Ha'ilono Kina: October 2005 | Go Back

DCAB TAKES POSITION ON FEDERAL POLICY ISSUES

Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act (MiCASSA) - S. 401/H.R. 901
This proposed federal legislation would reform the Medicaid program to provide greater access to community-based attendant services and supports. MiCASSA would provide financial assistance to states as they reform their systems to provide comprehensive statewide long-term services and supports that provide consumer choice and direction in the most integrated setting. DCAB sent a letter to our Congressional delegation in support of MiCASSA. For more information, contact Kirby Shaw at the DCAB office.

U.S. Election Assistance Commission Voluntary Voting Guidelines
In 2002 Congress passed the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) establishing the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The Commission has proposed voluntary guidelines to ensure that voting systems are functional, accessible, and secure in every aspect. The guidelines specify what will make voting systems and processes more effective but does not determine what type of administration would be better. Portions of the guidelines address disability issues with attention to those individuals with visual or mobility needs. DCAB provided testimony to the EAC in support of the guidelines. For more information, contact Joan Bird at the DCAB office.

Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2005 (H.R. 1264)
This proposed federal legislation would amend Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide enhanced matching funds to states to increase wages paid to targeted direct support professionals in providing services to individuals with disabilities under the Medicaid program. DCAB sent a letter to our Congressional delegation in support of this legislation. For more information, contact Kirby Shaw at the DCAB office.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey
The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, is soliciting comments concerning a proposed new set of questions for inclusion in the Current Population Survey. This is a household survey that provides comprehensive data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, and persons not in the labor force. Working in coordination with the Office of Disability Employment Policy, they are proposing seven (7) questions to obtain data on the population of civilian, non-institutionalized persons with disabilities age 16 - 64 (work age). DCAB provided comments on the proposed questions suggesting an improvement in many areas that are either ambiguous or insufficient to gathering appropriate data. For more information, contact Debbie Jackson at the DCAB office.

DCAB TO DEVELOP TRAVEL SURVEY

DCAB staff will be developing a web-based survey to gather information on the quality of services for travelers with disabilities provided at Hawaii airports and by air carriers that fly into Hawaii's airports. DCAB will share the survey results with the Hawaii Department of Transportation airport operations, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, and air carriers so that services for travelers with disabilities can be improved.

Please contact Judy Paik at the DCAB office if you have ideas or concerns that you would like DCAB to consider including in the survey.

Travelers with disabilities who experience disability related air travel problems can contact the U.S. Department of Transportation's hotline at 1-800-778-4838 (V) and 1-800-455-9880 (TTY) for information and general assistance, help to resolve time-sensitive disability-related issues that need to be addressed in real time, as well as to investigate or file complaints.


VOTING ACCESSIBILITY PLANNING MEETING TO BE HELD

On Thursday, October 27, 2005, at the Dole Cannery Ballroom there will be a " Help America Vote Act (HAVA) Kick-Off" event called the Voter Accessibility Planning Meeting. This event , sponsored by the Office of Elections and DCAB, is intended to obtain feedback about voting accessibility issues in Hawaii from the disability community and service providers. Meeting activities will include speakers, lunch, and working sessions. For more information or to register, contact Joan Bird at the DCAB office by October 20, 2005.


DCAB GIVES FEEDBACK ON AIRPORT VISUAL DISPLAY SYSTEM

The State Department of Transportation (DOT) is in the process of designing a visual display system at the Honolulu International Airport. With this innovative system of visual displays, travelers with hearing disabilities passing through the airport will have equal access to information previously available only to hearing passengers over the public address system. Specially designed monitors will display information such as boarding announcements, gate changes and directions at security checkpoints, as well as personal pages for individual passengers. A similar system of visual displays has been up and running at the Lihue airport on Kauai for several years. DCAB staff recently assisted the DOT by reviewing the project plans and meeting with design engineers to discuss the system. In addition, DCAB staff, along with individuals with disabilities from the general public, participated in a tour of the Honolulu International Airport to see where the display terminals will be located and give general feedback on accessibility of the system. The group's overall assessment was positive and they felt that the system will greatly assist travelers with hearing disabilities move through the airport. Additional feedback will be provided as the project progresses. For more information, contact Kristine Pagano at the DCAB office.


VOLUNTEER NEEDED AT DCAB OFFICE

DCAB is seeking a volunteer to assist with the input of data into the statewide parking database on persons with disabilities. Help is needed approximately 4-6 hours per week. Schedule is flexible, either one or two days during the week. For more information, contact Kirby Shaw at the DCAB office.


