Obtain feedback and additional input • Market the survey www.publicconsultinggroup.com 9 Contact Us Quality of Life Study Email austindisabilityqol@pcgus.com www.publicconsultinggroup.com 10 TM
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities Recommendation Number 20210709-003a: Council Meeting American Sign Language Services WHEREAS, the Austin community includes a substantial number of citizens who use American Sign Language to participate in civil life, including participating in meetings of governmental bodies; WHEREAS, the City of Austin provides American Sign Language services at City Council events, announcements including COVID-19 announcements, and videos only when requested; and WHEREAS, the deaf community in Austin needs equal access to City Council events, announcements including COVID-19 announcements, and videos; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities recommends City Council to implement across the board American Sign Language translation services for all City Council events, announcements including COVID-19 announcements, and videos. Date of Approval: July 9, 2021 Record of the vote: Attest: _____________________________________________ (Staff or board member can sign)
