Item #10 Draft 2024-2025 Annual Internal Review — original pdf

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Annual Internal Review This report covers the time period of 7/1/2024 to 6/30/2025 Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities ____________________________________ (Official Name of Board or Commission) The Board/Commission mission statement (per the City Code) is: The committee is established to encourage, assist, and enable persons with disabilities to participate in the social and economic life of the City, achieve maximum personal independence, become gainfully employed, and use and enjoy fully all public and private facilities available within the community. 1. Describe the board’s actions supporting their mission during the previous calendar year. Address all elements of the board’s mission statement as provided in the relevant sections of the City Code. a. b. Serve as an advisory body to the city council and city manager regarding problems affecting the persons with disabilities in the Austin area. i. Made budget recommendations to City Council to fund disability- related celebrations and devote resources to keep micromobility devices out of walkways. ii. Recommended adoption of the Equity-Based Housing Plan after the program team incorporated accessibility requests from the Committee. Serve in an advisory and consultive capacity to the Human Resources Department and the city council to ensure effective compliance and enforcement of Chapter 5-6 (Discrimination Against A Person With A Disability); i. Met with the ADA Program office and Office of Civil Rights to discuss partnering with the Committee. Annual Review and Work Plan 2024/2025 Page 2 ii. Developed a training for city employees on Chapter 5-6. The Committee is presently working with the City on refining the content. iii. Met with many city departments to discuss their efforts and made recommendations. The Committee met with the APD, Department of Transportation and Public Works, the Aviation Department, the Communication and Public Information Office, the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and the Housing Department, the ADA program office, and the Office of Civil Rights among others. iv. Commissioner Gabriel Arellano participated in an interview panel for the Civil Rights Officer as a member of the community. c. Recommend to the mayor, council members, and the city manager measures aimed at improving the ability of various city departments and contractors at providing service and employment opportunities for disabled persons; i. Our recommendations were primarily at the department level. We made informal recommendations to the departments above during their meetings with the Committee. ii. The Committee formed a working group to develop knowledge competencies around disabilities for city employment. The Committee approved and adopted the working group’s recommendations. test candidates to d. Annually evaluate (Discrimination Against A Person With A Disability); the City's efforts to implement Chapter 5-6 i. The Committee evaluated the City’s efforts as part of discussions with city departments, such as the discussion with the APD about its Mental Health and Use of Force study. ii. The Committee followed up where needed, such as when it made recommendations on the Equity-Based Preservation Plan. e. Sponsor educational programs to promote equal treatment, opportunity, and understanding and sponsor meetings, institutes, forums, and courses of instruction to lead to clearer understanding and solution of the issues and concerns of disabled persons; i. The Committee formed a working group to plan a festival celebrating disabilities and educating the public (Awebility Festival), to be held in October / Disability Awareness Month. ii. Approved feedback to provide to the Community Advancement Network for their Community Council Report, Building a Person Centered Community. f. Assist the Human Resources Department in training city employees and contractors regarding the needs and concerns of persons with disabilities; Annual Review and Work Plan 2024/2025 Page 3 i. Developed a training for city employees on Chapter 5-6. The Committee is presently working with the City on refining the content. g. Provide services and information to the mayor, city council, city manager and heads of all city departments and agencies to achieve the purposes of Chapter 5-6 (Discrimination Against A Person With A Disability). i. Provided information to the Parks and Recreation Department about need for additional access to therapeutic recreation and the need for Blues on the Green to be more accessible. 2. Determine if the board’s actions throughout the year comply with the mission statement. (If any of the board’s actions were outside the scope of the mission statement, the report should explain the non-compliance issues.) Yes, the Committee’s actions complied with the mission statement. The Committee conducted a number of important activities over the course of the year in furtherance of its mission, as described above. Some highlights are as follows: • Committee members continued to attend meetings and provide input to the Joint Inclusion Committee and Capital Metro Advisory Committee. • The Committee made recommendations to the City Council on budget items impacting residents with disabilities. • Worked with the Community Advancement Network to advocate for individuals with disabilities. • The Committee successfully advocated for modifications to the Equity- Based Preservation Plan to promote accessibility. • Began planning a festival to raise disability awareness and celebrate • Disability Awareness Month. In partnership with the Parks and Recreation Department, encouraged micromobility providers to keep walkways clear and adopt a messaging campaign to encourage appropriate parking. • Began planning a festival to raise disability awareness and celebrate Disability Awareness Month. 3. List the board’s goals and objectives for the new calendar year. (Make sure the goals and objectives fall within the mission statement of the board/commission.) a. Explore options for expanding access the therapeutic recreation in partnership with the Parks and Recreation Department. b. Assist city departments in considering and responding to potential shortfalls in federal funding for disability-related programs. Annual Review and Work Plan 2024/2025 Page 4 c. Confer with the APD about its Mental Health and Use of Force studies to identify successes and areas for improvement. d. Host the first Awebility Festival in October 2025 to celebrate the many communities of individuals with disabilities and raise awareness. e. Ongoing priorities: i. Continue representation on the Joint Inclusion Committee and Capital Metro Advisory Committee. ii. Tailor activities to meet Committee priorities as outlined in the Mission Statement and city code. iii. Assist the City and Austin community in maintaining focus on disability-related issues.