FACILITY ACCESS

Recent DCAB Interpretive Opinions Issued
DCAB's Standing Committee on Facility Access has rendered several interpretive opinions on the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). An interpretive opinion is a clarification of a particular design standard, and only applies to State and County facilities under the Hawaii Revised Statutes §103-50. Some recent interpretive opinions are:

Interpretive Opinion 2004-17: DETECTABLE WARNINGS
Detectable warnings are intended to alert pedestrians with little or no usable vision of an imminent hazard. This interpretive opinion lists technical specifications for detectable warnings for curb ramps where people with vision impairments may not be able to discern the boundary between pedestrian and vehicular areas. These specifications, based upon ADAAG Section 4.29.2, generally require that detectable warnings shall consist of a surface of truncated domes aligned in a square grid pattern. Additional details on such things as dome size, spacing, contrast, and location are also listed.

Interpretive Opinion 2005-01: PROTRUDING OBJECTS
ADAAG does not specifically indicate a requirement that barriers to warn blind or visually-impaired persons shall be fixed. This interpretive opinion states that detectable barriers along walks, halls, corridors, passageways, aisles, or other circulation spaces to warn blind or visually impaired persons of a protruding object, as defined in ADAAG Section 4.4, are recommended to be fixed.

Interpretive Opinion 2005-03: ROLL-IN SHOWER SEATS
A folding seat in a roll-in shower offers great flexibility by allowing the user to transfer out of a wheelchair and onto the seat. This interpretive opinion addresses the use of fold down shower seats for roll-in showers in residential housing and facilities covered by HRS §103-50. The RHAG (Residential Housing Accessibility Guidelines) and the ADAAG are compatible and are used together in the HRS§103-50 review process to ensure accessibility for residential housing. This interpretive opinion finds that a 30 inch by 60 inch minimum roll-in shower stall may have a fixed, folding type seat, which is mounted to the wall adjacent to the controls.

Interpretive Opinion 2005-04: ACCESSIBLE ROUTE - SIDEWALKS
This interpretive opinion states that a public sidewalk that is part of an accessible route shall comply with ADAAG Section 4.3.1, when the public sidewalk crosses a driveway. More specifically, when a public sidewalk that is part of an accessible route stops at the side of a driveway and the driveway is a continuation of the roadway, the public sidewalk shall comply with ADAAG Section 4.3.1 for a distance of 24 inches measured from the delineation between pedestrian route and vehicular way (e.g., curb line) into the driveway. However, compliance is subject to structural impracticability or technical infeasibility.

Interpretive Opinion 2005-05: ACCESSIBLE ROUTE - SITE
ADAAG requires an accessible pedestrian route within a site boundary to public streets. However, ADAAG indicates that "if the property is accessed by vehicle only, then a pedestrian route is not required." This interpretive opinion, based upon ADAAG 4.1.2 (1), states that an accessible route is not required within the boundary of the site from public streets to an accessible entrance, where the site boundaries are not bordered by a pedestrian way and the site entry is by vehicles only. When a vehicular way, or a portion of a vehicular way, is provided for pedestrian travel from the public streets to an accessible building entrance, an accessible route is required within the boundary of the site from public streets to an accessible building entrance.

For a complete list, select the "Interpretive Opinions' link on DCAB's website at www.hawaii.gov/health/dcab .


DCAB'S FACILITY ACCESS UNIT WELCOMES NEW STAFF

Laurie Palenske was recently hired for a new part-time position as the Facility Access Support Specialist. The Facility Access Unit (FAU) reviews and provides recommendations on all State and County plans and specifications for buildings, facilities, and sites in order to ensure compliance with Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) §103-50. Laurie's responsibilities include screening and logging incoming projects for review by the FAU staff, maintaining a database of all incoming and ongoing projects and serving as the primary staff person responsible for basic phone inquiries directed to the FAU. Laurie has a Bachelor's of Interior Architecture from the University of Hawaii and has worked in private practice specializing in commercial and hospitality projects. She's married and has 2 year old daughter. She also enjoys cooking.


CORRECTION
Glenn Morgan , a new DCAB board member, serves on the Neurotrauma Advisory Board, not the State Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Board (STBIAB) as was printed in the July 2005 Ha'ilono Kina. For more information about these Boards, visit their website at www.hawaii.gov/health/disability-services/neurotrauma/index.html .


DISABILITY AND COMMUNICATION ACCESS BOARD (DCAB)

Linda Lingle, Governor, State of Hawaii
Chiyome Leinaala Fukino, M.D., Director of Health
Patricia Nielsen, Chairperson  
Charles Fleming, Vice Chairperson
Francine Wai, Executive Director  

Disability and Communication Access Board
919 Ala Moana Blvd., Rm. 101
Honolulu, HI 96814

Oahu: (808) 586- 8121 (V/TTY) 
Kauai: 274- 3141, ext. 6-8121# (V/TTY)  
Hawaii: 974-4000, ext. 6-8121# (V/TTY ) 
Maui: 984- 2400, ext. 6-812 # (V/TTY)
Molokai & Lanai: 1(800) 468- 4644, ext. 6-8121# (V/TTY)

Fax: (808) 586-8129
E-mail: dcab@doh.hawaii.gov
Web Site: www.hawaii.gov/health/dcab