ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON LABOR
ASSEMBLY SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
SUBJECT: Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities
PURPOSE: To examine the availability of employment opportunities for people with disabilities, with a specific focus on the availability of services to assist individuals in accessing employment.
Wednesday
October 20, 2021
10:00 AM
Hearing Room B
Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
Both Federal and State legislatures have taken steps over the last several decades to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal opportunities to obtain gainful employment. In addition to enacting legislation, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Social Security Administration have initiatives available for both businesses and individuals to help prepare for and maintain employment. In addition, New York provides assistance through NYS Department of Labor and the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities. Despite this assistance, according to the 2020 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, only 35 percent of people with disabilities living in New York State were employed in 2019.
The Committees are seeking to receive information from relevant stakeholders regarding the availability of employment opportunities for people with all types of disabilities, with a specific focus on what programs and services are available to prepare people with disabilities to obtain gainful employment as well as any potential barriers that may exist making it more difficult to participate in the workforce.
Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committees at the hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form no later than September 28th, 2021. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.
Oral testimony will be limited to 5 minutes’ duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committees will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committees’ staff as early as possible.
Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committees would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.
Attendees and participants at any legislative public hearing should be aware that these proceedings are video recorded. Their likenesses may be included in any video coverage shown on television or the internet.
In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committees’ interest in hearing testimony from all sources.
In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, reasonable accommodations will be provided, upon advance request, to afford such individuals access to Assembly facilities and to participate in the hearing.
This will be an in–person hearing. Masks may be required depending on policies governing access to the Legislative Office Building on September 30, 2021.
Thomas Abinanti
Member of Assembly
Chair
Committee on People with Disabilities
Latoya Joyner
Member of Assembly
Chair
Committee on Labor
Chris Burdick
Member of Assembly
Chair
Subcommittee on Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities
Opening Statements
Testimony and Questions
Panel 1
Roger Bearden, Executive Deputy Commissioner, New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities
Panel 2
Roberta Reardon, Commissioner, New York State Department of Labor
Panel 3
Ceylane Meyers-Ruff, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Adult and Career and Continuing Education Services, New York State Education Department
Panel 4
Andrew J. Karhan, Co-Executive Director, Cornell University, Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability
Scott Phillipson, President, SEIU Local 200United
Panel 5
Maureen O’Brien, President/CEO, New York State Industries for the Disabled
Mike Miller, Vice President, Human Resources Operations, Golub Corporation - Price Chopper/Market 32
Daniel H. Phillips, Technology Manager, Social Worker, Director of Public Policy, Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Gemma Calinda, Hudson Valley Organizer, Hand in Hand, NY Caring Majority Campaign
Elisabeth Axel, President & CEO, Art Beyond Sight
Panel 6
John Robinson, President & CEO, Our Ability, Inc.
Joseph T. McDonald, III, Organizational Co-lead, Institute for Career Development
Len Statham, Chief Operating Officer, New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services
Eman Rimawi, Access-A-Ride Campaign Coordinator and Organizer, New York Lawyers for the Public Interest
Ryan Williams, Esq., Staff Attorney, PABSS Program, Disability Rights, New York
Lisa Krizman, Esq. & MSW, President, Stablework Corp.
Panel 7
Michael Seereiter, President/CEO, New York Alliance for Inclusion and Innovation
BJ Stasio, President, Self-Advocacy Association of New York State
Winifred Schiff, Associate Executive Director, InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc.
Fredda Rosen, Executive Director, Job Path
Ed O’Donnell, Senior Vice President, Goodwill
Steve Towler, Vice President of Programs & Business Development, AHRC-NYC
Panel 8
Peter Fackler, Hearing Loss Association of America - NYS
Michelle Othon, Albany Chapter - Hearing Loss of America/Individual with Hearing Loss
Marc Safman, Board Member, American Association of the DeafBlind & Co-Founder, New York DeafBlind Advocates
Michelle Decker, Special Education Advocate, Parent & Member
Amy Watkins, EdD, Director of ELA & SS of Wappingers CSD/Mother Wappingers CSD
Panel 9
Barry Harrison, Father, Board of Directors, Center for Career Freedom
Daniel R. Brown, Executive Director (and parent), Racker
Marion Resnick, Parent/Executive Committee Member, NYC Fair
Lucille Rossi, Parent
Panel 10
Bryan O’Malley, Executive Director, Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State
Lyn Geigel, Vocational Services Program Coordinator, Resource Center for Independent Living
Megan Parker, Director of Advocacy, New York Association on Independent Living
Maria Samuels, Executive Director, Westchester Disabled on the Move, Inc.
Doug Hovey, CEO/President, Independent Living Inc.
Joe Rappaport, Executive Director, Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled
Derrick Ek, Outreach Specialist and Systems Advocate, AIM Independent Living Center
Keith Gurgui, Systems Advocate, Resource Center for Accessible Living
Panel 11
Michael Schweinsburg, President, 504 Democratic Club
Julia Duff, Executive Director, Spina Bifida Association of Northeastern New York
Kathleen Collins, Coordinator, Downstate New York ADAPT
Harriet Lowell, Chair, White Plains Mayor’s Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities
Kenneth Burr, Individual
Panel 12
Kirk Lewis, Executive Director, Schenectady ARC
Ernest Dodge, President/CEO, JM Murray
Stanfort Perry, Executive Director, AHRC Nassau
Gilbert Pineda, Self Advocate
Jessica Snyder, Self Advocate
Susan Lucas, Parent/Guardian
Panel 13
Melanie Schaffran, President, Foundation for Empowering Citizens with Autism
Michael Smith, Executive Director, Foundation for Autism Information and Research, Inc.
Amanda Becker-Torres, MSW, Director of Training Programs, Yes She Can, Inc.
John Lopez, Executive Director, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health New York
Karen Azarian, Employment Workgroup Facilitator, Care Design NY Individual & Family Advisory Board
Kaitlyn Jackson, Director of Employment Programs, Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities, University of Rochester Medical Center
Dave Thompson, Senior Director of Employment and Inclusion, The Nicholas Center
Panel 14
Nathaniel Frei-Pearson
Kejuanti Muhammed
Marcia Samuels, Direct Care Professional
Lennyn Jacob, Secretary, CUNY Coalition for Students with Disabilities (CCSD)
Stella Spanakos, Parent
Ralph Antonelli, Director of Referrals & Admissions, The Judge Rotenberg Center
Closing